10 WWE Superstars That Got Out At The Right Time

7. Ultimate Warrior

Shawn Michaels
Casey Rodgers/Invision for 2K/AP

For all the heinous faults of the man behind the mad face-painted mask of the Ultimate Warrior, his rigid self-belief and total lack of insecurity as a businessmen ensured he almost never wrestled unless it made him the insane amount of money he always believed he was owed.

A notoriously fragile relationship with Vince McMahon throughout the 1990s repeatedly resulted in cracks seemingly too wide to seal, and yet The Chairman often came calling. Leaving under a cloud in 1992, Warrior was contacted several times between then and his 1996 return once the dust around his exit had settled. Similarly, despite the acrimony around his '96 departure, he was offered an eye-watering deal by WWE to return in December 1997 just a month removed from Bret Hart's contract being too expensive to keep and a month ahead of splashing big on WrestleMania special guest Mike Tyson.

When Warrior sped away from the full-time spotlight in 1992, absence and intrigue kept hearts fond. His horrendous WCW run in 1998 was even forgiven by the time WWE were back sticking the knife in for their 2005 'Self-Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior' DVD. His catharsis came to close to his passing for either man or machine to capitalise on his final comeback, but WWE have kept his lineage and legacy alive even in death.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett