I had a hard time picking an appropriate picture for a proper tribute – let alone the words – so here’s a picture of an Ultimate Warrior plush doll in its place, looking every bit as intense as the man it’s based on.
Warrior, born James Hellwig, was a man with a complicated legacy. He played a popular character on television, gained a sizable fanbase, and then when he left the wrestling spotlight, he went on a public speaking career that has produced its share of controversies. No doubt there will be just as many of people who remember his wild rants and polarizing viewpoints as much as those who remember his storied wrestling career. Both halves coming together producing what was a unique individual.
Either way you look at it, there will never be another Ultimate Warrior.
It’s hard to find the words to convey the kind of feelings that’s running through my mind in the hours since I’ve learned of Bill Moody’s passing. And even as I type this entry, I find that there are no words that can properly convey those feelings and thoughts on an individual who I am only familiar with through his television performances…
And really, what can be said about a man who has not only had a long and distinguished career in the professional wrestling industry, but who has been an instrumental figure in contributing to the success and continually growing legend of WWE’s most iconic figure. The Undertaker character would not have reached the mythical status it achieved without Paul Bearer’s masterful talent to sell the gimmick and certainly no one else could have used that talent to bear fruit another long-term character in the form of Kane.
Whether he was known as Percy Pringle III or Paul Bearer or whatever, there’s no question that Bill Moody had that natural charisma and ability to bring the talent he managed to a higher level. And it is a profound loss that he is no longer with us. He will be missed.
New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton passed away today after a hard battle with cancer… it’s probably the hardest blow to the federal level and especially to the flourishing NDP party, who had just gained official opposition status early this year.
I haven’t agreed with many of his policies and viewpoints, but I found that Mr. Layton had always brought a bit of showmanship and charisma to Canadian politics that has rarely been seen these days from other public figures. Not to mention that he always came off as a really nice guy that you’d want to have a drink or two with. There was only one Jack Layton and he shall be missed.
I was just getting back from personal business when I got the news that Randy Savage had died. It was a shock to hear about that. And perhaps, it’s one that hurts quite a bit… because this was not just a moderately successful superstar wrestler nor is he someone dabbled in the main event scene. This is a legend… one of the true greats in professional wrestling. Someone who was as close to being the Total Package as you can get when it comes to that form of sports entertainment. He had the look, he had the voice, he had the moves, and most importantly, he had the charisma and the personality that really made him stand out and made people take notice… and clearly, a lot of people took notice for him to have gotten the name recognition that he did… and deservingly so.
Whether it was his classic matches or his classic insane rambling promos that half the time we didn’t understand what he was saying but who cares because this guy’s cool… or whether it was his classic Slim Jim commercials that actually got me to try out Slim Jims for the first and possibly last time… or his three-minute-cameo in the first Spider-Man movie nine years ago… or hell, even his rap album that he tossed out around the same time… it was one of those cases where no matter how good or how bad the final product turned out, you couldn’t help but feel that he gave it his all and that he gave it his best shot… and I think that effort and that passion showed in a lot of the stuff he did. For the most part, his stuff never felt phoned in… even during recent years when he was showing off his new action figure at the Comicon or cutting a promo for the WWE All-Stars game.
This is a man who deserved to be in that Hall of Fame of theirs… and the only sad thing is that he never got that chance due to whatever petty politics that held off such a thing.
Thanks for the memories, “Macho Man” Randy Savage. You shall be missed.
Jack Friedman, founder of LJN, THQ, and Jakks, recently passed away at age 70. I personally don’t know anything about the individual, so here’s the article for further reading. My condolences to the family in this trying time.
So I’ve recently heard about the untimely passing of Captain Lou Albano. The cause of death is still unknown at the time of writing. You could read the article I read here.
Captain Lou was primarily known for his success as a wrestling manager, leading several tag-teams to WWF championship gold. I first knew of Captain Lou not as a wrestling manager, but for his work on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, where he played Mario in both the cartoon and live-action sketches. Yes, this is the guy who did the Mario… and we all loved him for it.
Billy Mays, the energetic bearded pitchman who appeared in six hundred commercials to promote a whole bunch of stuff like Oxi-Clean and Orange Glo, passed away yesterday. The world has lost a talented salesman and a true, hard-working professional in a world that is lacking of such people.
Rest in peace, Mr. Mays. Hopefully, the afterlife will take heed of your loud sales pitches and buy the products you advertise.
Recently, WWE.com had announced the passing of Fabulous Moolah. While I would be able to recount a passing of a legend or old-school star with their accomplishments, Moolah’s only merit of note is being the longest-reigning women’s champion. Actually, all things considered, twenty-plus years as champion without any gaps is actually pretty cool considering how short most title reigns are.
That footnote becomes less cool when you ultimately learn the reasoning behind the long reign, but I’m not going to dwell on that here.
Without any hard footage or pictures of young Moolah in action, people are most likely going to remember her for being the straight woman to Mae Young’s attempts at exposure and giving birth to a plastic hand.
dtm666 