The Ultimate Warrior was my favorite wrestler as a kid.
Sure, you'll be hearing that a lot now that he's passed.
But, for me, he was always the greatest. Standing as a stark refutation of the gung-ho, America's number one, apple pie mass appeal of Hulk Hogan, the Warrior was my pre-pubescent id given human form.
An unchecked force of elemental brutality, the Ultimate Warrior was everything Hulk Hogan wasn't. A wildman that could run faster, lift heavier, and did not give one fuck if you ate your vitamins. And that theme song tho.
During WrestleMania VI, when he defeated Hulk Hogan for the belt, was the first and only time I was ever able to convince my parents to shell out for a pay-per-view event.
This was before I racked up $500 on the phone bill to 1-900-WWF numbers.
Even after I outgrew professional wrestling and the Warrior legally changed his name to, um, Warrior, I was still able to re-visit the glory days thanks to these titles.
Even when he sort of went off the deep end and existed on a diet of nothing but madness and steroids in the late 90s, he was still the only wrestler to ever make that Gorilla Press look as good as he did.
Here are the Warriors greatest video game appearances.
R.I.P to an original gawd.