Ultimate Warrior

At 54 years old, Ultimate Warrior has this physical status:

Warrior (born James Brian "Jim" Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler who competed under the name The Ultimate Warrior for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). He competed from 1987 to 1991, then again in 1992 and 1996.

He was nicknamed The Warrior during his 1998 stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

He appeared in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) as Dingo Warrior before WWF. Warrior won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship twice and lifted the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in Toronto once when he defeated Hulk Hogan in the main event, making him the first wrestler to hold both titles concurrently.

He retired from professional wrestling in 1998 and began a public speaking career, but he only won one final match in Spain in 2008. Warrior died in Scottsdale, Arizona, on April 8, 2014, at the age of 54.

He had been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, appeared at WrestleMania XXX, and made his last public appearance on Raw, marking his return to the sport after an traumatic breakback to 1996.

Early life

In Crawfordsville, Indiana, about 50 miles northwest of Indianapolis, Warrior was born in 1959 as James Brian Hellwig. He was the oldest of five children and was raised by his mother (along with his stepfather) after his father left his family when he was 12. His father died at the age of 57, and a grandfather died at the age of 52. The family moved to Fountain Central High School in Veedersburg, and he spent a year at Indiana State University.

Personal life

On October 2, 1982, Warrior married Shari Lynn Tyree. They stayed together for the majority of Warrior's WWF career before divorcing on March 22, 1991, just days before WrestleMania VII was announced. On January 31, 1999, Warrior married Dana Viale for the second time. The couple had two children together.

He appeared in numerous television commercials for Westway Ford, a car dealership in Irving, Texas, between 1987 and 1989. With Westway's wacky character "Mean Joe Greed," the warrior performed in full wrestling costume.

After almost eight months on hiatus since SummerSlam 1991, the warrior returned to the WWF at WrestleMania VIII. Due to his drastic makeover in his appearance (shorter, blonder hair, and a smaller physique), rumors began that a new wrestler was playing the role. Kerry Von Erich, who was then under WWF contract at the time, was rumored to be the source of the rumors. According to others, Warrior died from liver disease as a result of years of steroid use, or that his signature arm tassels cut off his blood circulation. According to WWE, the belief that a different man returned to compete at WrestleMania VIII is "probably the longest-serving urban legend in WWE history." According to WWE announcer Tom Phillips, the rumors most likely originated from Gene Okerlund's WCW Hotline, as well as the WCW debut of Warrior doppelgänger The Renegade.

Hellwig changed his name to the mononym Warrior in 1993. This one-word name appears on all legal documents relating to Warrior, and his children's use the Warrior name as their legal surname.

In 1996 and 1998, Warrior and the WWF joined in a string of lawsuits and court cases, where both sides requested a declaration that they owned the characters under both contract and copyright law. The court found that Warrior was legally entitled to use the gimmick, costuming, face paint colors, and mannerisms of the "Warrior" character.

WWE released The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior, a DVD documentary focusing on Warrior's wrestling career, on September 27, 2005. The DVD contained clips of his most popular feuds and matches as well as commentary from WWE veterans past and present, with Triple H (most of which are unflattering) claiming that Warrior "ruined the experience" for him and was "one of the most unprofessional guys" he's ever seen. Due to Warrior's own allegations of libel against him, the DVD has sparked some controversy. Warrior was originally hired to help with the DVD but as he refused to work with WWE (citing he did not want to be associated with their promotion), there had been some animosity between Warrior and WWE over the Warrior's assertion of bias on the part of WWE. In January 2006, Warrior filed a new lawsuit against WWE over the depiction of his wrestling career in The Ultimate Warrior DVD. Warrior's case in Arizona was dismissed on September 18, 2009.

Warrior officially resigned from wrestling in 1999 and spent a short time as a conservative speaker and commentator, working with conservative strategist Daniel Pinheiro in condemning left-wing politics. During a address at the University of Connecticut, he said, "queering doesn't make the world work." According to Warrior's words, the human race would die out if everyone were a homosexual.

