Echelon sees all.
WARRIOR COMMENTARY RELATED TO THIS:
Hello. Warrior here. After much time away from the internet altogether, not just my own site, I had been working on a new Warrior Web post, and then I came across the news that Davey Boy Smith died...
Let us begin with the answering the demandingly curious. I am always asked if -- when -- I will be making a comeback to the ring. Especially now that Hogan (The Unprincipled Sellout) has come back to Titan. I can tell you this: I will never work for Titan Sports again.
Will I ever make a return to the ring at all? I can’t answer that at this time. Not because I know and it has to be kept a secret. I can’t answer that because I truly do not know at this time. Has it crossed my mind? Yes. In what capacity? With who? How? Those are good questions. Can I? Do I still have the fire and discipline that it would take? Please,... just a little common sense. I mean, there are men and women over a half-century old in the ring; none of them ever within a year’s worth of heartbeats of having the physical or mental discipline I hold. I put more determination into, and extracted more sweat from, working just “one of my abs” than all the exhaustion that would come out of and all the wetness they, covered in sponges, could wish to absorb while the entire New York City Fire Department ran every hose they have over their heads for an entire week long, sleepless shift. Don’t even get me started...yet...give me a few minutes at least to say hello and tell you what I have been up to.
Davey’s Boy death...
I think it is more sorry than sad. Sorry because Davey let circumstances control him instead of digging down and conquering the circumstances of the challenges set before him. You “abuse” something long enough, it gets its revenge.
Make no mistake about it -- Davey died at 39 years of age because he chose to. The choices he was making led him to an early death. He, and he alone, killed himself prematurely. But few want to accept what is true.
Sad? I mean, make the comparison as many of you already have but would be unwilling to admit -- when Owen died that was sad. He wasn’t treating his life with disrespect and dismissing his responsibilities as a man. He wasn’t intentionally tempting fate or behaving destructively. He was the epitome of what a father, husband and real man should be. He made commitments and was heroically seeing them through. His life was unfortunately taken from him because of a tragic accident. Davey committed a slow, sure, suicide. He was eternally blaming his “falling of the horse” again and again on nothing more than circumstances of his life. Circumstances he kept creating for himself. I read over and over: "I was involved with the Harts for 20 years. It was the worst 20 years I've ever had. I have no intention of having anything to do with them." Why then was he banging his ex-brother-in-law’s bimbo ex-wife? The tragedy of Davey Boy’s loss of life is that he was acting the fool making a tragedy of his life. He chose it, no accident intervened. I don’t mourn the same for Davey’s loss of life as I did for Owen’s.
All that said, I was once very close with Davey Boy. He and Dynamite took me under their wings when I first came into the WWF. I have many memories memorialized in my Warrior book. They were there at the very beginning in the Green Bay, Wisconsin promo room the very day I supplanted “Dingo” with “Ultimate” while cutting a promo insert to appear along with my first televised TV match. As many have already stated, they (Davey and Dynamite) were the “Lords” of road travel ribs and practical jokes and locker room antics. And they had this unusual ability to summons flatulence on command. Many a passenger on flights with them were sickened to the point of vomiting by their lack of restraint and civility in that regard. No one was safe. (Neither was any Haliburton.) And the best recourse, always, was to just roll with the gag and the personal punches. Those who didn’t, found themselves sitting in it, or worse, sticking their hands in it...literally. They had a reputation of testing new guys on the block to see what kind of sense of humor you had. Good thing I had one. Many did not and they cracked under the “Hey, mate! Sleep with one eye open!” prodding. I saw them break more than a few guys down to literal tears simply out of frustration.
The last time I saw Davey was at a lawyer’s office in Canada during the discovery process of my litigation with Titan Sports. We had subpoenaed him for a deposition to get information he remembered surrounding his and my ‘92 termination. His memory had been radically manipulated. He had survived his near-death ordeal with the spinal cord/staph injury, and he had been bought by Vince McMahon; this was after Owen’s death. Davey telling me over the phone, “Vince flew Diana and I in and put us up at New York City's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, first class all the way. He came to meet with us at the hotel and before 5 minutes was up he offered me a deal worth more money than I had ever made. I couldn’t turn it down.” Davey also went on to boast about how well he had healed since his debilitating injury, surprising even his doctors. Him telling me the reason was his supplement program which included “large, daily doses of Growth Hormone”. My attorneys and I found that interesting since Titan was making litigation arguments that such a thing -- even an attempt to purchase such things -- constituted “moral turpitude”. Davey was caught in many lies and contradictions during that deposition, all because he had a price. Any respect I may have had for him before that day rapidly disappeared into thin air.
