Spooky timing. He was entered into the WWE Hall Of Fame on Saturday and appeared in the ring to speak on Monday. First time in years as he'd always had a long running dispute with WWF/WWE. Then dead on Tuesday. Perhaps he knew he didn't have much time left. His final speech referenced death and legacy.
Little sad but not entirely shocked at warrior dying..he obviously made bad decisions in life and his body couldn't keep up..that's just how it goes unfortunately
Kinda presumes they all had majorly wild lifestyles..........
Most did. Many lived a life on the road, were heavy drinkers, took copious amounts of painkillers and other medication, and of course lots of steroid and growth hormone abuse. No wonder their hearts just can't take it. There was that massive steroid scandal in the 90's that nearly took WWF down.
I grew up in Calgary and as a kid I used to go to Stampede Wresting which is where many wrestlers got their start, particularly the Hart family (Brett the Hitman Hart and Owen Hart). I was lucky enough to see André the Giant once during a special event, amazing. I continued to watch wrestling on tv during the late 80's and 90's and then sort of grew out of it.
Kinda funny no one mentioning how openly bigoted UW was to... he famously did a speech at a US university where he screamed at them-
I guess actually talking about Warrior spoils the illusion some what.
Was he speaking as The Warrior or his real name? The Ultimate Warrior was a fictional character that was a big part of my childhood, couldn't care less about the guy who played him
Was he speaking as The Warrior or his real name? The Ultimate Warrior was a fictional character that was a big part of my childhood, couldn't care less about the guy who played him
He actually changed his name legally from Jim Hellwig to "Warrior" some time back IIRC
Was he speaking as The Warrior or his real name? The Ultimate Warrior was a fictional character that was a big part of my childhood, couldn't care less about the guy who played him
He legally changed his name to Warrior, so he could call himself that even if WWE put copyright claims in on the character.
It is a tragedy for his wife & kids that he died, I feel bad for them, but at the same time it doesn't really change the fact he was nuts.
Better than The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, who once plucked a kid from the crowd, told him he'd pay him a thousand dollars if he could bounce a basketball five times, then kicked the ball away from him after the fourth bounce!!
(That was of course a set-up to boost his bad guy image, before anyone points it out!):D
I don't watch wrestling any more. Do they still do brilliant stuff like that?!
Most did. Many lived a life on the road, were heavy drinkers, took copious amounts of painkillers and other medication, and of course lots of steroid and growth hormone abuse. No wonder their hearts just can't take it. There was that massive steroid scandal in the 90's that nearly took WWF down.
Yeah, loads of crazy and dysfunctional lives. Look even at someone like Ric Flair now. He wasn't really a steroid guy so he hasn't messed himself up in that way but he drinks copiously, is totally broke, has five ex-wives, his son died of a heroin overdose and he's an emotional wreck. It makes the movie The Wrestler seem like it rings true.
Happily, WWE seems to have cleaned up its act. The guys are muscley but look more natural than when steroids were the norm. They take care of their bodies a lot better and save their money so that they have a good quality life after wrestling. So many guys burnt the candles at both ends and paid for it down the line, but hopefully this generation will be different.
Pro wrestling remains an intensely difficult career choice - you're on four hours sleep a night if you're lucky, two flights a day, having your spine slammed from upwards of six feet onto a wood flooring, working through injuries because you get paid per appearance! This is why so many wrestlers fall into chronic painkiller addictions (and that's what tends to kill them young, more so than the steroids although that of course doesn't help matters).
Wrestling has cleaned itself up considerably in recent years. After a horrible period in the early 2000's when another wrestler was dying almost weekly (of course at this point, the "golden generation" were in their late 40's), WWE introduced a Wellness Policy, and I think its effect is evident on the steroids front when you notice that their "monster" wrestlers are about the size of an average wrestler from the 1980's. The 1990's wrestlers also seem to be surviving a lot better than the 1980's guys did.
The problem with wrestling is it has two oppositional reputations. Firstly, that it's dangerous, killing people young and "should be banned", the other that it's fake rubbish for children and immature adults. The reality, as always, is somewhere in the middle. As a job it takes a toll on you physically and psychologically, and many of these guys have no prospects elsewhere (especially the older generations) and so are stuck in the lifestyle.
And to add, yes The Ultimate Warrior said some controversial things over the years, but last weekend he paraded his two young daughters on television and claimed that fatherhood was the thing he was most proud of. On Monday night they were beaming with pride as their dad returned to WWE TV to a standing ovation, barely a day later he was gone. How sad.
Yeah, loads of crazy and dysfunctional lives. Look even at someone like Ric Flair now. He wasn't really a steroid guy so he hasn't messed himself up in that way but he drinks copiously, is totally broke, has five ex-wives, his son died of a heroin overdose and he's an emotional wreck. It makes the movie The Wrestler seem like it rings true.
