Ultimate Warrior Announced as WWE Hall of Fame Inductee

Ultimate Warrior Announced as WWE Hall of Fame Inductee

By Phil Allely

WWE (WWE) announced today that The Ultimate Warrior will return to WWE after an 18 year absence and be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Saturday, April 5, 2014 at New Orleans Arena, as a part of the WrestleMania 30 festivities.

“The Ultimate Warrior was the most intense, colorful, competitive and outspoken Superstar in sports entertainment history, and his contributions to WWE were extraordinary,” said WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon. “We are thrilled to induct The Ultimate Warrior into the WWE Hall of Fame.”

The Ultimate Warrior was one of the most iconic and exciting Superstars in WWE history. When the distinctive ring entrance music of Warrior hit, he would burst out of the dressing room and sprint towards the ring, causing a frenzy of excitement amongst WWE fans. Inside the squared circle, Warrior was responsible for many of the most memorable moments in WWE history.

In 1988 at the inaugural SummerSlam, he defeated the Honkytonk Man in record time to win his first of two Intercontinental Championships. In 1990, Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan™ to become WWE Champion at WrestleMania VI in one of the most exciting matches in WrestleMania history. Warrior would continue to captivate audiences around the world with epic encounters against WWE Legends such as Undertaker and Randy Savage. After a storied career that also saw him compete in WCW, Warrior stepped away from the ring in 1998. Last year, he was featured in the WWE 2K14 video game as a downloadable character,.

Additional WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2014 inductees will be announced over the coming weeks.

By Phil Allely

Papa Shango interview highlights

Charles Wright, more famously known as The Godfather and Papa Shango, recently spoke toIMETAWrestler.com on a slew topics concerning his career. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

On the Papa Shango character: "I used to read books on voodoo, in fact I built an entire voodoo library. Everything I said in my promos was real and legit. All the props were from voodoo stores. It was totally authentic. The effects guys worked with the staffs and sticks so that they all did something different. I had a bunch of them - some would shoot sparks, others had smoke and lights that came out of them."

How Sid messed up the character: "Papa Shango was supposed to last much longer in the main event but Sid f---ed it up. It was supposed to be Sid and Warrior headlining SummerSlam [1992], but Sid didn't want to do it and he quit. He had his own issues, he said Vince had brought him in under the promise of replacing Hogan as the top babyface and it wasn't going the way it was supposed to. So Papa Shango was fed to Warrior instead. The problem was, with a character like Papa Shango, once the losses piled up, the character lost a lot of that mystique and invincibility, and it was all downhill fast from there."

Papa Shango returning in 1997 but replaced by Kane: "A lot of people don't know this, but Papa Shango was going to return in 1997. It was going to be a more gritty, realistic version with a mask instead of paint.They created the costume and the new entrance. But what happened was, the decision was then made to do Kane. I guess they felt there wasn’t enough room for two dark, supernatural characters, and so I became Kama Mustafa and they put me in The Nation. I've still got some 8x10 promos of me in the new mask and gear."

Why Vince put The Rock in The Nation: "The Rock was put into The Nation to protect him. Vince had big plans for The Rock from day one and was worried that he had been getting bad advice from the wrong people. Some jealous dudes had been getting into his ear. So Vince put Rock in the Nation so he could benefit from the guidance of Ron [Simmons] and myself. It was the same thing with Mark Henry. Mark was a big long term investment that was getting some bad advice, learning some bad habits, and so Vince put him under myself and Ron for guidance. Both those guys were struggling."

Vince's opinion of The Godfather: "Vince loved the gimmick. Loved it. He used to go to bat for me so many times – fighting the networks, fighting the executives. He did everything he could to keep the character as a central part of the show. Vince used to come to me and say, "Charles – he always called me Charles – you’re having too much fun out there. You should be paying me!" And that didn’t surprise me – Vince is the biggest pimp of them all!"

On the Attitude Era: "I got away with talking about weed so openly on TV because the network executives had no idea what I was saying. They didn’t understand the slang. They had no idea what a "fatty" or a "blunt" was, so I was able to say all this stuff and they had no clue. My friend in Cypress Hill said he was amazed at the sh## I got away with."

On almost joining WCW and the nWo: "I almost went to WCW to be Hogan’s enforcer in the nWo. I named my price, the contract was being drawn up, and then at the last minute, I got a call saying the contract was being retracted and there was no longer an offer for me. I was stunned, man, just stunned. I asked why, and it turned out that Virgil offered to do it for a third of the price because he wanted to be back on TV so bad. That dumb motherf---er cost us both."

New Jim Ross Blog - Highlights

Jim Ross is back with another blog at jrsbarbq.com. Here are some highlights from this entry:




- Great week of TV production this week in Stamford at WWE HQ. The nWo 15th Anniversary Legends Roundtable airs on WWE On Demand in July. Kevin Nash, Gene Okerlund and JJ Dillon were able to provide some great insight to the WCW/nWo days.



@RealKevinNash is still in great shape and still has some fuel in the tank the the desire to use it. Kevin added a great deal to the panel on the nWo discussion. It's a program that could have multiple parts if WWE wants to revisit it at some point.



I did 'wrap arounds' for three Monday Night Raw shows and three Monday Nitro Shows for WWE On Demand's Monday Night Wars series. These specific shows will air in the fall.



- Kevin said Scott Hall was doing "much, much better" as of recent days and that Scott was likely going to be the subject of a feature on ESPN. I was really happy to hear that Scott was getting healthier. I can attest to the fact that Scott Hall has one of the most creative minds in the business or at least he did when I was around him back in the day. Scott always possessed great wrestling instincts and had the ability to process in ring content and promo material as well as anyone.



