One of the great enigmas in all of professional wrestling is James "Ultimate Warrior" Hellwig aka "Warrior." Here he speaks candidly with reporter/journalist Scotty Bender on a wide range of topics.
If you look at his later interviews the more aggressive he is the more jacked he is. I’d guess steroids played a big part psychologically. The bigger he was the more outspoken and angry he seemed. At the end when he was much smaller he seemed very chilled, a shame he passed away when he may have turned a corner in his life.
Ultimate Warrior was an INTELLIGENT man and the reason why he gets shit from Vince (even after his death,) is the fact that he was one of the VERY few who stood up to Vince's Bullshit back in the day and threatened legal action.
Warrior had joined wcw at age 39. they could have done some Great stuff with him .but it goes back to what Bret says. they didn't know how To Build Legit Storylines Using The Legends
Not that intelligent or he wouldn't have stressed his heart out so much with all that bodybuilding stress & strain. Screaming with the veins popping out his neck straining with all he's got to lift a piece of metal! I don't see much intelligence there, u lifted something up, OK... Give yourself a macho pat on the back or beat your chest like an ape while you're actually damaging your heart, veins and circulatory system. It's not natural to have that sort of body plus all the steroids he did. Also sounds like his wife brainwashed him somewhat. I wouldn't say he was a terrible person but he was very judgemental of others and yet put himself up on a pedastool as of he was the greatest person in the world, he knew it all. So much so that he thought he could teach others how to live their lives without any understanding that not everyone is the same.
The warrior deserves alot more respect than people are giving him. As he said in this interview, he's not the greatest wrestler there ever was but he set goals for himself and achieved amazing heights. How can he be persecuted for this? I think it absolutely amazing that he didn't hang onto wrestling like alot of other wrestlers have and fade out, he easily could have. Anyone that makes something of themselves should be congratulated not condemned. The way I see it, if your upsetting people th
The thing about Warrior that gets him heat amongst so many dudes in the business really has to do with the fact that he's one of a very few who really don't NEED wrestling to sustain himself and after his big run, never really did. He could hold out for what he wanted to, didn't let promoters push him around, etc. He's definately an abraisive guy, but I don't think he's nearly as far gone as some imply.
Interesting. Many have tried to paint this guy as a lunatic who "self destructed". This is the most sensible, though-provoking person I have ever heard come out of the wrestling business. It is also a testament to how good of an actor he was. Many people, still to this day, thought he was really that crazy. He played his part very well.
I have high respect for jim helwig he had a unique charismatic character that know body else ever had he had energy and a powerful voice that made sense god rest his soul. Rip Jim
He has been trying to make a living suing the WWE since he retired, but he recently lost a case he had against the WWE for the Self-Destruction DVD. Being the Patriot that he is, he likes to work the American legal system as much as possible.
@PureDynamiteKid Steiner on Flair continued: "If you want an honest opinion, you ask somebody who they would rather be on the card with - Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair. If they don’t say Hulk Hogan, they’re out of their minds. At least you knew when you were on a Hulk Hogan card you were going to get paid. Thank God in WCW we had guaranteed contracts. If we had been paid by the houses that we were drawing, we would have starved."
@PureDynamiteKid In addtion to Sanmartino...... Scott Steiner (who i admit, hates flair) on flair's ''drawing power'' "Flair never drew when I was in the NWA and WCW. Flair had all of his friends booking him on top and we were not drawing. People can say what they want, but I was there and we did not draw nothing. They may have papered the crowd to make it look good for a Clash or a pay-per-view, but we did not draw" I can say for a fact that Flair at that time did not draw a dime"
I was a total mark for warrior as a small kid. we all were. even after hearing about how much of a pain he was in the locker room...and him holding Vince up for money, etc... but even today I'd totally become a 5 year old boy again if i heard his music hit.
