Never say never in the world of sports entertainment.
Following
a strained relationship with Vince McMahon and the WWE that dates back
to 1996,
The Ultimate Warrior has buried the hatchet and will be
inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame prior to WrestleMania 30 this April
in New Orleans.
“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 in a
statement. “We are thrilled to induct The Ultimate Warrior into the WWE
Hall of Fame.”
"Thrilled" is not a term wrestling
fans expected McMahon to ever say following Warrior's untimely
departure from the WWE during his last stint with the company. Best
known for his electrifying entrance music, incoherent interviews and pinning Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI,
Warrior was in the middle of a WWE return following a nearly four-year
hiatus when his contract was reportedly terminated by McMahon after he
failed to show up at live events.
There
aren't many men that hold a grudge like McMahon and Warrior was nowhere
to be found on WWE programming until the company released a DVD in 2005
titled "The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior."
Let's just say the DVD was less than flattering as WWE talent took turns mocking Warrior
while working in clips throughout his wrestling career. Warrior was so
upset about the project that he filed a lawsuit against the WWE,
claiming the DVD project violated a March 2000 settlement agreement that
stated both sides wouldn't disparage each other. An Arizona judge ruled
that Warrior had breached his own agreement first for disparaging public comments about the WWE and the lawsuit was tossed out.
A
resolution between both sides didn't seem possible until last summer
when 2K Sports announced that Warrior would be a playable character in
WWE 2K14 and featured him in an epic promotional commercial.
Now 54, Warrior will finally get
his proper farewell from wrestling in front of what should be a sold-out
crowd at the New Orleans Arena on April 5.
This
marks the second year in a row the WWE has extended the olive branch to
a former legend. Thanks to some great work by wrestler and WWE
executive Triple H, the longest-reigning WWE champion of all-time, Bruno
Sammartino, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013. Not only did
Sammartino and McMahon have their share of issues that needed to be
ironed out, the 78-year-old was quite critical of the modern day
wrestling product.
With
Sammartino and Warrior now in, the late Randy "Macho Man" Savage
continues to be the biggest glaring omission from the Hall of Fame.
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