Dark Side Of The Ring - Becoming Warrior FULL RECAP
The Intro
Eric Bischoff opened up by noting if you could take a bolt of electricity and somehow morph that into a living cartoon character that would be Warrior.
The Ultimate Warrior was a righteous gladiator who rose faster than anybody to the top of the wrestling world.
Jim Cornette also noted that few people have ever gone from start to pinnacle faster than The Ultimate Warrior did.
Jim Ross noted that he looked great with Jake Roberts also agreeing while pointing out that Vince loved big body types and he took it to a whole other level.
Warrior’s first wife brought up how nothing was going to stop him from becoming something.
The real man behind the face paint contradicted the hero he portrayed.
Jim Cornette brought up that for a while, Warrior was batshit insane with Jim Ross sharing that he believed that he was better than others. Warrior didn’t want to learn the wrestling business because he didn’t enjoy it.
His legacy is clearly very complicated and as Eric Bischoff summarized, he was a colourful, memorable character for a brief moment in time.
The Episode
Warrior’s first wife (Shari Tyree) pointed out that it was well documented that he was very difficult to work with and despite his growing arrogance and ego, she witnessed his insecurity and self-doubt when he arrived at home. She was married to him from 1982 to 1991.
She would show personal pictures of the two to producers.
When Shari first met him, he was physically massive and had been competing in amateur bodybuilding shows.
After taking up weight training and bodybuilding, Jim Hellwig (Warrior) had a goal of becoming a chiropractor.
When learning about genetics in school, Jim shared with Shari that his grandfathers passed away prematurely in their early 50s. This provided him with an additional drive.
Shortly after getting married in 1982, Jim travelled to Los Angelos to further pursue bodybuilding where he befriended Steve Borden, better known to wrestling fans as Sting.
Jim and Steve were convinced to get into wrestling, so sent out photos to promoters with Jerry Jarrett in Memphis being the first to reply. Jerry was known to take chances on new and unknown talent.
The two debuted as The Freedom Fighters.
Jim Cornette is introduced while noting that he was not a fan of The Ultimate Warrior.
Cornette pointed out that when Steve Borden and Jim Hellwig showed up to the Memphis television studio, it was rotten, but it was evident they possessed physical charisma. You wanted to look at them but didn’t want to see what they ended up doing.
The duo was eventually sent to Mid-South since they were too green for the Memphis territory. This is where the future of professional wrestling was shaped with anyone knowing it.
Steve and Jim Hellwig soon became The Blade Runners in UWF. At the time, Jim Ross was a broadcaster who noted that he has never met or seen a wrestler with less ability than The Ultimate Warrior.
Jim Ross brought up how Jim Hellwig was very narcissistic.
Shari admitted that Steve Borden was well-liked by the wrestlers and more trainable while Jim Hellwig was hard-headed.
The voice of Jim Hellwig is heard explaining that he didn’t like to be handled that way while Steve Borden preferred to have his handheld. Hellwig then started to become more selfish.
The voice of Jim Hellwig is brought up again he reveals not caring much about Steve’s success and only about his own. These were two entirely different people with Steve being all in while Hellwig wanted to do something on his own.
Despite his limited in-ring ability, Hellwig’s physique was undeniable. After parting ways with Sting, Hellwig would look to gain stardom in WCCW.
David Manning, former WCCW booker and referee, noted how WCCW had the best syndication in the country and when you were finished up with the territory, every promoter would want you.
Jim was brought in as The Dingo Warrior. No one could explain what a Dingo Warrior was.
The Dingo Warrior slaughtered his first 15-20 opponents., but the more the fans cheered, the bigger his ego got, which made him extremely challenging to work with. Clearly, this followed him everywhere.
Jim Cornette that the only place a wrestler who possessed the attitude of wanting to be a star and not caring about learning wrestling was in the WWF.
In 1987, WWF was the biggest wrestling promotion in the world and his life was about to change forever. This would also change his marriage since he was about to be on the road 20-25 days a month
Shari noted how she watched some of his early matches where he competed against some of the jobbers such as Barry Horowitz. She joked, “Those matches, they were pretty rough.”
Warrior asked his wife to provide him with her observations on the reaction from the audience. While they looked at him, it was mostly a chance to hit the bathroom or concession stand.
Vince saw big things in Warrior but hated The Dingo Warrior named, so changed wanted it changed. The voice of Jim Wellwig explained that during a pre-tape ahead of facing Terry Gibbs, the character started to come together as seen in the pop-up feature.
Vince saw the intensity, so that’s where the shaking of the ropes started.
In an effort to be more mysterious, that’s where Parts Unknown came from.
Regarding his promos, Jim Ross described them as unique with Eric Bischoff going one step further and labelling them as nonsensical at best.
Shari pointed out that while he was this ultra-aggressive and intensive personality, Jim Hellwig was also humourous.
