How Good Was Ultimate Warrior Actually?

The Ultimate Warrior is one of the most recognisable WWE superstars from their golden period, but is more revered by casual observers than lifelong fans of the business. His whole schtick was so comedically over-the-top and cut off from reality that it has become something of a joke over time.

Warrior had one trick that was right for the 80s when the product was at its most cartoonish. The Undertaker debuted with a gimmick that is also easy to ridicule during Warrior's only title reign, but he was able to transition from the walking undead to becoming a tough-as-nails biker and a John Wayne-style outlaw in his later years.

Meanwhile, Warrior wasn't able to find another gear. He was limited back then, hence only being popular for a very small window of time, and it's completely unfathomable that a gimmick so absurd could conquer the wrestling world during any other time period.

In certain ways, it can even be argued that Warrior was a detriment to wrestling itself. Performing in an era in which Dusty Rhodes’ aspirational “hard times” speech and Roddy Piper’s passionate delivery remain everlasting examples of how emotionally transcendent wrestling can be, Warrior’s nutty rantings and freakish physique put wrestling into an unflattering box that drew scorn and ridicule from detractors.

The idea that wrestling is a knuckle-dragger’s art form is a dated outlook that persists among outsiders of our fandom to this day, largely due to being perpetuated by characters like The Ultimate Warrior. 

Nostalgia will always mean that the Warrior will have a place in wrestling folklore. Fans who were the right age to be "Little Warriors" can always look back fondly on the brief period in which Warrior rocked the wrestling world. Take off those rose-tinted glasses, however, and Ultimate Warrior leaves a largely unflattering legacy in his wake.

3/10