In 1996, Warrior published Warrior, a comic book starring him as the main character. Jim Callahan and the Sharp Brothers illustrated the book.

Warrior's Machete," his personal life, his political convictions, sexuality, patriotism, and his legacy as a wrestler were among others. Warrior used his blog to discuss members of his wrestling history (Vince McMahon, Road Warrior Animal, Owen Hart, Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger); historical (Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington) or religious figures (Jesus). (Heath Ledger and Paris Hilton) Warrior portrayed celebrities who were newsworthy at the time of his blog (Heath Ledger and Hilton). Warrior used to mention his admiration for the Founding Fathers of the United States, and he also loved books like Homer's Odyssey and James Allen's As a Man Thinketh. He began selling "Weapons of Wisdom," an inspirational 69 piece of watercolor paper with drawings, quotes, and doodles by the Warrior himself in 2012. He also posted responses to letters from supporters on the blog.

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Bodybuilding career

Hellwig was an amateur bodybuilder, competing in a variety of NPC tournaments and winning the 1984 NPC Mr. Georgia crown before his professional wrestling career. Hellwig began lifting weights when he was 11 years old and referred to himself as "the little, insecure kid who wasn't into any sports." After seeing bodybuilder Robby Robinson, he decided to take up the sport in California. He was first in Florida, where he came in 5th place. Later, when he was at Life University in Marietta, Georgia, he won the Junior Atlanta competition and placed 5th at the 1981 AAU Collegiate Mr. America. He won the AAU Coastal USA in 1983 before winning the Mr. Georgia title the following year. Ron Love, the future IFBB Pro, won his last bodybuilding competition in 1985. Hellwig came in 5th place.

After six weeks of bodybuilding preparations, Garland Donoho, Mark Miller, and Steve Borden were accepted to join a group of bodybuilders – Garland Donoho, Mark Miller, and Steve Borden – to form a professional wrestling team in 1985. Warrior accepted the invitation and delayed his bodybuilding career as well as his intentions to become a chiropractor.

Professional wrestling career

Jim "Justice" Hellwig of Powerteam USA, the group of bodybuilders taught by Red Bastien and Rick Bassman, began his professional wrestling career as Jim Hellwig of Powerteam USA. Hellwig and fellow trainee Steve Borden (who later became known as "Sting") formed the The Freedom Fighters tag team (Hellwig was known as Justice and Borden was nicknamed Flash).

In November 1985, the Freedom Fighters debuted in the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) competition, headed by Jerry Jarrett. The team was first ranked first, but followers were still reluctant to take to the hulking pair in a territory with sympathetic "good guy tag teams" such as the Rock 'n' Roll Express and The Fabulous Ones. They were quickly turned heel under "coach" Buddy Wayne and then manager Dutch Mantel. In January 1986, the CWA was dissolved.

The Freedom Fighters, now known as the Blade Runners, joined the Oklahoma-based Universal Wrestling Federation in March 1986 (UWF). Hellwig was "Blade Runner Rock" and Borden was "Blade Runner Sting." According to Joseph Laurinaitis (aka Road Warrior Animal), the Blade Runners were born in UWF, and the intention was to make them a parody of The Road Warriors. They were members of Eddie Gilbert's Hotstuff International company before disbanding in June 1986 after Hellwig left the UWF in June 1986.

In June 1986, Warrior debuted in the Dallas, Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) tournament, where he competed for $50 a night. Since a member of the WCCW locker room remarked that he looked like "a soldier," he has claimed that he adopted the word "Dingo Warrior." This was in comparison to Road Warrior Animal's assertion that the Dingo Warrior was a recreation of Warrior's Blade Runner gimmick and was an attempt to identify himself as the Road Warriors' offspring.

