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Report: Ultimate Warrior May Wrestle Key Opponent at WrestleMania XXX

Posted: Jan 28th 2014 By: mikeiles

Lost amid the back-and-forth grumblings about the fiasco that was the 2014 Royal Rumble pay-per-view?specifically the lack of Daniel Bryan's involvement?is the imminent return of The Ultimate Warrior to WWE TV.

The Warrior, whose time on top of the wrestling world was ultimately short-lived, is still retained in the long-term memories of many fans who either grew up during the 1990s or just watched one of his explosive promos on YouTube.

The unbridled passion of the colorful Warrior character?the sprint to the ring, the shaking of the ropes and the summoning of the wrestling gods?was palpable, compelling and, most of all, inspiring.

His mannerisms have even become a source of inspiration for 2014 Royal Rumble winner Batista and iconoclast Daniel Bryan, who shake the ropes and get into a lathered frenzy, respectively, as a means to incite and elicit crowd support.

And yet, while The Warrior has been inactive from mainstream wrestling for 16 years and hasn't wrestled since 2008 in Barcelona, Spain, against Orlando Jordan, the 54-year-old may have some juice left in him yet.

Besides headlining the the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2014, The Warrior, according to Bryan Alvarez's subscribers-only Figure Four Weekly Newsletter (via WrestlingInc.com), is also potentially scheduled to take part in one last bout at WrestleMania XXX against WWE's biggest bully:

"There has been talk that The Ultimate Warrior may be working one more match as part of his new deal with WWE. Word being talked about backstage is Warrior vs. Ryback, likely at WrestleMania XXX. As noted, it's believed the deal with Bill Goldberg is pretty much dead because of money issues."

One might say that Goldberg's loss is The Warrior's gain, who is probably the best "fill-in" candidate one could hope for to face Ryback in a special-attraction match.

Granted, Ryback is nowhere near where he was a few years ago, when the thunderous "Feed Me More" chants had overcome arenas across the nation. Unfortunately, his heel turn has been such a debacle that, unless his character is immediately resuscitated in the coming weeks, he is likely to be fodder against the conquering Warrior.

Ultimately, if the encounter does come to fruition at the New Orleans Superdome, it will likely end up being a quick, feel-good showcase for The Warrior as a means to highlight the 30-years-and-running legacy of the WrestleMania brand.