50 Fascinating Facts About WWE in The 1980s
37. ‘What The Hell Is A Dingo Warrior?’
Known bodybuilding fanatic Vince McMahon's eyes must've been popping out of his skull when he saw promo pics of walking bicep muscle The Ultimate Warrior before signing him in 1987. The then-Jim Hellwig wasn't going by that ring name quite yet. Nah, he was touring the territorial circuit as "The Dingo Warrior". Doesn't sound quite as threatening or badass, does it?
Bruce Prichard has told a story on his popular podcast that Vince’s reply reverberated around the room: "What the hell is a Dingo Warrior?". It was a fair point. McMahon noticed that his new hire had been working house shows under that very name, and he was baffled as to why anyone would want to be called Dingo Warrior. So, it was quickly changed when everybody banged heads backstage to come up with the Ultimate branding.
That, for those interested, was supposed to be a grander version of the feel The Road Warriors were already going for. The Ultimate Warrior was to be a heightened incarnation of their unstoppable squash match glory, which is actually pretty smart when you stop to think about it. The WWF took one of wrestling's most over gimmicks, handed it to their new recruit, and they managed to sidestep awkward glances when the word "Dingo" was part of Howard Finkel's match intros.
Sorry, but the thought of Hulk Hogan vs. The Dingo Warrior headlining WrestleMania VI is almost too funny. That wouldn't even have been the weirdest pitch for that pay-per-view, but stay tuned for more on that later.
Dingo Warrior? No. Ultimate Warrior.