When you think of hotspots currently gracing the world of mixed martial arts, some of the big places are the Russian Caucasus, Poland, Ireland and Mexico. MMA is exploding there, leading to an increase in interest and prospects for the sport. A place that has really jumped on the radar in recent times is Hawaii, […]
When you think of hotspots currently gracing the world of mixed martial arts, some of the big places are the Russian Caucasus, Poland, Ireland and Mexico. MMA is exploding there, leading to an increase in interest and prospects for the sport. A place that has really jumped on the radar in recent times is Hawaii, […]
The man born as Jim Hellwig — famous for wrestling as The Ultimate Warrior in the WWE during the late eighties and early nineties — died last night in Arizona. His death comes just three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and one day after his final appearance on “Monday Night Raw.”
Professional wrestling is an art over-saturated in hyperbole; it’s an art where every wrestler is “the biggest” and/or “the best,” every event is “the most important,” and the phrase “the most” is uttered so frequently it practically loses meaning. Yet it’s hard to overstate the popularity that The Ultimate Warrior achieved, and the influence that he has had on any wrestling fan who grew up during the late eighties and early nineties. I know it’s lazy to compare professional wrestlers to superheroes, but for millions of kids like myself, The Ultimate Warrior was as close to a real-life superhero as it got. The Ultimate Warrior’s look and in-ring style — from his heavily-muscled physique and facepaint to his energetic entrances and quick, devastating matches — were convincingly brutal, and his intense, chaotic interview style was extremely unique. His WWE feuds against “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, and Jake “The Snake” Roberts were nothing short of legendary.
(Highlights of The Ultimate Warrior’s best promos. Yes, clips from the Hulk Hogan “Crash the Plane” promo are at the very end.)
The man born as Jim Hellwig — famous for wrestling as The Ultimate Warrior in the WWE during the late eighties and early nineties — died last night in Arizona at the age of 54. His death comes just three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and one day after his final appearance on “Monday Night Raw.”
Professional wrestling is an art over-saturated in hyperbole; it’s an art where every wrestler is “the biggest” and/or “the best,” every event is “the most important,” and the phrase “the most” is uttered so frequently it practically loses meaning. Yet it’s hard to overstate the popularity that The Ultimate Warrior achieved, and the influence that he has had on any wrestling fan who grew up during the late eighties and early nineties.
I know it’s lazy to compare professional wrestlers to superheroes, but for millions of kids like myself, The Ultimate Warrior was as close to a real-life superhero as it got. The Ultimate Warrior’s look and in-ring style — from his heavily-muscled physique and facepaint to his energetic entrances and quick, devastating matches — were convincingly brutal, and his intense, chaotic interview style was extremely unique. His WWE feuds against “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, and Jake “The Snake” Roberts were nothing short of legendary.
(Highlights of The Ultimate Warrior’s best promos. Yes, clips from the Hulk Hogan “Crash the Plane” promo are at the very end.)
As big of a star as The Ultimate Warrior was, his career could have been even bigger if it weren’t for his shaky, mercurial relationship with WWE owner Vince McMahon. There were his numerous departures from the WWE. There was tension over Jim Hellwig legally changing his name to the mononym “Warrior” and suing for the rights to his character (which he eventually won, by the way). There’s been Warrior’s refusal to work with the WWE on a career retrospective DVD, which lead the WWE to turn the project into The Self Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior; not to spoil it for you, but Warrior’s portrayal is less-than-flattering. And, of course, there were Warrior’s stints in WCW (as well as their cheap Warrior knockoff, The Renegade) and in Nu-Wrestling Evolution — the less said about those, the better.
But time has a way of healing all wounds, and The Ultimate Warrior would make amends with the WWE shortly before his death. Warrior is a playable character in WWE2K14, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame merely four days ago, and made one final appearance on “Monday Night Raw” the night before his death. In retrospect, the speech he gave on Raw was haunting: The Warrior essentially gave his own eulogy.
“No WWE talent becomes a legend on their own. Every man’s heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe a final breath. And if what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse through the body of others, and makes them bleed deeper and something larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized. By the storytellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him and make the running the man did live forever. You, you, you, you, you, you are the legend-makers of Ultimate Warrior. In the back, I see many potential legends. Some of them with warrior spirits. And you will do the same for them. You will decide if they lived with the passion and intensity. So much so that you will tell your stories and you will make them legends, as well. I am Ultimate Warrior. You are the Ultimate Warrior fans. And the spirit of Ultimate Warrior will run forever!”
Warrior is survived by his wife, Dana, and his two daughters. Feel free to share your favorite Ultimate Warrior memories in the comments section.
Regularly criticized and inextinguishably fearless—Jon Fitch has embraced the grind unlike any other fighter. But tonight the grind was halted, as Fitch was submitted for the first time since his MMA debut back in 2002. Josh Burkman entered the biggest fight of his life (a rematch seven years in the making) on a four-fight wining […]
Regularly criticized and inextinguishably fearless—Jon Fitch has embraced the grind unlike any other fighter. But tonight the grind was halted, as Fitch was submitted for the first time since his MMA debut back in 2002. Josh Burkman entered the biggest fight of his life (a rematch seven years in the making) on a four-fight wining […]
(We’ll give Anderson this, he has an ability to facially express himself that not even Ernest P. Worrell could hold a candle to.)
