The Reign of the Warrior

When the mighty World Wrestling Federation burst onto our television screens just one year after British wrestling limped away from the viewing screen, one of the guys who helped launch the product in our country was a man called Jim Hellwig, better known as the Ultimate Warrior.

The Warrior may not have been the best wrestler in the world, but he certainly had the charisma, the look, the body, and one of the best entrances in the WWF at the time.

The Warrior was one of those larger than life characters that just leapt our of the screen at you. At a time when plumbers and refuse collectors were the norm in the wrestling business, the Ultimate Warrior was just that, a warrior, a veritable human wrecking machine.

Who can forget that first feud we saw, as the Warrior and the late-Ravishing Rick Rude fought tooth and nail over the Intercontinental title, at a time when winning and holding onto championships for more then five minutes actually meant something. Who can forget the way Rude won the title at Wrestlemania V at the Trump Plaza in 1989? The cowardly way that Rude's manager, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan held the Warrior's legs as Rude pinned him.

Or their great rematch at Summerslam '89? A brilliant back and forth contest the likes of which we seldom see today, with great psychology, a crowd baying for blood, and an appearance by Roddy Piper that set the stage for Rude's next feud as he dropped the belt back to the Warrior.

As Rude moved on to the Piper, the Warrior, after a televised contest with Andre the Giant, went onto his next major feud with fellow powerhouse, the late-Dino Bravo. In a memorable moment on Superstars, Bravo, who claimed to be the World's strongest man, challenged the Warrior to a test of strength. This led to an in-ring segment where the Warrior let Bravo and his manager Jimmy Hart choose a man from the crowd, with the man sitting on their backs as they performed push-ups. Warrior looked on with surprise as Hart and Bravo were able to find the biggest man in the crowd - a guy standing around 6'5", and weighing in around 450 pounds.

As the large man, who announced himself as John, sat on Bravo's back, the Canadian strongman performed several push ups before the Warrior took his turn. John turned out to be nothing more than Bravo's stooge. Positioning himself on the Warrior's back, John brought his full weight down on him as afterwards, he helped Bravo and Hart attack the Warrior. John wasn't John anymore. The world had been introduced to Earthquake.

As his feud with Bravo continued, another opponent appeared on the horizon, and nobody saw this coming. At the 1991 Royal Rumble, when all of the other competitors had been eliminated, the Warrior found himself in the ring with none other than WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. The crowd went wild as the two most popular men in the company at the time squared off against each other. Nobody knew it at the time but this was the start of the build-up to the biggest match in professional wrestling history at that time.

It was just after the Royal Rumble that Hogan and the Warrior teamed for the first time, on Saturday Night's Main event, against the team of Mr. Perfect and the Genius, whom Hogan had been feuding with. Needless to say that both men had difficulty getting along with each other.

The Warrior continued his feud with Bravo over the next few weeks which culminated in a live television match on The Main Event. That night Hogan defended the WWF title against Randy Savage, with World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Buster Douglas as a special referee. The Warrior also successfully defended the IC title against Bravo, but what took place after the match continued the build-up to his match with Hogan. As Earthquake attacked the Warrior and laid him out in the ring, he climbed to the top rope and was about to come off with a big splash when Hogan ran out and saved the Warrior. He wanted to make sure that his opponent for Wrestlemania VI was in top condition.

The Warrior would return to favour a few weeks later in a televised segment on Wrestling Challenge, in a match that was almost identical to the one he'd had at The Main Event. After Hogan had defeated Bravo in a non-title match, he was attacked by Earthquake, who threatened to do more damage to Hogan until the Warrior ran down and made the save.

April 1st, 1990, saw more than 67,000 fans fill the Skydome in Toronto for Wrestlemania VI, as champion met champion. Hogan met the Warrior in a classic encounter which saw Hogan pass the proverbial torch as the Warrior became a double-champion. In one of the most emotional moments seen inside a wrestling ring, Hogan presented the belt to the Warrior before leaving to make a film.

And so the Warrior's only WWF title reign began, taking in another feud with Rick Rude, which ended with a cage match at Summerslam '91, before a memorable feud with Macho King Randy Savage began. As 1991 ended and 1992 began, talk of a Hogan/Warrior rematch at Wrestlemania VII died down. As Iraq invaded it's neighbour Kuwait, and America and her allies went to war with Saddam Hussein, the WWF reintroduced Sgt. Slaughter to the world, this time as an Iraqi sympathiser. Hogan/Warrior II was hardly mentioned again.

