ULTIMATE WARRIOR - FAQ
How many wrestlers have played The Ultimate Warrior?
One. Jim Hellwig is the only wrestler to ever play the Warrior. He had used different hair styles and ring wear but it is the same guy.
Is Ultimate Warrior still alive?
Yes. Around 1993 there was a big rumor that he tied his arm bands he wears to the ring too tight and cut off his blood supply. Of course the rumor was false.
Who were Power Team USA and The Blade Runners?
Power Team USA was a group of bodybuilders put together by Red Bastien and Rick Bassman in California in 1985. Bastien planned to train them to become wrestlers but soon after he broke up the groups when he found out they couldn't do anything decent in the ring. The group consisted of Jim "Justice" Hellwig, Steve "Flash" Borden, Mark "Commando" Miller, and Garland "Glory" Donnoho.
After the split Miller quit the wrestling business and so did Donnoho after a short stint wrestling in California as "The Myth".
Hellwig and Borden teamed together in independent federations as the Blade Runners. The group did not last long and Hellwig went on to be The Dingo Warrior in Texas and then the Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. Borden went on to be Sting in NWA/WCW.
Did he change his last name to Warrior?
Yes. In order to keep his Ultimate Warrior gimmick and name Jim Hellwig had his last name legally changed to Warrior. The change took place after the left the WWF in 1991. When Warrior signed with WWF again in 1996 part if the deal was that Warrior would obtain all legal rights to the Warrior gimmick which meant that Warrior could use the name anywhere outside the WWF and would get all the revenues generated from the name.
After Warrior left WWF in 1996 both filed lawsuits against each other claiming they had the rights to the name. WWF claimed Warrior did not get to keep the name because he didn't live up to his contract. Warrior claimed WWF was unfair to his contract and that he owned the name before 1996 anyway. The case was settled in a court in Arizona sometime around 2001 and it's believed Warrior won the case.
Why did he leave the WWF in 1991?
It is unknown what the actual single reason for Warrior's leaving in 1991. One of the reasons given was that he demanded more money for his match at SummerSlam, and was given the money, but fired after. It is also believed that Warrior just took a long break. The reason for the break is believed because Warrior was taken out of the world title picture and instead of just dealing with it, Warrior just decided to leave the WWF for a while and come back later. He never did win the world title though after his return.
Why did he leave the WWF in 1992?
Warrior departed in '92 partly due to the financial cut-backs of some of its stars. The Warrior & Davey boy Smith, departed the WWF because of it. Another was a storyline issue. Before Survior Series 1992 Warrior found out he was going to be moved into a lesser position and would be starting a long feud with Nailz. Warrior's contract let him leave at anytime so instead of being de-pushed he decided to leave the WWF. He was rarely seen or mentioned on WWF television until 1996.
Why did he leave the WWF in 1996?
The WWF's story is that Warrior was too expensive, was missing a lot of shows, and wasn't helping the company enough to be paid his high salary. The Warrior's story was that WWF was treating him poorly, not letting him have control of his character and did not give him enough time to grieve the death of his father. Most people in the wrestling business side with WWF's story.
What happened to "Warrior University"?
From the start it was poorly managed by Warrior. The day to day operations were very poor because of Warrior's mental state. Soon after it's start the Warrior University was bankrupt and closed down. Warrior has given many reasons to why the University failed but the real reason accepted by fans is that Warrior was just too crazy to run it.What's with all the vomit jokes?
In Warrior's contract with the WWF in 1992 Warrior was given creative control of his bookings. From what we heard and read, Warrior decided to book himself in a feud with a witch doctor named Papa Shango. Shango would cast spells on jobbers he fought making ooz flow out of their boots as well as other things. On one television show, Papa Shango put a spell on Warrior making him throw up. It's considered one of the dumbest angles in WWF's history. In a recent interview, Warrior said that it was actually Vince's idea.
What was with all the "magic" jokes?
When Warrior entered the WCW in 1998 he was given creative control much like in the WWF. Warrior formed the One Warrior Nation (NWO backwards) and would fight against Hollywood Hogan and his NWO stable. While Hogan would be in the ring a cloud of "magic" smoke would fill the ring knocking out all the NWO members except Hogan. Warrior would come though a trapdoor built into the ring and appear after the smoke cleared. He would also appear while Hogan was backstage and only Hogan would be able to see him while the other NWO members were clueless to what was happening. The Warrior and Hogan finally fought at Halloween Havoc 1998 and after the match The Warrior left WCW.
It should be noted that the other WCW wrestlers hated the trapdoor in the ring and Davey Boy Smith was even seriously injured when he fell through it.
Was Ultimate Warrior ever in ECW?
No. In 2000 though, Warrior said he had interest in going to ECW but Paul Heyman said he only wanted Warrior to come in and lose a squash match to ECW Champion Taz ,and Warrior didn't want to do that so he never mentioned it again.
Why did Warrior leave WCW in 1998?
After a horrible match with Hollywood Hogan at Halloween Havoc, WCW decided that they would keep trying to make the feud work. But then Warrior suffered an arm injury and needed a few weeks off. WCW officials then decided to stop the angle and just let Warrior's contract run out.
I have a $100 dollar bet with my friend that needs to be settled, and we agreed to do it this way. My friend seems to think that Jim Hellwig, aka. The Ultimate Warrior, wrestled in WCW under the name "The Renegade" I disagree. I say that they were two completely different people. Who is right?
Many people somehow still ask me this question. First of all I want half of that money j/k
The Ultimate Warrior was not The Renegade. They are completely two different people. Sadly, The Renegade passed away two or three of years ago.
I read that the Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage formed a tag team called the Ultimate Maniacs. Is this true and if so, how long did the team last?
Yes, it is true. He teamed up with Randy Savage in October of 1992 and were given the name "Ultimate Maniacs." This was only for a few matches, then Warrior left the WWF.
How many matches did the Ultimate and Undertaker have and who won them? I know that Undertaker and Ultimate Warrior had a match at Rampage 1991.
Yea, they fought at Rampage in Toronto, but they never fought on TV. Although they fought many times from April to August of 1991, but like I said, they were all house shows.