In all honesty name the number of wrestlers who A.) started successful careers outside of the business B.) Aren't physically decrepid C.) Have a stable family life D.) No drug addiction and E.) Managed their money well and used it to leverage success in other arenas... bet you can't name more than five or six, and Warrrior is on there. Something to be said for that in spite of his edginess.
Warrior wasn't the best wrestler, but its his gimmick and intensity that I will always love and remember him for. As far as things that happen in the WWE, behind the scenes, it is a corrupt business that is extremely political with favorites usually getting what they want. We'll never know the truth of what really happened with Vince and Warrior, but as the years go by it seems that it leaks out a little bit more that maybe it was Vince and WWE that tried to screw with Warrior.
@PureDynamiteKid Sorry to interrupt but Matt Borne, Ahmed Johnson, Kevin Nash, Jimmy Hart and Brutus beefcake say good things about him in their shoot interviews that are on youtube.
@sanctainquisitio When that self destruction dvd first came out, folks were agreeing with Vince and crew. I suggested they listen to/watch the promos as adults and stop remaining "stuck in their ways". If you can comprehend simple language then there should be no problem. He's called "The Ultimate Warrior" not "some guy that looks and sounds like everybody else",lol. Some of the promos are more direct and to the point but folks still don't want to be forced to use a little brain power, lol.
@sanctainquisitio He didn't cut his hair for that NWE match. He appeared on the news shows during the Benoit incident aftermath the year before with his hair cut low. The NWE deal was more of a short notice kind of thing.
@shinobizach89 How do we really know how he was back in the day, though? Brutus Beefcake said that the fact that he didn't hang out in the locker room, drinking/drugging, etc. with the boys, they became offended as a result. He was usually a quiet guy and kept to himself alot. His first marriage was crumbling at the time also. Also, keep in mind Vince was very resistant to anyone doing things outside of wrestling (films, family, etc.) back then. He was basically a slave driver.
@Dan97LHS here here! im a straight guy that is a nurse and works with many wonderful gay & lesbian people. wonderful funny smart people who really make it a joy to be with at work. people who just happen to have different life choices.its a shame that it took me till 42yrs old to find this out-but im glad that in my life ive had the chance too! pro wrestling is Shakespearean-great entertainment!
it makes me sick how wwe tried to bury him on their dvd. warrior seems like a real nice guy, and just because vince's old tired ass is mad at him don't warrant that kind of treatment.
Warrior was always so huge on throwing in the towel and “growing up”. Us fans never wanted him to give it up like that. Us real fans enjoyed watching Sting until his recent retirement match at almost 65. That kind of longevity must of disgusted Warrior?
@kinjau You need to look at more of his early matches (pre-face turn Dingo Warrior and his early WWF stuff) even later matches against Goldust (the RAW match) for example. Those are on youtube btw.
And you can say the same thing about Warrior. Like I said- he's abraisive. He won't wrestle unless you pay him out the ass, but then again do you blame him? He's kept that brand really strong through the years despite pissing off a lot of people. I GET a lot of the knocks on him, but I think many of them are overinflated and brought about through a lot of envy.
@PureDynamiteKid I'll also say, its fucking hliarious how many people dislike warrior for being smart enough to get something out of wrestling, the bottom line is, warrior did it his way, he is one of the ONLY guy who truly stood and up to Vince and got out of the wrestling buisness pretty unscathed compared to others, this is because he had the brain power to realise that the industry was killing and destorying guys and he didnt wanna end up like that...............
@sanctainquisitio Gotcha and I agree. During the leadup to the NWE event, he asked folks to help him pick a hairdo as he was looking into performance enhancement to get one of those looks in time for the match. I didn't think it was possible outside of a hair weave or something of that sort, lol.
Thanks so much for sharing this candid interview Scotty! I watch your show on channel 18! Are you gonna upload his whole speaking gig from Brockport? I'm curious on how it went.
Talk about being too far gone...but I have a great suggestion for you: I hear Venezuela and Russia are great places to live. It surely sounds like you would be much happier living there. Hell, I'll even chip in to buy you the one way ticket!
