Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; born June 16, 1959), under the ring name The Ultimate Warrior, is an American professional wrestler.
Background[]
Pre-WrestleMania[]
Hellwig joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in June 1987. First competing on house shows under his Dingo Warrior moniker, he defeated a series of jobbers, including Steve Lombardi, Barry Horowitz, and Mike Sharpe. He made his television debut as The Ultimate Warrior on the October 25 episode of Wrestling Challenge, where he defeated another jobber, Terry Gibbs.
WrestleMania V (1989)[]
Rude and Warrior were booked to face each other in a "Super Posedown" at Royal Rumble on January 15, 1989. The winner had to be decided by a fan reaction, where Warrior won the posedown. After the posedown, a furious and angry Rude attacked Warrior. This led to a feud between the two and an Intercontinental Heavyweight Title match at WrestleMania V.
WrestleMania VI (1990)[]
On February 3, 1990, a week after Hogan and Warrior crossed paths in the 1990 Royal Rumble match, Hogan put forth "The Ultimate Challenge" to Warrior, and had to know whether Hulkamania or the power of Warrior was the strongest force in the WWE.
On February 10, the match was officially announced as the main event of WrestleMania VI by then WWE President Jack Tunney. On February 24, Tunney announced that both the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship would be on the line for the first-time ever during the match.
WrestleMania VII (1991)[]
"The Macho King" Randy Savage was desperately trying to regain the WWE championship since he lost the title at WrestleMania V and challenged Warrior repeatedly to give him a shot. Warrior continually refused to do so and Savage decided to seek another remedy.
During the match between Warrior and Slaughter at 1991 Royal Rumble, Savage and his manager Queen Sherri came to ringside and got involved in the match. Warrior picked up an interfering Sherri and tossed her from the ring onto Savage. Slaughter capitalized by driving Warrior down, leaving him hanging on the second rope. Savage then struck Warrior with his royal scepter as Slaughter kept the referee's attention, knocking the champion unconscious. After he came to and realized what Savage had done, Warrior charged to the back looking for Savage. He then issued a challenge for a retirement match for the two at WrestleMania, which Savage accepted.
Off wrestling appearances[]
The Ultimate Warrior saves Hulk Hogan from the beating of Sid Justice and Papa Shango, after Hogan won the match via disqualification at WrestleMania VIII.
Match Record[]
| Winner | Loser | Location | WrestleMania | Stipulations | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Warrior | Hercules (with Bobby Heenan) | Atlantic City, New Jersey | IV | Singles match | March 27, 1988 |
| Rick Rude (with Bobby Heenan) | Ultimate Warrior | Atlantic City, New Jersey | V | Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship | April 2, 1989 |
| Ultimate Warrior (IC Champion) | Hulk Hogan (WWE Champion) | Toronto, Ontario | VI | Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental and WWE Championship | April 1, 1990 |
| Ultimate Warrior | Randy Savage (with Queen Sherri) | Los Angeles, California | VII | Retirement match | March 24, 1991 |
| Ultimate Warrior | Hunter Hearst Helmsley (with Sable) | Anaheim, California | XII | Singles match | March 31, 1996 |
Legacy[]
Warrior Award[]
| Year | Image | Recipent | Presented By | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Connor "The Crusher" Michalek | Dana Warrior and Daniel Bryan | Posthumous recipient/inductee: Represented by his father Steve and brother Jackson. Eight-year-old WWE fan who died of cancer. "Connor's Cure" cancer charity fund established in his honor by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, run by Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. | |
| 2016 | Joan Lunden | Dana Warrior | Long-time former co-host of Good Morning America. Returned to the public eye in recent years for openly discussing her breast cancer diagnosis. Spokeswoman for Susan G. Komen. | |
| 2017 | Eric LeGrand | Dana Warrior | Former Rutgers University football player. LeGrand was paralyzed during the 2010 game against Army. He has gone on to become a renowned motivational speaker. | |
| 2018 | Jarrius "JJ" Robertson | Dana Warrior | Double liver transplant survivor |
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Ultimate Splash (Running splash, either to a face up or face down opponent)
- Signature moves
- Atomic drop
- Gorilla press drop
- Leaping shoulder block
- Multiple clotheslines
- Multiple sole kicks to a cornered opponent
- Entrance themes
- "Castle Walls" by Styx (CWA/Mid-South/UWF; 1985–1986)
- "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf (WCCW; 1986)
- "The Warrior" by Scandal (WCCW/WWF; 1986–1987)
- "Unstable" by Jim Johnston (WWF/E)
- "The Ultimate Return" by AnAkA (NWE)
- "One Warrior Nation" (WCW; 1998)
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Nu-Wrestling Evolution
- NWE World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Comeback of the Year (1992)
- Feud of the Year (1991) vs. The Undertaker
- Match of the Year (1990) vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI
- PWI ranked him No. 9 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992
- PWI ranked him No. 101 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- World Class Wrestling Association
- WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WCWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Lance Von Erich
- World Wrestling Federation/WWE
- WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- WWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Slammy Award for Surprise Return of the Year (2014)
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2014)
- WWE Bronze Statue
Trivia[]
- All his attires from WWE 2K15's "Path of the Warrior" DLC reappears in WWE 2K16 (excluding SummerSlam '91 following Hogan's departure due to racist scandal).
- Him, Randy Savage, Vader, andLex Luger are the only superstars with a different attire in 2K18.
| WWE Champions |
|---|
| Bruno Sammartino ● Bob Backlund ● Iron Sheik ● Hulk Hogan ● André the Giant ● Ultimate Warrior ● Sgt. Slaughter ● Undertaker ● Ric Flair ● Bret Hart ● Yokozuna ● Diesel ● Shawn Michaels ● Sycho Sid ● Stone Cold Steve Austin ● Kane ● The Rock ● Mankind ● Triple H ● Mr. McMahon ● Big Show ● Kurt Angle ● Chris Jericho ● Brock Lesnar ● Eddie Guerrero ● JBL ● John Cena ● Edge ● Rob Van Dam ● Randy Orton ● Jeff Hardy ● Batista ● Sheamus ● The Miz ● CM Punk ● Alberto Del Rio ● Daniel Bryan |
| WWE Intercontinental Champions |
|---|
| Pat Patterson ● Greg Valentine ● Randy Savage ● Ricky Steamboat ● The Honky Tonk Man ● Ultimate Warrior ● Rick Rude ● Mr. Perfect ● The Texas Tornado ● Bret Hart ● Roddy Piper ● British Bulldog ● Shawn Michaels ● Razor Ramon ● Diesel ● Hunter Hearst Helmsley/Triple H ● Rocky Maivia/The Rock ● Stone Cold Steve Austin ● Ken Shamrock ● Road Dogg ● The Godfather ● Edge ● D'Lo Brown ● Chris Jericho ● Kurt Angle ● Rikishi ● Eddie Guerrero ● Billy Gunn ● Jeff Hardy ● Kane ● Albert ● Christian ● William Regal ● Rob Van Dam ● Booker T ● Randy Orton ● Ric Flair ● CM Punk ● JBL ● Big Show ● Daniel Bryan ● The Miz |