Following the passing of Road Warrior Animal, The Rock took to his Instagram to post about both of the late Road Warriors in an entry about his early days in the WWF.

RIP brother.
Really saddened to wake up to this news today , the passing of my friend, Joe Laurinaitis (on the left) aka ROAD WARRIOR ANIMAL.
Joe & Mike aka HAWK & ANIMAL, THE ROAD WARRIORS were the most intense, legit tough bad asses tag team in the history of the wild world of pro wrestling.
When I was making my bones, still learning the business in the WWE as a very young "The Rock" - I wrestled these guys so many times on the road and they always took good care of me and made sure I learned.
Tough as nails.
Good men.
Greatest tag team of all time.
And apple fritters (our inside joke).
Much love and I'll always be grateful to you both.
RIP.

Many will remember that The Nation of Domination had a feud with the Legion of Doom on WWF television back in 1997. Undoubtedly, young stars just coming up in the business getting to work with such legendary veterans can be a huge benefit if they're willing to teach you and take the time to make sure you gain something out of the experience: something Hawk and Animal clearly did with The Rock.