Ultimate Warrior to Hall of Fame?

[jazzua]

The following is an excerpt from an article on TheSun.co.uk:

"WRESTLING icon The Ultimate Warrior is being tipped to enter the WWE Hall of Fame, despite a series of very public fallings out with the company.

It was always thought that Warrior was on a list of people — also including Macho Man Randy Savage and Bruno Sammartino — who would either never be asked or never accept a HOF invitation.

However this year marks the 20th anniversary of his famous WWE championship victory over Hulk Hogan and relations between him and Vince McMahon are said to have thawed.

They recently came to terms after Warrior filed a legal complaint about the company's negative Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD.

The 2010 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on March 27 in Phoenix, Arizona, the day before WrestleMania."


If anyone has this up already feel free to delete. I looked but didn't see it anywhere.

Now, the "hatred" between Warrior and the WWE is known. Warrior has been very vocal over the years about anything Vince, as I'm sure as well that the Warrior DVD didn't help any. This, if true, is just another example of how you can never say never in wrestling. And as far as Vince goes, as long as it will make money I truly believe he would make up with anyone.

Here is my question. After thinking it over, I know the Warrior as a huge draw for a time, beating Hogan cleanly at WM will do that I suppose. He is a very well known talent if for anything less then just the way he looked. What I'm fighting with is this, does Warrior really deserve top billing for the HOF? What did Warrior really accomplish other than a couple years on top? Did he really elevate anyone? Did he bring anything new to the business other than ridiculous promos? I know there are alot of Warrior fans so I'm interested in what people think on this. I don't dislike Warrior, I don't love his work either. I just think he is middle of the ground when it comes to history.

When I think of Warrior going into the HOF I think that there should really be someone else going in with top billing. If this is really going to happen, I don't know what type of spot Warrior would get, but I'm assuming he would be Vince's big name for the year. I just compare him to the past inductees that have been the top name and he just doesn't fit with the likes of Bret Hart, Austin, Rhodes, Flair, and Hogan. I know these are huge names. I know that they are pretty much the cream of the crop. Obviously, you will one day run out of people that lived at the top for so many years. I just personally feel that Warrior didn't invest enough into the business to go in as the main inductee. He wrestled Savage and Hogan at WM with two pretty respectable matches. He was definately different, but so was The Boogeyman.

Does Warrior deserve top billing at the HOF or is he not at the level that one should have for this honor? If he does deserve it, what is it that puts him at that level in your eyes?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

From THESUN.co.uk: WRESTLING icon The Ultimate Warrior is being tipped to enter the WWE Hall of Fame, despite a series of very public fallings out with the company.

It was always thought that Warrior was on a list of people — also including Macho Man Randy Savage and Bruno Sammartino — who would either never be asked or never accept a HOF invitation.

However this year marks the 20th anniversary of his famous WWE championship victory over Hulk Hogan and relations between him and Vince McMahon are said to have thawed.

They recently came to terms after Warrior filed a legal complaint about the company's negative Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD.

The 2010 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony will take place on March 27 in Phoenix, Arizona, the day before WrestleMania.

The Figure Four Newsletter reports: "Warrior is all over WWE.com these days.

"He lives in Phoenix, where Mania is being held. It'll be 20 years since he beat Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI.

"Obviously Hogan is on the outs with WWE, the lawsuit is settled and so all signs are pointing to him going into the Hall of Fame this year.

"I guess we'll see what happens. They're likely going to unveil the first name on the night after the Royal Rumble."

In a 2004 interview with SunSport — at a time when he was at loggerheads with Vince McMahon — Warrior told us: "To be honest, I'm not really interested.

"I'm the first guy to step up to defend my career, and how special and credible Ultimate Warrior as a character was, but I have more important things in my life."

He added: "It's not a far reach to say that every person who has ever left the WWE of their own accord but then went and cowered back to Vince, he has used them and totally eaten them up.

"That's the way he operates, and there's just no way I can go back to the WWE.

"Especially with the creative direction of cultural degeneration they've been on in the last five or six years.

