Former WWE Superstar Barry Horowitz does not believe The Ultimate Warrior’s over-the-top character would work in today’s wrestling world.
The Ultimate Warrior was one of the most well-known WWE Superstars of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Although he was popular with fans, Warrior also had a reputation for being difficult to deal with backstage.
Speaking on the Such Good Shoot podcast, Horowitz joked about Warrior’s lack of in-ring skills. He also claimed that Japanese promoters would not accept his theatrical style of wrestling today.
“So my dream was to be a pro wrestler,” Horowitz said. “Not everybody could be a top flight, a top shelf guy, and some of them really shouldn’t be. That’s the politics of the business. [Fake cough], yeah, Warrior. Yeah, people who run to the ring and shake the top rope, wear face paint, and don’t know a wristlock from a wristwatch. Yeah, exactly. In today’s world, he wouldn’t get over at all. In Japan they would send them back home overnight.”
The Ultimate Warrior worked for WWE from 1987 to 1992 before returning for another short spell with the company in 1996. He also worked for promotions outside of WWE, including WCW, but he rarely wrestled in Japan.
Barry Horowitz on The Ultimate Warrior’s wrestling style
Barry Horowitz spent a total of eight years in WWE between 1987 and 1995. Although he developed a reputation as a serial loser (a.k.a. a “jobber”), he was also known to be an accomplished technical wrestler.
Following his comments about The Ultimate Warrior, Horowitz said any wrestler who does not understand sports entertainment should test themselves in the UFC.
“I think what they [WWE] saw was this guy doesn’t give us a hard time,” Horowitz added, referring to himself. “It’s not that I don’t give a c*** attitude. I’m a professional, and true professionals understand the nature of sports entertainment. If they don’t they need to sign up with UFC and get their a** beat and stretched in about 10 seconds, preferably by Brock Lesnar.”
The Ultimate Warrior passed away in 2014 at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack. Three days earlier, he received his WWE Hall of Fame induction.