Davey Boy was a drug abuser, not just a drug user. Just because you ingest “prescription” drugs instead of “non-prescription” drugs doesn’t decrease your chances of becoming one any less. Although, when I was at WCW it was even revealed to me by Jim Neidhart that Davey and he regularly smoked crack. (Here’s a drug for low-lifes and skid road losers.) Back injury? Go look at the WCW tapes before Davey supposedly injured his back on the trap door WCW had put in the ring. He was unstable and under the influence of something even then. Sure, records may substantiate Davey’s back suffered an injury at some point and time, but the pharmacy records (toxicology reports if we had them) will show, if any one takes the time to look, that Davey was consuming copious amounts of drugs way before he was taking them for an injury. His alleged lawsuit against WCW was nothing more than a seedy attempt to grab some easy money.
Why am I stating this? Because I am sick of all the cover-up, phony emotion and flat out hypocrisy that is used to make what is unauthentic seem authentic. I’m tired of the quasi-coroner’s character make-up job that gets done to cover up the multitude of vices an adult individual had when they were alive. As if to say: “One of our true heroes. Momentarily misguided.” What is it that makes the people controlling the media platforms want to take the worst of its humans and glamorize them as if they are (were) the best? And what makes people who know things so conveniently forget?
All the top Superstars use drugs. All wannabe superstars use them. Many fall into perverse habitual use which leads to abuse. There are just as many drug-combination choices as there are drugs easily available to them. Painkillers, gimmicks to get up, gimmicks to get down, steroids, rejuvenation juice, liquor, marijuana, etc. And here’s a news flash for all the ignoramuses: many of the super-effective hormonal drugs used by athletes are legal to obtain. Drugs like GH and Testosterone can be obtained legally. Go to any age-defying rejuvenation clinic, lay down your money, and walk out with the goods. Ask Hogan, he knows a good one. “Doctor-/physician-prescribed” is the protection mechanism that creates the line between legal and illegal. Doctors can be marks too. Those talent who have unexpectedly and prematurely died over the last few years are not aberrant “natural” occurrences. Relatively healthy individuals just don’t drop dead in their 30’s and 40’s. The only thing natural about it is this: Naturally after such chemical abuse the body shuts down, ceases to operate, dies.
Look, people are going to do what they are hellbent on doing. Just don’t insult my intelligence by claiming: We would never see or know the severity of it. It doesn’t happen here and we don’t allow it. You did, it does and you do. And to make the point further, I’ve got personal opinion and experience about those types of things, all of it to be laid out in the book I’ve been writing. Many times there is nothing wrong, illegal or unethical if a person has a conscience and the discipline to control himself. Imagine that: a human being choosing to control what he does. My beef is that the truth is more often than not left out of the stories that do get told.
On the other hand, I am not dead. I get much mail, indignantly, telling me flat out that I am: “You are dead. I heard you were from a friend who would not tell me this unless it was true. Write back and confirm this.” The day I actually do die no one will believe it. That fits though. Whenever I have had something to say I have said it here @ Warrior Web, since the origination of the internet and my participation, and still it is all the other fabrication elsewhere people still want to believe.
Truth is: Death will have to work hard to take me. I’m healthier than a thoroughbred horse and happy like one that gets the best grade of feed...(Some people will be disappointed to hear that.) And like a Triple Crown Winner, I’m still full up of my Warrior self...full of self-esteem, that is.
Most of that “...you died, and your “twin” brother took over, or someone else was Ultimate Warrior too, right?” (and the wondering “if”) comes from the 1992 Wrestlemania 8 when I returned. Without a close look, it does look like it could be someone else. Largely because I was much lighter and my hair was shorter. Aside from that, and although it has been over 10 years since I wrestled regularly, people just aren’t willing to accept the simple truth: I am the only one who has ever been the Ultimate Warrior. I created him, I own him, I lived him. And I don’t have a twin brother.
