The one thing I have never wavered from with these writings is my emotion involving all Warrior topics and this post is no different. If you’ve been here with me a while– you have heard it all or at least I thought so. Thank you for being part of this journey with me. 🤗 If you are a newbie, strap on those boots and gear up because more stories are still going to be told.
As I think back on all things relative to Warrior, I realized my thoughts on his statue and the Warrior Award have never been shared. Was this something I even wanted to write about? Then, I remembered the emotions at a particular moment during that time and realized my thoughts needed to come clean. What fan wouldn’t love both of these prestigious honors for the man we respected and admired? Who wouldn’t agree and say: ” Yes, his spirit should be immortalized in those ways!” Well, let’s just say that it took me some time to get there.
I know this might sound shocking to some of you considering my blogs, respect, and even my book Spirit and Belief but let me share with you how it was for me back then. After Warrior passed, there seemed to be many things coming out all at once and for me, it was exhaustible. There was his Ultimate Collection DVD, ( which was planning to be released anyway) the Always Believe DVD, soon after the statue, Warrior Award, and then still later– Warrior Day. Sometimes I had to catch my breath!
Even from someone gone from the business almost twenty years and having passed, that’s still A LOT!! 😳 There were other little things too and how could I forget Dana’s blog? That still gets my heart every single post. 💖
So many, many thoughts raced thru my mind during all this time and the timeline seemed to blur into oblivion… I had so many emotions raging that I couldn’t figure out where one began and another ended. Happiness, sadness, anger, disappointment, anxiety, feeling surprised, confused… You name it, I owned them all. I hadn’t followed WWE in years as I’ve stated before so my feelings felt explosive in a way. Why are they doing all this REALLY??? Guilt? Getting his fans on “their” side? Being apologetic? Offering ” condolences?” Media PR? Ratings for the shows? The list went on for me… I became ambivalent towards it all.
I seemed to compare it to a friend whom you’ve had a falling out years before with and now they want to make-up with you anyway they can. This was like that with me before I really understood it all. The book A Life Lived Forever explains so much more in detail leading up to a few years before Warrior’s HOF induction. Most fans knew nothing until it got closer.
We all know there would be no award had he lived among countless other events. I can attest to this personally with my life. I also thought only wrestlers who had passed got a statue, so many things I never knew. Does he deserve one? You bet he does, alive in person or not!!! Forget the “technical wrestling ability” many say he lacked. You do not want to debate that with me! You know who you are… 🙄🤭It’s the image, not necessarily the moves. I believe this with any character in the WWE, not just of Warrior. It’s about the lasting longevity that leaves a legacy a character becomes thru fans and their devotion. It’s never about the what, it’s more about the how and why.
That brings me back to the why of all these extra things. Yes, WWE wanted Warrior back for years and he would’ve been an ambassador like Dana is now. We can’t figure out all the whys ever but just try to understand they are more important than the whats.
Once I sat down and heard about the first Warrior Award– and this is my reason sharing today, I actually said: ” What’s next, a statue?” I had no idea at the time they had been creating one with Dana’s help. No idea at all… I began crying as it seemed so overwhelming like this all shouldn’t be happening. I KNOW differently now and am so grateful WWE acknowledged the Ultimate Warrior with appreciation and respect.
Us fans owe everything to Triple HHH ( aka Paul) whose persistence brought our favorite back home. I am glad Warrior stepped away to raise his family and pursue other business ventures. He needed to during that time. I am extremely glad he finally had his moment at Wrestlemania XXX weekend to show everyone he really was (is) “a good guy.”
So, what is next? Lots of new merchandise, there was Camp WWE, and probably Mattie running to the ring someday! Dana has said she wants to be “bad!” Her Dad was a good character who got away with being “bad” so only time will tell… I will be watching for sure! I was just playing around with the whole what’s next? idea in my head one day when I thought of a street name. The only name that came to me was “Warrior Way.” After all, there is no street, road, avenue, lane, or anything else that fits. Once I thought more about it, I chuckled. Us fans already have our OWN Warrior Way and we don’t need a street or sign telling us so.
Like he said in his RAW speech, ( and I won’t quote, too much for me… 😪) but the character does live on in all of our true warrior spirits and we have to be the ones pushing his legacy forward. Despite what others may think, that was his greatest wish for us. That’s where his always believe slogan originated from. He always had the “what’s next?” mentality and he wants the same for us. I certainly took on that Ultimate Challenge myself and still am today.
We can have a statue, award, ( which exemplifies a warrior spirit and I believe it’s time for another woman!) DVD’s, merchandise, a special day or anything else but what truly counts is what’s inside us, not outside. Even though at that time my emotions were a wreck, I never forgot the WHY of Warrior. I didn’t know WWE’s why then but Warrior’s never left me, even though he physically did.
My advice to you warriors out there is to find your own “what’s next?” and keep going. Dana did and we need to also. Sure, there are things you could never have imagined happening in your life but we need to keep those boots on to find the next, and next, and next. Overwhelming? Yes! Emotional? For sure! That is the what of life and we need to get to the how and why. 👢🤔
Our first reaction to something rarely is our last. Do something in your life that will make you glad you reached for the next thing instead of becoming dormant. I treasure all the things WWE and Dana have done and are continuing in honor of Warrior and his memory. We are obligated also to have that spirit of continuing on to the next as is our life-blood to do so.
It has always been in my veins so how could I ignore something so powerful? I wish the same for you to follow the Warrior Way and continue on with ” what’s next?” It could just very well become Ultimate!
P.S. Enjoy our Independence Day and celebrate those Founding Fathers believing in : “what’s next?”👏🏻👍🎇🇺🇸
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