| Leo656 |
04-09-2014 04:52 AM |
I've posted this in a few places...
This is 100% true, no bullsh*t, absolutely serious. I haven't been online all day until just now. A little while ago, I sat down to play WWE 2K14 and decided to play "Defend The Streak" with Undertaker. After he enters, the first opponent comes out: The Ultimate Warrior. As soon as Warrior's entrance finishes, the game locks up and freezes. I reset the console, and the game refuses to load. Frustrated, I decide to hop online for a minute, since the game simply refuses to play. For some reason, before doing anything else, I decide to check lordsofpain.net. The very first thing that catches my eye in a wall of text:
"The Ultimate Warrior Passes Away At Age 54."
That isn't just horrible news, that is one of the eeriest things that has ever happened to me in my entire life. Furthermore, I read it at exactly 3:33, a time which has its own creepy recurring mystical thing going on in my life for many years on its own. The combination of events actually spooked me just a little bit.
Beyond that, what else can I say that everyone hasn't already said? It's unbelievable, and so unexpected given everything that's happened recently. Simply unbelievable. There really aren't enough words. It's hard to really understand unless you were there. I was there from the very beginning and vividly remember watching every single moment of the legacy of The Ultimate Warrior being created. Every squash on Superstars and Wrestling Challenge, and All-American Wrestling on USA, snapping the chain of The Mighty Hercules, pinning Andre in 30 seconds, winning the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam '88, the cage match with Rude at SummerSlam '90, and arguably, the greatest match of his career, his match with Savage at WrestleMania VII. And, of course, all the the furniture that was smashed in my living room upon seeing Warrior beat Hogan for the WWF Title at WrestleMania VI.
Believe me, if you didn't grow up with it, you can't completely "get it." It's like how people who are younger nowadays can look at Hogan or even Andre and say, "what was the big deal?" And especially with how Warrior has been presented in the recent past, highlighting so much of the negative or nonsensical things about the performer and his character, storylines, promos, etc. But there was a lot more to it than all that. It's easy to simply explain it away with, "Well, it was a different time, a simpler time," and to some degree that's true. But it doesn't change the fact that, for a time, The Warrior was a legitimate phenomenon. Irregardless of how brief that time may have been, or how "good" he was at this, that, or the other, the fact stands that, just like with Hulkamania, unless you truly lived it, experienced it at its peak, you simply cannot "get it." There is a huge difference between guys who are really popular, and guys who become "Icons" to one degree or another. And whether he was a personal favorite of anyone's or not, - and I've been honest, he was never a particular one of mine - it simply cannot be stated enough, The Warrior was a legitimate Phenomenon, without a doubt. No other character with such a comparatively brief time at the very peak was ever able to leave such a huge impression on professional wrestling, and forge such powerful memories for so many millions of people, memories that lasted decades longer than the actual lifespan of the character. That's a fact. In less than 5 years (just counting his peak WWF years), he was able to create a legacy that will outlast all of us. When you really think about it, that's amazing.
One of the things I say to people most often - and in fact, just said to my niece earlier tonight - is that you need to try and be the very best person you can be every single day, because you are in absolutely no way guaranteed a tomorrow. This reinforces that belief. One day, you can literally have the whole world in your hands, and all of a sudden, it's over. Just like that. Unbelievable.
R.I.P. Warrior.
"Always Believe."
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