I was going to write this next blog on the people I experienced during Wrestlemania weekend in New Orleans but with the tragic and incredibly sudden passing of Jim Hellwig aka Warrior I decided to give my thoughts on seeing The Ultimate Warrior one last time.
One of the things I’ve always loved most about professional wrestling is the larger than life characters it gives you. You can make a case that there was no character larger than life than that of The Ultimate Warrior. From the full sprint he would take down to the ring for every match or the frenetic energy of shaking the ropes the Warrior was a crowd favorite. He always wore bold colors and had cool face paint which made him popular with kids. With the peak of Warrior’s career coming before the curtain was pulled back and WWE acknowledged that it was in fact “entertainment” and not real, Warrior seemed like a real life version of a super hero. As a kid I was a GIGANTIC Ultimate Warrior fan , I absolutely loved it when he defeated the then unbeatable Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 6.
As I got older and started watching wrestling again Ultimate Warrior re-appeared briefly after a many year hiatus but he wasn’t the same. It was at that point that some of the stories of Warrior behind the scenes started coming to light. Stories of holding up Vince McMahon for money, not showing up for shows and just odd ball behavior in general were told. A few years back the WWE even produced a documentary entitled The Self Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior detailing his rise to prominence and his oddball exit to wrestling. Now I’ll be the first to admit it was a fascinating watch but it was an absolute smear job by the WWE. So as a wrestling fan it was pretty shocking to see that they had finally reconciled and Warrior would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year. When they announced it and that familiar music hit nostalgia hit and I got excited about the prospects of seeing the Warrior run to the ring one more time.
This past saturday I watched the Warrior’s entire speech at the Hall of Fame ceremony , all 45 minutes of it. It was all over the place and bizarre in true Warrior fashion but a few things stood out. First as all the other inductees were brought out by WWE divas Warrior was brought out by his two young daughters which was very cool and heart warming. He also said that being their father was by far the coolest thing he had ever done which I think any parent would agree to that. The second thing that stood out is that even though The Ultimate Warrior was very super hero esq , Jim Hellwig or Warrior was a human who has feelings and those feelings can be hurt. It was very obvious just how bad the dvd smearing Warrior really hurt him , did he deserve some it ? Yea I’m sure he probably did but no man deserves all of that. Maybe that’s what we take away from Warrior’s speech , that no matter what we might do or the aura we may put out there at the end of the day we all have feelings and we should be respectful of each others feelings.
Warrior also appeared live and in person at Wrestlemania on Sunday which was very cool for me being their live and in person. My buddies and I that were sitting together were hoping for one last run to the ring and shaking of the ropes but we didn’t get it. Hearing his music hit one more time in person was a very cool experience for me as someone who watched him as a little kid. Warrior delivered one last rope shake and one last “Ultimate Warrior” style promo which gave fans one last bit of nostalgia which was very cool. Going to bed Monday night there is no way I would have expected what would come the next day.
Like so many others I was beyond shocked last night when I first heard that The Ultimate Warrior had passed away. The first things that ran through my mind were ” I just saw him in person two days ago!” ” I just watched him on TV Yesterday!” it was to say the least incredibly shocking. Then I began to think about the haunting words of his promo from Raw the night before ” every man one day breathes his final breath and his heart beats its final beat” ( I’m paraphrasing) its ilke he knew it was coming. As i read some of the reaction today I read many people saying that they felt like he wasn’t well all weekend long and maybe Warrior knew something we didn’t know. Then I began thinking about he was sweating profusely his entire speech and for a guy who at one time looked like a super hero he seemed very weak and feeble at times. Maybe making amends with WWE and getting to have one last moment with his fans and in the spotlight was what he needed to set his sole at ease and after doing that he could go in peace.
As a person who has lost a parent I am beyond saddened for the fact that Warrior’s two daughters will have to grow up without their father in their lives. I am also saddened that Warrior’s wife lost her husband and had to be there and watch him pass on in person. For Jim Hellwig the man I feel like after making peace with WWE and unloading that cross he had been bearing for so many years that I feel like Warrior passed at peace which gives me some solace. Maybe Warrior needed to feel like that superhero one last time because he knew his time in this life was coming to an end soon. We’ll probably never know and honestly it’s none of our business to know the truth that is between Warrior’s family and God they know the truth and I just hope that they will find some peace at some point.
As a man I’m incredibly sad for the Hellwig family and we’ll be praying for them for peace as they deal with their loss. I also take away that no matter how strong we may seem we all still have feelings and those feelings deserve respect. As a wrestling fan I want to say thank you for the memories Warrior and thank you for the final memory. The Ultimate Warrior is a true legend in the world of professional wrestling and one that definitely won’t be forgotten.
