That Time The Ultimate Warrior Nearly Ruined WWE's Attitude Era

That eye-watering contract also promised Warrior more merchandise royalties than the entire roster—including Austin and his 3:16 t-shirt sensation. Instantly, morale, already delicate in the wake of the Montreal Screwjob, would have plummeted. The deluge of money hadn’t yet fallen. Suddenly, the acts who would come to prosper in the WWF may have looked elsewhere, equipped with the knowledge that the short-term fix spelled doom for their long-term prospects.

McMahon would not have signed Warrior to put over his new acts. The Warrior would have been less inclined to do this. Say Warrior signs that deal in December. Which emerging starlet suffers the WrestleMania XIV squash treatment? Does Vince blow off the Rock Vs. Ken Shamrock programme early, and use the Great One to put Warrior over? He’s not booking Warrior against José Estrada Jr. The Warrior needs a name to beat, else that victory means nothing. The Rock is promising, but hasn’t yet realised that promise. It’s hysterical to claim he wouldn’t have, in this alternate timeline—losing to the Warrior didn’t harm Triple H in the long-term—but it took time.

TV time was at a premium. In this new, competitive arena, certain stars realised Jim Ross’ “maximise your minutes” mantra and altered the trajectory of their careers. If that platform didn’t exist, everything changes. We all know where those minutes went when the Warrior did return to wrestling in 1998: he spent 20 of them spouting indecipherable tripe. What if Val Venis was rendered impotent by Warrior’s insistence on waffling for aeons? What if Warrior’s overbearing presence prohibited the character development of a D-Lo Brown, or if his name value reduced the need for a Mick Foley to take that iconic Hell In A Cell bump at King Of The Ring 1998?

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