The Ulimate Warrior's first run in the company was memorable and iconic in the history of WWE. His second run was a bit goofy, but still successful overall. His third stint was bizarre and probably a waste of everyone's time. In 1996, Vince McMahon was feeling the heat from WCW. The company was beating him in the ratings, and was a much cooler product. McMahon seemed lost and unsure of what to do next. He got desperate and brought back some older acts like Jake Roberts and Warrior. And as everyone knows, Warrior doesn't come cheap. Upon his in-ring debut at WrestleMania XII, Warrior took on the lower mid-carder (at the time) Triple H and easily squashed him. It was an odd choice for an opponent for a returning star. Things only got weirder. Warrior then engaged in feuds with Jerry Lawler and Goldust. Neither of them were that exciting, and Warrior's bizarre promo style and wrestling ability just seemed to be from another era. Talent like Shawn Michaels, and the emerging Steve Austin were far more interesting to watch. Warrior was a man who simply seemed lost in that environment. Due to another disagreement with Vince, he once again left and didn't return to Raw for 18 years. During this brief run, money wasn't made, stars weren't created and Warrior wore a baseball cap. These are all definitions of a flop.
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
