Jim Hellwig
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Warrior in his last public appearance on April 7, 2014, the day before his death.
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| Birth name | James Brian Hellwig |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 16, 1959 Crawfordsville, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | April 8, 2014 (aged 54) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Myocardial infarction |
| Spouse(s) |
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| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Blade Runner Rock Dingo Warrior Jim Hellwig Jim Justice The Ultimate Warrior The Warrior |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (130 kg) |
| Billed from |
Parts Unknown Queens, New York One Warrior Nation |
| Trained by | Bill Anderson Rick Bassman Red Bastien |
| Debut | November 23, 1985 |
| Retired | November 9, 1998 |
 Warrior's speech from his final public appearance on Monday Night RAW
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Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, who wrestled, among the others, under the ring name The Ultimate Warrior for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 1987 to 1991 and again in 1992 and 1996. During his 1998 stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), he was known as The Warrior.
While in the WWF, he became a two-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion and won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship once when he pinned Hulk Hogan in the main event at WrestleMania VI, making him the first wrestler to hold both titles concurrently. Warrior retired from professional wrestling in 1998 and embarked on a public speaking career, but wrestled one final match in Spain in 2008.
Warrior died on April 8, 2014, at the age of 54 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Over the preceding three days, he had been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, appeared at WrestleMania XXX, and made his final public appearance on Raw.
Warrior was born in 1959 as James Brian Hellwig, in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He was the oldest of five children and was raised by his mother (along with, later, his stepfather) after his father left his family when he was 12. His father died at 57 and a grandfather had died at 52; Warrior himself would die at 54. The family moved to Indiana, where he graduated from Veedersburg's Fountain Central High School and attended Indiana State University for a year.
Prior to his career in professional wrestling Hellwig was an amateur bodybuilder, competing in a number of NPC contests and winning the 1984 NPC Mr. Georgia crown. Hellwig started training with weights when he was 11 years old and has described himself as "the small, insecure kid who wasn't into any sports". He moved to California where, after seeing bodybuilder Robby Robinson, he decided to take up the sport. His first contest took place in Florida, where he placed 5th. Later, while he was attending Life University in Marietta, Georgia, he won the Junior Atlanta contest and placed 5th at the 1981 AAU Collegiate Mr. America. In 1983, he won the AAU Coastal USA, before taking the Mr. Georgia title the following year. His last bodybuilding contest was 1985's Junior USAs, which was won by future IFBB Pro, Ron Love. Hellwig finished 5th.
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