1 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:13,500 If you could take a bolt of electricity and somehow morph that 2 00:00:13,500 --> 00:00:18,880 into a living cartoon character, that would be Warrior. 3 00:00:20,780 --> 00:00:26,620 The ultimate warrior was a righteous gladiator that rose faster than anybody 4 00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:28,180 the top of the wrestling world. 5 00:00:29,980 --> 00:00:33,360 Very few people in the history of wrestling have gone from... 6 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,700 Stars can pinnacle as fast as the ultimate warrior did. 7 00:00:39,460 --> 00:00:43,800 He had a phenomenal 8x10. 8 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:45,240 He looked great. 9 00:00:45,700 --> 00:00:47,500 Vince was about big bodies. 10 00:00:47,940 --> 00:00:52,360 Warrior caught on to that and he took it to a whole different level. 11 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,560 He had dreams, he had an intensity, and there was absolutely nothing that was 12 00:00:57,560 --> 00:00:59,960 going to stop him from becoming something. 13 00:01:01,210 --> 00:01:06,890 But the real man behind the face paint, Jim Hellwing, contradicted the ideals of 14 00:01:06,890 --> 00:01:11,630 his heroic alter ego, becoming one of wrestling's most contentious figures. 15 00:01:12,110 --> 00:01:15,890 When Jim would get in the ring, he honestly thought he became the warrior. 16 00:01:16,210 --> 00:01:23,150 For quite a while there, he was absolutely 17 00:01:23,150 --> 00:01:24,350 batshit insane. 18 00:01:24,730 --> 00:01:26,550 He thought he was better than other people. 19 00:01:26,810 --> 00:01:29,930 He didn't want to learn the wrestling business because he didn't like it. 20 00:01:30,270 --> 00:01:32,150 My sense of that chronic paranoia. 21 00:01:32,490 --> 00:01:33,670 When's it all going to end? 22 00:01:34,530 --> 00:01:39,310 Hellwig's divisive behavior behind the scenes would cut his reign short and 23 00:01:39,310 --> 00:01:43,630 leave behind a complicated legacy steeped in controversy. 24 00:01:44,250 --> 00:01:47,930 And now a sad note to pass along. The death of one of the biggest pro 25 00:01:47,930 --> 00:01:53,430 stars of the 1990s. When I heard that he had died the way that he had died, it 26 00:01:53,430 --> 00:01:54,430 hurt. 27 00:01:54,750 --> 00:01:59,170 He was a moment in time. He was a very colorful, powerful character. 28 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,320 for a brief moment in time. 29 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:21,240 It's been very well documented about how he was difficult to work with, that the 30 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:25,400 arrogance and the fame and the ego and all of that was growing as his 31 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:26,400 grew. 32 00:02:27,150 --> 00:02:31,450 But, you know, he would come home, and I would see the sadness and the 33 00:02:31,450 --> 00:02:33,310 insecurity and the self -doubt. 34 00:02:37,710 --> 00:02:41,890 So, you know, people aren't always what they seem to be. 35 00:02:43,890 --> 00:02:47,770 People only share their true selves with the people they're absolutely closest 36 00:02:47,770 --> 00:02:53,450 to. Sometimes they're troubled, and I just don't think that it's fair to judge 37 00:02:53,450 --> 00:02:56,170 them just by one or two things that you saw. 38 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,620 My name is Sherry Tyree, and I was married to Jim Helwig, the Ultimate 39 00:03:01,820 --> 00:03:03,640 from 1982 to 1991. 40 00:03:06,020 --> 00:03:07,680 This picture was us backstage. 41 00:03:08,460 --> 00:03:12,240 It was really nice to have fans give us pictures and just walk up to you when 42 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,540 you'd come in from outside and say, hey, I took this great picture of you and 43 00:03:15,540 --> 00:03:18,820 your husband, and it was just, it was a very, very happy time then. 44 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,060 Somebody gave me a picture. A fan gave me this picture. 45 00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:26,960 And it's him with a little boy on his lap with a face painted and then the 46 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:27,960 little doll's face painted. 47 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,600 This is the picture after he won Mr. Georgia. 48 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:34,600 There's a beast there. Oh, my God, he's so big. 49 00:03:36,140 --> 00:03:40,800 When I first met him, he was just massive, absolutely massive. 50 00:03:41,180 --> 00:03:44,540 He literally had the largest shoulders I've ever seen on a man. 51 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:48,160 And the next competitor is Jim Helwig. 52 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:53,000 At that time, you know, bodybuilding was huge. 53 00:03:53,260 --> 00:03:57,440 And he had been doing some amateur shows and all of that. And I thought, this 54 00:03:57,440 --> 00:03:58,560 guy is just amazing. 55 00:03:58,780 --> 00:04:03,240 Like, he really has got it going on. This guy has big dreams, big plans. 56 00:04:04,860 --> 00:04:09,260 Our first date, he said, come and pick me up from the bar that he was bouncing 57 00:04:09,260 --> 00:04:10,440 out. So I go. 58 00:04:10,860 --> 00:04:13,280 And all of a sudden, I see the doors fly open. 59 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:17,839 And he's got this guy by the neck. And he's, like, basically just dropped him 60 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:18,839 the parking lot. 61 00:04:19,110 --> 00:04:24,230 And then he went back inside and then he got the trash from the bar and he took 62 00:04:24,230 --> 00:04:28,470 the trash out. And I was just like in shock and I started laughing. He goes, 63 00:04:28,490 --> 00:04:30,850 I guess you saw me take the trash out. I was like, yeah, both times. 64 00:04:32,250 --> 00:04:33,390 Should I just run now? 65 00:04:33,610 --> 00:04:36,430 I mean, should I just, you know, go? Should I just leave? 66 00:04:38,030 --> 00:04:40,390 But then the rest of the night was, you know, wonderful. 67 00:04:40,690 --> 00:04:43,770 We just literally sat on a couch and just talked for hours. 68 00:04:43,970 --> 00:04:46,170 And that's when he told me he was a chiropractic student. 69 00:04:46,940 --> 00:04:51,460 Took up weight training and bodybuilding, and from that, I was bold 70 00:04:51,460 --> 00:04:54,500 think after I saw the changes in my scrawny little body that I could make 71 00:04:54,500 --> 00:04:59,880 changes in my life another way, so I set a goal for myself in education to 72 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,600 become a doctor of chiropractic. So those were my goals. 73 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:08,860 During that time in school, they had discussed genetics, and he had told me 74 00:05:08,860 --> 00:05:13,760 about his grandfathers, that they had died in their 50s, in their early 50s. 75 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:19,120 One of the teachers had said to him, you know, hey, you know, if you have that 76 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:21,340 in your family, that doesn't look so great for you. 77 00:05:22,180 --> 00:05:27,180 And I think there was something about that that just woke him up and scared 78 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:31,780 But he tried to kind of play it off like, you know, I got to get it all in 79 00:05:31,780 --> 00:05:33,120 because I may not be around that long. 80 00:05:34,090 --> 00:05:38,990 His whole drive since the beginning, since the first night I ever met him, 81 00:05:38,990 --> 00:05:40,710 to be somebody and to be something. 