"It's not an easy thing for me to say that I'll never go back — because I do miss the money, success and thrill of the business — but that's the truth."

Wow if this actually happens, then Vince's beef with Randy Savage must be a lot more serious than I thought. Warrior in the Hall Of Fame is something I thought I would never see.

Now of course this is really all just speculation at this point, but could this be Vince's way of saying the relationship between him and Hogan is really over? If he's willing to consider putting one of his all-time most hated people in the HOF, then that's defintely saying something. Maybe Vince is ready to burry the hatchet with even more people that left a bad taste in his mouth.

I don't know if any of you have ever seen the Warrior DVD. It's pretty much a bash-fest of Warrior. Mocking everything from his character,wrestling,and promos. Seriously Vince really had to hate him in order to put out a DVD like that. So I'm wondering if this does go through, will it be a epic moment? Vince putting Warrior in the HOF really speaks volumes if you ask me. Thoughts?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Yeah, Warrior is one of the names that's been tossed around right now. I'm not expecting it to happen though. I think that there's just too much bad blood between Vince and the Warrior for this to happen. It's only been in the past few months or so that a judge threw out a lawsuit that Warrior had filed against the WWE years back for the release of the Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD. Warrior's stance was that the company's depiction of him was slanderous and damaging to his reputation but the case was thrown out because Warrior has been bad mouthing the WWE for years and years prior to any DVD release. The judge basically said that the Warrior couldn't sue the WWE for doing something that he himself had been doing for even longer.

I think that McMahon's hatred for Randy Savage isn't as deep as it is for the Warrior. For years, it's said that Vince would almost fly into a rage at the mention of Savage's name and would try to act like he didn't even exist. However, the WWE did release a Savage DVD this past summer and, unlike with the Warrior, the WWE doesn't do anything to try and hurt Savage's image or his overall legacy. Warrior and Vince, on the other hand, have been embroiled in one legal matter or another for much of this decade. I think Savage has a better chance of getting in, if he wants in, at this point.

 

[Byks82]

Personally, growing up, I had a blast watching the Ultimate Warrior. Years later however, it became apparent that there was a ton of heat between him and the WWE, although until I saw the DVD that WWE released a few years ago on Warrior, I had no idea how much Vince seemed to hate him.

Regardless of whether or not fans would like to see him in or not, if WWE does induct him after all of the bashing, doesn't that cheapen their own Hall of Fame? What I mean is, if you watch the DVD, there are several very demeaning quotes that are meant to take down Warrior's history. Quotes like "He chose the shortcut to fame instead of perfecting a craft", and then listing several shortcomings in the ring and missing dates and not being one of "the boys". Not exactly complimentary, and at times they basically said he sucked. So after all of this, if they induct him, I think that it might lessen the magnitude of others being inducted. I don't know how many of the current Hall of Famers would feel about this. I really don't see it happening.

I'd love to see it, but I'm not sure if we would be able to understand his acceptance speech

 

[X]

I highly doubt this is going to happen. Warrior is literally batshit crazy, I see almost zero chance of them ever extending any offering to Warrior for anything again. They'd let him have a speech at the Hall of Fame, and he'd start rambling about the communist takeover and how he invented the bodyslam or something.

If this is true, I think it's bullshit. No way does Warrior deserve to be in the HOF. After Wrestlemania 6 everything just went downhill for him, and his career quickly became a hilarious joke. He was a one hit wonder, nothing more, nothing less. You let him in, you open the floodgates for every crazy asshole to be let in, before you know it they'll be opening the Jeffrey Dahmer and Chris Benoit wings.

 

[CaptainZaltan]

I'm definitely not a Warrior fan, but the guy was one of the biggest draws of the 80's and one of only a handful of guys to hold the title throughout the decade. Currently I don't think you could find a more relevant main eventer from the 80's that is: A. available B.willing C: alive D: hasn't already been inducted. The same can be said of the 90's.

Anyways, if Pete Rose can be inducted, I don't think theres actually any specific criteria for membership.

