Maybe it's crucial insight into how WCW did business that a complete rip-off of The Ultimate Warrior would bag a major title in the company. Those words aren't harsh, it's very much true that The Renegade was a cheap imitation of Warrior, one fans really struggled to get behind, so blatant were the copy-cat elements on show. Similar entrance music, the same rope-shaking entrance, even some of Warrior's move set, there was nothing original about The Renegade. It's baffling that The Ultimate Warrior was repeatedly asked by wrestling magazines in the mid-90's whether or not he was running wild in WCW, because Ricky Wilson, the man behind The Renegade character, was clearly not Jim Hellwig. If the grappling publications of the day were fooled, fans definitely were not, but that didn't stop WCW putting the World Television Title on the man. After being hyped by Hulk Hogan as the next best thing to sliced bread, The Renegade vanquished Arn Anderson at The Great American Bash in 1995 to win the TV Title, and the fans subsequently went mild. The man's reign with the belt would last until Fall Brawl in September, where he was defeated by none other than DDP, before later being released in 1998.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