Why the long silence? What have I been up to? I got busy doing the right things.
After the WCW stint in 1998 I fought through my legal battle with Titan to its eventual end. On March 3, 2000 that litigation ended the day it was to begin trial. The mindboggling aftermath was that, after things settled with Titan, I had to battle my own attorneys for nearly a whole year over very stunning concerns of deleterious and costly professional misconduct. The travail that followed could not have been better contrived even by sports entertainment/soap-opera writers. In the end, there was vindication. All of them were found guilty and reprimanded and penalized by the State Bar Association. I had prevailed and I had my life to get on with. It was never easy fighting those fights, but I am proud that I did. It was right, and it is NEVER wrong to fight for what is right. NEVER. You won’t get that advice from most people when you find yourself in a similar position. You will have to find the strength yourself. The initial list of negatives far outweighs the positives. But believe me, down the road the regret for not standing up for what is right becomes a subconscious burden not even the largest shoulders can carry.
While I was fighting that fight with my own attorneys I became a father. My wife and I have an absolutely perfect baby daughter, Indiana (Indy) Marin Warrior, and we are expecting Warrior Baby 2 in December. Warrior, as many know (many more refuse to accept or acknowledge as if they have say so in the matter), is my entire legal name. It has been since 1993. The specious 2 second answer, given by uninformed others, for me taking that name: “Because he wrestled as the Ultimate Warrior.” is disrespectful and undeserving of any further response. I write about this at length in my book. Anyway my wife took Warrior as her surname. And our daughter, Indy, has it as hers.
What can I say, becoming and being a father is incredible. It is also the proudest thing I will ever do. You know when you get asked that question “What is the best thing that has ever happened to you?” Your mind goes digging inside itself to get at the choice you want to make. Starts shuffling through all the memories till it pulls a handful or so out to the front of your mind, and then you try to pick the best three, narrow it down to the best one, but you always end up covering your butt by saying: “Well, it would be hard for me to say, but if I had to pick ONE of the best three or four things, I’d have to pick...” You’re on the spot and you’re thinking “I know I’m leaving something out that is important, something special...” You just know you’ll get called on it later for not saying this thing or including that thing, etc. I no longer have that dilemma. I can tell you without hesitation, and without taking anything away from all the other wonderful events of my life, including falling in love with my wife which was necessary for me to have this “best ever” -- The best thing that has ever happened to me ever in my whole life to this day is when my daughter, Indy, gave me a kiss. And it continues to be the best thing every time it happens. There is nothing like it in the entire world to me. That is how powerful bringing a life into the world is.
People will say that having a child changes your life perspective in an instant. I can say that it didn’t do that to mine. My perspective about life was changing, seriously, way before Indy came into the world. The sporadic nature of my career contributed to that. I had time to take the time to see things I never paid attention to, and develop a learned understanding about them. And the fight with Titan revealed disorders about other people (society as a whole) I never saw, let alone understood. Let me just say: There are way too many people -- largely professional people -- who get unconditional, instantaneous respect and do not deserve one iota of it. They are charlatans, wolves in sheep’s clothing, and they have no qualms whatsoever about destroying your entire existence. In the words of one of our greatest -- living or dead -- Presidents, Ronald Reagan: “Trust but verify.” Few pass the verification test.
Needless to say, I am very skeptical and cynical of other people. And if you think, just as another human being, that that is sad. I agree, it is. But after the experiences I had, it has become a matter of protection for me and, now, my family. And, too, I am not not the same person I was 5, 10, 15 years ago. I don’t think the same. I don’t act the same. Many of the questions I had about life 15,10, 5 years ago have now been answered. What was important to me in years past is not, and what was not is.