82 00:05:41,010 --> 00:05:47,570 His drive was to be rich, to be famous. And he's so driven and 83 00:05:47,570 --> 00:05:51,430 dedicated like nobody I have ever seen in my life. 84 00:05:52,050 --> 00:05:57,110 And he told me what every woman wants to hear. He told me, protect me for the 85 00:05:57,110 --> 00:05:58,110 rest of my life. 86 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:08,800 Jim and Sherry were married on October 2nd, 1982, and shortly after, Jim put 87 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,880 chiropractic career on hold to pursue bodybuilding dreams in Los Angeles. 88 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:21,000 It was there Jim befriended a young Steve Borden, better known today as 89 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,520 Wrestler Sting. Steve convinced Jim they could make money together in wrestling, 90 00:06:25,700 --> 00:06:28,840 and they send out promotional packages across the country. 91 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,900 The first to call... is Memphis promoter Jerry Jarrett. 92 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:40,360 Jerry Jarrett in Memphis was known as a promoter who would take chances on new 93 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:45,480 and unknown talent. From Atlanta, Georgia, and from California, the 94 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:46,480 Fighters. 95 00:06:50,060 --> 00:06:54,360 I'm Jim Cornette. I've been a promoter, matchmaker, announcer, and manager in 96 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,720 pro wrestling for 40 years, and I was not a fan of The Ultimate Warrior. 97 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,660 They're going to be involved in a single ball match coming up here. When Borden 98 00:07:04,660 --> 00:07:09,060 Hellwood got to Memphis and showed up at the TV studio, it was rotten. 99 00:07:09,460 --> 00:07:15,840 But you could tell that they had some physical 100 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:20,620 charisma. You wanted to look at them. You just didn't want to see what they 101 00:07:20,620 --> 00:07:21,599 ended up doing. 102 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,400 Look at these men. Look at them. Okay, buddy, well, you know there's a lot more 103 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:26,500 to it than just being big. 104 00:07:28,110 --> 00:07:31,690 the promoters decided, you know, these guys may make it, but we don't have time 105 00:07:31,690 --> 00:07:32,970 to do on -the -job training. 106 00:07:33,710 --> 00:07:36,710 And so they started looking for a place to send them so they could get rid of 107 00:07:36,710 --> 00:07:39,370 them. So Hellwig and Borden go to Mid -South. 108 00:07:39,630 --> 00:07:45,750 And that's where the future of professional wrestling was shaped 109 00:07:45,750 --> 00:07:46,750 knowing it. 110 00:07:49,690 --> 00:07:53,450 Ladies and gentlemen, the most awesome tag team in professional wrestling, the 111 00:07:53,450 --> 00:07:54,810 Blade Runners! 112 00:07:58,340 --> 00:08:03,200 When the Blade Runners came to UWF, I was a broadcaster. 113 00:08:04,340 --> 00:08:07,480 I'm Jim Ross, the voice of AEW wrestling. 114 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:12,860 I've never met or seen a wrestler with less ability than the Ultimate Warrior. 115 00:08:15,540 --> 00:08:17,000 Elwood was very narcissistic. 116 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:18,580 I look this good. 117 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:19,980 I've got a great smile. 118 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:21,420 I have wonderful teeth. 119 00:08:21,740 --> 00:08:25,440 What more could a promoter want? Well, I don't know. Maybe, could you wrestle? 120 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:32,500 The wrestlers liked Steve a little bit more, and he was more trainable, whereas 121 00:08:32,500 --> 00:08:33,880 Jim was hard -headed. 122 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:38,179 I didn't have the personality to take it. I didn't like to be handled that 123 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,340 And Steve was more that he liked to have his hand held. 124 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:46,400 This is where I started seeing Jim change, where I saw this kind of side of 125 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:48,260 that was more selfish. 126 00:08:51,690 --> 00:08:55,450 You know, at the time, I didn't get much thought to what he's going to do or how 127 00:08:55,450 --> 00:08:56,750 he's going to succeed in the business. 128 00:08:57,210 --> 00:08:59,950 You know, I concentrated more on what I needed to do. 129 00:09:00,170 --> 00:09:05,190 They were two completely different people with a different idea of what 130 00:09:05,190 --> 00:09:06,190 really wanted to do. 131 00:09:06,530 --> 00:09:07,610 Steve was all in. 132 00:09:08,250 --> 00:09:13,030 But Jim always, I think on the inside, he wanted to do something on his own. 133 00:09:13,510 --> 00:09:16,850 That his size and all of that would get more attention. 134 00:09:18,390 --> 00:09:22,930 Despite his limited in -ring ability, Jim's physique is undeniable. 135 00:09:23,170 --> 00:09:28,310 After parting ways with Sting, he looks to gain stardom in one of wrestling's 136 00:09:28,310 --> 00:09:29,730 most groundbreaking territories. 137 00:09:34,350 --> 00:09:38,290 World class had the hottest syndication in the country. So if you could get on 138 00:09:38,290 --> 00:09:42,070 world class, every promoter in the country wanted you when you finished 139 00:09:44,230 --> 00:09:48,750 My name is David Manning. I was the referee, promoter, a booker. 140 00:09:49,210 --> 00:09:51,830 With world -class wrestling back in the heyday. 141 00:09:52,050 --> 00:09:54,690 This is the third controversial finish. 142 00:09:54,950 --> 00:09:58,090 When we brought him in, the world -class fans had never seen him. So we just 143 00:09:58,090 --> 00:10:01,810 built the story we wanted and we created the star we wanted. 144 00:10:02,170 --> 00:10:06,050 Weighing in excess of 300 pounds, the Dingo Warrior. 145 00:10:09,810 --> 00:10:13,830 We started trying to think of a name. And I forget exactly who came up with 146 00:10:13,830 --> 00:10:17,050 Dingo Warrior. Their pitch was, well, think of a wild dog. This is a wild 147 00:10:17,050 --> 00:10:18,050 warrior because he was a hill. 148 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:20,940 I thought he was Australian when I saw his name the first time. 149 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,020 So what is a dingo warrior? 150 00:10:23,620 --> 00:10:26,100 I have no idea. Nobody else did either. 151 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:28,540 It was literally just the name. 152 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,720 And then I remember us, like, going to Hancock Fabrics or something, you know, 153 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,320 and cutting the streamers. It was cheap trunks. The paint was cheap. 154 00:10:36,580 --> 00:10:41,400 It was what we could afford at the time. And there you go. You have the dingo 155 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:42,400 warrior. 156 00:10:43,900 --> 00:10:45,500 This guy is a monster. 157 00:10:45,700 --> 00:10:46,820 A muscle monster. 158 00:10:48,930 --> 00:10:52,230 Probably his first 15, 20 matches we gave him people to slaughter. 