Sunday, April 13, 2014

The Spirit of a Warrior



I am a man of several guilty pleasures, but perhaps my guiltiest of all these pleasures is my love for professional wrestling (or “sports entertainment” as Vince McMahon would prefer you to call it), specifically the WWE (or WWF as it was called when I was a kid). I actually got hooked on wrestling at a pretty early age.
Most people who know me know that I love the WWE, but most don’t know when or how that love started. My uncle and aunt got me three wrestling figures and a toy wrestling ring for Christmas in 1991. I was only four at the time. I received the action figures of Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and the Ultimate Warrior. I was particularly drawn to the Ultimate Warrior figure. He instantly captivated four year old Jakob with his long hair, facepaint, tassels, and unique logo that was plastered all over his ring gear. He looked like a real-life superhero. I thought he was the coolest guy ever (or at least that his action figure was). Nonetheless, it piqued my curiosity about wrestling, and my parents allowed me to start watching wrestling shortly thereafter.

Even at that young of an age, I showed certain tendencies that I have become known for as I have aged. When I get interested in something, I completely immerse myself in that thing. That was the case with my love for wrestling. Watching Prime Time Wrestling on Monday nights (this was before the days of Raw, kids) wasn’t enough wrestling for me. Even though we didn’t live in the age of video on demand or the WWE Network, we were fortunate enough to live within walking distance of a video store. It not only fed my obsession but allowed me to catch up on events and characters that occurred before I started watching.

Though I started watching during one of the Warrior’s many hiatuses from the WWF, I didn’t miss a beat thanks to the videos. He was every bit the superhero his action figure present him as. Every other wrestler casually strolled to the ring as their music hit. If they were a good guy, they might come down enthusiastically. If they were a bad guy, they might mock the fans a bit. As soon as you heard the Ultimate Warrior’s music hit, he SPRINTED down the ramp to the ring. His matches usually didn’t last very long because 1) his character was meant to be an indestructible force and 2) he was probably gassed from sprinting to the ring. Either way, I thought he was absolutely awesome.

Warrior eventually left the WWF again in 1992 and didn’t return for 3 and a half years. During that time, my tastes in wrestling changed a bit. I no longer liked guys who merely looked cool. They had to have some substance to go with their style. It’s why Bret Hart became my favorite wrestler of all time. That said, I never forgot the Warrior though. He might not have been what I was looking for in a wrestler anymore, but that didn’t make him any less cool to me. When he came back in 1996, I was extremely excited. Unfortunately, that return did not last very long, and he was gone again.

The Ultimate Warrior character was billed as coming from “Parts Unknown”, and the man behind the character was covered with mystery and intrigue outside the ring as well. He always seemed to leave as soon as he came, and when he would return, his appearance would change enough that many surmised that someone other than Jim Hellwig was behind the facepaint.

In addition to his look and in-ring antics, Warrior was also known for his unique manner of speaking. Many times he would stare into his hands and launch into bizarre rhetoric at the top of his lungs that armchair philosophers probably spent far too much time trying to decipher. Warrior the man was also prone to launching into rants about many of his unique opinions. Warrior the man had every bit the power of will that Warrior the character had power of body. He was a passionate man, and you never had to wonder where he stood on anything; he would be sure to tell you.

It is not a surprise that this passion and strength of will could lead to poor relationships with others. Fallings out are an unfortunate side effect of an exceptional will. Warrior’s will was one of a kind. It was this strength of will that led him to fall out of favor with the WWE and created an icy relationship between Warrior and the Fed. This was no more apparent than in 2005 when the WWE decided to release a DVD entitled The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior, a complete rip job on not only the character but also the man. It was unfortunate (and I personally believed it was hurtful), but it was not altogether surprising considering the reputation of the company. I did not hold out any hope of seeing the Warrior affiliated with anything WWE-related ever again.

Unthinkably, the WWE and Warrior patched things up, and they inducted him into their Hall of Fame last weekend. I made sure to tune in to see if he would launch into one of his legendary rants and reap revenge on the very people who disparaged him for so many years. Instead of a bitter man, I saw a loving father who had his two young daughters accompany him on the stage. I saw someone who was legitimately happy to be there, someone who was older, wiser, and more subdued. He wasn’t the granite stone of a man that I remembered, but I figured that age had a lot to do with that. After all, our heroes are not as indestructible as the characters they portray on television.

Two nights later, Warrior appeared on Raw for the first time in nearly twenty years. He didn’t sprint to the ring and scream into his hands. Instead, he gave the best speech of his life. He talked about the mortality of man and that it is the difference that a man makes that ultimately makes him legendary. It was both entertaining and inspiring. By the time he was done, Warrior once again was able to soak in the adulation of the approving masses.

The next day, the Ultimate Warrior died. In a strange twist of fate, that same uncle who bought me the Warrior figure 20+ years prior was the one who broke the news to me. He and I actually had a debate about the Warrior during WrestleMania. He thought the Warrior looked in poor health while I thought he was just overcome by the emotions of standing before such a large crowd. It honestly broke my heart, especially after seeing how much love his family had for him, and he for them. My thoughts and prayers go to his wife and two young daughters. You always want to think the heroes of your childhood are invincible. When they are not, it reminds you that you yourself are not invincible as well. It made me so happy to see how much he had grown as a person and how he truly wasn’t the bad guy that many made him out to be. He was just a guy who was proud of what he had done in his life but was even prouder of the family he had.

Were it not for the Ultimate Warrior, I might not have ever gotten into wrestling. While wrestling is by no means an obsession for me and I could walk away from it tomorrow, many good things in my life have come as a result. Some of my finest memories of my early adult years are the nights I spent at WWE events with Rob. My friendship with Zach was strengthened because of that common bond. Without wrestling, Kim might never have come into my life (and a life without Kim is not a life I want). It was my goal at some point to thank him for all that this year (on Twitter or the like), but sadly that never happened. Thank you, Warrior.

After his wrestling career ended, the Ultimate Warrior extended his brand. He became much more than a wrestler. As time went on, Warrior the man grew closer to the character he portrayed. He had a number of “interesting” life philosophies, and he became somewhat of a motivational speaker. No matter whether or not you agreed with all of the things he said, he truly wanted everyone to succeed, and he wanted to positively impact those with whom he came into contact. Ever the optimist, Warrior signed everything he wrote with “Always Believe.” It’s a short phrase, but a powerful one. I’ve always believed, and I always will.

In Warrior’s last speech he made this statement:
And if what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse through the body of others, and makes them bleed deeper, and something larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized. By the storytellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him and make the running the man did live forever.

By that token, you, Warrior, will live forever. We always believed in you. Thank you for always believing in us, too.

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