Good afternoon, Potato Nation, Danga here. As many of you may or may not have realized/elated over, I have been out of the office since last Thursday, first taking a trip down to New York City, then heading out to Boston to move into the apartment at which I currently reside. Aside from being called a “fahkin retahd” by nearly every citizen who shared the road with me, it was a relatively painless move, but one that left me without Internet access for a good three or four days, which in Internet time is roughly 6 months.
Of course, today is a new day, and with it comes a bit of mixed news. Regardless of who you feel deserves the next shot at Anderson Silva, the fact that “The Spider” is turning down fights in the weight class he resides over in favor of a possible superfight against GSP is a frustrating, if not equally intriguing prospect for MMA fans to digest. But as it turns out, Silva’s absence from the octagon in the near future may also be linked to something a little harder to swallow. Mainly, movie stardom. Because according to a report from metronews.ca, Silva may be heading to England down the line to promote and star in a major-budget MMA film called Tapped.
Details after the jump.
(We’ll give Anderson this, he has an ability to facially express himself that not even Ernest P. Worrell could hold a candle to.)
Good afternoon, Potato Nation, Danga here. As many of you may or may not have realized/elated over, I have been out of the office since last Thursday, first taking a trip down to New York City, then heading out to Boston to move into the apartment at which I currently reside. Aside from being called a “fahkin retahd” by nearly every citizen who shared the road with me, it was a relatively painless move, but one that left me without Internet access for a good three or four days, which in Internet time is roughly 6 months.
Of course, today is a new day, and with it comes a bit of mixed news. Regardless of who you feel deserves the next shot at Anderson Silva, the fact that “The Spider” is turning down fights in the weight class he resides over in favor of a possible superfight against GSP is a frustrating, if not equally intriguing prospect for MMA fans to digest. But as it turns out, Silva’s absence from the octagon in the near future may also be linked to something a little harder to swallow. Mainly, movie stardom. Because according to a report from metronews.ca, Silva may be heading to Canada down the line to promote and star in a major-budget MMA film called Tapped.
Although details remain sketchy at the moment, Silva’s name, along with Lyoto Machida and retired UFC fighter Krzysztof Soszynski have been linked to “the biggest film that’s been shot in London”:
Ultimate Fighting Championship icon Anderson Silva — along with a handful of “big celebrities” — is starring in a Hollywood motion picture that will be partly produced in London over the next couple of months.
“We’re not at liberty to discuss the logistics and budgets, but we’ve been told it’s the biggest film that has been shot in London,” said Allan Ungar, director of Tapped. Other UFC stars, namely Lyoto Machida andKrzysztof Soszynski, will appear in the “Karate Kid meets MMA” full-length movie being produced by Tapped Pictures.
Semi-related: CagePotato has recently been granted an early screener of the upcoming film Brawler, which looks like a combination of Warrior and Bloodsport. The IMDB page summary goes like this:
Sidelined by an injury incurred while protecting his young brother, underground fighter Charlie Fontaine feels blindsided when he discovers his brother having sex on his couch with his new wife, Kat. Fueled by rage, a determined Charlie makes plans to get back in the ring and take on his brother in a fight to the death.
Being that I’ve finally seen Warrior (Spoiler: It was pretty freakin’ sweet, but you should still check out Redbelt), I figured I would possibly draft up a review of Brawler to give you MMA-movie fanatics a little perspective on the film and how it compares to its counterparts in the genre. I’ve attached the trailer below, so check it out and let me know how interested you’d be in a review of the film in the comments section.
Jake Shields, as expected of a teammate, claims to believe that it really was Nick Diaz who should have been crowned the UFC interim welterweight champion instead of Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit in their recently concluded UFC 14…
Jake Shields, as expected of a teammate, claims to believe that it really was Nick Diaz who should have been crowned the UFC interim welterweight champion instead of Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit in their recently concluded UFC 143 main-event tiff. Just the same, he digresses from his controversial training partner in Team Cesar […]
(If Jonah Hill wins this thing, everyone else nominated needs to retire immediately. No, seriously.)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards and it looks like the early Oscar buzz Nick Nolte was getting had its merit. Nolte was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “Warrior.” In the film, the 70-year-old multiple-time Oscar and Golden Globe nominee played Paddy Conlon, a former alcoholic, boxer, and estranged father of the movie’s two brother protagonists.
(If Jonah Hill wins this thing, everyone else nominated needs to retire immediately. No, seriously.)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards and it looks like the early Oscar buzz Nick Nolte was getting had its merit. Nolte was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “Warrior.” In the film, the 70-year-old multiple-time Oscar and Golden Globe nominee played Paddy Conlon, a former alcoholic, boxer, and estranged father of the movie’s two brother protagonists.
(Video courtesy of “Making Of”)
Also nominated for the trophy were 2012 Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor winner Christopher Plummer for “Beginners,” Jonah Hill for “Moneyball,” Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn” and Max von Sydow for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”
Although it’s unclear who the frontrunner of the category is, the fact that an MMA movie even got a nomination is big news as it basically signals that the sport is no longer a fringe one. Hopefully Nolte wins just so we can hear his acceptance speech.