 

[CKDaimen]

Byks82 is right. The only reason Warrior should never be inducted into the Hall of Fame is because it would be too much of a contradiction. It would make a complete mockery of the Hall of Fame after they pretty much made a whole DVD about how much of a joke he was. At the same time, I think the DVD is exaggerated by a lot by fans. By that I mean, it's not as bad as people make it out to be. There are some positive things in there, but there is still definitely more bad than good. So how do you explain all of a sudden talking about how great he was and his impact, after dedicating a DVD to his shortcomings as a man and as a professional? I would lose so much respect for the Hall of Fame than I already have if they induct him.

I wouldn't say he's a flash in the pan, though. I mean he is but he isn't. Although he was a flash in the pan, I think that flash was legendary enough to where it doesn't matter as far as the Hall of Fame goes. He ended the 80s strong, then 90 and 91 goes witout saying and then in 1992 he still had a few good moments. I think that if someone had enough of an impact in 3 years or so, especially if you won the World Title, you can easily justify them being in the Hall of Fame, but NOT when a DVD was put out bashing the guy.

 

[drondog]

Yes Warrior left a bad taste in Vince's mouth, but Vince needs a big time name for this years ceremony. Savage on the other hand didn't leave a bad taste in Vince's mouth, Savage left his bad taste in Stephanies mouth. He'll never get into the HOF! EVER!

 

[Milkyway!]

I highly doubt this is going to happen. Warrior is literally batshit crazy, I see almost zero chance of them ever extending any offering to Warrior for anything again. They'd let him have a speech at the Hall of Fame, and he'd start rambling about the communist takeover and how he invented the bodyslam or something.

If this is true, I think it's bullshit. No way does Warrior deserve to be in the HOF. After Wrestlemania 6 everything just went downhill for him, and his career quickly became a hilarious joke. He was a one hit wonder, nothing more, nothing less. You let him in, you open the floodgates for every crazy asshole to be let in, before you know it they'll be opening the Jeffrey Dahmer and Chris Benoit wings.

This. Xfear hit the head on of the nail with this one.

Litterally, Warrior is probably the worst wrestler ever. Hes a modern day Jeff Hardy. The guy was an accident waiting to happen, Hulk Hogan was lucky not to have died in the ring vs the guy at WreslteMania 6..Now hes simply crazy as the day is long. The drugs really got to him, and screwed over his braincells. They will never invite him into the Hall of Fame, the guy wasn't good enough for one, and for two well, as Xfear said. He couldn't even make a sane speach.

 

[MiiX]

If this was to happen it would be one of the biggest trainwrecks in HOF history, Warrior headling HOF 2010 should not happen, but I have a feeling it will.
I could see Warrior not going out there after having a disagreement with Vince about how much time he get's to talk about his oh so great career... And Vince saying no he gets X amount of time, thus pissing off everyone there and Warrior gaining even MORE heat than he already has off the roster.

So no he should not be in.

 

[Kliq]

The OP has lost his/her damn mind. Ultimate Warrior not considered a big name like Bret Hart or DUSTY RHODES!? Get the F out. Obviously this is someone who has no idea pro wrestling existed before Hornswoggle. And comparing UW to the Boogieman!? I almost want to tear out my last shred of hope for young fans having any pre-2002 wrestling knowledge.


Anyway, will this happen, who knows. It's all internet speculation. Would I like it to happen, of course. And for the record, The Ultimate Warrior is a big enough name to be the top billing of the HOF. It makes me nauseous to even think someone would feel otherwise.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Yes Warrior left a bad taste in Vince's mouth, but Vince needs a big time name for this years ceremony. Savage on the other hand didn't leave a bad taste in Vince's mouth, Savage left his bad taste in Stephanies mouth. He'll never get into the HOF! EVER!

Except the fact that Savage and Stephanie never did anything. It was a rumor that got way out of hand. If that was true there would never have been a Savage DVD and Savage would be nowhere near WWE TV ever again.

One thing I learned about Vince is never say never. Do I think Warrior will be inducted? No. Would I be surprised if he was...no. Vince marches to the beat of his own drummer. How he feels today means nothing to how he will feel tomorrow.

