Continental Wrestling Association (1985–1986) Warrior (then Hellwig) began his professional wrestling career as Jim "Justice" Hellwig of Powerteam USA, the group of bodybuilders trained by Red Bastien and Rick Bassman. Hellwig and fellow trainee
Steve Borden (who later had success as "Sting") formed a
tag team called the
Freedom Fighters, with Hellwig adopting the ring name "Justice" and Borden the ring name "Flash". The Freedom Fighters debuted in the Memphis, Tennessee-based
Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) promotion, run by
Jerry Jarrett, in November 1985. The team played babyfaces at first, but fans were actually slow to take to the hulking duo in a territory that had featured sympathetic "good guy tag teams" like the
Rock 'n' Roll Express and the
Fabulous Ones. They were quickly turned heel under "coach" Buddy Wayne and soon afterwards manager
Dutch Mantel. In January 1986, the Freedom Fighters entered a tournament for the vacant
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship, defeating
Phil Hickerson and
The Spoiler in the quarterfinals but losing to eventual tournament winners the
Fantastics in the semifinals. They left the CWA later that month.
Universal Wrestling Federation (1986) as the
Blade Runners, In March 1986, Warrior and Borden joined
Bill Watts'
Oklahoma-based
Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), where they joined
"Hotstuff" Eddie Gilbert's Hotstuff International group and feuded with
Steve Williams and
Ted DiBiase. The former Freedom Fighters were rebranded the Blade Runners, with Warrior being "Blade Runner Rock" and Borden being "Blade Runner Sting". According to
Road Warrior Animal, Watts created the Blade Runners as a parody of the
Road Warriors. In May 1986, Blade Runner Rock entered a tournament for the newly created
UWF Heavyweight Championship, but was eliminated by Ted DiBiase in the first round. On June 14 at the "Superdome Extravaganza" event in the
Louisiana Superdome, the Blade Runners lost to the
Fabulous Freebirds. Warrior subsequently left the UWF, disbanding the Blade Runners. This stood in contrast with a claim made by Road Warrior Animal, who stated that the Dingo Warrior was a recreation of Warrior's Blade Runner gimmick and was an attempt to present himself as an offspring of the
Road Warriors. In 1987, Warrior began competing for the
WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship, losing to
Bob Bradley in a tournament final on January 12. He won the title from Bradley on February 2 of that year. The title was held up in April 1987 after Warrior left WCCW. He was reinstated as champion upon returning, but vacated it once more upon resigning from WCCW to join the
World Wrestling Federation. Warrior made his final appearance with WCCW in June 1987.
World Wrestling Federation (1987–1992) Early push (1987–1988) Warrior joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in June 1987. He was initially billed as Dingo Warrior in house card promos by
Gene Okerlund, but soon had his name modified. There is a dispute over who created the full Ultimate Warrior name.
Bruce Prichard stated that
Vince McMahon did not know what a "Dingo Warrior" was, but because there was the "Modern Day Warrior"
Kerry von Erich and
The Road Warriors there should not be one more simple warrior, but an Ultimate Warrior. Warrior claimed after one of his first matches, McMahon had him do a pre-taped promo. It was there Vince said "we want you to do Warrior, but we don't want Dingo." The Warrior then proceeded to cut the promo and stated that he was not this warrior or that warrior, he was the "Ultimate Warrior". He defeated a series of
jobbers, including
Steve Lombardi,
Barry Horowitz and
Mike Sharpe. He made his television debut as Ultimate Warrior on the October 25 episode of
Wrestling Challenge, in which he defeated another jobber,
Terry Gibbs. As the Ultimate Warrior character, Warrior became known for his impassioned
babbling, incomprehensible commentary and high-energy ring entrances, which featured him racing into the arena full speed, bursting into the ring, and violently shaking the ring ropes up and down. He was also known for his distinctive pattern of face paint. After several months of defeating jobbers, Ultimate Warrior was pinned for the first time in the WWF by fellow WWF rookie/future rival
Rick Rude on December 28, 1987. In January 1988, he competed in the
inaugural Royal Rumble, being eliminated by
Dino Bravo. In early 1988, Warrior entered into his first real WWF feud with fellow strongman
Hercules Hernandez. The two faced off on the February 7, 1988, airing of
Wrestling Challenge, during which Hercules was disqualified for using his steel chain. Warrior then grabbed ahold of the chain and in the midst of a tug of war over it, the chain snapped. and to
Dino Bravo, who put his feet on the ropes for leverage, in
Montreal in June. In the summer of 1988, he wrestled
Bobby Heenan in a series of "weasel suit" matches, in which Warrior typically won by sleeper hold.
Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion (1988–1990) Less than a year after his WWF television debut, Warrior, a surprise substitute for the injured
Brutus Beefcake, won the
WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, defeating
The Honky Tonk Man in a 27-second
squash match at the
inaugural SummerSlam on August 29, 1988, and ending The Honky Tonk Man's long reign at 454 days. At
SummerSlam, Warrior defeated Rude to regain the title and become a two-time Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion. Warrior vacated the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (which
Mr. Perfect then won in a tournament), as WWF rules prohibited a wrestler from holding both titles. At the
WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit in the
Tokyo Dome on April 13, Ultimate Warrior successfully defended the WWF Championship against
Ted DiBiase. He went on to successfully defend the championship against challengers such as
Haku and Mr. Perfect. At
SummerSlam, he retained the title over Rick Rude in a steel cage match. Following the Royal Rumble, Warrior faced Slaughter in a series of rematches, but was unable to regain the title.
Various feuds; departure (1991) on March 7, 1989, at the El Paso Civic Center. Ultimate Warrior would go on to "retire" Savage at
WrestleMania VII. Following his loss to Sgt. Slaughter, Warrior went on to feud with Randy Savage. On the January 21, 1991 episode of
WWF on MSG Network, Warrior faced Savage in a
cage match; Savage won the bout by escaping the cage following interference from Sherri. The rivalry culminated in a "Career-Ending" match at
WrestleMania VII which Warrior won, forcing Savage to retire. On March 30, 1991, at the Wrestlefest in Tokyo Dome event jointly promoted by the WWF and
Super World of Sports, Warrior defeated Sgt. Slaughter. The next chapter of Warrior's career was an encounter with
The Undertaker, after Undertaker and his manager,
Paul Bearer, locked Warrior in a coffin on the set of Bearer's
Funeral Parlor on the April 13, 1991 episode of
WWF Superstars. WWF officials worked feverishly to break the casket open, finally revealing Warrior's seemingly lifeless body, and the torn fabric inside of the coffin indicating Warrior's desperate struggle to get out. Warrior was finally revived by the officials performing
CPR. (It was later revealed in a 2010 interview with Bearer that, in preparation for the segment, he and his team had to remove the airtight rubber seal or "gasket" from around the coffin's lid and drill air holes in said lid to allow for breathable space, so that Warrior would not suffocate because "he had enough brain damage as it was, and we wouldn't want to give him any more", implying that Warrior had been faking his own death the whole time.) This led to
Jake "The Snake" Roberts offering to give Warrior "the knowledge of the dark side" in order to prepare Warrior to take his revenge on the Undertaker. This involved Roberts giving Warrior three "tests" shown on WWF television in consecutive weeks. For the first test, Roberts locked Warrior once again inside the same coffin as previously. For the second test, Warrior was "buried alive" by Roberts. The WWF responded on July 13, agreeing to $550,000 for WrestleMania VII, a higher royalty rate and promising no other WWF performer would be paid more than him on WWF pay per views. McMahon personally ended the letter by saying, "I would like to express my deepest appreciation and admiration for you as a performer, as a member of the WWF family, as a man, and as my friend". At
SummerSlam on August 26, 1991, Warrior teamed with Hulk Hogan in a handicap match against Sgt. Slaughter,
Colonel Mustafa, and
General Adnan. Following the event, Warrior was handed a letter dated August 26, 1991, from McMahon, saying Warrior was suspended effective immediately. Among other things, McMahon said, "You threatened to stay at home thereby not even appearing at Titan's major summer pay-per-view event SummerSlam. I had no choice but to accede to your exorbitant demands. This was a serious mistake on your part". McMahon later testified that the only reason the company agreed to the contract was to "acquiesce to his demands temporarily" to ensure Warrior would perform at the SummerSlam event. Upon receiving the letter, Warrior refused the suspension and left the WWF. Warrior formally sent a letter of resignation to the WWF in October 1991. The WWF refused to accept the letter since Warrior was under contract until September 1992.
