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The Ultimate Warrior was a major part of WWE, even though his stints with the promotion were quite short. He rose to the top of the card, challenging Hulk Hogan for the top spot as the number one babyface in the company - something which was very hard to do. Even with his huge popularity at the time, he is someone who has procured quite a poor reputation over the years, with both his runs in WWE adding to the bad blood between him and the promotion. Both in 1992 and 1996, Warrior left WWE in two ugly exits which threatened to overshadow all of the success that he had achieved during his time working there.
Monetary Issues And The Steroid Scandal Led To Problems With The Ultimate Warrior
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, The Ultimate Warrior persona forged a huge following among the WWE fans, leading him to Intercontinental Championship and WWE Championship glory - with him even beating Hulk Hogan in the main event of WrestleMania 6. He was a dominant competitor who truly felt unstoppable at times, and his legend rose as time went on. A classic feud against Randy Savage further added to his list of memorable matches and moments, leading to him carving out a Hall of Fame worthy run in just a few years.
Due to his rising star power, Warrior believed himself to be worthy of being paid at least equal to that of the top draw in WWE, Hulk Hogan, and allegedly threatened to no-show events due to this monetary dispute. McMahon gave in to these demands ahead of a SummerSlam 1991 tag team match alongside Hogan to ensure Warrior appeared at the event, but following the match, Warrior was given a suspension. The mind games at play between McMahon and Warrior heightened their bad blood.
Eventually, Warrior would return to WWE due to the fact that Hulk Hogan’s time in the company was gradually depleting, so there was a need for star power. However, Warrior was increasingly difficult to work with, with several no-showings at live events, in addition to accusations of him being rude to fans, among other things. Due to the growing pressure on Vince McMahon during the steroid scandal in the early 1990s, Warrior was someone who was at the forefront of this due to his alleged use of steroids, which led to him leaving the company due to a failed drug test.
The Ultimate Warrior’s 1996 WWE Comeback Was A Disaster
In his absence from the company, Warrior was fairly inactive, with only a handful of dates over the next few years. In 1996, Warrior made his return, defeating Triple H at WrestleMania 12, though it was clear that he was far from the performer he was previously. WWE was undergoing a change in era too, and the Warrior character just didn’t feel as though he fit in with the way wrestling was changing.
In addition, several of the same issues started arising with Warrior, the most notable of which saw him missing house show events once again. When contacted, Warrior explained that it was due to the death of his father, though the likes of Vince McMahon were aware that Warrior hadn’t seen his father for at least a decade, so him taking that much time off didn’t add up logically. Bruce Pritchard also revealed on the Something To Wrestle podcast that Warrior wanted WWE to purchase and sell his comic books, but when WWE didn’t meet his demands, it caused tension between the two parties. In 1996, WWE made the call to terminate his contract just a few months after he had made a return, though with how poor his comeback was going, this was probably for the best.
The Ultimate Warrior And WWE Managed To Make Some Peace
From there, Warrior would sign briefly with WCW for another disappointing stint, with him competing in just three matches before announcing his retirement. After speaking with Vince McMahon for several years, they made peace enough for Warrior to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014, though the memories of his various fallings out with the boss will likely always overshadow any good terms that they settled on.
Warrior was a case of someone who became increasingly difficult to handle due to a growing ego caused by his huge ascent to stardom, which is a very common thing to happen in the professional wrestling world, especially when there is money involved. It seemed very much like, as time went on, it was harder and harder to work with Warrior, with this being further proven by how disastrous his second run with the company was. He is still someone who has had plenty of great moments, iconic matches, and main events, but he is someone added to the lengthy list of names who left WWE on bad terms.