 

[jazzua]

The OP has lost his/her damn mind. Ultimate Warrior not considered a big name like Bret Hart or DUSTY RHODES!? Get the F out. Obviously this is someone who has no idea pro wrestling existed before Hornswoggle. And comparing UW to the Boogieman!? I almost want to tear out my last shred of hope for young fans having any pre-2002 wrestling knowledge.


Anyway, will this happen, who knows. It's all internet speculation. Would I like it to happen, of course. And for the record, The Ultimate Warrior is a big enough name to be the top billing of the HOF. It makes me nauseous to even think someone would feel otherwise.

Really? Really? The fact that I was alive and well, and old enough to watch Warrior make his run all but makes this sound humorous. Also, I didn't say Warrior was like Boogieman, I sad they were both "different" types of characters. So, learn to read, learn to understand, and learn to not insert foot in mouth. As for Ultimate Warriors legacy, there is no reason this man should be spoken in the same terms as REAL legends and icons. Because he isn't one. His rise to the top was amazing. He became more over than Hogan for a few years despite Hogan still being around. The truth is, however, he gave nothing to the business. He left absolutely no impact on it once so ever. He is a forgotten champion who did nothing but talk bat shit crazy in interviews and run to the ring at 90 miles an hour. If you truly believe he belongs in their league give me some form of reason for it other than he is the Ultimate Warrior. Please, back it up with something. Otherwise, I'm left with a Lex Luger body, Farrah hair, and ring work worse than Zeus. Not to mention the potential dead body's this guy could have left in his wake for being oh so very dangerous in the ring.

Sometimes, it is important to look back on history to determine the future. I'm not saying a guy who got as over as Warrior did doesn't deserve the HOF in some aspects. I would like to see him not get inducted, but thats just me. While Warrior was the man at one time, when looking back on it now you see just how utterly ridiculous he was. He was absolutely terrible in almost every area of the game. One thing he was good at though was marketing himself to the fans. Which, by and large is the most important component. The guy was more over then a Kiss concert. Power to him. I just don't know how someone could really say he belongs with Austin, Hart, Flair, Rhodes, HBK, and Hogan. Or anyone else on that level.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

For memory's sake I'd say yeah, he could be in it. SHOULD he be in it? No. I can think of 20 guys off the top of my head who deserves it before he does (and three of there are former WWE champions, Savage, Backlund & Bruno). That being said, if Koko F'n B. Ware got in, then Warrior can be in too.

 

[SSJPhenom]

If Vince decides to put Warrior in the HOF, I'm going to question everything the man ever does again.

The Ultimate Warrior is probably the worst wrestler ever that has held the WWF/E Title. Yes, he's even worse in the ring than Vince McMahon himself. Not to mention that the man is a couple of trees short of a forest. He had his name legally changed to Ultimate Warrior for crying out loud. There is no reason on this planet that this man should go into the WWE HOF. No reason whatsoever.

If he does go in, then WWE must seriously be running out of people. I hope that this is fake as hell. I really don't want to see this.

 

[Nature Boy]

Well of course the old fan in me would love to say yes!

He's a former WWF Champion, a 2-time Intercontinental Champion, one of the few to be allowed a clean win over Hulk Hogan.

He had great feuds with Rick Rude, Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, competed in two of the Wrestlemania matches and was a big draw for the company during arguably it's hottest period.

He has the history and the credentials to be inducted.

The bad blood between he and McMahon over the last several years has of course prevented the Warrior becoming a part of anything to do with WWE (save for a deal with Jakks Pacific) and has caused Vince to imagine his own rather childish 'history' of the Ultimate Warrior on a rather childish DVD.

I was a huge fan of the Warriors back then, and I am still a fan now.

He was never a 'great' Wrestler, but then neither was/is Billy Graham, Hulk Hogan or John Cena.

As for his supposed 'attitude', I would like to hear a non WWE endorsed account of this.

If he is as bad for wrestling as WWE Company men such as HHH, Ric Flair and Steve Lombardi say he is then that of course that puts dampener of him being inducted at all, let alone being the star attraction of the event.

