My Missed Selfie With Jim Hellwig

I don’t often get scared. I’m six-foot-four and 300 pounds. I eat fear and put adobo on it. But when The Ultimate Warrior got pissed at me, I felt it.

It was July of last year. I interviewed him about his inclusion in “WWE 2K14” and even managed to squeeze in a few other questions about his legendary and -more often than not, misunderstood career. To say he was bluntly honest, was an understatement. But ah man, was he cool. As his young daughter stood by and watched her pop get interviewed, she jumped in a few times and like her dad, had a dry, but witty sense of humor. Warrior was obviously the cool dad. We grow up thinking our dad is the ultimate in something, anything, but this kid knew hers, was.

After a good 15 minutes of discussing everything from his relationship with Sting to his legacy, I asked Warrior for a photo for my article. His reply? “Only if you’re in it with me.” If only I could, I would have. If there was ever a time where I could break the rules I set for myself, this would have been the time.

Unlike the myriad of other journalists who turned into little prepubescent fanboys and opted to take one with him that day, I just wanted the headshot for the piece. Encountering his share of fans turned journos, Warrior couldn’t understand. He asked me a few times why and I said it was unprofessional of me and that I didn’t want my editor to see it.

Who, me? I am the Editor.

Having berated a student for taking a photo with a band I assigned him to interview a few months back, it would have been hypocritical for me to indulge. So instead I just looked at the press relations guy with the type of face that screamed, “Save me before this crazy bastard kills me.” I imagine that’s what a few guys have felt during Warrior’s lifetime.

After the press person told him that I was just trying to get a picture for the piece, he obliged. I got my handshake and a damn good interview and later a painting with one of his infamous quotes on it. It’s been on my wall in my living room ever since.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that true greatness is the art of being misunderstood and if that is indeed the case, Warrior is beyond great. His legacy is a mixed bag, but his life, much like his career in pro wrestling, was a wildly colorful and unpredictable one that transcends reality. He’s almost like a dream. A WWE Champion turned conservative motivational speaker? You can’t write that. And you never will again.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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