159 00:10:54,050 --> 00:11:00,950 The more the fans cheered, the bigger the 160 00:11:00,950 --> 00:11:05,690 Dingo Warrior's ego got. The bigger the Dingo Warrior's ego got, the harder it 161 00:11:05,690 --> 00:11:07,570 was to work with the Dingo Warrior in the ring. 162 00:11:07,970 --> 00:11:10,050 And I think that history followed him everywhere. 163 00:11:12,970 --> 00:11:17,270 It was basically, I've got the best body. 164 00:11:17,770 --> 00:11:18,770 I should beat everyone. 165 00:11:19,290 --> 00:11:23,650 And I'm not going to spend a lot of time learning this craft because I don't 166 00:11:23,650 --> 00:11:25,770 care about it. I just want to be a TV star. 167 00:11:26,130 --> 00:11:31,610 The only place that a wrestler with that kind of attitude could find a home in 168 00:11:31,610 --> 00:11:34,650 the 80s was in the WWF. 169 00:11:39,830 --> 00:11:46,090 In 1987, there was no grander stage in wrestling than the WWF. 170 00:11:46,619 --> 00:11:51,180 Wrestler Jim Hellwig is now one step closer to achieving his dreams of being 171 00:11:51,180 --> 00:11:52,039 the spotlight. 172 00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:56,480 And his life with his wife, Sherry, is also about to change forever. 173 00:11:57,100 --> 00:12:01,880 So this is the letter asking Jim to come to the WWF. 174 00:12:02,100 --> 00:12:05,340 I mean, he just knew that everything was going to change when he got this. He 175 00:12:05,340 --> 00:12:06,340 was so happy. 176 00:12:06,580 --> 00:12:10,220 No matter what territory you were in, he knew that if you were going to make 177 00:12:10,220 --> 00:12:13,260 money and you were going to be on top, that is where you had to go. 178 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,760 And I knew that this was probably going to change the entire dynamic of our 179 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:21,600 marriage. Because I knew that he was going to be on the road 20, 25 days a 180 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:24,920 month. And, I mean, it was basically going to be a long -distance 181 00:12:25,900 --> 00:12:29,340 And so he had assured me, you know, once I start making some money, I want you 182 00:12:29,340 --> 00:12:32,820 to come on the road at least seven days a month or something like that. And so I 183 00:12:32,820 --> 00:12:34,840 did go to some of these beginning matches. 184 00:12:35,460 --> 00:12:41,100 And they had him working with some of the job guys, you know, Barry Horowitz. 185 00:12:41,580 --> 00:12:42,379 Those guys. 186 00:12:42,380 --> 00:12:44,400 And those matches, they were pretty rough. 187 00:12:51,180 --> 00:12:55,420 His big thing with me was, I want you to sit in the crowd, I want you to watch 188 00:12:55,420 --> 00:12:58,960 the matches, and I want you to give me your feedback on what the people's 189 00:12:58,960 --> 00:12:59,960 reactions are. 190 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:06,420 And people were up getting popcorn, you know, going to the concession stand. I 191 00:13:06,420 --> 00:13:11,060 mean, they looked at him, but it wasn't like, wow, this guy's amazing, who's 192 00:13:11,060 --> 00:13:12,060 this guy? 193 00:13:13,180 --> 00:13:16,800 He knew that if he was going to make it there, 194 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,660 that he was going to have to figure out what his gimmick was going to be and 195 00:13:21,660 --> 00:13:23,140 where he was going to go with the character. 196 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:27,520 And I know that Vince saw a lot in him, and they had this great connection and 197 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,640 this friendship. And, I mean, I think he really looked up to Vince. 198 00:13:31,060 --> 00:13:35,100 And I know Vince did not like the name Dingo Warrior. Who is? 199 00:13:35,380 --> 00:13:37,580 The Ultimate Warrior! 200 00:13:39,100 --> 00:13:41,980 Vince said, we want you to do Warrior, but we don't want Dingo. 201 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,920 And so the first time I wrestled Terry Gibb, they did a pre -take where they 202 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:47,920 used to put the little screen up in the corner back then. 203 00:13:48,260 --> 00:13:52,640 For all you WWE fans out there looking for some type of direction, you came to 204 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,520 the right place, brother, because you're looking at the ultimate warrior. 205 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:00,080 His energy, his mannerisms, his jargon began to come together there. 206 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,420 And when you look at these bangs, the only thing that blows through these 207 00:14:03,420 --> 00:14:04,840 is the power of the warrior. 208 00:14:06,210 --> 00:14:09,670 You know, he's not the great wrestler, but then saw the intensity. 209 00:14:10,030 --> 00:14:15,290 And so he knew if he could get the people's attention with that, then he 210 00:14:15,290 --> 00:14:18,530 turn that into something, you know, and that's when the shaking of the rope 211 00:14:18,530 --> 00:14:22,150 started and just, okay, I've got to go out there and I've got to grab the 212 00:14:22,150 --> 00:14:23,150 attention. 213 00:14:23,270 --> 00:14:25,310 And then, you know, he's got to be kind of a mystery. 214 00:14:25,690 --> 00:14:28,730 People have to kind of figure out who is this guy? 215 00:14:29,150 --> 00:14:30,150 Where is he from? 216 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:32,180 And that's with the parts unknown. 217 00:14:32,420 --> 00:14:34,020 Where's he from? I'm from parts unknown. 218 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:38,640 I was sitting in parts unknown waiting for the next spaceship to hire planes. 219 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:44,200 Boyer's promo style was unique, irreverent, sometimes had to be 220 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,220 Here is the air that cowards breathe! 221 00:14:48,780 --> 00:14:49,519 What'd he say? 222 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:53,320 His promos were nonsensical. 223 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:55,240 At best. 224 00:15:09,300 --> 00:15:12,920 We would get in the car and he would just crack himself up and he'd go, what 225 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:18,060 I say? What was that? You know, I mean, everybody looked at him as this intense, 226 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,120 serious, aggressive, ultimate warrior. 227 00:15:21,340 --> 00:15:22,580 And he was those things. 228 00:15:22,940 --> 00:15:25,940 But he could also be extremely funny. 229 00:15:26,180 --> 00:15:29,640 But I promise you, his entrance music was the thing that really was the 230 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:30,640 catalyst. 231 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,200 We hear that music, stop what you're doing. 232 00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:45,240 He just flies to the ring, shaking the ropes. He's got all the colors on. 233 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:49,000 Wow. It was game over from that point on. 234 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,740 You take a guy that looks that good, you give him music, you put every big star 235 00:15:57,740 --> 00:16:00,060 in wrestling in the ring with him and tell him to lay down. 236 00:16:00,380 --> 00:16:04,740 He's got to win. He's got to win decisively. You smash him over. It's 237 00:16:04,740 --> 00:16:05,940 push, a big push. 238 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:11,920 And you make this guy the biggest star that you can by disguising his 239 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,300 and exposing his strength. 