Return (1992) With Hulk Hogan about to leave the WWF, McMahon contacted Warrior about returning. He made his comeback in April 1992 at
WrestleMania VIII, rescuing Hulk Hogan from a
beat down at the hands of
Sid Justice and
Papa Shango. Upon his return, he received a degree of creative control over his
bookings. One storyline involved Papa Shango, a "
witch doctor", casting a spell over Warrior, causing him to convulse and
vomit in very odd colors, though Warrior says he hated that story and had no control over it. Warrior left the WWF on November 21, 1992, with his last match being a victory over
Kamala on November 8 in
Orlando, Florida;
Mr. Perfect substituted for him at Survivor Series. The initial plan for Warrior's 1992 return was to eventually give him another run with the WWF Championship. Indeed, WWF writers had originally intended that Ultimate Warrior should be the one to accept Mr. Perfect's services - up for offer to either SummerSlam main event competitor - turning heel in the process of winning the title. However these plans were scrapped at a late stage due to the Warrior's refusal to turn heel after considering the collapse in merchandise sales which would have resulted. Furthermore, his return coincided with the government's crackdown on steroids in wrestling. Warrior was admittedly a heavy user of steroids during his professional wrestling career. In his book
Sex, Lies and Headlocks,
ESPN writer
Shaun Assael stated that Canadian chemist
Mauro Di Pasquale, who had been hired in June to monitor the WWF's new drug testing program and was known for being tough towards anyone who failed a drug test, However, in
Warrior: The Ultimate Legend, McMahon claims that it was Warrior's experimenting with
growth hormone which led to his departure; Warrior was suspended and, in return, skipped dates as he took offense to McMahon's actions. In January 1993 he wrestled as the Dingo Warrior, defeating
Hercules Hernandez in Billerica, Massachusetts, for
Killer Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation. In April 1993, he toured Europe for World Wrestlings Superstars in Germany. On July 22, 1995, he returned to the ring for the National Wrestling Conference (NWC) promotion in Las Vegas, defeating
The Honky Tonk Man. He had also wrestled a tour of Germany for
Otto Wanz's
Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) promotion where he defeated
Ulf Herman.
World Wrestling Federation (1996) Warrior returned to the WWF on March 31, 1996, defeating
Hunter Hearst Helmsley at
WrestleMania XII. He made his first appearance on
Monday Night Raw on April 8, where he gave an in-ring interview and credited the "voices" of the "warriors" (his name for members of the WWF audience) for his return; he was then interrupted by
Goldust.
World Championship Wrestling (1998) WCW signed Warrior "at great expense" in May 1998. He formed a
stable opposing Hollywood Hulk Hogan's
New World Order (nWo): the "One Warrior Nation" using the initialism oWn as a play on the name nWo. Highlights of the storyline included Warrior
kidnapping and "converting"
The Disciple and frequent instances of "magic smoke" knocking out all of the nWo members except for Hollywood Hogan and covering Warrior's movement through a trapdoor in the ring. The trapdoor was responsible for nearly paralyzing
Davey Boy Smith, when he awkwardly fell on it during a match at
Fall Brawl 98. Though
Alex Wright, who was also hurt in that match, didn't blame Warrior for the accident, he did blame management for not warning them about the trapdoor. Warrior's debut promo lasted 13 minutes, though
Eric Bischoff would claim it unexpectedly lasted over 27 minutes, which was more than 20 minutes over its allotted time and forced Eric to do a massive rewrite of
Nitro on the spot, including re-adding a
commercial break that was supposed to take place during the promo. Warrior only participated in three matches in WCW. The first was the
WarGames match at
Fall Brawl, where he competed as a member of Team WCW, competing against 8 other wrestlers for a shot at
Goldberg's
WCW World Heavyweight Championship at
Halloween Havoc.
Diamond Dallas Page won the match by pinning
Stevie Ray. On the October 12 edition of
Monday Nitro, he teamed with Sting to defeat Hogan and
Bret Hart by disqualification. The third was his loss to Hogan at Halloween Havoc, in what is considered by many to be one of the worst wrestling matches ever staged. During the bout, Hogan attempted to "blind" The Warrior using flash paper, but was unable to light it properly, and as a result The Warrior was forced to briefly sell the move despite the flames clearly not touching him in any way. The match came to an end when
Horace Hogan hit Warrior in the back with a chair, allowing Hogan to score the pinfall. WCW claimed that attempts were made to save the storyline, though Warrior claimed in interviews and convention appearances that the only reason he was brought back was so Hogan could get a win over Warrior in return for Hogan's WrestleMania job. Warrior's last appearance in WCW was on the November 9, 1998, episode of
Monday Nitro, when he came to the rescue of The Disciple who was being attacked by members of The nWo. Warrior retired from wrestling that year.
Nu-Wrestling Evolution (2008) After retiring in 1998, Warrior only wrestled a single match on June 25, 2008, against
Orlando Jordan in Barcelona, Spain. Warrior won the match and the Nu-Wrestling Evolution World Heavyweight Championship, but immediately vacated the title.
WWE Hall of Fame (2013–2014) in April 2014 On February 20, 2013, Warrior confirmed on his official YouTube channel that he would appear at "WrestleCon" on April 7, 2013. In the same clip he spoke positively about
Vince McMahon for the first time on his channel. His appearance was so popular that a second print run of tickets had to be ordered. On July 15, 2013, Warrior was featured in a
WWE 2K14 game trailer and revealed he was in the roster as a pre-order bonus. On April 5, 2014, Warrior was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014. The next day, Warrior appeared at
WrestleMania XXX, and the following night delivered a promo on
Raw, his first appearance on the show since his final televised WWF match in 1996. During what turned out to be his final public appearance, Warrior gave a speech to the fans and wrestlers past and present as his Ultimate Warrior character. == Personal life ==