OT - WWE's Ultimate Warrior dead at age 54...

[Deano]

Hard to believe this happened as he was just inducted in HOF over the weekend and actually was on the Monday night show too.

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/10754308/ultimate-warrior-54-dies-3-days-wwe-hall-fame-ceremony

 

[Tcuse]

How about the other sports forum (or entertainment forum) for this? There is no SU BBall in this topic

 

[realorange]

How about the other sports forum (or entertainment forum) for this? There is no SU BBall in this topic

Alternate viewing for the Championship Game.

 

[Eric15]

My favorite moment in wrestling history is at the end of Wrestlemania 8 when he rescued Hulk Hogan from Sid Justice and Papa Shango. 10-year-old me just completely lost my mind.

"Wait a minute... THAT'S THE WARRIOR'S MUSIC"

 

[PeteCalvin]

All these star wrestlers from the 1980's are dropping like flies. I suspect that steroids are the cause in most cases. That era was full of users.

 

[oldpinepoint]

Loved wrestling during my youth. Saturday night main event was awesome. I remember staying up late to watch.

 

[RichmondCuse]

Just Monday night on Raw, he gave the following speech - very eerie, and sad:

"No WWE talent becomes a legend on their own. 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 what makes the blood pulse through the body of others and makes them bleed deeper and something larger than life then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized. By the story tellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him and make the running the man did live forever. You, you, you, you, you, you are the legend makers of Ultimate Warrior. In the back I see many potential legends. Some of them with warrior spirits. And you will do the same for them. You will decide if they lived with the passion and intensity. So much so that you will tell your stories and you will make them legends, as well. I am The Ultimate Warrior. You are the Ultimate Warrior fans and the spirit of Ultimate Warrior will run forever."

 

[NineOneSeven]

Just saw him on the live show Monday night at RAW. Very strange. He definitely looked very fragile but to be dead 24 hours later? Strange.

So many wrestlers die young. It's an incredibly demanding job, on top of the lifestyle so many live/used to live. Steroids, alcohol, drugs.

 

[CusefanATL]

i literally watch the undertaker vs ultimate warrior yesterday.

That match haunted my dreams for weeks when i was a kid.

 

[suttree]

A few years ago, I bought a rug from a guy here in Austin who told me a story about The Ultimate Warrior. The guy selling the rug to me was the owner of the joint, and he made it a practice to make a personal delivery on every single transaction. He would show up at your house, smile and shake your hand, and then start cutting out the perfectly-sized pad to place underneath the rug--and he would politely refuse to let the customer do any of the work involved in moving furniture, etc.

So he shows up at the Warrior's house one day to run through the delivery ritual. He eyeballs the layout of the living room and immediately sees the big man sitting on a freaking enormous couch--one of the biggest he'd ever seen. Rug guy politely excuses himself to fetch his sidekick, since this is clearly a job for two sets of hands. Walks back in about 60 seconds later, and the Warrior is sitting on another chair. And the gigantic couch has been moved, effortlessly, to the far side of the room, having cleared a bunch of other items. Warrior couldn't have been nicer, and gave a very generous tip.

I remember the WWF days and loved the Warrior's character. His feud with The Undertaker was outstanding. Didn't he wind up trapped in a huge casket after getting clubbed into oblivion?

This is really too bad. R.I.P.

 

[Cowtown]

How about the other sports forum (or entertainment forum) for this? There is no SU BBall in this topic

Yes it's athletic, and entertaining to some, but sport it ain't.

 

[Otto'd]

RIP. I heard he mellowed over the years, and ended up being a decent guy, but he was the poster boy for everything that was wrong with wrestling when he was in his prime. Steroid fueled, drug addled ego maniac. with no respect for his craft or his professions history.

 

[Millhouse]

went to a wrestling show once at the Aud. the dingo warrior comes flying out and murders a guy in a few seconds. i recognized him from the sh!tty wrestling they had on ESPN after school with the great kabuki spitting green barf that magically incapacitated opponents. i was psyched that he was in the wwf. then i got leaping lanno poffo's autograph. for this i was also psyched. what a dork

 

[Frozen]

the great kabuki spitting green barf that magically incapacitated opponents.

 

[dollarbill44]

All these star wrestlers from the 1980's are dropping like flies. I suspect that steroids are the cause in most cases. That era was full of users.

It's the steroids combined with other things (alcohol, stimulants, painkillers, etc), like some others have said. Plenty of steroid users have lived long lives.

 

[Shawn91111]

How about the other sports forum (or entertainment forum) for this? There is no SU BBall in this topic

You knew what the topic was about before you opened it.

Anyhow, Warrior was my fav wrestler in the late 80's RIP

 

[senorpalmer]

I lost interest in pro wrestling in the late 80s, even back then he had made his mark. I recall him being the only guy I ever saw to legitimately bodyslam Andre the Giant. I remember Hogan doing it too but not nearly as impressively. The best warrior moment I recall, let's set the scenario. ..Honkytonk Man was supposed to defend the intercontinental title against Brutus Beefcake in summerslam something or other. Beefcake gets hurt in the weeks leading up to the match. The match is still scheduled anyway with no challenger. Honky enters the ring, gets on the mic and says "send anyone out here to fight me". Cue the warrior music, in comes warrior at about 100 mph, lays waste to honky in about 30 seconds and claims the title. In a humorous post match tirade, honky exclaims "I said send ANYONE in here, not the Ultimate Warrior! "

 

[CuseFanInFl]

My favorite moment in wrestling history is at the end of Wrestlemania 8 when he rescued Hulk Hogan from Sid Justice and Papa Shango. 10-year-old me just completely lost my mind.

"Wait a minute... THAT'S THE WARRIOR'S MUSIC"

My favorite memory of the Warrior was when I was 5 years old. 1991 body bag match with Undertaker. I was such a huge fan of him, me and my cousin would do the music at lunch in elementary school. It was devastating as a 5 year old seeing my favorite wrestler being stuffed in the body bag...BUT then he kicked out and won the match.

http://youtu.be/YZP5r8tXswc

 

[Cootface]

Yes it's athletic, and entertaining to some, but sport it ain't.

What, no commentary or rule definitions defending the why WWE refs have legitimate reasons to turn around and check the scoters table while a groggy wrestler gets blasted from behind with a folding chair? I'm disappointed!

 

[NKR1978]

went to a wrestling show once at the Aud. the dingo warrior comes flying out and murders a guy in a few seconds. i recognized him from the sh!tty wrestling they had on ESPN after school with the great kabuki spitting green barf that magically incapacitated opponents. i was psyched that he was in the wwf. then i got leaping lanno poffo's autograph. for this i was also psyched. what a dork

Those old World Class shows on ESPN were awesome.

 

[Cowtown]

What, no commentary or rule definitions defending the why WWE refs have legitimate reasons to turn around and check the scoters table while a groggy wrestler gets blasted from behind with a folding chair? I'm disappointed!

I'll let you continue your struggle with the difference between college hoops and pro wrestling.

 

[Millhouse]

What, no commentary or rule definitions defending the why WWE refs have legitimate reasons to turn around and check the scoters table while a groggy wrestler gets blasted from behind with a folding chair? I'm disappointed!

he writes letters of encouragement to all the Hebners

 

[moqui]

All these star wrestlers from the 1980's are dropping like flies. I suspect that steroids are the cause in most cases. That era was full of users.

it is not just the steroids; they are probably even a minor contributor. Wrestling is a rough racket. There is no off season. If you want to make it in the business, you have to be on the road 300 days a year (only the rare few at the very top like Hogan and Dwayne Johnson get to take extended leaves of absence). If you get injured, then your story line falls by the wayside and you have to claw your way back up, so you take painkillers to keep going out there. You take uppers to get up for the match and downers so you can get to sleep. You don't get proper treatment for your injuries because you can't afford to take the time off.

RIP to Helliwig, but man, he was the worst. I mean, he had a great gimmick and was really rolling with the characterization part of the business back in the 80s-early 90s. But he was a terrible wrestler. Worst cardio in the business. He'd come out all jacked up, race around the ring a couple times, jump in and shake the ropes, then have to go into a rest hold 60 seconds into the actual match.

 

[Symphony Steve]

I'll betcha that 'roids were a MAJOR factor with the Warrior's death. Don't think even Hogan could top him when it came to anabolics. BTW, here is one of his great insane promos:

 

[BuffOrange]

RIP. I heard he mellowed over the years, and ended up being a decent guy, but he was the poster boy for everything that was wrong with wrestling when he was in his prime. Steroid fueled, drug addled ego maniac. with no respect for his craft or his professions history.

Awesome first post, ha.
But ya I saw a youtube 'shoot' interview a couple years ago where he just came across as a real douche. Basically every exchange went like this:
Q) So what memories do you have of the ___ match?
A) Memories? What are you talking about, I was just collecting a check.

I guess he gets a point for being real about it but damn...
Though to be fair, most of the non-Mannings in the NFL are clueless about the history of their team/game.