James Brian Hellwig (born 16 June 1962), is an American
professional wrestler known by many as The Ultimate Warrior, he
legally changed his name to Warrior in 1991.
As a WWF superstar from the mid-80's to the early 90's, the
Ultimate Warrior was known for his high-energy and high-risk
wrestling style, and his "Gorilla Press Slam," in which he would
lift his opponent over his head like a barbell, and then drop him
to the mat face-first.
Before his WWF career, Jim Hellwing was "Justice" Hellwig of Power
Team USA, a group of bodybuilders that Red Bastien and Rick Bassman
formed in 1985, but the gimmick went under when they discovered
that none of the team had wrestling potential. Of the four members
of Power Team USA, only Hellwig and Steve "Flash" Borden had
subsequent wrestling careers (Borden went on to become WCW's
Sting). They even formed a tag team called "The Blade Runners" when
they wrestled in independant federations, but the group ended and
Hellwig became "the Dingo Warrior" for a brief period before he got
the "Ultimate Warrior" gimmick.
Warrior temporarily left the WWF in 1991 after they took him out of
the running for the World Title, and upon returning, received
creative control over his bookings. Most fans remember the Papa
Shango angle, in which the "witch doctor" cast a spell over
Warrior, causing him to convulse and vomit.
In 1992, Warrior temporarily left the WWF again, rather than engage
in a potentially long-running feud with Nailz, and then returned
briefly in 1996. WWF later terminated his contract, claiming that
he wasn't pulling his weight.
WCW picked him up and gave him creative control over his matches,
considered by some to be a foolish move. He created an angle where
he formed a stable opposing Hulk Hogan's "New World Order": the
"One Warrior Nation." Highlights of the unpopular angle included
Warrior "converting" the Disciple, frequent instances of "magic
smoke" knocking out all of the nWo members except for Hogan (and
covering Warrior's movement through a trapdoor in the ring), and
backstage "apparitions" that only Hogan could see. Despite a
terrible match at Halloween Havoc, WCW thought they could salvage
the angle, but an arm injury sidelined Warrior, and WCW let his
contract expire.
Due to his apparent obsession with the Warrior gimmick, most people
(including many fans) consider him "dropped on his head too many
times."
Warrior officially retired in 1998, and now runs a youth center
called Warrior University. He has also made speeches and
commentaries denouncing left-wingers.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Warrior
