The wife of the Ultimate Warrior has penned an open letter to fans of the WWE superstar.
Jim Hellwig, a.k.a. the Ultimate Warrior, tragically collapsed and died on April 8 in Scottsdale, Ariz., only a few days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, a ceremony held in conjunction with Wrestlemania 30. The medical examiner determined that cardiovascular disease was the cause of death. He left behind a wife and two daughters.
Hellwig apparently legally changed his name to Warrior, and the open letter posted by his wife on the WWE website is signed by “Dana A. Warrior.”
In the letter, Dana noted that she originally wasn’t going to watch the tribute to the Ultimate Warrior broadcast on Monday Night Raw (see embed below). She and her daughters did view it, however, and were very touched by the whole WWE presentation as well as in general the outpouring of support from Ultimate Warrior fans around the country. She thanked the fans and said that the strength of the fans will help sustain the family in the difficult days ahead.
About her late husband specifically, Dana wrote that…
… Heaven won and I lost, but I had the ULTIMATE love for 20 years and my children learned to be Warriors from THE ULTIMATE DAD. I wouldn’t trade a moment of the life we shared, good or bad, for anything on God’s green earth. He is the love of my life and gave me the gift of our beautiful, sweet, amazing girls. He was loyal and kind and strong and brave. He taught me to live by his creed,’Live Strong, Act Bold, Be Brave. Nothing’s too hard to do, ALWAYS BELIEVE,’ and with that creed I will carry on and make him proud…”
In his heyday in the-then WWF, the Ultimate Warrior was a two-time Intercontinental Champion. In the famous main event match at Wrestlemania VI on April 1, 1990, at the Toronto SkyDome (see highlights embedded below), the Ultimate Warrior surprised everyone and pinned Hulk Hogan, thereby winning the WWF Heavyweight Championship belt. This made the Ultimate Warrior the only wrestler in the company’s history to hold both titles at the same time.