Looking back, one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE history was also one of the most polarizing stars ever. That man was the Ultimate Warrior, the superstar who was supposed to replace Hulk Hogan as the face of the company, but flamed out just as quickly as he rose to prominence.
However, as shown at his WWE Hall of Fame induction, fans still had a soft spot for the Warrior, despite his actions at the end of his WWE career, and the legacy he left behind. He started alongside the man called Sting, reached the top of professional wrestling, and was out of the sport in just a few short years, with him playing various versions of his character during that time.
9 Blade Runner Rock
It is almost easy to look at the start of a wrestler's career, and label it the worst version of who they were as a performer. That is unfortunately true for the man who started his career known as Blade Runner Rock.
When Rick Bastien helped bring two young bodybuilders into professional wrestling, they were raw talents. Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert tried to mold them into stars, but only succeeded with Blade Runner Flash, who later became known as Sting. As for Rock, he was gone shortly after he arrived, having done almost nothing.
8 WWE (1996)
What hurt most about Ultimate Warrior's career was his attitude and seeming lack-of-care about wrestling, before he finally left the sport. He was at the top of his game when he decided that he wanted more money from WWE or he would stay at home. WWE suspended him, so he quit.
However, Warrior was under contract and couldn't go anywhere else, so he retired. In 1996, both sides decided to bring him back. His first match back was at WrestleMania XII when he charged the ring and squashed up-and-coming talent Triple H. Three months later, WWE fired him for no-showing house shows after the death of his father.
7 WCW (1998)
With WWE firing Warrior, he was open to a return to work for another wrestling promotion. WCW had become WWE's biggest competitor, thanks to the nWo, and they won the ratings wars week after week. Things were starting to slide in WCW, and they needed something big, so they signed Warrior to return.
Warrior made his big return on Nitro and cut a very long promo against Hulk Hogan. Sadly, this return was just so Hogan could get his win from WrestleMania back, and then Warrior was finished with wrestling for good.
6 WWE (1987-1988)
Ultimate Warrior signed with WWE in June 1987. The company liked Dingo Warrior's character from World Class and altered the name to The Ultimate Warrior. He then started working as a massive star, running to the ring at full-speed and beating his opponents in record time.
For the next year, he just beat jobber after jobber, and fans started to get into the Warrior's look and enthusiasm. It was a prelude to bigger things that were in store for him down the line.
5 The Dingo Warrior
While he was a much bigger star in WWE when he joined the promotion, thanks to the television platform's size, his work in World Class Championship Wrestling was better for a couple of reasons. The company paired him with some established managers who could work with him on his skills, including Gary Hart and Percy Pringle (Paul Bearer).
He worked more basic matches and proved he could be a good wrestler, but WWE only wanted to use him like a bulldozer.
4 Post-WWE World Champion
After Ultimate Warrior lost the WWE Championship to Sgt. Slaughter, he never won the title again. Hulk Hogan moved back to the top spot, and WWE decided Warrior would not be the man to lead them into the future.
He had one truly great feud after that, beating Macho Man Randy Savage in a retirement match at WrestleMania VII. After that, Warrior started to want more money and held up Vince McMahon more than once. He became unreliable and only showed up here and there for the next year, before leaving.
3 WWE Hall Of Fame
For 16 years, Warrior was out of professional wrestling, outside of one indie match in 2008 in Spain. He was long since relegated to wrestling history, and since he left WWE on such bad terms, no one expected to ever see him again in the industry. But then, the seemingly unthinkable happened.
WWE and Warrior made up for the past. WWE added him to the WWE 2K14 videogame, and then announced the company was inducting him into the WWE Hall of Fame. His induction speech was classy, and it seemed he was a new man. He appeared on Raw the next night and promised big things coming. He unfortunately passed away the next day.
2 WWE World Champion
WWE pushed Warrior to the moon, and he beat Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship. It could have been Warrior's company to carry on his shoulder for the next decade, but something changed.
His enthusiasm seemed to wane, and fans stopped popping as hard for him. He had some good matches with Rick Rude, but this wasn't the same red-hot Ultimate Warrior. Finally, Sgt. Slaughter beat him for the title, which led to Hulk Hogan taking the top spot back after that.
1 IC Champion
Ultimate Warrior was never better than he was when he was running with the Intercontinental Championship. He had run through all the jobbers in WWE, and it was time for his next step. Honky Tonk Man was the longest-reigning IC Champion ever, and fans hated him. When Warrior ran down and beat him in seconds, the arena exploded.
He then had some great matches with the IC title, including a feud with Rick Rude, who always brought out the best in him. When the time came, fans loved Ultimate Warrior completely, when he took his title into WrestleMania VI, put it on the line against Hulk Hogan's world title, and finally became world champion.
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