Since I have not regularly participated in wrestling, I have had the time to develop other interests. I had to. I have spoke of those here on Warrior Web. For years I made my living by being physically explosive. The madder I became in the gym the more motivated I was to have the best physique, the most awe-inspiring intensity in Sports Entertainment. But when I got off the road I didn’t have that motivator or that energy release night after night. What was I going do fail at running my life just because I couldn’t run to a wrestling ring anymore? Sure, I could have done like so many others have done when the spotlight is gone. Just become a local barroom brawling bully pissing away my life, forcing career highlights on any sympathetic ears of losers at life that would listen, milking celebrity to get me out of jams, legal and otherwise, and all the while increase my People magazine DGF (Degenerate Coolness Factor) by ten times or more. I mean, look at all the dribbling “I’m an addict of something and have been victimized” scumbags that do it and get even more popular.
The sick part of that story is that it would have made many people happy. Why? Two reasons. People like to witness other people falling from high places. And because many other people losing at life want to be able to associate sympathetically with other emotionally distraught individuals who fall under the pressure of life.
I chose not to do that because I have more pride in myself simply as human being, putting aside any celebrity I earned, and I’m also not any good at sitting in my own pile of shit. It is my own personal opinion that people who over and over again choose to act stupid, weak and anti-human should no longer be allowed to interact with those of us that choose not to. Let your own imagination take it from there... Guys like Darryl Strawberry and Scott Hall and Robert Downey, Jr. and Mike Tyson, etc. should at the least be confined till death do we part in a place with all their recidivist others, and at best terminated so as to protect the future gene pool. There is no help for those who won’t help themselves. I have no sympathy to offer here. And believe me, I won’t in my life be begging for any either. The worst times in life, anyone’s life, still hold the best thing about it -- Having it. Respect it and don’t abuse it.
I am way past the stage of my life where I think irreverent, puerile behavior is cool. Titan, spearheaded by the McMahons, long ago crossed over the propriety line. All the bank in the world does not change that. You know it. I know it. The whole thinking world knows it. All their arguments defending their right to do it are nothing more than baseless rationalizations and base denials. The product they put out is sick and repugnant. And to participate, even in the less offensive segments, means you condone it.
I’ve always been about principles; and what is principled. I have always understood and practiced basic common decency, respect, civility, manners, etc. It is a part of me that has never left me. And I’m not giving it up just because it has been periodically cool to act otherwise. The absence of moral principle in the business, along with the crude, profane creativity, is why I don’t, and will not, entertain anymore for a company such as Titan. It matters. It matters to me. And if that were my final answer it would be answer enough. In today’s cultural debate where belligerent lying and hypocrisy and the twisting and tainting of the truth are omnipresent and constant, you just have to say “No, you are wrong.” Because as long as they lack the bravery to disassociate themselves from it, they will never agree with what is knowingly right.
A couple years ago I was speaking confidently about my goals and intentions with what I call “Project Warrior”. I’m still confident, but after becoming a father I intentionally changed my priorities and pursuits for a while. One of those was to get settled in an environment better suited to raise children. I knew that was not going to be in the area of AZ where I lived. Once a rural, ranch-like setting, the population explosion brought with it all kinds of new dangers; the worst -- non -thinking people. Instead of complaining like so many of the others around me who were witnessing the same thing, I decided I was going to change my own scenery. That entire process, finding the best environment, including the decision to actively participate in the building of a Warrior home (something I’ve wanted to do for a long time), took over a year. It was an incredible experience. We are mostly settled now, and my drive is to move full speed ahead with Project Warrior’s vision.
Warrior Web is going to be getting some attention. I have to tell you though that the internet lost its appeal to me. I wrote a few years ago, here:
“It is no secret -- except maybe to those guilty as charged -- that the internet spawned a demimonde of liars, evaders and enablers of egregious, base speculation and sophistry.”
It is obvious to me that the spawning has proliferated. Silence from any subject of their comments only exasperates speculation and sophistry. My silence encourages them to tell bolder bald-faced lies. None of them have the discipline to seek out the truth, and never are they the bearers of good, positive news. I don’t want to know people like this. I don’t even want to give these people, who have repetitively proven themselves to be obfuscaters and liars, a chance. I get requests to do interviews all the time from radio and internet people. The question I ask myself is “What for?” What purpose does it serve? For me it serves none. I happen to think, although I appreciate the fans who enjoyed my career, that people have more important things in their own life to listen to or do. If I help provide an interview that always has the chance to be taken out context (most times is), then I’m doing nothing more than condoning and supporting the lying and the idiocy. I don’t have to take that chance, so I don’t. So many of the questions asked are not deserving of answers.