Also, while I don't agree with a lot of his political views but he is entitled to his opinion.

However, he brought his character to life, and maintained an adapted all the elements needed to make it work.

Should he be in the WWE Hall Of Fames? I would say yes.

Would he accept an induction? Only he can answer that.

On the whole I'd say he deserves a place though.

But as I have said before, I don't view the WWE Hall Of Fame as anything to be taken too seriously.

This is all 'Net speculation anyway.

Also think of the source. The Sun? Personally I wouldn't believe the Date in The Sun...

 

[NSL]

I would love to see Warrior get in, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. As X stated, he is literally insane, and would find a way to ruin the entire event. Sure, for nostalgia sake he belongs in, so what until he passes. I know it sounds a bit morbid, but once he passes you can put him in without all of his personal antics getting in the way.

I'm guessing they do the same for Macho Man...

 

[NOD_FAN]

No way...UW does not deserve to be in the HOF. He had a good run but that’s all it was a run, He was hot for the moment. If he would have stayed, his character would had become dull and they would run out of ideas.. Not to mention he had some of the worst promos ever. No way in hell he gets in.. NO WAY!

 

[Miko]

I'd fucking love Warrior to go in

1.) Because I may be alone in this but I think his ring work was fucking good, his promo's maybe went a bit too far at times but fact is they werent as crazy as over zelous haters would have you believe. Seriously though, he's had 2 of the greatest matches of all time in Hogan and Savage, I've watched every match I can find of his on Youtube and each one made me more of a fan. Seriously, he worked the crowd to perfection, I cant see all this shit about him being dangerous either??

Except for Halloween Havoc, but lets not go there.

2.) The guys got the career, I mean it's short, but his accomplishments speak for themselves. Also, has anybody took the breaks he's had and come back as popular? Even when he first appeared in WCW, the roof nearly came off with "ULTIMATE" chants.

3.) The speech would be flat out hilarious, I mean fucking funny, not for the same reason as The Rock being funny, but because Warrior's insane, he'd start to get all philosophical. It'd be great.

 

[GameOver]

goto WhosSlammingWho.podomatic.com and listen to Jim Corenettes comments on current stuff in TNA and WWE it covers this and though i rarely like what Jim Cornette has to say he's pretty spot on with current events

The Warrior was impactfull yes but it was so brief and the guy was such an asshole he shouldn't be included pureply on principle, then again Hogan was included and we know now he stepped on everyone to stay at the top and last year we had Koko B Ware. WTF???

1 title run that lasted 6 months then a huge flop in WCW, not to mention the anti-professionalism and dangerous ring style yeah thats a legend

it comes down to they've got noone to add that
A) Vince doesn't hate
B) They hate Vince

There's alot of people that are worthy of HOF status but noone that Vince wants in his HOF.

Not looking forward to the speech though, it's pretty obvious the warrior is a drug addict and he freely admits he uses steroids, which won't go well in Vince's drug free WWE. yeah lets have a push for a drug free roster and then induct someone that sais nothing wrong with steroids. Thats a genius at work <SIGH>

Please someone goto WWE headquaters and shoot Vince. i've lost any respect for him.

as for the whole Randy Savage jabs.

Yup thats why he's on the Alumni Page lol

once again, the only people that know what happened are not saying anything.
and now Savage has said on numerous interviews he's happy with how his career went and has nothing to prove so doesn't need WWE's money for appearances etc.

all irrelevant the HOF means nothing, it was a good idea but bad execution.

 

[byrnside]

Here's where I stand. My personal opinion is the Ultimate Warrior is [sorry KB] crazier than a pet coon! Like, way off the deep end nuts. Ever see any of his political rants on YouTube? He was a terrible worker. He couldn't give two shits about the wrestling business, or the people in it. He was ridiculous on the mic, and I don't mean that as a compliment. He wasn't even a good wrestler. The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD is not an exaggeration. Every time someone had something negative to say, it was backed up with video footage. He could've seriously hurt numbers of superstars. The clip of him dropping Bobby Heenan makes me cringe just thinking about it. I'll never forget his match with Savage. Probably one of the better matches the Warrior had, but one of the worst matches Savage had. Half way through the match he stopped and was going to walk out because he was "hearing voices." Maybe that's not necessarily his fault, but that's just freaking nuts. The ending was pure garbage. He hit like 38 shoulder blocks to "end" Savage's career. This was supposed to be one of his greatest moments?

