Ultimate Warrior 1959-2014

[scraylo187]

Well I certainly agree, there is no need to make the case. We're sharing our memories and concerns and those are mine. btw you've all been reported to the dean of students at Warrior U for mourning a stranger.

 

It must feel good to be the lone hero in this thread, Alan. Keep fighting the good fight.

 

 

 

I don't know how to feel about this one...I mean I do, but I'm not struck in the sense of Eddie passing, or overjoyed by seeing Jake come back and survive.

 

The whole thing just feels so bizarre. Not in a dumb conspiracy way, but just...Jesus. "I'm so proud of being your father" to "Believe in me and I won't die" to Tuesday. It's tough to wrap your head around. 

 

It's such a sad thing. But it's also so tragically weird that it's tough to even process. 

[JetBlack83]

I wrote a little something in my blog in my signature, but basically, whatever you may have thought of him before the last few days, he really seemed like a good guy.  I thought he was crazy, and he may be a bit crazy, but it seemed like he came to terms with a lot of stuff and made amends with a lot of people on Wrestlemania weekend.  I'm glad he had the opportunity, and I'm glad all his fans had the chance to give one last goodbye.

[Matt D]

And then this happened. And it reminds me that you should never care too much because this, particular to other forms of entertainment and sports, always has tragedy looming. 

 

People can do what they like, including parent, of course. For me, though, it's like this. I have a 12 year old stepson. I've been in his life since almost the day he was born. He's named after me. And I pretty much share any interest I have in life with him. I introduce him to books and movies and comics and cartoons and other tv shows and video games and music. We watch baseball together. 

 

But not wrestling. I give him most of these things. I start him on them and push them. With wrestling, if he came to it on his own, I'd support his interest and show him the good stuff, but there's just no way I'm going to open him up to all of this. 

[Big Fresh]

Dude was a wrestler and a painter. His politics never hurt anyone. Meanwhile he spent a few years as one of the most entertaining cats around in a business we all are crazy enough to love. You don't have to think he was a good guy if you don't want to, but it's not really the time to make that particular case, okay?

 

Also, I could be wrong about this because I don't follow Warrior's Twitter or website, but hasn't it been a LONG time since he's sprouted off some of that craziness? Maybe the dude was just going through a bad time a few years ago. I can give him the benefit of the doubt and "forgive" him (though my forgiveness is beyond unneccesary).

[nate]

Another thing that's been in my head - and not to trivialize the man's death life or legacy in any way, hopefully it won't come off that way - has been the overall context of his death in the wrestling landscape of which he was largely a part.

We have a moment in time in this thing we enjoy where the past year has almost been largely a goodbye to expected norms, tropes, eras ... The start of the network. The movement of the least likely major player into the center stage (Bryan). Punk - he who would be king - who allegedly is one of wrestling's most negative influences and drains (while unfortunately also being good at what he did) pulls up stakes and disappears. Pulling the trigger on the Streak. JBL's denouement of the Attitude Era. You have the "Mount Rushmore" moment prior to WM 30, itself an event signifying three decades past the business' first major boom. One year after bridges were mended with Sammartino. The next year, Warrior comes along to repair his relationship with the company and the fans who helped him build him to where he was, surrounded by the people who were able to voice how they appreciated aspects of who he is, and on the day after a Raw which gave a lot of people (read: us) optimism for the future of this unifying entertainment, Warrior's number gets pulled, and another representative of the sport dies. But, unlike numerous tragedies before - Guerrero, Benoit, Savage, and numerous other ODs and suicides - this passing isn't quite the same.

Like I said, not trying to say dumb shit like, "First the Streak, now this," but just to reflect on the overall context of where we've gotten just in the past 6-12 mos.

[EN090]

It's so weird. I mean, we're all pretty numb to wrestling deaths at this point. I think Eddy was the one that really bothered in the way that I didn't think I could watch wrestling anymore, or at least I couldn’t get emotionally involved anymore. 

 

Obviously, Benoit was just awful, but in a weird way it made me want to rally around wrestling because whatever the darkness of wrestling is, it isn't THAT. Not to that level. 

 

And Macho was tough, but Mach was out of sight for so long, and it was just sad that he died after seemingly finding happiness.

 

This is more just...really since 2011 I've found myself really invested again. Whether it was Punk, or Bryan, The Shield, the Undertaker's streak, or the very unique run of Cena, or really the shift and emphasis back on the wrestling and the fact that we haven't had as many tragedies or sordid shit that ruins thing, but wrestling has been fun for a while now. Maybe it's just that wrestling is just better after being kind of up and down in the post-Attitude Era 2000s, but there’s so much to enjoy now. It went back to less being something I'll always watch because I've watched it since I was 5, but more that I’m excited to watch it.