The attention Warrior Web is going to get, however, will not be the addition of the typical bells and whistles other sites have a lot of. It is irritating to me to go to a site and have ad pages download over pages I really want to see, and, what is it...the shockwave? stuff just bothers me more. Some tricky computer generated images, ones that take more time to download than to actually play, are just a waste of time to me. I’m looking for substance, not visual effects. I enjoy learning something, and thinking to do so. All the visuals and the solicitation to get me to use my feelings instead of my thinking is a little overdone. Especially on a computer screen. If I want to get set back into the seat of my chair from entertainment I go to a movie or see something performed live. To start, and until I find someone who gets it about what I want to accomplish with Warrior Web, the attention may just be in the form of more frequent writing. I would like to do something interactive that is inspiring and informational. So I’ll be looking into that too.
I am also ready to discuss offers about making appearances in and out of the ring. Let me say this first...
The majority of the stories written about me and my experiences with promoters I have worked for are erroneously lopsided. The one word answer to the why of that is “jealousy.” Look, people get in this business to succeed. Success comes in many different forms. You often times do not even know that till you experience success yourself. But to stay on point, people strike out in this career with the want to be the best, to be recognized by the business side of it as having become the best. No? What, people seek a career in it to stay at the bottom, fail? Whatever criticisms people want to make about me, the fact that I succeeded -- no matter the angle of analysis taken to evade this -- is there and never disappears. I’m not going to, here in this internet post, provide an exposition exposing the outright stupidity and falsehood inherent in 99% of all that anybody has ever stated about me. But has anyone ever just wondered: “Here’s a guy that gets bashed from all sides, nearly all the time, yet if all that lambasting is true how and why did the guy ever succeed to begin with? They say he’s a nutcase. How then was he able to bamboozle the intelligentsia in charge? And if every single word of the adverse commentary were true, all that going against him, what did he still do? He succeeded.” That is always what you have to get back to, because the Succeeding is always there. And that is enough to fuel the bias dialogue rooted in jealousy.
I write this because I have in the last couple of years had discussions with people about making that “in the ring” reappearance. I get many requests from independents. Some time ago I discussed the idea with this guy named Andrew McManus, who was taken to be respectable. But somewhere in the middle of the negotiations he begins to make announcements as if I had committed myself. I think that would take a signed agreement, which he did not have. He seemed to believe this was okay. I saw it as sign that something wasn’t straight up about this guy. I let him know this and, he, instead of just being a man’s man saying “my interest is no longer there,” goes behind my back bad mouthing me and my character. I found out and ceased any further discussion about ever working for him. I have a “Superstars” file on my computer that holds 27 different correspondences from 01.16.01 - 03.12.01 which verify the truth of all this. But what does the guy go on to do? He continues to advertise me to appear anyway and when I legally handled this, he lies and blames the entirety of cancellation on me. I’m not sorry to say this: I do not work with people who conduct themselves that way. I don’t care if they have a mint that makes money. And so it goes.
The point I’m making is, I am a reasonable guy, and I can be easy to work with. I just don’t go for getting screwed with. I do not let others purposely misinterpret an understanding we come to, officially, have between one another. During the negotiation process, if I say something I mean it, I’m not just blowing smoke out my ass. If a guy agrees to conditions and deadlines with me, he needs to come through or I will not perform just because he believes I am supposed to put guilt and fans above the terms of the agreement. It is amazing how promoters will think otherwise. I have worked with four independent promoters; three of them I performed with, and one, negotiations fell through. The three I worked for all tried to circumvent the terms of the agreement. The fourth guy was Andrew McManus, and I told you about how that deal soured. I know four independent promoters is a small number compared to what guys who work the independent circuit full-time are dealing with. But the presumption would be that I, working the Ultimate Warrior character, would be the least susceptible to any promoter problems, and that if I do not appear it must be because I had or created the problem. That is just not true. The reason why is that many, not all by any means, of the Indy promoters have nothing to lose at trying to scam anybody, including the fans. And when their scam does not work, as I have found out, they put all the heat on the talent.
