10 Wrestlers Who Were Notoriously Difficult To Work With
3. Ultimate Warrior
The Ultimate Warrior was an incredibly popular pro wrestler in a very popular time for pro wrestling. He never let anybody, least of himself, forget that.
A hyper-muscled force of pure energy flecked in dazzling neon, the Warrior was calibrated to pop the WWF's youthful Golden Era audience. He was such a legendarily abrasive figure behind the curtain that the "boys" were calibrated to pop him in the face. Rick Rude pleaded with the Warrior to ease up on him in their 1989 programme. Rude was a genuine tough guy who never felt the need to demonstrate this in the ring. He was a pro. Warrior responded to this request - really, it wasn't so much a request but a reminder of the most fundamental basic of the craft - with an apocryphal "I don't have to; I'm the Warrior."
This displeased Rude. It's not known whether Warrior shook his head violently from side to side, though it's quite likely, given how much he lived the gimmick. It also adds much comedy value to the visual of Rude decking Warrior to the floor.
This anecdote is a particular indictment of Warrior's character, in that he wasn't clueless so much as reckless in the ring. An absolute sh*thouse outside of it, too, he pleaded with Vince McMahon, in an infamous leaked 1991 letter, to recognise him as 'The One' because he was so committed to "total jugular vein-popping yelling at all times". At least, we think Warrior enjoyed doing that. It's hard to tell; Warrior was as good a writer as he was a humanitarian.
Walk-outs, hold-ups, job refusals - Warrior was a nightmare for the boys and the office alike.