It's amazing how intense the vitriol and distaste for Jim "Ultimate Warrior" Hellwig was during his successful tenure with the WW(F)E. In a not-so-flattering series of interviews chronicling the years Hellwig was with the WWF(before it would become WWE) during his three different phases with Vince McMahon's company, we get a strong sense of just how ill-felt his presence was for many of the stars who worked in the business(or still do)during the 80's, and at times, in the 90's.
Very revealing are interviews with such personalities as "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, a sickly Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Vinnie Mac himself, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and "Mean" Gene Okerlund. Nothing is held back, and those interviewed rarely have anything positive to say about Hellwig, it's all pretty nasty and bluntly honest.
Anyway, it starts from Hellwig's early days of the WWF and continues through his meteoric rise to the top of the mountain at the Toronto Skydome where he in just three years would defeat Hulk Hogan for the World Heavyweight championship. From this point on, the interviewees really lay on the criticism, taking the character of Hellwig to the woodshed. Hellwig's skills as a wrestler and interview subject are scathingly demonized..this guy doesn't catch a break.
We get insight from Heenan about Andre the Giant's not-so-pleasant feelings for Hellwig, and Dibiase weighs in on how disgusted he was about how the revered veteran had to put the Warrior character over by losing some matches. I mean even when it's recognized what he accomplished for the company, his representation as someone who alienated the other wrestlers, dedicated little to becoming a stronger, more efficient performer, and swelling ego are mentioned shortly afterward..it's plain and simple, the Ultimate Warrior, a wrestling superstar, is presented as a blight in the company who wasn't appreciated or respected by his peers or employers, and seems to have been considered a major a-hole who rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
Popular WW(F)E wrestling broadcasters Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler even weigh in on Hellwig..JR sure doesn't cast Hellwig in a very positive light, pretty much disparaging towards everything the Warrior was as a wrestler and sports entertainer.
It's kind of sad that the parting of ways between the two parties wasn't more amicable and that both the wrestler and the organization decided to end their relationship on such inhospitable terms.
Other WWE superstars such as Chris Jericho, The Edge, and Christian Cage chime in on Ultimate Warrior, his impact on the sport and their thoughts on the wrestler and character. Certainly established is the ridicule geared towards Hellwig's (lack of)skills as a wrestling orator and how his ramblings were often considered incoherent and embarrassing.
I think fans of the wrestler will find this rather troubling how it seems that this entire documentary is meant to diminish and demoralize what the Ultimate Warrior was in the sport of wrestling, the person behind the personality and the character himself. There is Warrior's side of the story, a very vocal and open Hellwig who comments on his career and the people he came across along the way in an hour long interview you can probably find on youtube.
Very revealing are interviews with such personalities as "Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, a sickly Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Vinnie Mac himself, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, and "Mean" Gene Okerlund. Nothing is held back, and those interviewed rarely have anything positive to say about Hellwig, it's all pretty nasty and bluntly honest.
Anyway, it starts from Hellwig's early days of the WWF and continues through his meteoric rise to the top of the mountain at the Toronto Skydome where he in just three years would defeat Hulk Hogan for the World Heavyweight championship. From this point on, the interviewees really lay on the criticism, taking the character of Hellwig to the woodshed. Hellwig's skills as a wrestler and interview subject are scathingly demonized..this guy doesn't catch a break.
We get insight from Heenan about Andre the Giant's not-so-pleasant feelings for Hellwig, and Dibiase weighs in on how disgusted he was about how the revered veteran had to put the Warrior character over by losing some matches. I mean even when it's recognized what he accomplished for the company, his representation as someone who alienated the other wrestlers, dedicated little to becoming a stronger, more efficient performer, and swelling ego are mentioned shortly afterward..it's plain and simple, the Ultimate Warrior, a wrestling superstar, is presented as a blight in the company who wasn't appreciated or respected by his peers or employers, and seems to have been considered a major a-hole who rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
Popular WW(F)E wrestling broadcasters Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler even weigh in on Hellwig..JR sure doesn't cast Hellwig in a very positive light, pretty much disparaging towards everything the Warrior was as a wrestler and sports entertainer.
It's kind of sad that the parting of ways between the two parties wasn't more amicable and that both the wrestler and the organization decided to end their relationship on such inhospitable terms.
Other WWE superstars such as Chris Jericho, The Edge, and Christian Cage chime in on Ultimate Warrior, his impact on the sport and their thoughts on the wrestler and character. Certainly established is the ridicule geared towards Hellwig's (lack of)skills as a wrestling orator and how his ramblings were often considered incoherent and embarrassing.
I think fans of the wrestler will find this rather troubling how it seems that this entire documentary is meant to diminish and demoralize what the Ultimate Warrior was in the sport of wrestling, the person behind the personality and the character himself. There is Warrior's side of the story, a very vocal and open Hellwig who comments on his career and the people he came across along the way in an hour long interview you can probably find on youtube.