240 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:19,380 That's a living cartoon character. It's coming to life. It comes to your 241 00:16:19,380 --> 00:16:22,660 hometown. You can get that cartoon character's autograph. 242 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:24,080 There's nothing else like that. 243 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:26,800 And then the merchandising became a huge thing. 244 00:16:27,060 --> 00:16:28,100 Hey, fellas, what's going on? 245 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:29,400 Nothing, Dad. 246 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,940 Wrestling Buddy want to be your buddy. 247 00:16:33,220 --> 00:16:36,060 His favorite merchandising was with Wrestling Buddy. 248 00:16:37,540 --> 00:16:39,580 Picture of him and his Wrestling Buddy. 249 00:16:40,460 --> 00:16:44,660 I don't think that people understood how excited he was about the wrestling 250 00:16:44,660 --> 00:16:48,620 buddy. I don't know. There's just something about it. It just made him 251 00:16:48,620 --> 00:16:49,760 he had arrived. 252 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:52,900 We were able to buy our first house on the lake. 253 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:56,780 The original part of the house we bought was $100 ,000. 254 00:16:57,020 --> 00:16:58,880 We added a $100 ,000 addition. 255 00:16:59,260 --> 00:17:01,080 It was crazy at his home gym. 256 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,339 You know, the house was just absolutely amazing. He's getting these huge checks. 257 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:06,459 We're happy. 258 00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:08,599 And he's getting this big push to the top. 259 00:17:09,550 --> 00:17:12,530 And I think that is where the friction came in between he and the other 260 00:17:12,530 --> 00:17:13,530 wrestlers. 261 00:17:15,170 --> 00:17:16,550 I'm Jake the Snake Roberts. 262 00:17:16,829 --> 00:17:20,310 Well, he debuted while I was in the WWF. 263 00:17:20,930 --> 00:17:26,050 He would fly off the handle very quickly, very hard to get along with, 264 00:17:26,069 --> 00:17:27,250 impossible to talk to. 265 00:17:27,550 --> 00:17:30,010 And then he was a complete jerk in the ring. 266 00:17:30,350 --> 00:17:31,630 Bobby Heenan was not a fan. 267 00:17:32,970 --> 00:17:38,090 Bobby had a bad neck from his years in wrestling. 268 00:17:38,830 --> 00:17:40,910 And he always told guys to take care of his neck. 269 00:17:41,410 --> 00:17:44,330 He walked up to him and said, hey, you know, you broke my neck. 270 00:17:44,970 --> 00:17:46,310 He didn't care. 271 00:17:48,210 --> 00:17:50,750 You know, 272 00:17:51,690 --> 00:17:53,630 there's an unwritten rule in wrestling. 273 00:17:53,850 --> 00:17:56,910 It says the number one thing is you take care of your opponent. 274 00:17:57,770 --> 00:17:59,250 He threw that one out the window. 275 00:17:59,630 --> 00:18:03,470 I'm not trying to be a prick here when I say that literally he couldn't wrestle, 276 00:18:03,570 --> 00:18:04,570 he couldn't talk. 277 00:18:04,780 --> 00:18:08,100 He got over because he looked like a million dollars and the most successful 278 00:18:08,100 --> 00:18:10,280 promoter in the world pushed him to the moon. 279 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,460 And there's nothing else to say. 280 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:19,500 Those guys talking about how bad of a wrestler he was really affected him. 281 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,940 And then it kind of made him second guess himself a lot. 282 00:18:23,220 --> 00:18:27,140 I think they were spot on about him in some occasions. 283 00:18:28,260 --> 00:18:32,840 But I don't think they really understood that there was more to him than that. 284 00:18:33,150 --> 00:18:36,570 and that he did have a sensitive and a very insecure side. 285 00:18:40,790 --> 00:18:44,970 You know, he kind of grew up just a really scrawny, insecure little kid. I 286 00:18:44,990 --> 00:18:46,390 he weighed like 140 pounds. 287 00:18:46,990 --> 00:18:51,490 His dad left home when he was 12, and that was very, very traumatic for him. 288 00:18:51,690 --> 00:18:55,170 He told me that, you know, his dad was cheating with one of the neighbors. 289 00:18:55,470 --> 00:18:58,370 It really did something to him. It caused him a great deal of pain. 290 00:18:58,970 --> 00:19:03,330 And when he started working out and he saw changes in his body, He got excited 291 00:19:03,330 --> 00:19:07,090 about that, and it made him realize that he could be more. 292 00:19:07,490 --> 00:19:12,190 I think that all of us carry around that really insecure inner child. 293 00:19:12,530 --> 00:19:16,170 And I think that all the trauma that we have as children sometimes we take with 294 00:19:16,170 --> 00:19:20,650 us. And in his case, he had a very severe anxiety disorder. 295 00:19:20,910 --> 00:19:23,230 He had had it for years. He was always very anxious. 296 00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:26,960 How would he show that sadness and insecurity at home? 297 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,160 Well, I mean, I think he was a human being. 298 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,140 I mean, he had insecurities. He cried. 299 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:36,080 He got frustrated. He wanted to be the best. He put a lot of pressure on 300 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:41,040 to be the best. You know, he did not want to be that scrawny little kid 301 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,840 So he had to make this work. 302 00:19:50,990 --> 00:19:57,090 By 1990, the Ultimate Warrior is the biggest star in the WWF aside from one 303 00:19:57,330 --> 00:19:59,130 the immortal Hulk Hogan. 304 00:19:59,570 --> 00:20:05,070 The final piece of Vince McMahon's plan to crystallize a new megastar takes hold 305 00:20:05,070 --> 00:20:06,510 at WrestleMania VI. 306 00:20:10,030 --> 00:20:14,050 WrestleMania VI was in Sky Dome in Toronto, one of the great North American 307 00:20:14,050 --> 00:20:15,050 cities for wrestling. 308 00:20:17,090 --> 00:20:21,570 Besides Hulk Hogan, the Ultimate Warrior was the biggest box office attraction 309 00:20:21,570 --> 00:20:22,930 in wrestling. 310 00:20:23,910 --> 00:20:29,430 He found out a few months before that he was going to be taking Hulk's butt, and 311 00:20:29,430 --> 00:20:32,430 it was the greatest joy of his life. He just thought, wow, this is going to be 312 00:20:32,430 --> 00:20:34,690 amazing, and he was very pumped about it. 313 00:20:35,070 --> 00:20:37,830 And then it came, and WrestleMania VI was there. 314 00:20:38,990 --> 00:20:41,530 Champion against champion, title for... 315 00:20:44,170 --> 00:20:47,010 He was the most nervous I've ever seen in my entire life. 316 00:20:47,210 --> 00:20:48,550 He had severe anxiety. 317 00:20:49,050 --> 00:20:49,570 I 318 00:20:49,570 --> 00:20:56,250 literally 319 00:20:56,250 --> 00:21:02,010 could physically feel the match. Like I was like feeling it, you know, the 320 00:21:02,010 --> 00:21:05,510 emotion of it, the excitement in the arena. 321 00:21:05,830 --> 00:21:08,310 I've just never felt anything like that. 322 00:21:13,580 --> 00:21:15,040 Stephanie to hear the skydive. 323 00:21:15,540 --> 00:21:20,520 Vince felt that six or seven years of Hulk Hogan steadily on top was enough. 