Though Warrior was still a heel in the territory, led by Gary Hart, he was booed during a heel-versus-heel match between WCWA World Heavyweight Champion Rick Rude after the two fell out during a tag match. After losing out with fellow Pringle proteges Buzz Sawyer and Matt Borne during a six-man tag match, Warrior turned babyface permanently. Lance Von Erich, a wrestler, and the pair began competing for the WCWA World Tag Team Championships. Warrior and Von Erich defeated Master Gee (subtututing for champion Buzz Sawyer) and Matt Borne to win the championship on November 17, 1986. They held the championship until December 1st year, when they lost to Al Madril and Brian Adias.

In 1987, Warrior began competing in the WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship, losing to Bob Bradley in a tournament final on January 12. On February 2nd of this year, he took the title from Bradley. Since Warrior left the WCCW in April 1987, the title was held up in April 1987. On returning from WCCW to the World Wrestling Federation, where he referred to the Ultimate Warrior. In June, Warrior was first billed as The Dingo Warrior in house card promotions by Gene Okerlund, but soon after, his name was changed. The Ultimate Warrior name is being disputed by several people. Vince McMahon did not know what a "Dingo" Warrior was like, according to Bruce Prichard, but there should not be a more physical warrior but the ultimate warrior. McMahon ordered him to do a pre-taped promo after one of his first matches. We wanted you to do Warrior, but we didn't want Dingo. The Warriors then proceeded to cut the advert and announced that he was not this warrior or the soldier, but rather that warrior, The Ultimate Warrior. In June 1987, Warrior made his final appearance with the WCCW.

Hellwig joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in June 1987. He became the first person to appear on television shows under his Dingo Warrior moniker, including Steve Lombardi, Barry Horowitz, and Mike Sharpe. On the October 25 episode of The Ultimate Warrior, where he defeated Terry Gibbs, another workber, on his first appearance as The Ultimate Warrior. Hellwig, the Ultimate Warrior character, became known for his elarging babbling, incomprehensible analysis, and high-energy ring entrances, which culminated in him racing into the arena at full throttle, burst, and frantically shaking the ring ropes up and down. He was also known for his distinctive face paint style. Rick Rude, a fellow WWF rookie/future competitor, pinned him for the first time in the WWF on December 28, 1987, after many months of defeating laborers. In early 1988, Warrior began his first real WWF feud with fellow strongman Hercules Hernandez. The two wrestled together on the Wrestling Challenge, where Hercules was disqualified for using his steel chain. The chain snapped after the warrior regained ahold of it and became embroiled in a tug of war over it. This culminated in a match at WrestleMania IV, where Warrior was victorious in his pay-per-view debut. The warrior lost twice by pinfall shortly thereafter: in April in Italy, but not in June, and then to Dino Bravo, who put his feet on the ground for leverage in Montreal. He challenged Bobby Heenan in a series of weasel suit matches in which the wrestler was crowned by sleeper triumph in 1988.

Warrior, a surprise substitute for the injured Brutus Beefcake, won the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on August 29, 1988, ending Honky Tonk's long reign in 454 days. As champion, he captained a team at Survivor Series 88, where he was the sole survivor, winning the match for his team. Ron Bass and Greg Valentine were a teammate.

Warrior and Rick Rude clashed over the Intercontinental title as 1989 began. The feud began at the 1989 Royal Rumble, where the two cousins met in a "super posedown." Rude assaulted Warrior with a steel bar after the live crowd cheered their acceptance of the competition. Rude pinned Warrior to victory with the help of his boss Bobby Heenan, who kept the Warrior's foot from the ring when he was being pinched. Warrior regained the title and became a two-time Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion at SummerSlam. Warrior launched a feud with André the Giant, resulting in a string of house shows in which Warrior defeated André in short squash matches, establishing Warrior as the best event level talent. The feud came to an end at Survivor Series, where the two teams captained opposing teams. André was stunned by the warrior's knocking him out of the ring, where he was numbered out. Warrior defeated Arn Anderson and Bobby Heenan to win the game by a single survivor, defeating them both.

