THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR

I've had the bones of a nice little WWE piece saved in my drafts for a couple of weeks now, but just haven't had the time to sit down and write it. It's a good thing and a bad thing that it's not quite done yet, because The Ultimate Warrior died this week. He was one of my favorite wrestlers when I was little along with Hulk Hogan, Jake the Snake and the Macho Man.

His real name was James Hellwig, and since he left the squared circle back in the 90's, he's been working as a public speaker using the energy he brought to the ring and translating it to a different situation. He also left the makeup behind.

A few weeks ago, on the Reserves Podcast, we picked which WWE superstars would own which Premier League teams. The only stipulation was that they had to still be alive. We ended up deciding that the Warrior would be the owner of Arsenal because they're kind of brash and showy. I think that was the reason. I don't actually remember.

But either way, it's a sad day (well kind of, because Warrior wasn't really the most tolerant person) for anyone that was even remotely a wrestling fan. But it is bittersweet, because this past Sunday, he appeared at WrestleMania 30, was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame and kind of buried the hatchet with the organization that he'd been feuding with on and off since the 1990's.

The next night, he appeared on Monday Night Raw, did his signature rope shaking and addressed the crowd wearing a mask that resembled the war paint he wore in his ring days. That night, Warrior said:

"Every man’s heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe their final breath. And if that man did in his life what 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 makers of Ultimate Warrior."