Rawk Hawk

"Rawk out, Great Gonzales!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAWK! Listen to me, Gonzales! Anybody who's beat me is not ALLOWED to lose!!!"

- Rawk Hawk

Rawk Hawk, also known as the "Feral Nuclear Reactor", was the reigning champion in the Glitz Pit in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, until Mario arrived to usurp his title. Mario did this in order to obtain the Gold Star, which was supposedly found on the Champ's Belt, which only the champion was allowed to wear.

Background
Prior to the events that took place in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Rawk Hawk joined the Glitz Pit, made his way up the ranks, and eventually became champion. However, he only became champion by default, since his rival, Prince Mush mysteriously disappeared before their title match could begin.

Of Glitz and Glory
Mario and his partners arrived at the Glitz Pit during the third chapter, in hopes that they would obtain the third Crystal Star, the Gold Star. When they entered the arena, they find Rawk Hawk squaring off against The Koopinator, whom he managed to defeat with ease. Grubba, the Glitz Pit promotor (and referee) comes to congratulate Rawk Hawk for his victory, and asks him about his thoughts on the match. Rawk Hawk, showing off a display of arrogance, saying that he hardly even considered it a match. He then started talking down on all other fighters, inviting them to come to the Glitz Pit to challenge him if they had a "bone to pick". After that, he holds up the Champ's Belt, which gets the attention of Mario and his partners. Shortly afterwards, Mario and his partners decided to become official fighters in the Glitz Pit in order to win the championship, and obtain what they thought was the real Crystal Star.

Super Paper Mario
In Super Paper Mario, one of the items listed on Francis's to-buy list is Harder Than Bedrawk: The Rawk Hawk Story, which is apparently a DVD. It probably shows Rawk Hawk's history.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Rawk Hawk also makes a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as one of the many stickers. In addition, one of the names that may come up on the name or stage builder entry when the random button is hit is "RAWK", a reference to Rawk Hawk.

Personality
Rawk Hawk, throughout the course of the game, has proven himself to be extremely arrogant, egotistical, and self-centered. He constantly bragged about his skill, and looked down on the other Glitz Pit fighters, labeling everyone else around him as complete wimps. Up until Mario and his partners showed up at the Glitz Pit and made their way up the ranks, he was a hundred percent convinced that no one could defeat him. Rawk Hawk is also the kind of person who would do whatever it takes to win, even if he has to cheat to do so. This was shown when he had a security guard lock Mario and his parnters in an old, abandoned minor league locker room before the title match started, as well as sending Mario that poisoned cake. However, after Mario defeated him in battle, Rawk Hawk ended up gaining a lot of respect for him as a fighter (as he demonstrated during the Crystal Star intermission cutscene that took place during the final battle, but even then he was still showing a display of arrogance), and made a decision to fight fair and square, and to never cheat again.

Trivia

 * Rawk calls himself "The Rawk". This (and Rawk Hawk overall) could be a parody of the former wrestler, The Rock.
 * It is unknown if Rawk Hawk is really a stage name like Mario's "The Great Gonzales" instead of his real name.
 * Judging from his attacks, Rawk Hawk seems to use the Lucha method of wrestling, involving flashy acrobatic moves. In terms of wrestling, he is also considered to be a Heel, a more villainous wrestler who would use dirtier underhanded methods regardless of popularity. On a related note, a real wrestler known as Hawk existed in the '70s, who at first was a Heel but became so popular with fans that he eventually turned face for the rest of his career.
 * The North American version states that his attack power is four and his defense power is zero, when in actuality, his attack power is three and his defense power is zero.