With The Ultimate Warrior, WWE seemed to have its next big star on its hands in the face of declining Hulkamania — so much that WWE booked Warrior to defeat Hulk Hogan clean at 1990’s WrestleMania 6. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as planned with Warrior, as his ballooning ego resulted in several contentious departures from WWE, to say nothing of his personal beliefs.
But let’s go back to the 1980s, when The Ultimate Warrior wasn’t some weird problematic liability. This decade not only saw Warrior’s early days in the sport, but also his rise to stardom, with one of his iconic victories in WWE.
10 Invited To Become A Pro Wrestler While Bodybuilding
Like many wrestlers, the man formerly known as Jim Hellwig didn’t set out to become a professional wrestler. Having started weight training as a pre-teen, Hellwig eventually got interested in bodybuilding, and ended up winning some amateur competitions in the early 1980s.
While training in California for his next big posedown, Hellwig was scouted and invited to give pro wrestling a shot, joining up with a group of bodybuilders who were looking to venture into the sport — including Steve Borden, who’d later become known as Sting.
9 Started As A Member Of Powerteam USA
Trained by three-time WWWF United States Tag Team Champion Red Bastien and future Ultimate Pro Wrestling founder Rick Bassman who, Jim Hellwig still had a few years to go before he was a Warrior of any sort.
Debuting in 1985, Jim “Justice” Hellwig and his bodybuilding cohorts — including “Flash” Steve Borden — were a stable known as Powerteam USA, who performed in the California wrestling scene with Bassman as their manager. However, Powerteam USA didn’t last long and the group quickly dissolved as soon as it formed, with several members quitting the pro wrestling business entirely.