In the middle of his feud with Savage, the Warrior dropped the belt to Slaughter. The match was marred by heavy interference from Savage and his manager Sensational Sherri. The stage had been set for American hero Hogan, fresh off his feud with the mighty Earthquake, to regain American pride against Slaughter at Wrestlemania VII.

Wrestlemania VII was originally meant to have taken place at the Los Angeles Coliseum, which had served as the main stadium for the 1984 summer Olympics. However, the WWF later moved the show to the much smaller LA Sports Arena, citing security reasons, given the fact that the WWF Champion was an Iraqi sympathiser. The truth of the matter was that the ticket sales were incredibly poor for such an event. If they had gone with their original plan of Hogan/Warrior II, then they probably would have filled the Collusion with the largest ever attendance for a wrestling show.

Instead of Hogan/Warrior II, Wrestlemania VII saw the Warrior face Savage in an "retirement" match. In a match even better than his encounter with Hogan the year before, the Warrior "retired" Savage. Both men gave it their all, executing their finishing moves a number of times before the Warrior got the pin. The end of this contest saw Savage reunite on-screen with his estranged former manager Miss Elizabeth, after Sensational Sherri attacked him.

The Warrior's next major opponent was the "phenom" of the WWF, the Undertaker. The Undertaker was at that time one of the hottest properties in the company, and was on a roll, having just defeated the legendary Jimmy Snuka at Wrestlemania VII.

The feud really began when the Warrior was a guest on Paul Bearer's "Funeral Parlour" interview segment on Superstars. While being taunted by Bearer, the Undertaker emerged from a standing coffin, attacking the Warrior from behind before locking him in a casket and leaving the arena with the key. Frantically, backstage officials tried to pry open the casket, eventually opening up the wooden box to find an unconscious Warrior, who had tried to claw he way out.

For the first time in his WWF, the Warrior showed a vulnerable side as the Deadman spooked and stalked him at every possible moment. It wasn't long before an ally came forward to help him battle his demon. Jake "The Snake" Roberts promised to help the Warrior in his battle with the Undertaker, taking him on a strange journey and through several tasks, including being buried alive, that were meant to mentally strengthen him. At the end it turned out to be a ruse, as Roberts turned on the Warrior and set him up for the Undertaker and Paul Bearer.

Then, for some unexplained reason, the Warrior was taken away from this feud, and once again paired with Hogan, this time as a team, at Summerslam '91. In the so-called "Match Made In Hell", Hogan and the Warrior went up against Sgt. Slaughter, General Adnan and Colonel Mustafa (aka The Iron Sheik) in a handicap match, with newcomer Sid (Vicious) Justice as the special referee. It was perhaps a sign of things to come that after the Warrior had chased Adnan and Mustafa away from the ring, and after Hogan had pinned Slaughter, Hogan invited Sid to pose with him in the ring. The Warrior was nowhere to be seen.

What made this situation more perplexing was the fact that the Warrior could have had two high-profile matches, on pay-per-view, against two of the best stars in the company at that time. Matches against the Undertaker and Jake Roberts would have guaranteed massive pay-per-view buy rates. Yet the Warrior only faced the Undertaker on the house show circuit, and never faced Roberts.

For the first time the Warrior left the WWF, apparently driven away by backstage politics. His time away from the ring wasn't that long though. It was at Wrestlemania VIII, the show that saw Randy Savage defeat Ric Flair for the WWF title, that the Warrior made his return. As Sid Justice and Papa Shango double-teamed Hogan after Hogan's DQ win against Justice, the Warrior ran down the aisle and saved his former nemesis from a beating. The Warrior was back.

His first major feud came against the strange Papa Shango, who would later go on to become the Godfather. In one memorable moment on Superstars, Shango put a "curse" on the Warrior, which caused him to vomit a green substance. Remember, this was nearly ten years before Mae Young gave birth to a hand. Such happenings on WWF television were quite uncommon at the time.

The feud didn't really go anywhere as the Warrior was being set up for a title match with old foe Randy Savage at Summerslam '92, held in London's Wembley Stadium. This drew the ire of Ric Flair and his executive consultant, Mr. Perfect. Before 80,000 fans, Warrior won the match, but not the title, setting up the dream-teaming of Savage and the Warrior as the Ultimate Maniacs.