324 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:24,120 didn't want to get stale. He thought that the warrior was ready to take it. 325 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,300 With the clothesline up to the floor goes Hogan. 326 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:29,820 Hogan had been on a breakneck schedule. 327 00:21:30,220 --> 00:21:32,940 He was tired, he was beat down, and he was ready to take a break. 328 00:21:33,140 --> 00:21:35,880 And so Vince made the decision to pass the torch. 329 00:21:37,740 --> 00:21:43,000 It's the only time in that decade run with the WWF that Hulk Hogan actually 330 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:47,140 legitimately got beaten, pinned one, two, three in the ring by an opponent. 331 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,020 And it was the ultimate warrior. 332 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,760 For Hogan to do what Hogan did for Ultimate Warrior is a miracle. 333 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:16,640 He carried the warrior to immortality at WrestleMania VI, and they did it live, 334 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:18,300 which is even more astonishing. 335 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:25,620 After the match, he kind of went off on his own for a little bit, just to take 336 00:22:25,620 --> 00:22:26,439 it all in. 337 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,520 And for him just to give himself a big pat on the back and say, wow, nobody 338 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:34,920 believed in me, but I did it. I mean, he was rich, and now he was the world 339 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:36,740 champion. But that was short -lived. 340 00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:39,600 Because literally, like two months after, 341 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,800 Jim Hoag left and the ultimate warrior came home. 342 00:22:49,980 --> 00:22:54,580 He became really erratic. He started staying on the road, which he never did 343 00:22:54,580 --> 00:22:56,180 before. He was disconnected. 344 00:22:56,660 --> 00:22:57,660 Something was off. 345 00:22:58,060 --> 00:23:01,300 You call his behavior erratic. What do you mean by that? 346 00:23:03,460 --> 00:23:04,620 He seemed altered. 347 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:11,880 I mean, I didn't see anything, but he definitely was not well. 348 00:23:14,300 --> 00:23:18,100 He was on the road, and I tried to call his room, and he didn't answer. 349 00:23:18,740 --> 00:23:23,020 So I had them do a wellness check on him. You ask any wrestling wife out 350 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:27,900 when you don't hear from your husband, you get scared. 351 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:34,240 And when I called back, the guy goes, he's there, he was asleep, and that was 352 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:35,199 the end of it. 353 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,440 I thought back to something somebody told me a long time ago. 354 00:23:39,420 --> 00:23:42,540 There's always going to be women that want to sleep with your husband, but 355 00:23:42,540 --> 00:23:45,040 the ones that want to steal your life that you have to worry about. 356 00:23:46,420 --> 00:23:47,480 So I called the room. 357 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:51,620 He answered the phone, and I heard a girl's voice. 358 00:24:08,750 --> 00:24:11,230 thought, oh my gosh, I'm devastated. 359 00:24:13,470 --> 00:24:17,230 I started going through his things and I found this day planner. 360 00:24:18,150 --> 00:24:23,610 And I looked at page one and page two and page three and it'd be a girl's name 361 00:24:23,610 --> 00:24:25,190 and the town. 362 00:24:32,010 --> 00:24:38,010 I told him, I said, when you come home, you're going to be served papers. 363 00:24:39,630 --> 00:24:40,750 And I'm divorcing you. 364 00:24:41,530 --> 00:24:43,070 I didn't wait for a response. 365 00:24:44,250 --> 00:24:45,890 You know, my worst fear had come true. 366 00:24:46,330 --> 00:24:50,470 I had just lost my husband. 367 00:24:57,210 --> 00:25:02,750 By 1991, Jim Hellwig's nine -year marriage to Sherry comes to an end. 368 00:25:04,790 --> 00:25:09,320 And to make matters worse, he loses the WWF Championship. 369 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:17,720 Feeling betrayed, his relationship with his boss, Vince McMahon, begins to 370 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:18,720 deteriorate. 371 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:25,620 I was in Orlando, and Vince came to me and said, we want to put you and Warrior 372 00:25:25,620 --> 00:25:31,700 together and give you your championship run, which I had been waiting for for 373 00:25:31,700 --> 00:25:32,700 years. 374 00:25:33,169 --> 00:25:37,330 But before we can put you and Warrior together, you need to go and get the 375 00:25:37,330 --> 00:25:38,330 from him. 376 00:25:39,610 --> 00:25:40,610 What? 377 00:25:41,390 --> 00:25:42,390 What do you mean? 378 00:25:43,030 --> 00:25:44,570 You're the effing boss, man. 379 00:25:46,470 --> 00:25:48,090 It's just the way we have to do these things. 380 00:25:49,010 --> 00:25:53,130 So I went to his private dressing room and knocked on the door a couple of 381 00:25:53,130 --> 00:25:54,290 times. What? 382 00:25:54,510 --> 00:25:55,510 Come here. 383 00:25:56,310 --> 00:25:59,970 So I came in and he got right in my face and said, let me tell you something. 384 00:26:00,170 --> 00:26:01,170 I don't care. 385 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:04,060 Anything about your family, I don't care anything about you. 386 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:05,900 I don't care anything about wrestling. 387 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:07,500 I just want to do my shit. 388 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,680 Here's the deal. You better not miss a show. 389 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:13,120 Because if you miss a show, you're missing my money. 390 00:26:13,380 --> 00:26:16,520 And if you mess with my money, I'm going to get you. End of story. 391 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:18,000 Get out. 392 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:20,240 I walked out and I was in shock. 393 00:26:20,700 --> 00:26:25,180 For this jackass to come to me like that was like pissing in my mouth. 394 00:26:26,500 --> 00:26:28,760 But I had to do it if I wanted that championship. 395 00:26:29,780 --> 00:26:35,640 After SummerSlam, it'll be me and Warrior, head to head, making more money 396 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:36,640 I ever thought I'd make. 397 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:42,700 Plans for Jake the Snake Roberts would soon be derailed as tensions between 398 00:26:42,700 --> 00:26:45,260 McMahon and Hellwig begin to boil over. 399 00:26:46,220 --> 00:26:48,320 Desperate to remain at the top of the card, 400 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:51,260 Jim planned the drastic move. 401 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,260 At this point, he moved into his home that he bought in Arizona. 402 00:26:57,230 --> 00:27:00,370 He decided he wanted to live the big life, so he bought himself a million 403 00:27:00,370 --> 00:27:01,930 -dollar mansion in Scottsdale. 