10 WCW Stars Who Died Too Young
9. The Renegade (1965 - 1999)
Prior to the company's inaugural Uncensored pay-per-view in 1995, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage promised fans an 'Ultimate Surprise' to aid in their ongoing war with Ric Flair and Vader. Teasers depicted a silhouette of a man with wild, unkempt hair and tassels strapped to his bulging biceps. It could only be one man: The Ultimate Warrior.
It was classic WCW bluster in the same vein as The Shockmaster. The company had actually intended to bring Jim Hellwig in - ostensibly so Hulk Hogan could redeem his WrestleMania VI defeat - but in typically farcical fashion the promotion went ahead and promoted him before a deal was struck. It never was.
Instead of the Warrior, fans got the Jimmy Hart version in Richard Wilson doing his best 'Stars in their Eyes' performance as The Renegade (Hart even managed the hoax Hellwig). Needless to say, the gimmick was a failure, and when the real Ultimate Warrior took to the press to dispel any lingering and frankly ludicrous belief that Renegade was the real deal, the act was up. WCW took the Television strap from Wilson, and he was relegated to jobber status.
With no further purpose on the card, Renegade eventually slipped from view before WCW released him from his contract in 1999. Just a matter of months later, suffering severe depression as a consequence of losing his job, Wilson fatally shot himself in the head. He was just 33.