The Warrior was given a chance as WWF's top event level replacement to Hulk Hogan, who had been wrestling's biggest star throughout the 1980s. Following a few controversies with Hogan, most notably at the 1990 Royal Rumble, the Warrior was drafted in as Hogan's adversary in the main event for WrestleMania VI at the SkyDome in Toronto. The match was branded "The Ultimate Challenge" by Hogan's WWF Championship and Warrior's Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, respectively. After a Warrior Splash, Warrior pinned Hogan to become the only wrestler to hold both titles simultaneously. The Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship was vacated by the Warrior (which Mr. More than winning in a tournament, as WWF rules barred a wrestler from holding both titles.

Mr. Warrior defended the championship against Haku in the WrestleMania Championships, Mr. Ted DiBiase is absolutely flawless. In a steel cage match, he retained the title over Rick Rude at SummerSlam. After participating in a The Main Event IV championship match at the behest of DiBiase, Randy Savage was also named as a potential competitor.

In six-man tag team matches in house shows as well as the 1990 airing of Main Event XVIIII in Saturday Night, Warrior was pulled into the conflict between The Legion of Doom and Demolition, resulting in victories for the Warrior and LOD in six-man tag team competitions in house shows as well as the 1991 airing of Saturday Night's Main Event XVIII. The feud came to an end at The Perfect Team, in which The Warriors (Ultimate Warrior, LOD, and Kerry Von Erich) defeated The Perfect Team (Mr. Demolition and execution are both excellent and demolition. Warrior was the sole survivor of his team's third year in a row. With Hulk Hogan, he later won the "Grand Finale Match of Survival."

In January 1991, Warrior met Sgt. At the Royal Rumble, the Slaughter. 'Slaughter's gimmick at the time was a traitor who had betrayed America by aligning himself with an Iraqi (kayfabe) military general, General Adnan. This made Slaughter one of the most feared heels at the time, especially in the context of the Gulf War. Sensational Sherri entangled herself in the Warrior's championship match to distract him after rejecting an earlier offer to give a title shot to Savage. Her interference eventually culminated in a Savage sneak attack, where he struck Warrior over the head with a metal scepter and allowed Slaughter to pin Warrior to victory. Warrior continued to feud with Savage, and the feud came to an end when Warrior defeated Savage in a "Career-Ending" match at WrestleMania VII, which forced Savage to leave, causing Savage to withdraw.

The next chapter in Warrior's career was an encounter with The Undertaker, after Undertaker and his boss, Paul Bearer, nabbed Warrior in a coffin on the set of Bearer's Funeral Parlor. Officials from WWF fought feverly to crack the casket open, revealing Warrior's limp body and the coffin's torn fabric, indicating Warrior's desperate struggle to get out. The officials who were doing CPR revived warriors. As a result of Jake "The Snake" Roberts' inability to convince Warrior "the dark side" in order to prepare him to take his revenge on the Undertaker. In three weeks, Roberts was involved in giving Warrior three "tests" shown on WWF television. For the first test, Roberts locked Warrior inside of a coffin for the second time.

By Roberts, Warrior was "buried alive" for the second test. The Warrior found "the answer" in a chest in the middle of the room for the third test. A spitting cobra bit Warrior in the chest was awaiting a waiter inside. Roberts did a heel turn and was joined by the Undertaker and Paul Bearer as Warrior's wounds faded, indicating that the three were already working together. "Never trust a snake," Roberts exclaimed. The Warrior and Roberts feud was now staged for a conflict. The feud didn't take place as Warrior was involved in a suspected wage dispute with WWF's CEO Vince McMahon over the SummerSlam main event, where Warrior was partnered with Hulk Hogan in a handicap match against Sgt. Colonel Mustafa of Lebanon and General Adnan were among the slaughters.

Warrior wrote a letter on July 10, 1991, demanding that McMahon be included in his latest WWF deal. He needed $550,000 for his appearance at WrestleMania VII, which included a set number of working days, travel accommodations, and a larger percentage of merchandise sales. He said that $550,000 "was fair," and that "[Warrior] added as much or more to the show than Hulk [Hogan]" in the episode. "I can and will live with it whatever your decision is," he wrote in his letter. "I will stay home with one who worries until then."

