When I was a kid and first into wrestling you were either a Hulkamanic or you were a warrior and I think deep down I was always a warrior because he was just...different. He had that intensity from the moment his music hits all the way to the moment he went back behind the curtain. No doubt Hulkamania was a much bigger marketing tool for the WWE but the Warrior still is one of the biggest money pullers of all time and no doubt now following his death he will continue to be.
Hogan vs Warrior at Wrestlemania 6 is one match that always stands in my mind. It was the Rock and Austin of that era and the entire world was watching. It is perhaps my favorite match in history because for me it was the first time two of the worlds biggest icons had collided on such a large media scale. The ending was sort of an ending that everybody wanted, a winner with no hatred between the two (on camera anyhow). The Warrior was successful and Hogan was passing the torch to him.
It can't be ignored that the Warrior back in those days did have his critics behind the camera and with his fellow superstars. He had long lasting feuds with the likes of Hulk Hogan until up recent years until Wrestlemania recently where they had appeared to have put all there differences behind them as the Warrior was rightfully inducted into the WWE hall of fame. A few years ago a notorious DVD was released entitled "The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior" in which past and present superstars basically destroyed the Warrior personally. However the reasons of the feuds he had a that time with the WWE and other wrestlers is unimportant.
What matters is the Warrior touched the lives of millions of people around the world who grew up with him and that includes myself. During his final speech on Raw after Wrestlemania he spoke of everybody will take there final breath, their heart will beat one last time and if they have fueled others then they will live on in lore and story tellers, very haunting now it seems.
The Warrior has been very active over the past few years especially over social media and has still been making a large sum selling Warrior merchandise. The WWE have also vowed to honor the contract they had with the Warrior for the family.
RIP Warrior
