Warrior (wrestler)

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Warrior
Warrior on Monday Night Raw on April 7, 2014

Warrior on Monday Night Raw on April 7, 2014

Data
Ring name Jim Hellwig
Blade Runner Rock
Dingo Warrior
Ultimate Warrior
Warrior
Additions to names "Justice"
height 188 cm
Fighting weight 118-130 kg
birth June 16, 1959
Crawfordsville , Indiana
death April 8, 2014
Scottsdale , Arizona
Announced from Atlanta , Georgia
(as Jim Hellwig)
Queens , New York
(as Dingo Warrior)
Parts Unknown
(as Ultimate Warrior)
Trained by Red Bastien
Rick Bassman
debut 1985
retirement 2008
Website www.ultimatewarrior.com

Warrior (born June 16, 1959 in Crawfordsville , Indiana , as James Brian Hellwig , † April 8, 2014 in Scottsdale , Arizona ) was an American wrestler . He was best known as The Ultimate Warrior in the World Wrestling Federation . Hellwig changed his real name in 1993 to "Warrior"

Life

The beginnings (1985-1987)

Warrior began his career in 1985 under the name Jim "Justice" Hellwig in a bodybuilding - gimmick provided grouping Power Team USA within the Continental Wrestling Association . He was one of two wrestlers of the four-man group who made the breakthrough in wrestling; the other is Steve Borden , who later became very popular under the ring name Sting . Together with Borden, Warrior then formed the tag team The Freedom Fighters , which was renamed The Blade Runners after a short time ; Warrior also adopted the ring name Blade Runner Rock . At the beginning of 1986 both switched to UWF together , but after a few months Warrior left the doctorate again. For a short time he came to the WCCW and received the Texas Championship there as Dingo Warrior . New Japan Pro Wrestling became aware of him and wanted to market him as an overpowering villain, but Warrior instead accepted an offer from the World Wrestling Federation . New Japan then signed Leon White , originally from the AWA , and gave him the Big Van Vader gimmick originally intended for Warrior .

World Wrestling Federation (1987-1996)

The Successful Years (1987-1991)

In the WWF he appeared from 1987 under the name The Ultimate Warrior . He was portrayed as a dynamic, almost hyperactive wrestler with fancy face paint. The idea for the name came from his former colleague Davey Boy Smith . Warrior himself confirmed this in a "sit-down interview" for his first DVD / Blu-ray disc "The Ultimate Collection", which was jointly organized with the WWE. In his early days, Hercules Hernandez was put at his side as an opponent to keep him from the audience Warriors first ever Wrestlemania appearance took place in Atlantic City and Wrestlemania IV, just against Hercules. He was then used against manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in the comic "Weasel Suite Matches" in which the manager was dressed in a weasel costume after a win. After Warrior was well received by the audience through appearances like this and rose more and more in favor of the then WWE leadership, he was granted an appearance in the newly created major event Summer Slam. At SummerSlam 1988 , held in Madison Square Garden , he was allowed to Defeated Honky Tonk Man within 31 seconds and received the Intercontinental Champion title. A year later, his second title reign followed at the same event after defeating Rick Rude , who had previously taken the title from him.

Almost a year later, the previous draft horse of the league Hulk Hogan and Warrior met at the major event WrestleMania VI . For the first time in a Wrestlemania main fight, two audience favorites and titleholders faced each other. Warrior was allowed to win this match and thus receive the WWF Championship , but had to take the Intercontinental Championship . Although Warrior was very popular with the fans, he was still in the shadow of the previous title holder Hulk Hogan, who was still involved in the story of the Warrior after the title change. And so he had to surrender the title to Sgt. Slaughter at the 1991 Royal Rumble event . The warrior is involved in a feud with Randy Savage which leads to a "career end fight" in WrestleMania VII. There the warrior can win and, according to the script, forces the macho man to retire from wrestling. The Ultimate Warrior thus gains additional popularity in the WWE fan camp, which those responsible take advantage of and use the Warrior in a feud against the newcomer Undertaker . This should benefit the newcomer and give him a first big career boost. The program does not last long, although it is well received by the supporters of the WWF. The plan to put the Warrior back at the head of the organization fails after there are contractual disputes between him and the leadership of the WWF, so that the Warrior leaves the WWF after the Summer Slam in 1991.