The WWF responded on July 13, deciding to pay $550,000 for WrestleMania VII, a higher royalty rate, and a guarantee that no other WWF performer would be paid more than him on WWF pay per views. "I would like to express my deepest respect and admiration for you as a member of the WWF family as a man and as a friend," McMahon wrote in a letter.

Following WWF's annual SummerSlam event, Warrior was sent by McMahon dated August 26, 1991, a reminder that Warrior was suspended immediately. "You threatened to remain at home," McMahon said, despite not being at Titan's flagship summer pay-per-view event SummerSlam. I had no choice but to comply with your exorbitant demands. This was a serious mistake on your part. McMahon said later that the only reason the firm accepted the contract was to "acquiesce to his demands for a short time" to ensure that Warrior would be able to attend the SummerSlam festival.

Warrior's suspension was lifted and left the WWF after receiving the letter. In October 1991, Warrior formally delivered a letter of resignation to the WWF. Since Warrior was under contract until September 1992, the WWF refused to recognize the letter.

McMahon was contacted by Warrior about returning to WWF from mid-1992 to early-1993, with Hulk Hogan set to leave WWF in mid-1992 and early-1993. He made his WrestleMania VIII comeback (he saved Hulk Hogan from a beating down in the custody of Sid Justice and Papa Shango). He had a degree of creative control over his reservations upon his return to work. Papa Shango, a "witch doctor"), was cast over Warrior, causing him to convulse and spit urine in a strange way, but Warrior says he was disgusted with the plot and had no influence on it. At SummerSlam in 1992, the Warrior was scheduled for a WWF Championship match against then-champion Randy Savage. The Warrior won the match by a count out, but not the title. In November 1992, Warrior was supposed to join Savage (as The Ultimate Maniacs) to face Ric Flair and Razor Ramon at Survivor Series. Warrior was suspended for unconstitutional reasons weeks before the performance and replaced by Mr. Gregor. The result was perfect.

The original idea for Warrior's 1992 return was to give him another shot in the WWF Championship. However, his return coincided with the government's crackdown on steroids in wrestling. Warrior was also a heavy user of steroids during his pro wrestling career. In his book Sex, Lies, and Headlocks, ESPN writer Shaun Assael said that Canadian chemist Mauro Di Pasquale, who had been hired in June to oversee the WWF's latest drug testing program and was known for being harsher towards anyone who failed a drug test, nailed Warrior for steroid use in September, and that he was able to successfully convince Warrior to remove Warrior from the organization in September. However, McMahon claims it was Warrior's experiment with growth hormones that culminated in his dismissal; Warrior was suspended; and, in return, skipped dates because he protested McMahon's behavior. Warrior left the company on November 21, 1992, beating Kamala in Orlando, Florida.

Warrior was semi-retired between November 1992 and 1995. Warrior founded "Warrior University," a career wrestling academy based in Scottsdale, Arizona, during his time away from the WWF.

He defeated Hercules Hernandez in Billerica, Massachusetts, defeating them in the International Wrestling Federation's January 1993.

He travelled around Germany in 1993 for the World Wrestling Superstars, and the same year he appeared in the action film Firepower as "the swordsman."

He returned to action in Las Vegas on July 22, 1995, defeating The Honky Tonk Man. He had also wrestled in Germany for Otto Wanz's Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) promotion, where he defeated Ulf Herman.

He defeated Jimmy Garvin in an independent show in Princeton, West Virginia, on February 10, 1996.