Warrior’s entrance music was perhaps the icing on the cake.
With the million-dollar physique, bright colours and massive push, he was destined for superstardom by hiding his weaknesses while exposing his strengths.
He was a living cartoon character brought to life.
Jim Hellwig’s favourite piece of merchandising was his Wrestling Buddy.
Hellwig and his wife Shari would purchase a $100,000 house by the lake while adding a $100,000 addition to the house. He was receiving big checks along with a push to the top, but this led to friction with other wrestlers.
Jake Roberts noted that backstage The Ultimate Warrior difficult to like, frequently fly off the handle and impossible to converse with. In the ring, he was also a complete jerk. As an example, Bobby Heenan had an injured neck that required protection, but Warrior ignored this and broke it. When Bobby brought this up, Warrior simply shrugged it off and couldn’t care any less.
The number one unwritten rule in wrestling is to take care of your opponent and he threw that one out the window.
Jim Cornette specifically said he didn’t want to be a prick, but Warrior couldn’t wrestle or talk and only got over because he looked like a million dollars and he was pushed to the moon.
Apparently, being told he was a lousy wrestler really affected Warrior in private. He frequently second-guessed himself.
Shari brought up how Warrior had a very severe anxiety disorder. At home, he was frustrated.
At WrestleMania 6 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, The Warrior was about to take Hulk Hogan’s spot. This was apparently the greatest joy of his life.
Shari brought up how Warrior was the most nervous that she had ever seen him and experienced severe anxiety leading up to the match.
Vince felt that 6 or 7 years of Hulk Hogan on top was growing stale and it was time for Warrior to carry the torch. At the time, Hulk was beaten down due to the breakneck schedule and ready to take a break, so the decision was made for Hogan to drop the championship. This was really the first time Hogan was pinned 1,2,3 during his Hulkamania run, so it was a monumental victory for Warrior.
Jim Ross felt that it was a miracle that Hulk did this for Warrior since Hogan carried him to immortality.
An emotional Shari brought up how two months following this victory, Jim Hellwig left and The Ultimate Warrior came home. He became erratic, started staying on the road and completely disconnected. When pressed about why he was erratic, Shari pointed out that he seemed “altered” and unwell.
Shari would attempt to call him to no avail. After a wellness check was conducted, Warrior was in his hotel room and all was fine. She would call back and heard a woman’s voice in the background. She was devasted as going through his day planner, there would be a girl’s name and the town. Shari let him know that when you come home, there will be divorce papers waiting for him.
After losing the championship in 1991, Warrior’s relationship with Vince began to deteriorate.
In Orlando, Jake was approached about being paired with Warrior and receiving a championship run. Before being put together, Jake was required to go and receive the okay from Warrior. Understandably, Roberts was perplexed by this and figured it should come from Vince, who was the boss. Why should he be forced to receive confirmation from Warrior? Jake proceeded to go to Warrior’s private dressing room, knocked on the door and then Warrior got in his face. He told Jake, “ I don’t care anything about your family, I don’t care anything about you, I don’t care anything about wrestling, I just want to do my shit. Here’s the deal, you better not miss a show cause if you miss a show, you’re messing up my money. And if you mess with my money, I’m gonna getcha. End of story. Get out!” Jake was in shock that this jackass would disrespect him that way.
Despite feeling disrespected, after SummerSlam, it would be Jake Roberts vs The Ultimate Warrior. This would be more money than Jake ever thought he would make, but plans were completely derailed.
Warrior soon purchased a million-dollar mansion in Scottsdale, Arizona. He invited Shari out to see him. In his paranoid mind, Warrior decided that he wanted everything that Hulk had. He wanted the same money, cut of merchandising, all of it. Warrior wrote a letter that he would provide to Vince with Shari strongly advising that it was a bad move to hold up television. Sadly, there was no getting through to him. She knew this would end very badly for him.
Warrior would deliver a letter to Vince just ahead of SummerSlam 1991 which laid out a list of demands. Furthermore, Warrior threatened that unless he is treated creatively and financially in line with Hulk Hogan, he would refuse to show up.
In explaining Warrior’s relationship with Vince, Shari pointed out that it was complicated and he loved Vince as a bit of a father figure. Shari speculated that Warrior likely just wanted more attention from Vince. After so many demands, McMahon had grown tired of it.
Vince was infuriated, but his golden rule is to always get the match in the ring at all costs. Vince would placate to Warrior’s demands, but had no intention of honouring them after the event.
As Warrior came out of the ring, Jake was standing next to Vince backstage, McMahon would stick out his hand and say, “You’re fired. Now get the f**k out of my building.” Vince would turn to Jake after firing Warrior and said, “You’ve got the worst luck out of any human being I’ve ever met.” Roberts noted about losing out on a big-money feud with Warrior, “To say I wanted to kill that son of a bitch, would be putting it lightly.” Jake carried this anger for years.