This team began around the time that Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) entered the WWF. Ramon helped Flair win back the WWF title from Savage, and as Savage began to feud with Ramon, the Warrior was next in line for a shot at Flair's WWF title. However, Flair wouldn't hold the belt for that long, as he dropped it to Bret Hart on Canada's Thanksgiving Day.

Flair's losing of the title didn't mean that his feud with the Warrior had stopped. A match putting Flair and Ramon against Savage and the Warrior was slated for the Survivor Series that November. However, the Warrior didn't even make it to that show. Rumour has it that the WWF planned to demote the Warrior, as it were, removing his main event status and putting him in a mid-card feud with Nailz. The Warrior was not a happy man, and left the company for the second time in just over a year. His leaving the company was never actually mentioned on television, and his spot in the Survivor Series was taken by Mr. Perfect, making his first wrestling appearance since a back injury had sidelined him after his match with Bret Hart at Summerslam '91.

The Ultimate Warrior would be away from the wrestling spotlight for nearly four years. During that time the business changed drastically. Eric Bischoff had taken control of World Championship Wrestling, and under his guidance, and with the help of a few former WWF superstars, Bischoff had made WCW the number one promotion in America. In 1996, the WWF needed something to help win back the viewers. In 1996, they turned to the Ultimate Warrior.

Jim Hellwig was away from the wrestling business for nearly four years after his teaming with Randy Savage as the Ultimate Maniacs. The WWF had high-hopes for the team, perhaps even seeing it as the second coming of the Mega-Powers. But the Warrior's creative differences with the company forced them to change their plans drastically as he departed the company for a second time.

It was at Wrestlemania XII in 1996 where the Warrior made his triumphant return. The hype for his returning match, against Hunter Hearst Helmsley, started weeks before the show, and on the show itself, the Warrior blazed into the ring and defeated the future Triple H in less than two minutes. The Warrior was back.

However, the company he returned to was not the company he had left. In 1996 World Championship Wrestling, under the guidance of Eric Bischoff, had started to get on an equal footing with the WWF by hiring the likes of former McMahon superstars Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Also, the infamous Clique was virtually running the show backstage, and while Kevin "Diesel" Nash and Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall would soon jump ship from the WWF to WCW, Shawn Michaels, the newly-crowned WWF Champion, still held a great deal of power backstage.

The original plan for the Warrior's return was that he would continue to feud with mid-card talent Helmsley. The Warrior, however, balked at the idea, which is why his return match with Helmsley lasted less than two minutes.

At the time many thought that the Warrior would immediately become a contender to Shawn's title. While such a match-up would have made for good box office, the WWF decided instead to have the Warrior feud with Intercontinental Champion Goldust, who was stirring up controversy with his gimmick and his feuds with Razor Ramon and Ahmed Johnson. The Warrior was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain Intercontinental gold. He also feuded with Jerry "The King" Lawler, which involved Lawler walloping the Warrior over the head with a portrait the King had painted of his opponent.

Almost from the start of his third stint, troubles arose on the creative side of things. This wasn't helped by the fact that the Warrior's father was taken ill, and the Warrior missed a few house shows so he could spend time with his family. After his father's untimely death, the Warrior continued to no-show some events, which once again put a strain on his relationship with the WWF.

At the time the Warrior was booked in a feud, teaming with WWF Champion Shawn Michaels, and IC Champion Ahmed Johnson against Jim Cornette's stable of Owen Hart, Davey Boy Smith and Vader. A massive six-man tag was scheduled for the In Your House pay-per-view in July, but prior to that show, the Warrior once again failed to appear at a house show in Detroit.

The WWF were at their wit's end, and asked the Warrior to sign a guaranteed appearance bond, which the Warrior refused to do. The company had no choice but to terminate his contract just a few days before the pay-per-view, announcing that "Sycho" Sid Justice would be taking the Warrior's place in the tag match against Cornette's stable.

To say that the Warrior's final stint in the WWF was disappointing would be an understatement. One can only but wonder just what would have happened if her personal problems hadn't gotten in the way. The following November, at the Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden, Sid pinned Michaels to become WWF champion. It hindsight it seems obvious that if the Warrior had played by the rules, he would have been crowned champion that night.

