Warrior leaving the WWF in 1991, justified?

[Wald]

Bit of back story. The Ultimate Warrior issued a legal letter to the WWF in July of 1991 stating that he was unhappy with his pay for Wrestlemania VII and that he wanted a guaranteed number of working days, travel accommodations, and a higher percentage of merchandise sales.

In short, he wanted the same deal as Hulk Hogan. He even mentions that he found it unfair that Hogan received a lot more money for Wrestlemania that year than him when he felt Warrior vs Savage was as big a draw, if no more so, than Hogan vs Slaughter. If rumours are to be believed Hogan got nearly twice the amount as Warrior for this PPV.

A few days after Warrior issued his legal letter, which stated/threatened he was fine just sitting at home if that's what Vince decided, Vince agreed in principle to the deal. However, after Summerslam Vince suspending Warrior and said he only agreed in principle to get Warrior to work Summerslam and that he was suspending him for threatening him.

Warrior refused the suspension and tendered his resignation. The WWF, having him under contract for another year and fearing he'd show up in WCW, refused to accept the resignation and so Warrior did indeed just sit at home.

Now, the WWF obviously have painted this as the Warrior being unprofessional and giving Vince no other option, but looking at it in hindsight what do we think?

Warrior clearly felt he was underpaid and undervalued as a worker and that the WWF had basically slapped him in the face. Vince obviously thought Warrior was being unreasonable and suspended him. But where dow e stand today?

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

The Warrior situation is one of the more talked about situations because of how different the story is depending on which side you listen to or believe. As the case with most things I'm sure there is blame on both sides. The real shame in it all is that it completely killed all the steam Warrior had and even though the Hoosier Dome erupted when he returned at WrestleMania VIII, his second run fell flat and he was gone again before the end of the year.

 

[KBeef]

The story Ive heard, is that Warrior waited till the day of Summerslam to hold Vince up.

Everyone has said that is the most unprofessional thing that could be done and Vince only agreed because it was a big PPV and he had been advertised in the main event already.
Once it was over he was fired.

 

[FlairFan2003]

First off I dont believe Vince gave actual contracts back them. Everything Ive read indicates WWE didnt start doing guaranteed deals till mid to late 90s in response to WCW already doing it.

As for Warrior's demands, if that is true he's out of line. He wasnt as big as Hogan or as established as Hogan who had been a big deal for almost a decade at this point. Did Hogan deserve twice as much bonus pay for WrestleMania as Warrior ? In my mind no, but he deserved more, not the same amount (how much were Sgt Slaughter & Savage paid ?).

Now there are plenty of stories about how Vince will put old grudges, etc aside to work with someone who can make his company money. I only know of two stories myself from other wrestlers regarding issues of pay. Flair has stated publicly that McMahon did not sign him to a binding contract in 1991, instead promising him a minimum he would make no matter what with opportunities based on PPV matches, etc to make more. Flair also stated that Vince advanced him several hundred thousand dollars in early 92 to help with some tax debt he owed the IRS. Chris Jericho stated that when he was unhappy with a WrestleMania pay out he approached Vince and discussed the issue. A short time later he recieved an additional bonus check bringing his total bonus more in line with what he thought he was due. Not sure what to draw from that except maybe it's better to deal with Vince on a respectfull business like manner than to try and stiff arm him into a better deal. The fact that Flair and Jericho generally speaking have much better reputations than Warrior had with regards to getting along with other wrestlers and being safe in the ring. Im sure things like that play a role in Vince's determinations re: value & pay.

Now if UW really believed he was worth Hogan's deal I give him credit for sticking up for himself. I dont however think he was worth that much. It's debatable how much better Hogan's deal was since there isnt much detailed info on such things. Hogan was the biggest star however, Warrior was not.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Vince was annoying a lot of people at that time time, Rick Rude also walked when Vince made it clear he wasn't going to the World title, so there may be an element of Warrior taking that lead. You have to remember as well that Vince was moving Undertaker into the title picture and Ric Flair had signed. Post Summerslam, Warrior was going nowhere near getting the belt back, the best he was looking at was putting Undertaker over at Wrestlemania or the Rumble as Flair/Hogan was planned.

Warrior was perhaps right to stand up for himself on the merch side of things and the payoff from Mania but not for his position on the card, as he had blown his title run. Irony is had he been smart and lost to Rude in that cage the previous year, his run would have had far more steam and interest when he regained it. I am pretty sure not losing to Rude was Warrior's call rather than Vince's.

 

[crippler]

At that time The Ultimate Warrior was as popular as well as was as much of a draw as Hogan was and his merchandise sales were equal if not higher than Hogan. So for him to ask to be paid around if not the same as Hogan wasn't a bad thing for him to ask for. Vince only wanted him to sit at home so his popularity and draw would decrease and he would not be almost if not equal to Hogan.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If it's true, then I just can't side with Warrior. He wanted the same deal as Hogan, yet Hogan was someone who had proven himself year after year to be the biggest draw in the company. Even when Warrior was WWF Champion, Hogan was still the biggest star on the roster. The biggest star has always been the guy who ultimately gets the biggest paycheck. It's like that with damn near any company in any business.