Up and comers, guys who really want to strike out in this business and make a career out of it, often times have no choice. They have to do things and put up with things that are not right. Unfortunate but true. I had to do that too when I first started out. When you need money just to buy gas to get out of town, you have little choice. Today, I don’t have to put up with it, and I don’t.
At this stage of my life, with the cultural atmosphere running against the grain of my own beliefs and principles, I don’t see doing independents, with principled promoters who want to do something decent and good-natured, as a step down, but rather a step up. A step up out of the cultural darkness prevalent in all kinds of entertainment. Many believe that in Sports Entertainment Ultimate Warrior is one of those hero personas that can fill the void. I agree. I know the expensive glamour and show presence isn’t going to be there, but I will perform proudly and with pride in smaller venues, building from there. All this talk about the dislike of the degeneracy (not just talk coming from others; I’m speaking more about my own inner dialogue)...somebody...I’ve got to begin, even in small ways, to do something about what I do not like, while I still have the physical discipline and potential and The Ultimate Warrior character still has the name recognition that he does. I have to believe there are people and places yearning for a better example of adult and public-athletic-event behavior. Getting this done, making it achievable is a two-way street. I am exploring opportunities to do this with reputable people only, Indy promoters who act with principle and follow through. If you are not, I will find that out, so do not waste your time. Maybe I’m just being naive, and there are no principled promoters, independent or otherwise. Let’s find out. If there are, contact me here first via email. Anyone out there familiar with the entire independent scene that could work as a collaborator of sorts, contact me as well.
I am also relocating Warrior University. It will be more than just a school training those who wish to pursue Sports Entertainment careers. I will be elaborating on that within a couple of months. WU is not ready to begin immediate training or initiate the ancillary projects I have in mind. However, I am reviewing the requests of those interested -- with the requisite raw talent -- in participating in the near future. Contact me here @ Warrior Web first. Learning moves is one thing, learning the business of it is another thing altogether. At WU -- if enough raw talent comes forward -- both will be taught.
There are rumors that I have negotiated with the Jarrett’s. I have. But there is no obligating agreement; no signed papers. Additional context of the rumor was that I asked to have 15% of the company. That is not true. And there is no proof of that. I did have my attorney write some language over issues concerning the protection of my rights to the Ultimate Warrior character outside any copyright JSE would seek to attain. And there were numerous other details still to be worked out. Since the time I have received that language from my attorney, which has not been forwarded to JSE, I have changed my mind about joining up over there; very recently in fact. Although I enjoyed talking to both Jeff (whom I have only met one time; when he was a little kid; when Steve and I began there in the mid 80’s as the Freedom Fighters, then Bladerunners) and his dad, Jerry, I am seeing recent creative decisions that were unexpected based on the talks I had with them. (Within this post lies a point made that goes to the heart of this.) Of course, TNA is their’s to do with as they wish, as it is mine to decide what I will or will not do with my character, The Ultimate Warrior. The best to them.
I am also exploring offers to do personal appearances and public speaking. If the cost of having The Ultimate Warrior perform in the ring doesn’t work for you, then there are other ways we may be able to work together. Contact me here at Warrior Web.
Intellectually, I believe what I am today is more valuable and empowering than anything I ever did in the ring. The world needs more of its public identities to become even more leader-worthy. I have worked hard to be more than just whatever I did in the ring. Become more of a responsible adult who leads by knowledge and example. Of course I am not ashamed one bit by having done what I did. I am very proud of it. But there are bigger American Adult responsibilities that come with having been able to realize your own individual success story in a country that secures your Freedom to do so. If there is a “duty” people have, as so many argue, then to me this is it: When you grow up, think and act like it. Although there is much one can teach, motivationally, from having mastered his own craft, there are some worthier time-honored lessons public identities should be knowledgeable enough about so that they can teach them too, to an audience already sitting in the palm of their hand. And it is especially more important when your audience is kids.
