Days after his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame and a
return to the company after an 18-year breakup, Wrestling legend, The
Ultimate Warrior is dead.
According to a statement posted on the WWE website, the late wrestling superstar was 54.
The
news, posted late Tuesday night, led to a flood of tributes from fans
and WWE performers and officials and comes on the day the WWE released a
DVD in Warrior's honor.
In the statement, the company said, "WWE
is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the
most iconic WWE superstars ever, The Ultimate Warrior.
"We
are grateful just days ago, Warrior had the opportunity to take his
rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame and was able to appear at
WrestleMania 30 and Monday Night Raw to address his legions of fans. WWE
sends its sincere condolences to Warrior's family, friends and fans."
Warrior
was known for his energetic style, sprinting down the aisle to the
ring; violent shaking of the ropes to psych himself up; and unique
interview style that often left fans unsure of his message.
Warrior
was born James Hellwig, but legally changed his name to Warrior in
1993. He is survived by his wife Dana and daughters Indiana and
Mattigan, who had accompanied him to the podium at the Hall of Fame
induction ceremony Saturday night in New Orleans.
In his final
public appearance Monday night, Warrior donned the long jacket with his
image airbrushed on the back, similar to what he wore during his
wrestling days, and put on a mask that looked like his trademark face
paint. It was his first appearance on Raw since 1996.
"No WWE
talent becomes a legend on their own," he told the crowd. "Every man's
heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe their final
breath. And if what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse
through the body of others and makes them believe deeper in something
that's larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be
immortalized by the storytellers -- by the loyalty, by the memory of
those who honor him, and make the running the man did live forever.
"I am the Ultimate Warrior, you are the Ultimate Warrior fans and the spirit of the Ultimate Warrior will run forever."
Warrior
began his wrestling career as part of a group of
bodybuilders-turned-wrestlers in Southern California. His early career
was marked by his work in a tag team known as the Blade Runners with
Steve Borden, who would later become Sting. Warrior was known as Blade
Runner Rock and Borden as Blade Runner Flash.
His use of the
Warrior name came in the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling
where he worked as the Dingo Warrior and was billed as being from
Queens, N.Y.
Warrior came to the then-WWF in 1987 and was
re-branded as The Ultimate Warrior. He won his first Intercontinental
title from the Honky Tonk Man in a match that lasted less than a minute
at the first Summer Slam in 1988. He would lose the title to Ravishing
Rick Rude and then regain it at Sumer Slam in 1989.
He was still
the champion leading into the main event match at WrestleMania in
Toronto in 1990, which might be the highlight of his career. The bout
against Hulk Hogan was for Hogan's WWF title and Warrior's
Intercontinental title.
Warrior won the match and was embraced and
presented with the WWE title belt by Hogan afterward, in a passing of
the torch from the biggest star of the 1980s to one of the biggest stars
of the 1990s.
"We are all so sad that the Ultimate Warrior has passed away," WWE chairman Vince McMahon tweeted.
Nigerian
reality show star and musician, Timi Dakolo also tweeted: "RIP Ultimate
Warrior, my favourite wrestler.I remember wrestling Mania VI when you
defeated Hulk Hogan. One of my joyous moments."
Warrior would
leave the WWE twice and then return before an ill-fated and brief stint
in World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s.
After retirement, he worked as a motivational speaker.
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