First return (1992)

Only a few months later, WWF owner Vince McMahon hired him again. Warrior returned to WrestleMania VIII in 1992 when he supported Hulk Hogan in his match. In October the WWF wanted to make Warrior champion again by defeating Ric Flair . However, he did not appear for the show, and so it was decided to go with Bret Hart . At this point it became apparent again that the working atmosphere between WWF and Warrior was bad. The merger with Randy Savage under the team name Megamaniacs to feud against Ric Flair does not last long, so that Warrior is released again shortly before the 1992 Survivor Series .

Second return and final appearances for WWF (1996)

In 1996 Warrior returned surprisingly to the WWF at WrestleMania XII and was allowed to defeat the later top star Hunter Hearst Helmsley in just a few seconds in his first match . After the previous steroid scandal in the WWF, he was now significantly slimmed down. After very brief feuds against Goldust and Jerry Lawler , Warrior took time out. He was released again some time later.

World Championship Wrestling (1998)

Warrior was signed to World Championship Wrestling in 1998 . There he led a feud program against Hulk Hogan and his group New World Order , which should build on the successes of their first meeting in the WWF. The feud could not meet the high expectations of the WCW because the warrior made a fatal mistake: In an interview segment, he downplayed the importance of the planned feud program compared to that from the WWF. The following year Warrior retired from active wrestling.

Independent (2008)

On April 19, 2008 Warrior returned, after a break of 10 years, to professional wrestling and played on June 25, 2008 for Nu-Wrestling Evolution a match against Orlando Jordan in Barcelona , in which he was allowed to remove his NWE Heavyweight title. Since this was a one-time return to the wrestling business for Warrior, he gave up the title again.

Warrior in his last public appearance

Final appearances for WWE and Death (2013-2014)

On April 5, 2014, Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and made a brief appearance on Wrestlemania XXX a day later . The day before his death, he made one final appearance on RAW . On April 8, at around 5:50 p.m. local time, he collapsed outside a hotel in Arizona. In a nearby hospital, only his death could be determined. At the autopsy , a heart attack due to arteriosclerosis was finally found.

The Warrior Award

In honor of the warrior, the Warrior Award was introduced in the WWE Hall of Fame events, for people who do socially valuable work in the fight against acquired or congenital health problems, or volunteer social organizations for reasons and thus effectively presenting diseases and social projects to the public . This award is presented annually by the Warrior's widow, Dana Warrior.

Outside of wrestling

The trained chiropractor Warrior started bodybuilding at the age of eleven ; his birth father left his mother with 5 children when he was twelve. He won several bodybuilding competitions, including the 1984 title "Mr. Georgia “the amateurs. He was married to Shari Lynn Tyree from 1982 to 1991. Most recently, he lived with his second wife Dana and his two daughters in Santa Fe . Since his resignation, he has mainly appeared in conservative comments and lectures, in which he B. strongly criticized left-wing politics and homosexuality .

James Brian Hellwig had his name changed to Warrior in 1993 in order to be able to market his gimmick name outside of the WWF. Previously, in court hearings against the WWF, he had been awarded the right to the costumes, face paints and behavior as well as the name "Ultimate Warrior". This can be seen at the end of the DVD The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior , which the WWE published in 2005: "Ultimate Warrior is a trademark of Ultimate Creations.", Which means Warrior's company is. Originally a retrospective of his career was to be produced with Warrior's assistance, but when he refused, the WWE decided to produce the DVD without him. The DVD consists of video documentations of his most important scenes and statements about his career.

Warrior auctioned wrestling clothes he had worn on Ebay. A cloak he wore was auctioned for over US $ 1,500.

On July 3, 2007, the warrior appeared on the US show Hannity & Colmes and commented on the drug discussion in wrestling and the tragedy surrounding Chris Benoit .

successes

National Wrestling Alliance

  • 1 × NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion

Nu-wrestling evolution

  • 1 × NWE Heavyweight Champion

World Class Championship Wrestling

World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE Hall of Fame (2014)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. familytreelegends.com Divorce record of Jim Hellwig at familytreelegends.com
  2. Ultimate Warrior Dies At Hotel - Item on tmz.com , accessed April 9, 2014.
  3. Bild.online , accessed on April 9, 2014.
  4. Ultimate Warrior died - death report on cagematch.de
  5. Cause of death of the Ultimate Warrior known - update on cagematch.de
  6. Ultimate Warrior, Pro Wrestling Legend, Indiana Native, Dies at 54 - death report on wibc.com