Vince McMahon came up with the name Ultimate Warrior during a conversation with the late WWE Hall of Famer.
James Brian Hellwig was known as The Dingo Warrior during his initial days in WWE. But suddenly, his in-ring name was changed to The Ultimate Warrior in October 1987. Vince McMahon and name change in WWE is not something that is new or unknown. Even the WWE legends went through these name alterations in the past.
Recently, an ex-WWE superstar from the 80s disclosed the exact moment Vince McMahon decided to change the name from The Dingo Warrior to The Ultimate Warrior.
One of the eccentric backstage promos by Jim Hellwig led to the name change
Mancini was a WWE Superstar between 1984 and 1991 and in fact, was the first-ever opponent of WWE legend The Undertaker. He faced The Phenom on an edition of WWF Superstars that was taped on November 19, 1990. Unfortunately, the match was not aired on television until December 15, 1990. Therefore fans could not see that match as The Undertaker’s debut match.
Recently, Mario Mancini on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast spoke about his stint with the WWE company. Mancini also recalled McMahon’s reaction when Warrior used the word “ultimate” for the first time in his promos. Mancini also believes that the promo was the point when Vince McMahon decided to change the name from The Dingo Warrior to The Ultimate Warrior.
He said:
“Jimmy Hellwig said, ‘I will be victorious because I am The Dingo Warrior… I am The Ultimate Warrior!’ And Vince said, ‘What did you just say? You’re The Ultimate Warrior?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ He goes, ‘I like that, we’re going with that. We’re dropping The Dingo [Warrior], we’re going with The Ultimate Warrior.’ I was sitting right there.”
The Ultimate Warrior wrestled his last match as The Dingo Warrior on October 5, 1987, in his match against Terry Gibbs at a live event.
Vince McMahon recently sent a memo to the current superstars regarding their names
In recent times, we have noticed several WWE Superstars undergoing name changes in WWE. Some of the superstars are Raquel Gonzalez (Raquel Rodriguez), Marcel Barthel (Ludwig Kaiser), WALTER (Gunther), and Pete Dunne (Butch) who went through the name change process.
Even Vince McMahon’s on-screen protégé and the New United States Champion Theory experienced a name alteration recently.
Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reports that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon does not want his superstars to use their real names or names used outside WWE. Meltzer also said that the superstars in the company reportedly received a memo from the WWE Chairman notifying them about the regulation.
For More Wrestling News, Click Here.