I've heard Warrior speak on radio interviews and the guy definitely has a personality that would rub a lot of people the wrong way. Warrior is a true, hardcore conservative with a highly abrasive personality that makes Rush Limbaugh and Anne Colter look warm & fuzzy. Every book I've read that's made mention of Warrior paints his attitude & personality in a very negative light and that he was extremely difficult to deal with. Doesn't mean it's 100% accurate, but Bret Hart, Bobby Heenan, Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, etc. all pretty much same the same thing about the guy.

If Warrior felt he was being taken advantage of, then I guess he had to speak out. If all I've read & heard are true, however, then I just don't see it.

 

[thebarber]

this is untrue actually. Ultimate Warrior point blank refused to go out for his main event tag team match at Summerslam 1991 until Vince agreed to his selfish demands. Jake Roberts pulled the same trick at Wrestlemania 8 also. Vince had to agree or his main event would have been destroyed there and then.
Once Warrior returned backstage, Vince FIRED Warrior, Warrior was not still contracted through to Wrestlemania 8. He was re-signed when Hulk had given Vince notice he was taking time off following Wrestlemania 8.

The OP has gotten many facts incorrect, just a rehash of the incorrect info found on wikipedia. Thus replying to his actual post is irrelevant in a sense.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

In Jake Robert's case, he wanted his release as he felt that he had been lied to by Vince as he had been promised a writing role.

I actually have more respect for Jake's position than Warrior's, as he wasn't making money the issue and it wasn't the "same trick". Jake wanted out of WWE and Vince was refusing so he played the only card open to screw Mania to force the issue. Warrior just wanted money and it showed in the way he collected his contract while "on suspension". He was never fired as Vince still had loads of merch to sell.

The proof is that Jake returned several times and Warrior was always met with distrust there after

 

[HBsam31]

this is untrue actually. Ultimate Warrior point blank refused to go out for his main event tag team match at Summerslam 1991 until Vince agreed to his selfish demands. Jake Roberts pulled the same trick at Wrestlemania 8 also. Vince had to agree or his main event would have been destroyed there and then.
Once Warrior returned backstage, Vince FIRED Warrior, Warrior was not still contracted through to Wrestlemania 8. He was re-signed when Hulk had given Vince notice he was taking time off following Wrestlemania 8.

The OP has gotten many facts incorrect, just a rehash of the incorrect info found on wikipedia. Thus replying to his actual post is irrelevant in a sense.

This is what I had always heard to be true. If this was indeed the case then Warrior absolutely should have been fired. No showing any job to me is the most unprofessional thing you can do, and that is what he would have done had Vince not met his demands. I am sorry, but Warrior was not on the same level as Hogan. Maybe he still wasn't paid enough, but he should have handled it in a more professional manner.

 

[oogieboogie]

Actually Warrior did refuse to go out for the Main Event at Summerslam 1991. But this wasn't because he wanted the same or more money than Hogan. He wanted the money for Wrestlemania which he had not been paid and was owed to him.

Cos i have read about a few wrestlers who have not been paid there Wrestlemania money until months and months later.

 

[lowandmighty]

I think it was a little bit of both. Vince McMahon just not really being that big on Warrior and having a brain snap just because he was in charge when Warrior showed signs of what Vince saw to be disrespect but it was just what Warrior thought was fair. People who get as successful as Vince and who have as much power over people always become mentally corrupted.

Despite all that "The Ultimate Warrior" was asking for a little bit more than what he was really worth.
It was a case of McMahon could do without Warrior but Warrior could not do without McMahon. Quite unfair but thats life even though it shouldn't be.

 

[berlinbrawler]

... even though the Hoosier Dome erupted when he returned at WrestleMania VIII, his second run fell flat and he was gone again before the end of the year.

Yea, I remember that. What was really annoying was how they handled that situation on TV in Germany. I don't know how or if they explained Warrior's disappearance on American TV, but in Germany there was no explanation given at all. They had originally announced Savage & Warrior vs. Razor Ramon and Ric Flair at Survivor Series and the next thing you know it's suddenly Savage and Mr. Perfect vs Flair/Ramon and Warrior was never mentioned again as if he had never been there. It was frustrating as hell and in those days you couldn't look up the facts on the Internet. I was a kid and a huge Warrior fan and it was months until I finally accepted that he was really gone and not just injured or whatever.

As for Warrior's departure in '91, I think the fact that pretty much everybody (except for Warrior himself) who was remotely involved agrees that Warrior acted unprofessionally and deserved getting fired on the spot speaks for itself. There's always two sides to each story for sure and there is certainly more to it than the simplistic explanation given on the "Self-Destruction" DVD, but it's pretty clear that if Warrior had been wronged by Vince, he clearly went about correcting the situation the wrong way.