Now that that's out of the way.. The WWE Hall of Fame is not that prestigious. I know in the past I've said the opposite, but after reading endless threads about future HOF's, I've somewhat changed my mind. I wish it wasn't the truth, but it is. I think it's a great way to honor former stars and members of the wrestling business. I think managers, commentators, ring announcers, referees and the like should be eligible to be inducted. Hell I would probably cast a vote for Mark Yeaton. Lord knows that dude's taken enough punishment over the years. It's not just wrestlers that make wrestling great. Everyone has a hand in it.

Moving on, I think the Ultimate Warrior deserves a place in the Hall of Fame. I think there are at least 20 other more deserving faces, but I still think The Warrior deserves a shot. This is probably the most stale argument ever, but it's truth, If KoKo B. Ware can be in, I think the Warrior should be. His accolades speak for themselves, maybe unfortunately. Former World champion, pinning Hogan to win the belt. Former IC champion, defeating "The Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time" The Honky Tonk Man. I don't know how many times he went over Andre. He was a main event star for the better part of 6 or 7 years. Like it or not, he was over. I don't think he deserved all that, because he wasn't thankful for it, but none the less, he did it.

 

[Jetspete]

Jim Hellwig is an absolute nutjob. did you ever try to read his blog? but anyway, his character definitely belongs in the hall of fame. the dvd was a lot of revisionist history about the impact the Warrior had during his original stint. His Match at WM5 vs Rick Rude was a classic confrontation, and of course he ended Hogan's second title reign. They dont put you in the hall for having technical expertise, it is supposed to be about contributions made to the business. and The Warrior was a no doubt about it main eventer for several years.

Side note, he was involved in four ridiculous incidents that have to rank on maybe the top 25 all time ridiculous moments in wrestling history: his feud with Papa Shango where he was vomiting, his training segments with Jake Roberts, his match with HHH (maybe the worst match in wrestlemania's 25 year history), and everything he did in WCW. come to think of it, maybe all that negates is great run from 88 - 91!

 

[Tastycles]

Warrior will get in the Hall of Fame at some point. Looking at the WWE champions that have a) retired b) didn't kill anyone c) aren't in it already and d) haven't expressed specifically that they don't want in you have the following Ivan Koloff, Stan Stasiak, Bob Backlund, Warrior, Randy Savage, Yokozuna, Sid Vicious and The Rock.

Savage is on even worse terms with the company than Warrior, The Rock doesn't want to be in wrestling right now, Yokozuna is dead, Sid is shit and Koloff and Stasiak are 1970s footnotes. That leaves Backlund and Warrior as potential top level entries for the next two years. As a result, they pretty much have to let him in, because otherwise there isn't anyone.

Yes, Warrior is crazy, but the HOF isn't broadcast live anywhere important, so they can just edit what he says, if he blames the gays for global warming or something. Warrior was mental when he was in WWF, and they managed to tame him then.

As to whether he deserves it, I think we stopped being able to ask that question when Koko B. Ware went in. Warrior defeating Hogan is one of wrestling's most iconic moments, and that shouldn't be forgotten.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

What we need to do is put aside the perceptions people have of Warrior's personality and go by his merits in the ring and as a character to get over with the audience. I know that is exactly the problem we have going on, because people are simply focusing on his "batty" personality. And it isn't right.

The bottom line is that as a Main Eventer who supported the business when Hulk Hogan was not around, had WWE Superstars built around him at one point (remember the Intro), a WWE Champion, and two time Intercontinental Champion ... the Warrior has earned the right to go into the Hall of Fame.

How anyone can argue otherwise with a straight face, when there have been others who accomplished far less to already get inducted into the Hall of Fame, is a complete joke.