10 Times WWE Were Shamelessly Exploitative
8. The Warrior Award
When WWE chose to exploit the sudden death of The Ultimate Warrior shortly after his relationship with the company had finally thawed, they seemed to go out their way to make it as distasteful as possible.
During his Hall of Fame induction speech, Warrior had suggested a gong named for long-time WWE merchandiser Jimmy Miranda, with the company's unsung behind-the-scenes heroes in mind. Instead, they came up with an award taking his own name, to recognise those who have "exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance, and who live life with the indomitable spirit of The Warrior."
Which was all well and good - except for the name. Few could argue that those in receipt have deserved it - but should they have accepted it? If they'd stopped to reflect on The Warrior's "true spirit", which extended to telling the LGBT community that "queering don't work", instructing an Iranian student to "get a towel", and openly wishing for Bobby Heenan's death from cancer, then probably not. In reality, the 'Warrior Award' is nothing than faux philanthropy masked behind an exploited, lionised legacy.