The Ultimate Warrior's Wife Remembers 'The Love of My Life' In Letter to Fans
"To all the ULTIMATE WARRIOR fans: THANK YOU!!" Dana Warrior wrote.
April 16, 2014 -- The Ultimate Warrior, one of professional wrestling’s biggest superstars, died last week and now his wife Dana has penned a touching tribute to him and his fans.
"It is with an absolutely broken heart I reach out to you. Since the passing of my husband, I have been fortunate enough to insulate my sweet girls and myself from the outside world," she wrote on WWE.com, which posted the letter Wednesday. "For a week, I did not allow any television or media to seep through our cocoon. I was told, though, of the outpouring of love for my beloved husband and support for, as he always called us, his Warrior Girls. I can only say thank you."
Dana Warrior, who married the 54-year-old wrestler in 1999 and had two daughters with him, added that she found out out Sunday that the WWE was going to give her husband, who died from cardiovascular disease on April 8, a proper tribute.
"As the hour neared, I broke resolve and turned on every TV in the house to full blast and snuggled our daughters close to me on the couch, unsure what we would see," she wrote. "As the scene unfolded with that amazing roster of talent gathered donning Ultimate Warrior shirts and even his face paint, we cheered and sobbed simultaneously. To everyone who stood there, thank you. My girls will remember your bowed heads for the rest of their lives. You are not just Superstars; you are super people."
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She added, "I cannot put words to what that video tribute meant. We watched it multiple times and, this morning, it was how I started my day; mornings are the hardest for me."
Warrior's wife called the WWE a "warm blanket" through these obviously tough times.
"To all the ULTIMATE WARRIOR fans: THANK YOU!! He told me when he shook the ropes it was him gathering strength from each of you. Warrior respected you and loved you as do the girls and I. I will reach out to the ropes for your strength to sustain me in the sad days that the girls and I face," she wrote.
Dana Warrior also gave fans an intimate look into the bond she and her husband shared.
"Warrior and I would have matches of our own," she continued. "He would yell, I would cry, he would submit, I would win - always. My quivering chin and 'pooched' lip was always more powerful than any clothesline or gorilla press slam. He'd laugh and shake his head and say, 'you win, Pooch,' but really we both did."
She added, "My streak was broken April 8, 2014 when he collapsed. I fought and screamed and cried for him not to leave me, but I wasn't to win this round. Heaven won and I lost, but I had the ULTIMATE love for 20 years and my children learned to be Warriors from THE ULTIMATE DAD."
She closed calling Warrior "the love of my life."
"He was loyal and kind and strong and brave," she added. "He taught me to live by his creed,'Live Strong, Act Bold, Be Brave. Nothing's too hard to do, ALWAYS BELIEVE,' and with that creed I will carry on and make him proud."