Just two days after his Hall of Fame induction, and one day after his first appearance on Raw in 18 years, The Ultimate Warrior passed away. He was 54. It was absolutely shocking news to wrestling fans the world over. After all the bad blood between WWE and Warrior, we finally had the reconciliation after far too much time apart. In 2014, he signed a multi-year contract to be an ambassador for the company. He was finally back home. In a week filled with huge news like Undertaker's streak ending, Daniel Bryan becoming WWE champion and AJ Lee's losing the Divas title, it all feels so distant now with the news of Warrior's death. We just saw him on Raw and at the Hall of Fame. He seemed so alive. It felt like a cruel joke. After all, it wouldn't have been the first time that there were rumors about him dying. Even though he was away from the company for so long, he was still a huge part of its history. He was this mysterious, larger-than-life figure who possessed an incredible amount of charisma, and subscribed to his own unique philosophy. And through all his faults, and the controversies surrounding him, he was absolutely one of a kind. For fans growing up in the 80s and 90s, he was a big part of their childhood, and maybe one of their heroes. As a kid who believed that everything that happened on WWF TV was real, he was one of my favorites. He was colorful, energetic and dominant, everything that I was looking for in a wrestler. I have many memories of his career after watching him on TV, reading about him and even briefly communicating with him throughout my life. Here are ten of my favorite memories from his legendary life. Always believe.
As Rust Cohle from True Detective said "Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you're good at."
Sadly, I can't solve a murder like Rust...or change a tire, or even tie a tie. But I do know all the lyrics to Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme song and can easily name every Natural Born Thriller from the dying days of WCW. I was once ranked 21st in the United States in Tetris...on the Playstation 3 version...for about a week.
Follow along @AndrewSoucek and check out my podcast at wrestlingwithfriends.com