Happily, WWE seems to have cleaned up its act. The guys are muscley but look more natural than when steroids were the norm. They take care of their bodies a lot better and save their money so that they have a good quality life after wrestling. So many guys burnt the candles at both ends and paid for it down the line, but hopefully this generation will be different.
The movie The Wrestler was based on Greg Valentine, if I'm recalling correctly.
The problem with wrestling is it has two oppositional reputations. Firstly, that it's dangerous, killing people young and "should be banned", the other that it's fake rubbish for children and immature adults. The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle.
It is funny that the only kayfabe left is none of it is real, reenforced by everyone having to read that title card on WWE Network saying it is all fictional a million times. Pro wrestling has gone from wanting everyone to believe it's all real to wanting everyone to believe it's all fake in 30 years.
Comments
He had a heart attack whilst driving I think?
I thought that too
Bulldog & Rude certainly. Bret Hart tells the story Bulldog was high as a kite on cocaine during the Summerslam 92 match.
Most did. Many lived a life on the road, were heavy drinkers, took copious amounts of painkillers and other medication, and of course lots of steroid and growth hormone abuse. No wonder their hearts just can't take it. There was that massive steroid scandal in the 90's that nearly took WWF down.
I grew up in Calgary and as a kid I used to go to Stampede Wresting which is where many wrestlers got their start, particularly the Hart family (Brett the Hitman Hart and Owen Hart). I was lucky enough to see André the Giant once during a special event, amazing. I continued to watch wrestling on tv during the late 80's and 90's and then sort of grew out of it.
He was indeed. Whispering "You're gonna have to carry me mate, I'm fooked!" during the bout.
I guess actually talking about Warrior spoils the illusion some what.
Was he speaking as The Warrior or his real name? The Ultimate Warrior was a fictional character that was a big part of my childhood, couldn't care less about the guy who played him
He actually changed his name legally from Jim Hellwig to "Warrior" some time back IIRC
He was a bit of a loon.
He legally changed his name to Warrior, so he could call himself that even if WWE put copyright claims in on the character.
It is a tragedy for his wife & kids that he died, I feel bad for them, but at the same time it doesn't really change the fact he was nuts.
James Hellwig was a massive dickbag, yes.
Didn't the kid in question grow up to be RVD?
He was a motivational speaker in later years and excelled in this area in the USA
I remember his epic Champion vs Champion match against Hulk Hogan
Wrestlemania 6
Yeah, loads of crazy and dysfunctional lives. Look even at someone like Ric Flair now. He wasn't really a steroid guy so he hasn't messed himself up in that way but he drinks copiously, is totally broke, has five ex-wives, his son died of a heroin overdose and he's an emotional wreck. It makes the movie The Wrestler seem like it rings true.
Happily, WWE seems to have cleaned up its act. The guys are muscley but look more natural than when steroids were the norm. They take care of their bodies a lot better and save their money so that they have a good quality life after wrestling. So many guys burnt the candles at both ends and paid for it down the line, but hopefully this generation will be different.
Watched Wrestmania 30 the other night because I heard he would make an appearance, now he's dead. Sad.
R.I.P Ultimate Warrior
Bret Hart
Undertaker
Yokozuna
Bam Bam Bigalow
1-2-3 Kid
Shawn Michaels
Razor Ramon
Luna Vachon
Doink the Clown
Lex Luger
Owen Hart
Diesel
Sgt Slaughter isn't dead
Nor is Tugboat. I never said they were
Wrestling has cleaned itself up considerably in recent years. After a horrible period in the early 2000's when another wrestler was dying almost weekly (of course at this point, the "golden generation" were in their late 40's), WWE introduced a Wellness Policy, and I think its effect is evident on the steroids front when you notice that their "monster" wrestlers are about the size of an average wrestler from the 1980's. The 1990's wrestlers also seem to be surviving a lot better than the 1980's guys did.
The problem with wrestling is it has two oppositional reputations. Firstly, that it's dangerous, killing people young and "should be banned", the other that it's fake rubbish for children and immature adults. The reality, as always, is somewhere in the middle. As a job it takes a toll on you physically and psychologically, and many of these guys have no prospects elsewhere (especially the older generations) and so are stuck in the lifestyle.
And to add, yes The Ultimate Warrior said some controversial things over the years, but last weekend he paraded his two young daughters on television and claimed that fatherhood was the thing he was most proud of. On Monday night they were beaming with pride as their dad returned to WWE TV to a standing ovation, barely a day later he was gone. How sad.
The movie The Wrestler was based on Greg Valentine, if I'm recalling correctly.
It is funny that the only kayfabe left is none of it is real, reenforced by everyone having to read that title card on WWE Network saying it is all fictional a million times. Pro wrestling has gone from wanting everyone to believe it's all real to wanting everyone to believe it's all fake in 30 years.