15 Wrestlers That Got BANNED From WWE
6. The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior's relationship with WWE and Vince McMahon was so controversial that the promotion literally released a hatchet job DVD called 'The Self Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior' in 2005. Talking heads rubbished his imprint on the business, mocked his in-ring skills, and everyone downplayed just how big a star Jim Hellwig had been during his prime. If that was true, then why did McMahon repeatedly try to bring him back in the 90s?
His first release in 1992 was brought about by a toxic string of missed dates, arguments over pay-per-view payoffs and suspensions. Warrior wasn't somebody WWF staffers brought up to McMahon until 1996 when the boss decided (likely due to pressure from WCW and a lack of star power on his team) that the Ultimate one should make a grand comeback. That happened at WrestleMania XII, but it wasn't long before old problems reared their ugly heads.
A dispute over Warrior's new comic book didn't work for the WWF, but they'd been landed with thousands of unsold copies as part of his deal. Once that drama ended and Warrior was gone again, McMahon didn't want to look back. WWE didn't touch Warrior again until bringing him in to promote the 2K14 video game - that led to talks about a 2014 WWE Hall Of Fame induction.
Sadly, Warrior died days after being honoured and making follow up appearances at 'Mania XXX as well as on the episode of Raw afterwards. He had a fractious on/off bond with Vince, and he was banned from WWE circles for decades before making the most unlikely comebacks right before passing.
The timing couldn't have been more dramatic.