Warrior returned to the WWF on March 31, 1996, defeating Hunter Hearst Helmsley at WrestleMania XII. On Monday Night Raw, he did his first appearance on Monday Night Raw, where he credited the "voices" of the "warriors" (his name for WWF viewers) for his return; Goldust interrupted him. In Your House 7, the Warrior competed for the Goldust Intercontinental Championship, but did not win the title; Isaac Yankem, DDS, was defeated by Warrior on Monday Night Raw, Warrior. On the May 27 episode of the show, a rematch with Intercontinental Champion Goldust resulted in a double countout, effectively excluding both men from the tournament and then advancing Vader to the semi-finals. On the July 8 episode of Monday Night Raw, Warriors defeated Jerry Lawler at King of the Ring and disqualified Owen Hart by disqualification.

Warrior was supposed to team with Shawn Michaels and Ahmed Johnson in In Your House 9 later this month, but the WWF cancelled Warrior's contract when he missed multiple house shows, apparently to mourn the death of his father. Warrior had not seen his father in ten years and did not care much for him, according to WWF's chairman Vince McMahon; therefore, he did not accept Warrior's excuse for missing house shows at face value. Warrior disagreed with McMahon's explanation, arguing that the sole reason for his absence from those meetings was a miscommunication by McMahon, in which WWF sold Warrior's goods without giving him a share. In Your House 9, Sycho Sid was in charge of his removal.

In May 1998, WCW bought Warrior "at considerable cost." He established a solid opposition to Hollywood's New World Order (nWo): "One Warrior Nation," referring to the initialism oWn as a play on the name nWo. Warrior kidnapping and "converting" The Disciple and other instances of "magic smoke" knocked out all of the nWo members, except for Hollywood Hogan and covering Warrior's movements through a trapdoor in the ring, and highlight the storyline. When Davey Boy Smith stumbled on it during a match at Fall Brawl 98, he was blamed for nearly paralyzing him. Warrior's debutante lasted more than 20 minutes than the allotted time, requiring Eric Bischoff to do a massive rewrite of Nitro on the spot, which included re-adding a commercial break that was not supposed to take place during the promo.

In WCW, the Warrior only appeared in three matches. The first was the WarGames match at Fall Brawl, where he competed as a member of Team WCW, versus 8 other wrestlers for a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Halloween Havoc. Diamond Dallas Page took the title by defeating Stevie Ray. He joined Sting and Sting to defeat Hogan and Bret Hart by disqualification on Monday's version of Monday Nitro. In what is regarded as one of the worst wrestling matches ever staged, the third was his defeat to Hogan at Halloween Havoc. During the bout, Hogan attempted to "blind" the Warrior using flash paper, but was unable to light it properly, and as a result, the Warrior was forced to briefly stop selling the move despite the fact that he was not touching him in any manner. With a chair, Horace Hogan's match came to an end, allowing Hogan to score the pinfall.

WCW said that attempts were made to save the storyline, but Warrior has stated in interviews and convention appearances that the only reason he was suspended was so Hogan could win over Warrior in return for Hogan's WrestleMania work. Warrior's last appearance in WCW was on the 1998 episode of Monday Nitro, where he came to the rescue of The Disciple, which had been attacked by members of The nWo. In that year, the wrestler had left wrestling.

Since retiring in 1998, Warrior only sparred a single match against Orlando Jordan in Barcelona, Spain, on June 25, 2008. Warrior took the match and the Nu-Wrestling Evolution World Heavyweight Championship but then vacated the title.

Warrior revealed on his official YouTube channel on February 20, 2013 that he would appear on "WrestleCon" on April 7, 2013. Vince McMahon was positively portrayed in the same clip for the first time on his channel. His appearance was so popular that a second print run of tickets had to be ordered.

Warrior was featured in a WWE 2K14 game trailer on July 15, 2013 and confirmed he was in the roster as a pre-order bonus.

The Ultimate Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014 on April 5, 2014. Warrior appeared on WrestleMania XXXX on the next day, and Raw gave a promo on Raw, his first appearance on the program since his final televised WWF match in 1996. Warrior gave a speech to the fans and wrestlers present and former as his Ultimate Warrior character, which was on what turned out to be his last public appearance.

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