404 00:27:03,610 --> 00:27:08,570 He called me up because of our history, and he needed somebody that he could 405 00:27:08,570 --> 00:27:10,170 trust, somebody that he could talk to. 406 00:27:11,230 --> 00:27:12,650 He wanted me to come out. 407 00:27:13,310 --> 00:27:19,790 He had decided in his mind, in his paranoid mind, that he wanted 408 00:27:19,790 --> 00:27:21,110 everything that Hulk had. 409 00:27:21,470 --> 00:27:25,370 He wanted the same money. He wanted the same cut of the merchandising. 410 00:27:25,630 --> 00:27:26,890 He wanted it all. 411 00:27:28,070 --> 00:27:33,450 So he's like, I'm going to give Vince this letter, and if he fires me, he 412 00:27:33,450 --> 00:27:37,430 me. I was like, you can't do this. You can't hold a PD. 413 00:27:38,110 --> 00:27:42,510 And he's like, well, I've lost my whole life, and I feel like I deserve what he 414 00:27:42,510 --> 00:27:43,510 has. 415 00:27:44,030 --> 00:27:48,090 And at that point, there's absolutely no getting through to him. 416 00:27:49,910 --> 00:27:50,910 And I knew. 417 00:27:51,390 --> 00:27:55,910 that this was going to end really bad for him. 418 00:27:58,870 --> 00:28:04,710 Leading up to the SummerSlam pay -per -view in 1991, with 20 ,000 fans in 419 00:28:04,710 --> 00:28:09,690 attendance and millions more watching at home, Jim delivers a letter to Vince 420 00:28:09,690 --> 00:28:11,330 laying out a list of demands. 421 00:28:11,590 --> 00:28:16,250 He threatens that unless he is treated creatively and financially in line with 422 00:28:16,250 --> 00:28:19,910 Hulk Hogan, he would refuse to show up. 423 00:28:21,050 --> 00:28:24,690 His relationship with Vince is the most complicated thing. 424 00:28:24,970 --> 00:28:25,970 He loved Vince. 425 00:28:26,690 --> 00:28:32,470 And I think that he looked at him kind of like a father figure in a way. 426 00:28:32,690 --> 00:28:37,210 I actually believe that a lot of it was he just wanted more attention from him. 427 00:28:37,790 --> 00:28:40,610 And any time he asked Vince for something, Vince gave it to him. 428 00:28:40,870 --> 00:28:45,190 You know, I want my own locker room. I want a limousine all the time. I want 429 00:28:45,190 --> 00:28:47,150 Learjets. I mean, he just wanted it all. 430 00:28:47,630 --> 00:28:53,110 And I think at that point, Vince had grown tired and weary of the demands, 431 00:28:53,110 --> 00:28:57,670 it came to the point where, I mean, what do you do? It's a business, and you 432 00:28:57,670 --> 00:28:59,230 don't hold up a show. 433 00:29:00,210 --> 00:29:03,410 Vince is infuriated, but he has one rule. 434 00:29:03,630 --> 00:29:06,570 Get the match in the ring at all costs. 435 00:29:07,030 --> 00:29:12,050 Vince temporarily placates Warriors' demands, but he has no intention of 436 00:29:12,050 --> 00:29:13,810 honoring them after the event. 437 00:29:14,380 --> 00:29:17,700 I was there at SummerSlam, man. It was in Madison Square Garden. 438 00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:19,640 I'm so amped up, man. 439 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:24,820 I am going to start making thousands and thousands of dollars every time I'm 440 00:29:24,820 --> 00:29:25,820 going to do that. 441 00:29:25,980 --> 00:29:29,620 I was standing next to Vince when Warrior came out of the ring. 442 00:29:32,380 --> 00:29:33,380 Warrior! 443 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:43,640 And Vince put his hand out and stopped and just, by the way, you're... Fire. 444 00:29:43,780 --> 00:29:45,560 Now get out of my building. 445 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:50,740 And Vince looked at me and he goes, you got the worst luck of any human being 446 00:29:50,740 --> 00:29:51,740 I've ever met. 447 00:29:51,980 --> 00:29:56,560 To say that I wanted to kill that son of a bitch would be putting it lightly. 448 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:59,980 I carried that anger for years. 449 00:30:01,700 --> 00:30:06,020 This is a letter from Vince McMahon to the warrior. Dear Jim. 450 00:30:06,490 --> 00:30:10,810 As you know, on September 23rd, 1987, you signed a booking contract with Titan 451 00:30:10,810 --> 00:30:14,450 Sports. At the time you signed the contract, you were a relatively obscure 452 00:30:14,450 --> 00:30:18,990 wrestler with an enthusiastic, professed desire to succeed. 453 00:30:19,850 --> 00:30:23,710 Unfortunately, it now appears the fame that you have obtained through the 454 00:30:23,710 --> 00:30:27,110 efforts of Titan Sports has gone to your head. Frankly, you've become impossible 455 00:30:27,110 --> 00:30:28,110 to work with. 456 00:30:28,610 --> 00:30:31,390 You have become a legend in your own mind. 457 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:35,860 You are certainly entitled to your opinion. However, you are not entitled 458 00:30:35,860 --> 00:30:39,840 vent your feelings by breaching and threatening to breach your contract. 459 00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,520 was a serious mistake on your part. 460 00:30:44,100 --> 00:30:50,460 Jim's greatest downfall of all time was his inability to see things from 461 00:30:50,460 --> 00:30:51,560 somebody else's perspective. 462 00:30:51,940 --> 00:30:55,040 He just always thought that his way was the right way. 463 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:07,460 After threatening to no -show SummerSlam, Jim Hellwig is suspended by 464 00:31:07,460 --> 00:31:13,040 McMahon. Over the next 18 months, both engage in several legal battles, leading 465 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:14,600 to Jim's eventual firing. 466 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:20,400 Feeling powerless, Jim makes a bold move to regain control of his life and the 467 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,020 character he left behind. 468 00:31:22,790 --> 00:31:28,110 Warrior's run with the WWF came to an end in 1992, and Warrior went home and 469 00:31:28,110 --> 00:31:32,730 changed his legal name to Warrior because they owned Ultimate Warrior, and 470 00:31:32,730 --> 00:31:34,490 were mad at each other for several years. 471 00:31:34,970 --> 00:31:36,750 Warrior became Warrior. 472 00:31:37,250 --> 00:31:38,250 Not the Warrior. 473 00:31:38,610 --> 00:31:44,150 Not Jim the Warrior Hellwig. He changed his name legally to Warrior. 474 00:31:44,790 --> 00:31:47,890 You know, I changed my name because they were saying, look, whatever you did for 475 00:31:47,890 --> 00:31:50,850 the last 15 years, we own it. You can't even refer to it. 476 00:31:52,220 --> 00:31:56,860 I started using my character that I'd spent all those years developing, 477 00:31:56,860 --> 00:31:58,440 in entrepreneurial projects. 478 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,020 Why do you think he legally changed his name to Warrior? 479 00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:06,340 This is just my opinion because I was not his wife then. 480 00:32:06,980 --> 00:32:10,180 He had to reinvent himself. You have to make a living. You have to have a 481 00:32:10,180 --> 00:32:13,680 career. You know, he built the character and he just felt like that that's 482 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:15,500 probably what he was going to have to do. 483 00:32:16,650 --> 00:32:17,830 By 1996, 484 00:32:18,630 --> 00:32:22,850 Hulk Hogan and other WWF wrestlers have jumped ship to their arch competitor, 485 00:32:23,230 --> 00:32:24,490 WCW. 486 00:32:27,090 --> 00:32:33,170 In order to recapture WWF's former success, Vince decides to approach 487 00:32:33,170 --> 00:32:34,270 for a second chance. 488 00:32:34,670 --> 00:32:39,750 Along with members of his executive team, Vince flies to Warrior's new home 489 00:32:39,750 --> 00:32:41,370 Arizona to make amends. 