June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014
The Ultimate Warrior. He went out exactly as he came to us, in an instant with no time to prepare. When the Ultimate Warrior 1st burst on to the scene he was like nothing that had ever been seen. A face-painted wild man whose muscular physique had people talking before he even opened his mouth. Usually wrestlers as muscled up as Ultimate Warrior would lumber around the ring relying on slow and physical offense. But the Warrior would fly around the ring hitting his opponents with clotheslines and flying tackles until displaying his strength with a Gorilla Press followed by a Big Splash. His neon colors would flash around as he shook the ropes and seemed to never stay in 1 spot for more than a millisecond. He was awesome and people loved him from the start.
Then came the interviews and this is where the legend really gained steam. His promo’s were borderline insane and most of the time made no sense when you thought about them or talked about them. But they made sense when The Ultimate Warrior said it and dammit that’s all that mattered. When you were in the moment watching them you weren’t thinking “this is stupid” you were thinking “I don’t know what he just said but it was awesome!” But for all the crazy ones he did have some great moments like his interview right before the match with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI. I was always a Hogan guy so I was prepared to start hating the Warrior after he beat him but wanted to see the match first. When I saw that interview I instantly became an Ultimate Warrior fan. Every challenger before Warrior talked about wanting to destroy Hulkamania but Warrior talked about wanting to bring the 2 most powerful forces in wrestling together. As a kid I thought that was awesome b.c I would never stop being a Hulkamaniac but was more than willing to join forces with the Warriors. Looking back as an adult it’s still a great promo that perfectly sets the table for the Ultimate Challenge. The conclusion of that match taught me how to be a good loser * and* a good winner.
Outside of the ring the Ultimate Warrior had a lot of strong opinions some of which were right and some were wrong but all of which caused controversy. I butted heads with many of those opinions which is why I followed/unfollowed him on Twitter numerous times haha He always stood up for himself and what he believed to be fair treatment and would not compromise that for any person or situation. Sometimes that meant leaving companies and staying out of the spotlight for many years but whatever he did he thought he was doing was for the right reasons. Sometimes he was right and sometimes he was wrong but it just shows that he was human just like the rest of us. People are using some of his more controversial opinions to throw dirt on him and portray him in a negative light. I’m not saying he was a saint by any stretch but the positives of his life far outweigh the negatives and the Warrior fans will make sure his positive legacy lives forever.
I always saw The Ultimate Warrior as the good guy that has to go to the deepest darkest parts of hell to fight the worst kinds of evil. That’s why he has to be as intense and crazy as he is and why he can appear negative but inspires so much positivity. That’s why he was, The Ultimate Warrior. That was just my take on him but, however you interpreted his character most people definitely felt something either way for him. Not a lot of on the fence Warrior fans, most of the time you either loved him or hated him. And he wouldn’t have had it any other way.
When the news broke my first thought was that they were talking about the Ultimate Warrior as a character but the tweet from HHH mentioned his wife and kids so I knew it had to be real. I thought it was kind of interesting how similar he and Randy Savage died. Both known as extremely intense individuals that shared a rivalry/friendship died of massive heart attacks with their wives by their side. The atmospheric intensity that endeared both men to millions of fans may have also cut their lives short. In hindsight there is a really crazy set of circumstances that led up to his untimely passing. Finally lets go of the grudge with Vince/WWE and comes home first going into the 2k14 video game. Then going into the Hall of Fame escorted by his 2 daughters and lovely wife looking on, delivering a great speech living up to Warrior sized expectations. Lastly, coming out on Raw and cutting a great promo about how every man 1 day breathes his last breath and his heart beats its last breath but the fans make them legends and from generation to generation carry their legacy on forever. The next day as he is walking to his car with his wife he collapses and is pronounced dead at the hospital. If it wasn’t real I wouldn’t believe it. I won’t even begin to wonder why the good Lord does what he does but times likes these truly amaze me. Warrior made his peace with people he held grudges with, got the Hall of Fame recognition his career deserved, was welcomed home to WWE and then not a day later was brought home by the Lord. That Raw promo now seems like a eulogy with his passing but for last words they are pretty damn great.
For the Ultimate Warrior aka Jim Hellwig the father, it was not a perfect ending. His wife and girls deserved more time with him. But for the Ultimate Warrior the character it really was the perfect ending. He didn’t get old, he didn’t frail, didn’t lose the things that made him the Ultimate Warrior. Before any of that happened, he was gone. Just like when he burst on to the scene, nobody could be prepared what the next 20+ years would bring and when he left, nobody was prepared to lose the Ultimate Warrior. He was back home, had been honored for his great career and reconnected with the fans, we were ready for another ride. But the Ultimate Warrior had a ride to take of his own and now it’s up to us to make sure that his positive legacy will never die. To make sure the Good spirit of the Warrior keeps running forever.
Sometimes you don’t really know what someone meant to you until they are gone and I can safely say the Ultimate Warrior meant a lot to me and had an impact on me. The Ultimate Challenge was 1 of the defining moments of my childhood, without Warrior it doesn’t happen. I’ve always been entertained by the Ultimate Warrior and thanks to things like the WWE Network and DVD/Blu Rays I will continue to be for years to come.
Thank you for The Ultimate Warrior. Nothing but Love for ya. Goodbye and Godspeed brother.
