He died tonight according to the WWE. Was a big part of my childhood. I was a fan. :MARIS61: (ultimate warrior running around)
Warrior was a nut but I think that was most of his appeal. Apparently he signed-off cryptically on Raw last night, too.
"The spirit of the Ultimate Warrior will run forever" /kills himself Warrior just leapfrogged Jake Roberts' "wallowing in the muck of avarice" to deliver the most chilling promo of all time.
Warrior will be remembered fondly by fans but less so by hardcores and his peers. He was an extremely divisive personality in the WWF and in his ensuing years as an arch-conservative critic. He was infamous in the business for injuring his opponents and being unprofessional. He was obviously heavy into steroids from his previous career as a bodybuilder but was thought to have done a lot of recreational drugs as well (the norm for wrestlers at the time) which fuelled his truly insane, cosmic promos, and his boundless, erratic energy. Yet at the same time he became someone the fans were willing to elevate to the status of a Hulk Hogan or Macho Man, albeit for a much more brief period, because of his incredible physique and immense energy. The Warrior character and Helwig's unhinged behaviour ultimately (har) saw him run out of the business for many years and seeing him back this week was a surprise for many people who thought he'd get the Macho Man treatment until, well, the inevitable happened.
That guy is on more drugs at that moment than the characters in Requiem for a Dream were during the entire duration of the movie. Even worse is you can see his blood pressure rising until his face is so red that his voice cracks and he runs out of breath at the end.
Sources reporting that he collapsed in the parking lot of his hotel early this morning and was DOA at the hospital, so rumours that he committed suicide could just be speculation--his cryptic speech from last night becoming that much more ominous.
Jake Roberts, speak of the devil, says that he spoke with Helwig this weekend and they agreed to end a longstanding quarrel with each other, even making plans to work together in the future in some kind of wrestling capacity (once Roberts' sober living commitment permitted).
Warrior's biggest moments were winning the belt at Wrestlemania VI and defeating Macho Man at Wrestlemania VII. Other wrestlers and managers to appear on the cards... Andre the Giant (heart attack) Bad News Brown (heart attack) Sapphire (heart attack) Kerry Von Erich (suicide) Dino Bravo (mafia hit) British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith (heart attack) Paul Bearer (blood clot) Randy Savage (heart attack) Sherri Martel (overdose) Crush Brian Adams (heart attack) Big Boss Man (heart attack) Curt Henning (overdose) Earthquake John Tenta (cancer) Road Warrior Hawk (heart attack) Hercules (heart attack)
