Backstage Ultimate Warrior Tales

The Ultimate Warrior arrived in WWE in late 1987 and, in less than a year’s time, was the Intercontinental Champion. He charged in like a madman, just like his entrance, and did things his way, despite legends trying to get him to calm down some of his intensity. Vince McMahon loved him for it and thought Warrior was going to be the WWE’s next great superstar after Hulk Hogan.

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That all went to pot real quick when The Ultimate Warrior couldn’t handle what it meant to be the face of all of WWE. Even back in the early '90s, it was a daunting task. It was revealed that Warrior simply was not a nice person backstage and didn’t have a lick of an idea of how to actually do business the WWE way.

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• The Ultimate Warrior was born James Hellwig in 1959.
• As early as 1984, he was winning bodybuilding contests.
• In 1985, he was invited, along with fellow bodybuilder Steve Borden (that's Sting to us) to join professional wrestling.

Whatever you might think of The Ultimate Warrior as a human being or a worker, there is one undeniable fact. The man had an incredible physique. Anyone who has ever stuck to any sort of fitness program knows full well how hard it is to stay in one, let alone achieve the look he did. One of the ways he achieved his Herculean physique was through a proper diet filled with protein and zero sugary sweets. On more than one occasion, fellow wrestlers would catch him in the back sniffing cookies before crumbling them up into nothingness.

9 Wanted Linda McMahon To Induct Him Into The WWE Hall Of Fame

She Was The Only McMahon He Didn’t Burn A Bridge With

• The Ultimate Warrior had always felt a special kinship with Linda McMahon.
• His last major match was the infamous 1998 Halloween Havoc. His last match in general was in 2008.
• As far as WWE is concerned, he hadn't been on WWE television since 1996 - nearly 18 years.

Between the financial disputes, the hurt feelings, the self-imposed exile, and the DVD created to solely bury the Warrior, it took a long time to reconcile. But once the conversations were had, the Ultimate Warrior was able to come home to the WWE.

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While he did reconcile with most of the brain trust over that WrestleMania weekend, he only wanted one person to induct him into the hallowed Hall. That was Linda McMahon.

8 Decided To Squash Triple H

Warrior Didn’t Acclimate To The New Generation

• Years after this WrestleMania squash, Triple H helped bring Warrior back to the WWE.
• On the night of The Hall Of Fame, HHH asked Hulk Hogan to steer clear of Warrior, due to their decades-long beef.
• Warrior and Hogan did get a chance to reconcile over WrestleMania 30 weekend.

After four years of being away from the company, in-roads were made once again for the Ultimate Maniac to return - this time at WrestleMania 12. He would take on Triple H, who even then was a capable enough performer to carry Warrior to a passable match. That was even the plan, too. But right before they went out, the Maniac changed the action on the fly. Ever the company man, Hunter grit his teeth and dealt with the changes. Once Warrior got back to Gorilla, he was spoken to, and it was explained that the company doesn’t do squash matches anymore.

7 Pay Disputes With Vince McMahon

The Warrior Tried To Break The Promoter’s Cardinal Rule

• Warrior either quit or was fired from WWE three times - 1991, 1992, and lastly, 1996.
• In several interviews over the years, McMahon claims he was hurt by Warrior's lack of professionalism.
• The two reconciled during Warrior's return over WrestleMania 30 weekend.

As the company drew closer to the 1991 SummerSlam event, the main event was set. It was going to be The Match Made In Hell - Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior taking on Sgt. Slaughter, Col. Mustafa, and General Adnan. But prior to the match, Warrior got it in his head that he should be paid as much as Hulk Hogan and had threatened not to work the match. While “Card Subject To Change” is part of every wrestling card, that usually equates to wrestlers getting injured - not wrestlers holding promoters up for money. Vince acquiesced, cut the madman a check and then immediately fired him once the match was over.

6 Legally Changed His Name

When WWE Owns Your Name, Just Change It

• Warrior got his singles start in World Class, being managed by Gary Hart.
• He arrived in WWE shortly before the 1987 Survivor Series.
• Hellwig changed his name to Warrior in 1993 and has been credited as such until his death.

He was born Jim Hellwig, and for the most part throughout his career, made his mark as either The Dingo Warrior or The Ultimate Warrior. When he bolted from WWE in 1992, he wanted to take the name with him. However, WWE owned the rights to the name.