 

And this weekend was the culmination of that. One of my favorite cities in the world, a HOF-filled with a lot of inspirational stories and colorful characters, 80,000 just friendly, cool people so excited about being in New Orleans and seeing 'Mania, and a show that saw probably the last match of one of the greatest performers in history, and one of the truly-great blowoff feel-good moments in wrestling history. And then even Raw Monday and Main Event Tuesday were just fucking awesome. I watched the Shield match last night as I was grading papers and I was thinking about the weekend and I was just fucking pumped about all the shit coming up. 

 

And then this happened. And it reminds me that you should never care too much because this, particular to other forms of entertainment and sports, always has tragedy looming. 

 

One thing that I feel positive about is that all of the guys you mentioned.... Punk, Bryan, the Shield, Etc...this generation of stars... I truly believe that they've learned from the mistakes of their predecessors and won't be repeating those mistakes. If nothing else, that is something to feel good about.

[Fallacy!]

Hulk wrote on Twitter that he and Warrior made amends on Monday. Shook hands, hugged, said they loved and forgave each other.

 

 

[misanthrope304]

Wow, yeah...That promo on Raw, I wish I was good enough with words to do justice to what I got out of that. 

 

It is a lot of stuff churning inside of me, coming to grips with my own mortality.  The coincidence(?) of all this is mind-boggling.

[Sublime]

I wonder if Warrior knew something about his health and that's why he was fixing old relationships. This has been so odd.

 

Warrior was the reason I got into wrestling. All my friends raved about him and I had to see him so I did and thought he was cool, he didn't remain my favorite very long but he was at first and he's the reason I started watching this crazy thing we all love 23 years ago.

[Greggulator]

I think the no blood policy and concussion testing and banning head/neck bumps and reducing the amount of insane spots will go a long way towards these guys staying healthy for a longer period of time. Steroids and growth hormones are another thing entirely. It's great that a guy like Daniel Bryan can have an athletic build -- not a bodybuilder build -- and be on top of the show. But steroids aren't always used for bodybuilding.

I think the number one thing, though, that needs to happen for WWE workers is to have the number of house shows reduced. That schedule is insane. It's just constant travel. Trying to work out and get healthy sleep and eat right on the road sounds like a Herculean task. And that's not even considering the stress that must put on just having a normal family life.

I have no idea how important live shows are to the WWE's bottom line. But the trade-off of having your top performers last longer and stay on screen to help sell commercials and get Network subscriptions has to be worth the sacrifice of house show gates in Hidalgo, Texas and Chatanooga. (That's their back-to-back this weekend.)

[Hagan]

What an awesome photo that is.

[JohnnyJ]

Warrior found that sweet spot in a child's imagination that few in our culture have.

 

I remember when the main event of wrestlemania 6 was announced, it was inconceivable how Hogan could win. Hogan was a dominant figure, but at the end of the day, he was human.

 

The Warrior was something else entirely. He was a living, breathing, comic book character. As a child, I was completely incapable of seeing through the gimmick.

 

I am thankful he was able to enter our collective consciences one last time before fading off into the sunset.  

[RRR]

Not too easy forming words for this one so i'll just go with R.I.P

[Raziel]

WWE tweeted that they're running a special on the Network tonight at 8 on the Warrior.

[Playa Shunna Ver 3.0]

WWE tweeted that they're running a special on the Network tonight at 8 on the Warrior.

Wow.  That is great.  I will be watching.

[odessasteps]

I think the no blood policy and concussion testing and banning head/neck bumps and reducing the amount of insane spots will go a long way towards these guys staying healthy for a longer period of time. Steroids and growth hormones are another thing entirely. It's great that a guy like Daniel Bryan can have an athletic build -- not a bodybuilder build -- and be on top of the show. But steroids aren't always used for bodybuilding.

I think the number one thing, though, that needs to happen for WWE workers is to have the number of house shows reduced. That schedule is insane. It's just constant travel. Trying to work out and get healthy sleep and eat right on the road sounds like a Herculean task. And that's not even considering the stress that must put on just having a normal family life.

I have no idea how important live shows are to the WWE's bottom line. But the trade-off of having your top performers last longer and stay on screen to help sell commercials and get Network subscriptions has to be worth the sacrifice of house show gates in Hidalgo, Texas and Chatanooga. (That's their back-to-back this weekend.)

I think forced time off on a rotating basis would be a better solution than scrapping house shows.