- Emailers....What do I think of the recent Hulk-Warrior war of words? Nothing. It's none of my business and I'm not interested in following what appears to be a 'pissing contest.'

Ultimate Warrior Video Tribute To Randy Savage

Warrior Goes Deathcore

Warrior goes deathcore!!








By Phil Allely







Former WWE champion Warrior (real name Jim Hellwig) is taking time out from his motivational speaking and business dealings and is all set to feature on a Californian Deathcore bands new album.







Winds Of Plague have confirmed that The Ultimate Warrior is to appear on their new release ‘The Warrior Code’.







Volcalist Johnny Plague has said “When we were planning for this album, we decided to pull all stops and go big. Other then the music itself, we were thinking on how to put this album over the top and keep people talking. I was driving home from the studio one day and it clicked in my head that we share management with The Ultimate Warrior. I knew it was a long shot, but I put the call in and within a few hours, The Warrior had agreed.”







Hellwig is one of the most well known grapplers from the globally dominating 1980s-1990s WWE boom period of the comapny and stands alongside Hulk Hogan as the epitomy of the musclebound larger than life wrestlers that are still recognised even today.







‘The Warrior Code’ will be released on April 18th.

Bobby Heenan DVD Contents

Below are the confirmed contents for the upcoming DVD looking at the life and career of Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan...

Chicago Root




Manage like a Wrestler



Orange Fire



Weasal Suit



Remembering AWA



Bright Lights, Big City



Heenan Family



WrestleMania



I Am Not a Weasal



Manager of Champions



Primetime



The Bobby Heenan Show



Commentating with Gorilla



Leaving WWE



WCW



Health Issues



Hall of Fame



The Executioners



AWA Manager of the Year 1976

AWA All-Star Wrestling – 25th December, 1976



The Wrestling Bear



Centerfold



“Honey, I’m Home!”



The Other Weasel Suit



“I Am Not A Weasel”

Tuesday Night Titans – 2nd October, 1984



Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon go to Busch Gardens

Prime Time Wrestling – 12th December, 1988



Get Your Popcorn Ready



Golfing Tips with Bobby Heenan & “Mean” Gene Okerlund

Sterling Farms Golf Course – October 1991



Bobby’s Big Entrance

WrestleMania IX – 4th April, 1993



Gorilla Monsoon Fires Bobby Heenan

RAW – 6th December, 1993



The Humor of Bobby Heenan



A Farewell to Gorilla

Nitro – 11th October, 1999



The Wedding Eulogy



“Freakish Noises”

WrestleMania XX – 14th March, 2004



Bobby Heenan’s Induction into the WWE Hall of Fame

WWE Hall of Fame – 13th March, 2004



Battle of the Managers

Bobby Heenan vs. Lord Alfred Hayes

AWA St. Paul, MN – 13th January, 1980



Weasel Suit Match

Bobby Heenan vs. Greg Gagne

AWA St. Paul, MN – 17th August, 1980



Handicap Match

Hulk Hogan vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan

AWA - St. Paul, MN – 2nd May, 1981



Bobby Heenan vs. Salvatore Bellomo

Madison Square Garden – 26th November, 1984



Weasel Suit Match

Bobby Heenan vs. Ultimate Warrior

WrestleFest ‘88 – 31st July, 1988



The Royal Rumble Match

Royal Rumble – 19th January, 1992

Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon



Gimmick Battle Royal

WrestleMania X7 – 1st April, 2001

Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gene Okerlund

Chicago Root




Manage like a Wrestler



Orange Fire



Weasal Suit



Remembering AWA



Bright Lights, Big City



Heenan Family



WrestleMania



I Am Not a Weasal



Manager of Champions



Primetime



The Bobby Heenan Show



Commentating with Gorilla



Leaving WWE



WCW



Health Issues



Hall of Fame



The Executioners



AWA Manager of the Year 1976

AWA All-Star Wrestling – 25th December, 1976



The Wrestling Bear



Centerfold



“Honey, I’m Home!”



The Other Weasel Suit



“I Am Not A Weasel”

Tuesday Night Titans – 2nd October, 1984



Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon go to Busch Gardens

Prime Time Wrestling – 12th December, 1988



Get Your Popcorn Ready



Golfing Tips with Bobby Heenan & “Mean” Gene Okerlund

Sterling Farms Golf Course – October 1991



Bobby’s Big Entrance

WrestleMania IX – 4th April, 1993



Gorilla Monsoon Fires Bobby Heenan

RAW – 6th December, 1993



The Humor of Bobby Heenan



A Farewell to Gorilla

Nitro – 11th October, 1999



The Wedding Eulogy



“Freakish Noises”

WrestleMania XX – 14th March, 2004



Bobby Heenan’s Induction into the WWE Hall of Fame

WWE Hall of Fame – 13th March, 2004



Battle of the Managers

Bobby Heenan vs. Lord Alfred Hayes

AWA St. Paul, MN – 13th January, 1980



Weasel Suit Match

Bobby Heenan vs. Greg Gagne

AWA St. Paul, MN – 17th August, 1980



Handicap Match

Hulk Hogan vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby Heenan

AWA - St. Paul, MN – 2nd May, 1981



Bobby Heenan vs. Salvatore Bellomo

Madison Square Garden – 26th November, 1984



Weasel Suit Match

Bobby Heenan vs. Ultimate Warrior

WrestleFest ‘88 – 31st July, 1988



The Royal Rumble Match

Royal Rumble – 19th January, 1992

Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gorilla Monsoon



Gimmick Battle Royal

WrestleMania X7 – 1st April, 2001

Commentary By: Bobby Heenan & Gene Okerlund