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Can you imagine “Maniac James Hellwig” on the indies?! In a show of defiance from the company that helped to make him a megastar, Hellwig changed his name legally and fully to Warrior in order to market himself.

5 Didn’t Make-A-Wish

There Was No Joy For One Terminal Fan One Day

• The WWE and The Make-A-Wish Foundation have had a 40-year partnership.
• John Cena, the current record "Wish Granter", invited several kids to accompany him at WrestleMania 39.
• WWE's Sue Aitchison is instrumental in the partnership and was given The Warrior Award in 2019 for her contributions

One of the unsung aspects of the WWE is the relationship the company has with its fans. Thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the company and its superstars got opportunities to put smiles on the faces of small children clinging to any hope at all that they will get to see tomorrow and maybe even get better. As told by Bret Hart in his own autobiography, he watched a small boy come to the back to meet the neon-colored nincompoop and despite meeting practically the entire locker room, the boy’s desired hero never showed up.

4 Warrior’s 1996 Return

Comic Books And The Nonsense Behind "Destrucity"

• For anyone who thinks certain ways of living are kooky - learn some more about Destrucity.
• Warrior's 1996 return was loaded with advertisements for his own comic book, which to its credit had decent artists working on it.
• Warrior was fired in 1996 for missing dates due to dealing with the death of decades-long-estranged father.

In late 1992, thanks to getting caught with drugs, Warrior was let go. After nearly half a decade away, he would return in 1996. But that return somehow came with a few caveats that Captain Schizo asked for and was granted. One of those asks was for WWE to promote and sell the Warrior comic book - which a short but strange trip into the mind of the madman. Inside the pages of the comic was Warrior’s ways to live - Destrucity.

Defined, it meant the Eight Disciplines that Warriors live by. If you choose to try and make heads or tails of this way of life, its first tenet is: "The name of the Galaxy in WARRIOR wherein the Terrain of Testament lies."

3 The Warrior’s WCW Debut

Bischoff Knew Warrior In WCW Was Doomed

• Warrior debuted on Nitro was an unplanned 27-minute promo - 20 more minutes than were allotted.
• Warrior claims he was signed just to do the favors for Hogan, so he could get his win back.
• After just three matches, he was gone from WCW.

In the fall of 1998, Hollywood Hogan looked like he saw a ghost when The Warrior made his surprising debut on Monday Nitro. Instead of the generally inane babble that WWE kept to a minute and a half maximum, Warrior was in the ring for what seemed like an eternity, babbling on about being the guy who beat Hogan and who will beat Hogan again.

With Eric Bischoff in the ring instead of in the back, no one was able to even try to warn Warrior that he had been talking for far too long. From the moment this happened, Bischoff knew that Warrior was going to be a problem in WCW.

2 Paying Homage To Andre The Giant

The Day He Ran Afoul Of The Giant

• Due to his size and reputation in the ring, Andre The Giant was referred to as The Boss.
• Rick Rude got wind of this wine story and was upset that Warrior didn't send him a bottle of wine for teaching him how to work.
• The Warrior was able to be one of the few in WWE to body slam The Giant.

As told by several of Warrior’s opponents over the years, he didn’t have the capacity to know or care how to put on a decent match with anyone. He also didn’t seem to care to try and protect his opponents. But when he tried to run roughshod over Andre at House Shows, The Giant quickly put a stop to it.

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As strong as Warrior was, if Andre didn’t want to work with you or wanted to send a message, then that is exactly what happened. After a few stiff shots from Andre, that would put Warrior in line. Instead of complaining and crying about it, Warrior bought Andre a bottle of wine to say “thank you.”

1 The Feud With Hulk Hogan

A Decades-Long Beef Ended Just Days Before The Warrior’s Passing

• Hogan claims he knew that Warrior wouldn't work out as the new top guy after WrestleMania 6.
• The heat between Warrior and Hogan stemmed from the Halloween Havoc 1998 debacle.
• Warrior sought out Hogan during WrestleMania weekend.

Over the course of their career together, Warrior and Hogan had two matches together and several as a tag team. Warrior felt that he should have been compensated for his efforts as much as Hogan was. Over the years, it ate away at Warrior, and he would use shoot interviews to take swipes at Hulkamania for his life choices, which wasn’t uncommon for Warrior to do post his wrestling career. But since he knew the man, sometimes Warrior’s yammering on was seemingly proven true. The two actually reconciled during WrestleMania 30 weekend.