Bruce Prichard, WWE’s former Brother Love and current podcaster, has shared some candid and unflattering thoughts about the Ultimate Warrior, a former WWE Champion and inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Prichard’s comments, made during a recent episode of his Something To Wrestle With podcast, shed light on the turbulent history between the two men, with Prichard recalling his first encounter with Jim Hellwig (Warrior’s real name) and offering strong opinions that diverge sharply from the adoration Warrior received from fans during his career.
A Frustrating First Encounter
Prichard did not mince words when discussing his first meeting with Hellwig in Mid-South Wrestling, years before Warrior would become a global icon in WWE. According to Prichard, his interaction with the future WWE star left a bitter taste.
“I first met Jim Hellwig when he was three months in the business in Mid-South. From the very first interaction with him, he was a first-class asshole,” Prichard stated on his podcast. He continued to describe Warrior as “not a good person” who was difficult to work with and thought he knew it all. Prichard added, “He was just a real jerk.”
Prichard also recalled a rather infamous incident involving Warrior that only deepened his negative perception of the man. In the early days of his career, Warrior ran out of the territory after Bill Watts, the promoter of Mid-South, cracked him in the head with a baseball bat. Warrior allegedly left in the middle of the night, never to return, which Prichard found to be an unprofessional act that further colored his view of the rising star.
Warrior’s Success and Controversies in WWE
Despite Prichard’s personal animosity toward him, Warrior would go on to become one of WWE’s biggest stars in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His feud with Hulk Hogan reached its apex at WrestleMania VI, where Warrior famously dethroned Hogan to become the WWE Champion.
Warrior also won the Intercontinental Championship and had one of the most electrifying entrances in wrestling history, gaining a massive following from fans.
However, his time in WWE was far from smooth. Warrior clashed with multiple members of the locker room, including Vince McMahon himself, leading to several high-profile firings. In 1992, Warrior was released after a contract dispute, and after a brief return in 1996, he was fired again, this time just months after a dramatic return at WrestleMania XII—where he defeated a young Triple H in under 60 seconds.
Warrior’s WWE Return and Hall of Fame Induction
Despite his tumultuous career, Ultimate Warrior found a final chapter with WWE that few could have predicted. After spending 18 years away from the company, Warrior made his highly anticipated return in 2014 as part of the WWE Hall of Fame class. The night after WrestleMania 30, Warrior made a special appearance on Monday Night Raw, delivering a heartfelt promo in front of a sold-out crowd.
Sadly, just one day later, Warrior suffered a heart attack outside a hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona and passed away at the age of 54.
Prichard Reflects on the Hall of Fame Induction
While Prichard’s comments paint a very negative picture of Warrior’s backstage behavior, there is no denying Warrior’s place in the history of professional wrestling. His Hall of Fame induction remains a significant moment for WWE, particularly considering his emotional return just days before his untimely death.
Prichard’s candid reflections on the Ultimate Warrior serve as a reminder of the complicated relationships within the world of professional wrestling, where even the biggest stars often have turbulent backstage histories. The impact of Warrior’s legacy remains undeniable, but as Prichard’s words suggest, the road to that success was far from smooth.