Not since the beginning of this country when the Founding Fathers performed heroically, do we need heroes more than we do now. I don’t use that reference lightly. Never one to have held on to long-term idols, I found myself inspired by the words and acts of the Founding Fathers of this country. They are, as I am proud to say today, my Heroes. All kids should have the chance to find and decide for themselves about these great originators of this country. (There are actually some schools in this country who are trying to remove the learning about them out of their curriculums.) The inspiration they provide just keeps giving and giving. They are the real studs. These guys had balls that dug trenches in the ground when they walked. Let me just add, if you are a parent with kids, get and read and disperse all the books on American history that you can. There is nothing more chillingly motivating to read about than the courage of the first real Patriots, true American Heroes.
It is also not my intention, especially at these definitively patriotic times, to trivialize the word “hero” or “Heroism” or use it lightly at all. It is not any actor’s right, fortunate to find themselves successful playing an entertainment hero, to think himself a hero in the same vein as those heroes who gave, and daily risk giving, all their tomorrows so that we should still have ours. Yes, all heroes begin human. It is just that point we should use to ask ourselves: “How close, or removed from, am I to living an example of a heroic life, myself?”
On another similar note, I am disappointed to find out that Bret Hart has written a “soft”, almost “Pillsbury pudgy” column calling Hogan a Hero. I don’t know what criteria Bret is using to judge Hogan a hero. Maybe just the anecdotal stuff he put in the article. If so, I’d say Hogan, a person with heartstrings like us all, took the time to show his caring side, while, also, thinking to take advantage of the press-op. And who of us, traveling as we did up and down the road, hasn’t had the 50th petitioner for an autograph call us an asshole, not knowing we just spent every last available second we had signing 49. Still, if that is what it takes to be a hero, that is a pretty low bar to hold up as the standard. In Sports Entertainment, Hulk Hogan is the standout, the White Elephant. He is the face most people know and will remember. Each one of us that has danced inside the squared circle concedes this much. But a hero? Do we call a guy who milked a philosophy of life -- one he pushed on and sold to kids -- that he really doesn’t live by, a hero? Do we call a guy who’s whole life is absolutely nothing but a work, “real” and a hero? (There are plenty of people in the business who will not say this. But there is nobody in the business that does not know it.) Do we call a guy who turns bad and good and bad and good for the storyline and a few more bucks to add to millions already accumulated, a hero? Do we keep calling him a hero when he sues the poorly-paid-just-trying-to-do-my-job storywriters for defamation, making the circus-like claim that they legitimately slandered his reputation? Do we call the same guy a hero when he has the bank and connections to do something positive but cowers to his own inner fears of failure and sells out to the sleaziest promoter pimp there is? Do we call the same near 50-yr-old guy (now a grown man, an inveterate, iconic role model for all the youth) a hero when he still refuses to exercise his mind and inspire us with ideas that are more serious and worthy? (Keep building your body, sure. But use your mind a little.) Do we still call this guy a hero when the attention -- ergo, influence -- he commands is worldwide yet he finds it ok to stand and watch and participate in programming that pushes the lowest, viliest forms of human behavior?
Unlike Bret and many others, I don’t use a grab bag of feelings to determine the character of someone. Hogan is no Hero. And believe me, these questions I propose, here, are just a paltry poke at getting to know that. I’m writing...
Perhaps Bret is paving the way to soothe any previous pains he had about returning to Titan. After all, Hogan is there, he’s a hero. Ironically, timing couldn’t be better. Michaels has come clean about the Montreal screwjob, and stepped back in the ring, to set the stage. Or perhaps, the dysfunction of the Hart family knew only one boundary -- Sadly, he’s no longer here to clarify that for us. It’s time to stay strong in character, Bret. Don’t let your separation, possibly nostalgia, from the business make you lonely, then weak. And before you scrawl out a dismissive, scathing retort -- sure to appear -- let me say that I had previously always held you in high regard. You seemed, after all, a man of varied accomplishments. Maybe one of those you haven't developed is the everyday, common courage it takes to draw a deep, distinct line between what really is right and what really is wrong. If for nothing else than all the eyes and ears upon you. Calling Hogan "real" and a hero is wrong. Too many people are listening to you. You know better. You should do better. You once seemed the fighter. But, when the truth is told, you only whined about what Titan did to you, I warred and made what was wrong, right.
That’s all for now. Always Believe, Warrior