Last night, at around midnight I got a text from Noa asking "The Ultimate Warrior is dead?!" I couldn't believe it. Just 24 hours beforehand, he was on my television giving one of his awesome and nonsensical promos. He was inducted into the wrestling Hall of Fame. He was just here. And just like that, he was gone. Warrior was one of my favorites as a kid, and I had a giant poster of the above photo hanging in my childhood bedroom. In later years, he fell out of favor with me after a few oddball speaking engagements, but that still doesn't change what he meant to me as a kid.
TMZ reports that local authorities have told them that Warrior collapsed outside an Arizona hotel yesterday at around 5:50pm. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where was pronounced dead at only 54 years old.
With the exception of the Undertaker, the Warrior the most metal wrestler ever. The outfit, the teased hair, the awesome entrance, everything about this dude was metal:
Warrior had a more direct impact on metal in recent years, when he worked with Sumerian Records on a series of clips where he tortured their artists on The Warrior Show:
He also appeared on the intro to a Winds of Plague album:
He also roasted Zakk Wylde a few years back:
What's even odder about this, is the night before his death on Raw, he spoke almost eulogizing himself:
Just in case you can't listen right now:
"No WWE talent becomes a legend on their own. Every man's heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe a final breath. 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 story tellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him and make the running the man did live forever. You, you, you, you, you, you are the legend markers of Ultimate Warrior. In the back I see many potential legends. Some of them with warrior spirits. And you will do the same for them. You will decide if they lived with the passion and intensity. So much so that you will tell your stories and you will make them legends, as well. Ultimate. You are the Ultimate Warrior fans. And the spirit of the Ultimate Warrior will run forever!"
Sad! Our thoughts go out to his family, and especially his two daughters. Here are some tributes from the metalsphere:
More Than a Wrestler…STRENGTH/DETERMINATION/MERCILESS/FOREVER…GOD BLESS tBLSt SDMF tULTIMATE WARRIORt pic.twitter.com/Dk5CBQXSN8
— Zakk Wylde (@ZakkWyldeBLS) April 9, 2014
"Come on in where nightmares are the best part of my day. I live for anger and frustration. Combat is where I will be." RIP ULTIMATE WARRIOR
— Hatebreed (@hatebreed) April 9, 2014
R.I.P. Warrior
— Trevor Phipps (@TrevorPhipps) April 9, 2014
RIP Warrior. pic.twitter.com/RXv4RkM3s3
— Vattnet Viskar (@vattnetviskar) April 9, 2014
Devastated to hear of the passing of @UltimateWarrior. He was a childhood hero of mine & he vs @HulkHogan WM6 is still one of the best ever
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) April 9, 2014
Rest in power, Ultimate Warrior.
— Mike McKenzie (@gunface1) April 9, 2014
Warrior!! RIP :(
— Mark Hunter (@chimairamark) April 9, 2014
WOW. Ultimate Warrior inducted into HOF. Then gives creepy speech yesterday. Dies today. RIP UW. https://t.co/ADTXGPWtRo
— Valient Thorr (@ValientThorr) April 9, 2014
RIP Warrior http://t.co/CN2nO01Les
— Holy Grail: Official (@HolyGrailBand) April 9, 2014
