Nailz has come to the defense of Ultimate Warrior, saying the criticism of his in-ring ability missed the point of what his character was supposed to be.
Speaking with Mike Johnson in a 2023 Highspots interview now being released by Title Match Wrestling, Nailz said Warrior’s character was never designed to work long matches, and that judging him by traditional wrestling standards was unfair.
“A lot of people didn’t really think that he was a great wrestler, but you got to go back to the character. Think that about me. I wasn’t a wrestler. My character wasn’t a wrestler. Ultimate Warrior’s character wasn’t a guy coming out there giving arm drags and hip tosses. He was a guy that come out and have a shock value, run down, shake the ropes, had a great body, did what he did, and get over and get out. He wasn’t there to do the 20 minute, 40 minute standard match that people are used to seeing.”
Nailz said giving the audience too much of that character would have destroyed it.
“You go out, you do what you need to do, and then you get out of there. You give them too much, and they want more. You give them too much, and you kill the idea, you kill the gimmick, you kill the character.”
Despite Warrior’s well-documented reputation for being difficult to deal with backstage, Nailz said his own experience was positive.
“Jim was a great guy. I got along good with him. He was a really nice guy. I thought that he was put in a tough position, and I’m sure that he would have probably liked to be in the locker room more with the guys more than he was, because sometimes he had his own dressing room, and he probably wanted the camaraderie of being with the guys more than being off by himself. You never know what someone’s going through when they’re under that sort of pressure in that spotlight.”
Nailz also acknowledged that Warrior’s spot at the top of the card created resentment among other wrestlers who felt they deserved the same perks.
“He was kind of thrusted into a spot when he got there that he was in the top spot, so it was a lot of pressure on him. A lot of the guys were basically jealous of him getting first class tickets or limousines or whatever carte blanche he got that other guys were there and thought they should get the same treatment, and they didn’t.”
Nailz also noted that business declined when Warrior replaced Hulk Hogan as WWF Champion.
“When Hulk was the champion, the buildings were sold out no matter where. And like the guys say, when you get your booking sheet, you wanted to be on Hogan’s show, because you knew we were going to get more money. And when they switched that belt to Ultimate Warrior, the crowds weren’t as full as they were when Hogan was the champion.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Title Match Wrestling with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