Little was heard from the Warrior in wrestling circles until 1998. The Monday Night Wars between the WWF and WCW were at their peak. WCW's Nitro had beaten WWF's Raw for ages, and just as the WWF were starting to pull WCW back, WCW signed the Warrior.

However, his debut had to be held off a little while as the WWF filed a lawsuit against WCW claiming that they held the rights to the Ultimate Warrior name and trademarks. The Warrior countered with the fact that he used the gimmick before he joined the WWF in 1987. It was eventually agreed that the Warrior could use his gimmick in WCW, but WCW would refrain from calling him "Ultimate".

In 1998, Hollywood Hulk Hogan ruled the roost in WCW as leader of the New World Order, and, quite often as WCW World Champion. At the time he was feuding with Diamond Dallas Page, a feud highlighted by the appearance of Tonight Show host Jay Leno as Page's tag-team partner on the Road Wild pay-per-view in Sturgess, a match which led the many people wondering what was next.

At the height of their feud Hogan announced that he had beaten all the legends in the wrestling industry. Page countered by saying that there was one man whom Hogan had never defeated. Later that Nitro, as Hogan, Bischoff, and the Disciple cut an in-ring promo, the Warrior appeared to a huge ovation, challenging Hogan and the NWO with his "One Warrior Nation".

The plan was for Hogan to face the Warrior at WCW's big autumn pay-per-view, Halloween Havoc, that October, with a taster for the main course being served at the War Games bout on the Fall Brawl pay-per-view six weeks before. However, this War Games bout was different. Whereas in the past teams of four or five squared off with each other, this bout would be contested by three teams made up of three members, the NWO black and white team of Hogan, Bret Hart and Stevie Ray, the NWO Wolfpac team of Nash, Sting and Lex Luger, and Team WCW, which consisted of Roddy Piper, DDP, and the Warrior. The winner of the match would be granted at shot at Bill Goldberg's WCW title at Halloween Havoc.

At the event itself, the Warrior was the final contestant to enter the battle. Before he appeared, smoke filled the ring, and a fake Warrior appeared, attacking Hogan, before disappearing in another puff of smoke. As a confused Hogan stood in the middle of the ring holding the Warrior's jacket, the real Warrior came racing down the aisle. As soon as he entered the ring he went for Hogan. As the Hulkster fled the cage, the Warrior ripped open some of the steel mesh, and chased Hogan and his Disciple up the aisle, only for security to pull them apart.

This incident would prove to have a drastic effect on the Warrior's career in WCW. He badly injured his arm while ripping the steel mesh, and rather than take his doctor's advice and rest, he began to rehab the injury straight away. This did not have the desired effect, and for a while, his rematch with Hogan at Halloween Havoc was in jeopardy. The only thing the Warrior could do was cut in-ring promos to promote the match, and one of these led to one episode of Nitro being drastically rewritten. Originally scheduled to speak for just six minutes, the Warrior spoke for nearly twenty.

Then came the rematch with Hogan. It didn't come close to their previous outing. Hampered by the arm injury, the Warrior put in a sub-par performance against Hogan, who won the contest after outside interference from Bischoff and his nephew Horace Hogan. In the eyes of many, the match only seemed to exist so that Hogan could say that he had defeated the Warrior in the ring, that there wasn't anyone he had faced he hadn't beaten.

The Warrior made a few more appearances for WCW, but when his contract expired in December 1998, it was not renewed. The in-ring career of the Ultimate Warrior had come to an end.

With the Internet being what it is, rumours abound about what the Jim Hellwig has been doing for the past few years. Some say that the main reason he left the WWF is because Vince McMahon refused to fund a "University of the Warrior" project.

Most recently, he's become something of a public speaker, and often writes about his life and career on his website, www.ultimatewarrior.com. Some have said that these are little more than the ravings of a mad man, someone who thinks he is more important than he actually is. But if you take the time to read his articles in depth, as it were, you'd find a man passionate about what he does.

The Ultimate Warrior may not have been the best wrestler in the world. He may not have had the best reputation in the wrestling business. But for many, for one, albeit short period of time, the Ultimate Warrior was the number one man in the sports entertainment business. His matches will probably never be termed "mat classics", but they will be termed exciting. At the height of his fame, the Ultimate Warrior was one of the most exciting and entertaining performers in wrestling, and it's for that reason that I welcome him into the Two Sheds Review Hall Of Fame.