Mr. Perfect | thisyearinmusic

The world is in mourning, but at least we have the memories!

On April 8th Jim Hellwig AKA the Ultimate Warrior died. At the moment the cause is not known. I suspect heart attack, but what do I know, I’m not a doctor. I only saw the Warrior wrestle. I was 12 and my parents took me to see Summer Slam in London. It was a great day. I saw all of my favourite wrestlers. I cheered, cried, laughed, and ate a hot dog and ice cream (not together of course). It was a double main event. Bret Hart vs. the British Bulldog for the Intercontinental was the last match on the card, but the other main event was Randy Savage vs. the Warrior for the Heavyweight Title. It was possibly one of Warrior’s finest matches. This could have been because of the setting, what was at stake or the fact that Savage made anyone look better.

Since his passing I’ve been thinking about the Warrior a lot. When I was little he was the first wrestler I saw. After I saw his picture I had to watch him wrestle. He remained my favourite until I understood wrestling and realised that just because you were in the main event, didn’t mean you were the best wrestler. Sadly the Warrior wasn’t that good a wrestler. He wasn’t the worst, but you could tell that he got into it too late and hadn’t picked up the basics early enough. What he lacked in wrestling ability he made up for in confidence and showmanship. He’s promos have stayed with me since I first saw them. They were really out there. Most of them didn’t really make any sense, but you remember them. He could work the crowd better than many of the seasoned veterans and his theme music and entrances were explosive to say the least, but a great wrestler he was not.

I’m saddened that the Warrior is dead, as over the past few years he seemed to have got his life on track and was reconnecting with people he’d fallen out with. Maybe it’ll turn out that he was ill and knew he didn’t have long left and wanted to settle old scores before he died. We’ll never know, but it was good to see.

As I’ve mentioned his theme music was amazing. As soon as you heard the opening note you knew what to expect. A high energy/octane match. I’ve been thinking about wrestling themes today as well and I have compiled my Top 5. I hope you enjoy.

5. The Wyatt Family