Jim Cornette would then read that letter from Vince to Warrior. Here’s a small snippet of it:
[When you were signed] you were a relatively obscure wrestler with an enthusiastic professed desire to succeed. I therefore invested a substantial amount of time, money, and a sincere energy to develop your talents and person as a worldwide WWF Superstar wrestler, such that you have been able to be successful and achieve stardom status throughout the world. Unfortunately, it now appears the fame that you have obtained through the efforts of Titan has gone to your head. Frankly, you have become impossible to work with, and have completely forgotten your obligations to Titan and WWF fans, both ethically, professionally, and contractually.
Your principal complaint apparently is that you are not being compensated at the same rate as Hulk Hogan, although ‘Hulk’ is a living legend, is still much better known to the public, has wrestled longer, is the WWF champion, is in much greater demand for personal appearances, is a bigger star and draw at WWF events, is more dependable and is far more revered and respected by WWF fans and by the public at large.
You have become a legend in your own mind; you are certainly not entitled to vent your feelings by breaching and threatening to breach your Contract.
Had I not agreed to your terms, then Titan would have lost its public credibility and goodwill and have been gravely harmed with cable companies and WWF fans who paid pay-per-view fees for SummerSlam.
Shari believed the Warriors’ greatest downfall was an inability to see things from the perspective of another person.
Over the next 18 months, Vince and Warrior would go back and forth.
Jim Hellwig would then change his legal name to Warrior because WWF owned The Ultimate Warrior.
By 1996, Hulk Hogan and many others had jump shipped to WCW, so Vince approached Warrior for a second chance. Alongside members of his Executive Team, Vince flew to Warrior’s home in Arizona.
During the lunch, Jim Cornette brought up how all Warrior wanted to discuss were his concepts, visions and ideas for spreading destrucity.
Jim Ross would hilariously add, “I bet you’re wondering if tv land, what the f**k is destrucity?”
DESTRUCITY [dɛ tru ˈsɪti] The creating of a truce between one's destiny and one's reality. Promising to stay true to what one is destined to be, yet accepting what is the now... one's ultimate reality.
The voice of Warrior appears noting a newfound interest in entrepreneurship along with public speaking, reading and writing. Yes, he then wrote a comic book story around the character.
Jim Ross believed there’s nothing wrong with any of that stuff if you’re qualified to do it, but this was a time in his life he could never get back. A total waste of a trip.
The Ultimate Warrior made his return at WrestleMania 12 where he defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (now Triple H) by no-selling the Pedigree and beat him in less than two minutes.
The pop only lasted a few weeks as fans in 1996 were much smarter than they were in 1990 since the business had changed.
His return would quickly come to an end and Warrior was released once again.
Warrior would retreat back to Arizona and open up a gym. He then crossed paths with his ex-wife Shari. She believed he was very happy and re-energized. By this point, they were friends and actually each met new significant others.
Shari shared a pretty touching story of when she became pregnant. The two agreed that after each of them meeting their significant others at the gym, the two should part ways as friends since it could create jealousy. Warrior apologized for being an unfaithful husband and that he would always love her. It was the last time they ever saw each other.
Warrior would then become a Conservative motivational speaker speaking to young America. A clip from his incredibly bizarre and controversial “Queering doesn’t make the world work” speech was shown.
Vlog footage is shown that Warrior previously published on his website.
Jim Cornette pointed out how this was the most egotistical and most difficult to work with star and here he was trashing all of the people who made him.
After years of lawsuits and tearing down his former opponents, Warrior was surprisingly inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.
Jake Roberts claimed to have quarters in his pocket and prepared to beat his ass. Warrior would then tap him on the back, put his hands up and say, “Please, I need to do this. I need to apologize to you and your family. That’s who I was then, but that’s not me. If it means anything, just know that I’m sorry.” Jake noted that he was completely disarmed by this.
Warrior made amends with many of his former colleagues and was on his best behaviour. He gave a fine speech and it appeared to be a storybook ending after such a turbulent relationship with WWE.
The next night, Warrior came out on Monday Night Raw and delivered a very inspirational speech.
Jim Ross was quick to point out that Ultimate Warrior did not look healthy that evening of Monday Night Raw.
12 hours following the Monday Night Raw appearance, Warrior would leave his hotel room and while walking to his car suffered a heart attack and died.
Shari would point out that Warrior died the way that he always feared he would.
Jim Cornette speculated that perhaps Warrior knew something we didn’t.
Jim Ross explains, “He returns, receives a standing ovation and then drops dead. It’s sad. It’s sad.”
The episode would conclude with the final portion of Warrior’s speech on Monday Night Raw.
While Dana Warrior noted on Instagram that she refused to participate in this smut and filth, the episode was quite fair and accurate in its portrayal of Warrior.