490 00:32:42,250 --> 00:32:47,720 During this talk and during this lunch, All the warrior talked about was his 491 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:53,800 concepts and his visions and his ideas for spreading 492 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,540 death trucity. 493 00:32:55,860 --> 00:33:00,860 You're probably wondering out there in TV land, what the is death trucity? 494 00:33:03,180 --> 00:33:10,000 Death trucity was the truth in between destiny and reality where 495 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:13,080 you could stay true to yourself while achieving your goals 496 00:33:15,100 --> 00:33:19,800 demented mind he was going to be some kind of motivational person for children 497 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:21,640 and beleaguered people across America. 498 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:26,040 As I got on with the entrepreneurial project and started thinking about 499 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:29,820 speaking, got interested in reading and writing, Ultimate Warrior always 500 00:33:29,820 --> 00:33:34,180 represented like a true -to -life superhero comic book character. So I 501 00:33:34,180 --> 00:33:38,140 story around this graphically created Ultimate Warrior comic book character. 502 00:33:38,500 --> 00:33:40,380 So now he wants to be a motivational speaker. 503 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:41,600 He wants comic books. 504 00:33:43,140 --> 00:33:47,080 Look, there's nothing wrong with you, that stuff, if you're qualified to do 505 00:33:47,140 --> 00:33:49,940 This is time in my life I could never get back. 506 00:33:50,340 --> 00:33:53,360 It was a total waste of a trip. 507 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:59,740 Although his staff has major apprehensions, McMahon takes a risk by 508 00:33:59,740 --> 00:34:04,540 Warrior once again, and his big return is scheduled for WrestleMania XII. 509 00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:15,020 Warrior's opponent is rising star Hunter Hearth Helmsley, better known today as 510 00:34:15,020 --> 00:34:15,938 Triple H. 511 00:34:15,940 --> 00:34:22,620 He basically sold nothing, took Triple H's 512 00:34:22,620 --> 00:34:26,739 finish and stood right back up and looked at him, beat him up and beat him 513 00:34:26,739 --> 00:34:27,739 minute and a half, class. 514 00:34:30,340 --> 00:34:34,620 Just trashed him, just destroyed him, because he was the warrior and he was 515 00:34:34,620 --> 00:34:35,739 most important thing in the world. 516 00:34:37,929 --> 00:34:41,270 The pop was huge, but only for a few weeks. 517 00:34:42,090 --> 00:34:48,969 When the 1996 WWF fan saw the guy that he remembered as being the big star 518 00:34:48,969 --> 00:34:54,850 from 1990, it really wasn't as good as I remember him, because things had 519 00:34:54,850 --> 00:34:57,470 changed. He was not going to sell lots of merchandise. 520 00:34:58,330 --> 00:35:00,070 Destrucity was not going to become a household word. 521 00:35:00,370 --> 00:35:02,210 The comic book was not going to be on all the shelves. 522 00:35:03,250 --> 00:35:07,210 Things were not going to be going his way. And so Vince made the decision. 523 00:35:07,790 --> 00:35:08,990 We don't need him on our roster. 524 00:35:13,370 --> 00:35:18,510 Warrior's career in the WWF is over, and it isn't the storybook ending everyone 525 00:35:18,510 --> 00:35:19,510 was hoping for. 526 00:35:20,050 --> 00:35:23,950 Defeated and disappointed, Warrior retreats back to Arizona. 527 00:35:25,050 --> 00:35:29,450 Years later, he goes back to his bodybuilding roots and opens his own 528 00:35:29,650 --> 00:35:33,950 It was there he would cross paths again with his ex -wife Sherry. 529 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,800 I think that's probably one of the times where he was very, very, very happy. 530 00:35:38,300 --> 00:35:42,540 He had built this from the ground up. And I don't know, I just felt like a new 531 00:35:42,540 --> 00:35:45,380 energy in him that I hadn't seen in a long time. 532 00:35:45,900 --> 00:35:51,140 And he and I were friends at that point. And he was dating and I was dating. And 533 00:35:51,140 --> 00:35:52,600 it wasn't like weird or anything. 534 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,640 It was just nice just to have him in my life and have him as a friend. 535 00:35:57,340 --> 00:36:00,480 And then I met my now husband there. 536 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:02,540 And he met his wife. 537 00:36:03,500 --> 00:36:08,880 And then when I got pregnant with my daughter, it got to the point where he 538 00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:14,840 I decided that it was not a good idea for me to be in the gym anymore because 539 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:19,020 had fallen in love and he had fallen in love with somebody else. 540 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:23,520 And it was going to make our significant others, you know, very uncomfortable 541 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:24,960 for us to be around each other. 542 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:28,700 And he stood in front of me and he took my hand. 543 00:36:30,220 --> 00:36:34,480 And I want to thank you for all these years of being my wife. 544 00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:41,560 And I'm so sorry for all the pain that I've ever caused you. 545 00:36:43,900 --> 00:36:46,320 And I wish I could have been a faithful husband. 546 00:36:46,660 --> 00:36:49,820 And the fact that he acknowledged that meant a lot to me. 547 00:36:51,060 --> 00:36:53,860 And know that I always loved you. 548 00:36:55,260 --> 00:36:57,960 And I wish you nothing but happiness and the best. 549 00:36:58,360 --> 00:36:59,720 And I know you're going to be a great mom. 550 00:37:01,420 --> 00:37:03,920 And that conversation ended our relationship. 551 00:37:04,900 --> 00:37:07,100 And that was the last time that I saw him. 552 00:37:13,540 --> 00:37:18,380 With Warrior's wrestling career in the rearview mirror and his relationship 553 00:37:18,380 --> 00:37:23,500 Sherry officially over, he was not done creating controversy and would spend the 554 00:37:23,500 --> 00:37:26,520 next decade using his fleeting celebrity status. 555 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:29,300 to become a conservative motivational speaker. 556 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:34,740 The woman who would become my wife walked into my life. She was 557 00:37:34,980 --> 00:37:40,360 And through her, I realized I had been, without knowing directly, all along 558 00:37:40,360 --> 00:37:42,920 living by a conservative philosophy of life. 559 00:37:43,140 --> 00:37:46,800 You know, I was in my mid -30s. I wasn't just going to sit or retire and just 560 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:48,040 not do anything. 561 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:54,240 So I started with a real simple idea of just going out, talking to young people, 562 00:37:54,260 --> 00:37:56,780 all different ages. And I don't pull my punches about any. 563 00:37:57,060 --> 00:38:00,940 He thought he was going to be a motivational speaker and a coach. He was 564 00:38:00,940 --> 00:38:05,840 actually a far right wing nutcase who hated gay people. 565 00:38:06,100 --> 00:38:09,040 Let me come down off my politically correct horse. 