The Character of the Warrior was the best and his interviews were amazing and creative surrealism. James Hellwig is a intelligent and creative guy for coming up with the character and creating a great stage presence with the interviews. The interview did not have to make sense , it was all about using your imagination. If you carry on doing the same thing all your life you will of wasted your life and missed out on so many other things. Nice to see him doing something positive.
i remember rock and flash usa powwer team dingo warrior watch him evolve into the ultimate warrior then just warrior itellegent man great gimmick i beleive him about hogan i salute you warrior
Most of the wrestlers slagging of Ultimate warrior never drew a fucking dime compared to Warrior. No matter what ANYONE says, this man was such a draw, WWF made hogan lie down clean for him at Wrestlemania for 2 fucking titles, thats the bottom line, you can talk about his in ring work all you like, but the bottom line was, he drew more money than you did and was smart enough to realise that merchandising his character to ensure future profits was the way to go rather than be a slave to vince.
@sanctainquisitio Good question. Would they have been willing to wait, though? Not sure if there was any flexibility in there but then again it could've extended the storyline a little longer as well. Might not have been a bad idea if handled properly. Have the match moved to another ppv. He apparently blew out his knee the night before or the day of the match as a result of pushing himself a little too hard while working out.
@theceng That and some other promises that he didn't go into detail about. What you mentioned was the main thing. Bad News mentioned how Vince, Sr. was old school (he'd worked for him in the past) and kept his word unlike Vince, Jr. who lied and stabbed people in the back the first chance he got, lol.
@papillonaquatique agreed, he's turned his life around and became enlightened, he's nothing like he was back in the day, if vince and the rest of the stooges would let stuff go, warrior could come back and be a mentor to the younger guys and be an ambassador for the company next to cena
Wrestling is a hugely insular community and there's this mentality that once you turn your back, you're not really welcomed back. Guys who aren't lifers are looked down upon. I mean heck - look at Eric Bischoff and how workers, promoters and dirt sheets tore him to shreds the MINUTE he took the reigns of WCW. Whether they were right to or not is up for debate, but fact is Bischoff's faced an uphill battle his whole career in the wrestling community.
I dont like his politics, but I admire what Hellwig has done. He's moved on, set new goals for himself and is trying to do something positive. (hopefully) But at the same time he's kind of a walking contradiction. He talks about kids learning language and then he'l show a kid one of his warrior promos, LOL.
Warrior has to pay the WWE close to $19,000 dollars to cover their legal expenses for the frivolous Self-Destruction DVD lawsuit he brought against them which was dismissed.
@papillonaquatique Originally, they asked Warrior to be part of the DVD, if I remember correctly, so they buried him with it instead. They were planning to do the same to Bret Hart if he didn't agree to be part of his own DVD feature-it would have been entirely focused on the Montreal Screwjob, not on the fantastic career he had. That's why he agreed to come on board and do the thing. Warrior didn't, however, so Vince, the petty rich man, used his money to try and destroy him. Didn't work though
The Ultimate Warrior is my hero, ever since I was 10, 25 years later, he remains my ONLY hero of time itself. I get excited every time I see the old Wrestlemania and WWF videos.
@seattle0002 What did you expect? That the man can only bawl and snort? People who play the bad guys are normally very good and kind guys. And people who are playing a guy who is wild and insane are very intelligent in real life, and that's what Warrior is.
It's sad, but a happy ending... Of course this is a touching story about a man who, at one time, was on top of the world and lost everythng... left his family and lives as an addict on the streets..however, the way he cries his freaking hilarious! Have a sense of humor... there is a lot of comedy here... 1) his cry (he cries a few times), 2) when he says BIG BRA.., 3)the goofy Bobby dude and his poem LMAO....need i say more?!?!?! As heart-warming as it is.. cmon Lamar's speaking?
talking about guys still not letting go and yet he legally tried to change his name to the ultimate warrior (and succeeded i think) now thats not letting go.