Give talent a week off every six weeks or so, or maybe work TV and skip that week's house shows. It would suck if you lived in Des Moines and missed your chance to see Cena or Bryan or whomever live probably for the year, but better in the long haul to keep them around.

[Hollywood Cibernetico]

So many guys live their gimmick in-real-life and it destroys them. The lines of fantasy and reality are often blurred leading to the worse possible result. By all accounts of those who personally knew the Warrior, The Ultimate Warrior gimmick did positive things for his life both inside and outside the ring. So many guys in this business die bitter and their last known words come via a shoot promo or some outrageous rant via social media and it’s simply embarrassing. Warrior's last words were at the time and still are inspirational, positive, and full of love. The guy was completely nuts and pro wrestling needs more of that nuttiness mixed with good intentions. I'm not really a spiritual guy, but I do believe people who do good- receive the same in return in this life and the existence hereafter. I am happy that Warrior and his family got to experience the massive outpour of love from the fans at The HOF, WM, and Raw.

 

An amazing way to go out! So much love and appreciation. I wish everyone on this board receives the same type of reception in their final days.

[Phantom Lord]

After reading the TMZ article on the police report and the stuff about him looking off all weekend, odds are he was probably having the start of a heart attack during the HOF ceremony. On Monday Night it was way worse when he looked like he was going to kill over doing the rope shake.

 

Who knows. Maybe if he thought better of it he could have went to the hospital. Better to be safe rather than sorry.

 

Warrior was a once in a life time character. No one else could have ever pulled it off better than Warrior did himself. I just really feel sorrow for his wife and children.

[Cobra Commander]

 

I think the no blood policy and concussion testing and banning head/neck bumps and reducing the amount of insane spots will go a long way towards these guys staying healthy for a longer period of time. Steroids and growth hormones are another thing entirely. It's great that a guy like Daniel Bryan can have an athletic build -- not a bodybuilder build -- and be on top of the show. But steroids aren't always used for bodybuilding.

I think the number one thing, though, that needs to happen for WWE workers is to have the number of house shows reduced. That schedule is insane. It's just constant travel. Trying to work out and get healthy sleep and eat right on the road sounds like a Herculean task. And that's not even considering the stress that must put on just having a normal family life.

I have no idea how important live shows are to the WWE's bottom line. But the trade-off of having your top performers last longer and stay on screen to help sell commercials and get Network subscriptions has to be worth the sacrifice of house show gates in Hidalgo, Texas and Chatanooga. (That's their back-to-back this weekend.)

I think forced time off on a rotating basis would be a better solution than scrapping house shows.

Give talent a week off every six weeks or so, or maybe work TV and skip that week's house shows. It would suck if you lived in Des Moines and missed your chance to see Cena or Bryan or whomever live probably for the year, but better in the long haul to keep them around.

 

Some Truck drivers work 4 in every 5 weeks, IIRC (or 3 in 4?). I'd imagine a combo of "max-dates in a month" and putting Smackdown on live on Fridays (creating 3 offdays in-between RAW and Smackdown) could help people around now.

 

Although if it turns out there was a heart disease element here, not sure how much you can do for guys down the road aside from whatever most people do.

[Zheroen]

It seems that the Warrior had finally found peace before he passed.  I feel for his family's loss.

[Ziggy]

Just like Bruno last year, I think WWE was really going to Rebuild his Legacy back up in the WWE Universe, I'm happy he got to Patch things up with Vince and speak to the WWE audience on positive terms. Heard they were filming footage of his Return, Im sure their would've been penty more outside projects between Warrior and WWE the timing is weird though.

the rapper Wale commented on his twitter saying bittersweet, I got no better words.

[Ace]

[cool arrow]

That's not the real Jesus.

 

Jesus's middle initial is H.

[Omega]

DDP was just on Nancy Grace talking about Warrior

[Kuetsar]

I was in the 5th grade when WM 6 happened, and it was also the same year my best turned me on to wrestling. I remember there being two camps, and we were in the Hogan camp. Funny stuff to look back on. I remember a year later calling a kid a liar(it was a different school) when he said slaughter beat the warrior. His family had the PPV, I didn't, I just couldn't believe warrior lost. The memories aside, he was never my favorite wrestler, but I'll miss him all the same. I've drifted away somewhat(I haven't followed the product for nearly a decade) so I didn't watch Raw on Monday. I feel bad for his family, but after seeing all the death among guys I grew up following, I'm getting cynical. Not that this isn't shocking or surprising, it is, but you start to wonder why guys like Hogan and Graham(or other guys who used the gas, which I guess is everybody) lived longer than some. Not that I'm rooting for more death mind you, the sheer numbers just get numbing. . .