The rush of the ring: the Ultimate Warrior has become the Ultimate Conservative

Wrestling Digest, Dec, 2003 by Kevin Eck

IN AN INDUSTRY THAT HAS HAD more than its share of eccentric personalities, Jim Hellwig may be professional wrestling's ultimate enigma.

The man who wrestled as the facepainted, freakishly muscled Ultimate Warrior has become somewhat of a mythical figure despite a relatively short career as a headliner and long periods of inactivity.

Simultaneously considered one of wrestling's biggest stars of the late '80s and early '90s as well as one of the least talented workers of all time, rumors about everything from his supposed death to his sexual preference to where and when he'd turn up next have swirled among fans over the years.

At least one of those questions can be answered with certainty. Hellwig, who has legally changed his name to Warrior, (his wife and two daughters even use Warrior as their surname), is alive and well. In fact, he just may be speaking to the Young Republicans club at a university near you.

That's right. Warrior, 44, has stepped out of the ring and into the arena of professional speaking. Unlike Diamond Dallas Page, another former pro wrestler who has pursued a career in motivational speaking, Warrior's message is decidedly less touchy-feely than DDP's "I'm OK, you're OK, never give up on your dreams" mantra.

An avowed conservative, Warrior's mission is to "inspire young people across America with powerful lectures on the ideas that have made this country great," according to his Web site (www.ultimatewarrior.com).

One thing Warrior does not do is sugurcoat his opinions, especially those regarding liberals, whom he likes to refer to as "lesions." To put it another way, politically, Warrior is a combination of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity--on steroids. That, of course, is an analogy, albeit a very accurate one on many levels.

Back in his wrestling prime, Warrior was nicknamed the "Anabolic Warrior" for his jacked-up physique, which set the standard in an era of hulking, sculpted performers. For those unfamiliar with his ring exploits, Warrior at one time was considered the successor to Hulk Hogan as wrestling's next iconic figure.

Warrior's introduction to pro wrestling occurred in 1985. A Mr. America contestant who was studying to become a chiropractor, he was recruited into wrestling because of his chiseled build. With minimal mat training, Warrior became one-fourth of a patriotic ensemble known as PowerTeam USA.

Among the others in the group was a guy named Steve Borden, who would go on to wrestling stardom as Sting. Warrior and Sting were the prize pupils of PowerTeam USA, and they were quickly broken off from the group and turned into a tag team.

They sent out pictures of themselves to a number of promotions, yet drew interest from only a single one, MidSouthern Wrestling in Tennessee. Wrestling as the Freedom Fighters, Warrior and Sting worked in the territory briefly before moving on to the MidSouth promotion.

In the Mid-South they were known as the Rock (Warrior) and Flash (Sting), the Blade Runners. With close-cropped haircuts and a dash of face paint, the Blade Runners were a younger, much greener version of the Road Warriors, the top tag team in wrestling at the time.

The Blade Runners' ring work was shoddy at best, but there was no denying they had the fight look and some charisma, which in that era meant much more than actual wrestling ability. It wasn't long before the Blade Runners split up to embark on careers as singles wrestlers.

While Sting stayed in the Mid-South, Warrior headed to the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling in 1986. Working as the Dingo Warrior, he entered the promotion as a heel but soon became a popular babyface. He went on to hold the WCWA Texas heavyweight title for four months.

Although he was still regarded as a below-average worker in the ring, Warriors stock was rising. WWE, which was riding a tremendous wave of popularity, came calling, and Warrior signed with the federation during the latter part of 1987.

Renamed the Ultimate Warrior, he was brought along slowly by WWE. He worked at house shows for a few months before making his television debut, and even then, he was put in programs with mid-card wrestlers and never faced the top-level talent.

The fans realized the energetic Warrior was going to be someone special as he would charge to the ring, perform a few power moves (a necessity due to his limited repertoire), and then finish off his opponents in quick fashion. The Warrior amassed an impressive winning streak and he rarely spoke (another necessity because he couldn't cut a decent promo), adding a touch of mystique to his character.

In August of 1988, WWE decided the time was fight for Warrior to take the next step, and he thrashed the Honky Tonk Man in 28 seconds at Summerslam to win the WWE intercontinental title;

After losing the title to "Ravishing" Rick Rude at WrestleMania V, he regained it from Rude at Summerslam four months later. Warrior, who also scored a series of quick pinfall victories over the legendary Andre the Giant in 1989, held the intercontinental title for eight months before facing Hogan for the WWE world title at WrestleMania VI in 1990.