566 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:16,340 Because querying doesn't make the world work. 567 00:38:21,160 --> 00:38:26,480 And said, you know, really horrible things about a variety of cultures and 568 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:33,220 peoples. His political rants or his anti -gay rants or his right -wing rants or 569 00:38:33,220 --> 00:38:38,460 his homophobia. I've never yet understood the first thing about how 570 00:38:38,460 --> 00:38:39,259 head worked. 571 00:38:39,260 --> 00:38:43,400 And then he would say a variety of things about a lot of the guys in the 572 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:44,940 business that. 573 00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:51,100 may or may not have been true, but coming from him was the most unpalatable 574 00:38:51,100 --> 00:38:57,840 all. Hulkamania is entwined in society by the example 575 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,720 you've set of how to fuck up a life. 576 00:39:01,380 --> 00:39:04,240 I mean, you didn't care if your wife slept with other guys. 577 00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:07,560 I mean, you're a real piece of shit, Terry. 578 00:39:07,820 --> 00:39:10,860 Here was the most unprofessional. 579 00:39:11,930 --> 00:39:16,950 argumentative, hard to work with, egotistical, untalented guy that all 580 00:39:16,950 --> 00:39:21,810 people had a hand in making a star, and then all he did afterwards was trash 581 00:39:21,810 --> 00:39:22,810 him. 582 00:39:24,910 --> 00:39:30,170 After spending years publicly disparaging his contemporaries and 583 00:39:30,170 --> 00:39:35,650 lawsuits with the WWE, it was unlikely that Warrior would ever find himself 584 00:39:35,650 --> 00:39:37,670 -to -face with any of his former opponents. 585 00:39:38,330 --> 00:39:40,770 That would all change in 2014, 586 00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,400 in a move that shocked the wrestling world when it was announced that the 587 00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:49,940 ultimate warrior would be headlining the Hall of Fame ceremony at WrestleMania 588 00:39:49,940 --> 00:39:50,940 30. 589 00:39:51,260 --> 00:39:54,960 One of his longtime enemies would be lying in wait for his return. 590 00:39:56,140 --> 00:39:57,940 Had a roll of quarters in my pocket. 591 00:39:58,540 --> 00:40:00,260 I was going to beat his ass. 592 00:40:00,900 --> 00:40:02,780 And I'm waiting on him, looking for him. 593 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:08,540 Of course, warrior being warrior, they had him in a private area and security 594 00:40:08,540 --> 00:40:10,440 guards and all that. I had to wait. 595 00:40:11,420 --> 00:40:15,080 I had to wait. I had to wait. And I'm boiling, I'm boiling, I'm boiling. 596 00:40:15,780 --> 00:40:18,360 And then all of a sudden, somebody tapped me on the back. 597 00:40:20,340 --> 00:40:21,680 I turned around and it was water. 598 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,840 He put his hands up. He goes, please, just let me do this. 599 00:40:26,380 --> 00:40:29,120 I need to apologize to you and your family. 600 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:31,840 That's who I was then, but that wasn't me. 601 00:40:32,580 --> 00:40:35,920 But if it means anything, just know that I'm sorry. 602 00:40:37,340 --> 00:40:38,520 He disarmed me. 603 00:40:40,770 --> 00:40:42,450 Another lesson in life, man. 604 00:40:43,550 --> 00:40:44,550 That's what I got. 605 00:40:44,750 --> 00:40:45,750 A lesson. 606 00:40:47,390 --> 00:40:51,130 At the Hall of Fame weekend, Warrior went around. He made amends with some of 607 00:40:51,130 --> 00:40:52,150 the talent that was there. 608 00:40:52,390 --> 00:40:57,650 I think it probably warmed Vince's heart more than anyone because he just always 609 00:40:57,650 --> 00:40:59,690 likes to bring people back into the fold. 610 00:41:00,050 --> 00:41:01,050 You look great. 611 00:41:01,170 --> 00:41:04,770 Congratulations. You always look great. You look better than anybody. He was on 612 00:41:04,770 --> 00:41:07,630 his best behavior, and he did what... 613 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:10,020 Everyone considered to be a fine speech. 614 00:41:10,320 --> 00:41:15,080 I've never interacted with anybody in this business that hasn't taught me 615 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:20,320 something. The inductions were made and his family was there. And it seemed like 616 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:26,720 an improbable storybook ending for this multi -decade contentious relationship. 617 00:41:28,340 --> 00:41:31,820 The next night. 618 00:41:32,330 --> 00:41:36,990 He comes out on Monday Night Raw live on television and cuts another promo. And 619 00:41:36,990 --> 00:41:40,110 it's a very inspirational speech that people actually understood. 620 00:41:40,570 --> 00:41:43,030 I am Ultimate Warrior. 621 00:41:43,290 --> 00:41:46,250 You are the Ultimate Warrior fans. 622 00:41:47,850 --> 00:41:52,630 And the spirit of Ultimate Warrior will run forever. 623 00:41:56,950 --> 00:41:58,830 Warrior didn't look healthy that night. 624 00:41:59,770 --> 00:42:00,870 Like he had... 625 00:42:01,070 --> 00:42:04,850 Really got fatigued or hadn't been able to sleep or something was off. 626 00:42:06,570 --> 00:42:10,950 My sister called me and she's like, I'm so sorry about Jim. 627 00:42:11,190 --> 00:42:14,330 And I'm like, what are you talking about? 628 00:42:14,690 --> 00:42:16,050 What do you mean? 629 00:42:18,810 --> 00:42:23,870 Somewhere around 12 hours after that final Monday Night Raw appearance, he 630 00:42:23,870 --> 00:42:28,570 leaving his hotel room, walking to the car the next morning, had a heart attack 631 00:42:28,570 --> 00:42:29,570 and died. 632 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:37,500 One of the biggest pro wrestling stars of the 1990s. We learned overnight that 633 00:42:37,500 --> 00:42:39,140 the ultimate warrior has died. 634 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:45,400 It's probably one of the most startling things that ever happened in wrestling. 635 00:42:46,100 --> 00:42:50,200 After almost 20 years, a guy finally comes back, has a chance to at least 636 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:57,200 resurrect his legacy, if not his career, gets started, drops over 637 00:42:57,200 --> 00:42:58,200 dead. 638 00:42:58,600 --> 00:42:59,820 He does his promo. 639 00:43:00,650 --> 00:43:05,210 And he gets a standing ovation, and he goes home, and he dies. 640 00:43:06,330 --> 00:43:07,510 He couldn't write that story. 641 00:43:08,410 --> 00:43:09,368 So sad. 642 00:43:09,370 --> 00:43:10,370 It was sad. 643 00:43:11,370 --> 00:43:15,050 I was sad for his family. The children weren't going to have a father. I mean, 644 00:43:15,070 --> 00:43:18,050 just everything about it, and just so bad. 645 00:43:18,270 --> 00:43:24,110 Nobody should ever have to see their loved one die like that. I mean, I was 646 00:43:24,110 --> 00:43:25,790 for the fans. I was sad. 647 00:43:26,670 --> 00:43:30,810 That people had lost something that meant so much to them. This character, 648 00:43:30,810 --> 00:43:34,530 gimmick, the ultimate warrior. Like, everything about it was so horrible. 649 00:43:34,870 --> 00:43:39,650 I would say that Warrior never said anything any more truthful than his last 650 00:43:39,650 --> 00:43:40,650 words on Raw. 651 00:43:40,950 --> 00:43:45,170 Every man's heart one day beats its final beat. 652 00:43:45,710 --> 00:43:47,950 His lungs breathe their final breath. 653 00:43:48,350 --> 00:43:49,890 You're going to breathe your last breath. 654 00:43:50,410 --> 00:43:53,690 Your heart's going to beat its last time. It's just we never suspected. 655 00:43:54,570 --> 00:43:56,830 It'd be that quick, that soon for him. 656 00:43:59,470 --> 00:44:00,470 Rest in peace.