WWE Hall of Famer Jim 'Ultimate Warrior' Hellwig Dies at 54

By Nick Roman ·

UPDATE: According to TMZ, Hellwig collapsed outside an Arizona hotel at 5:50 PM on Tuesday while walking to his car with his wife. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Just a sad story all-around. Original report below:

In one of the biggest shockers in sports entertainment, Jim Hellwig, best known to WWE fans as The Ultimate Warrior, has suddenly passed away. This, just four days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and less than 24 hours after appearing to be the very picture of health on Monday Night Raw, in a "Thank You" address to his fans.

The cause of death for the former WWE Champion is not known at the moment, but the news was broken via Twitter by WWE superstar/minority owner and Executive Vice President Paul Levesque (better known to wrestling fans as HHH):

The news was later confirmed by WWE.com:

WWE is shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of the most iconic WWE Superstars ever, The Ultimate Warrior. Warrior began his WWE career in 1987 and quickly went on to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history. Warrior became WWE Champion at WrestleMania VI, defeating Hulk Hogan in an epic encounter. We are grateful that just days ago, Warrior had the opportunity to take his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame and was also able to appear at WrestleMania 30 and Monday Night Raw to address his legions of fans. WWE sends its sincere condolences to Warrior’s family, friends and fans. Warrior was 54 and is survived by his wife Dana and his two daughters.

I grew up watching this guy, and while he's long been among the more controversial figures in the wrestling business, I've always had a soft spot for him. So this news is really tragic, especially because he was so young, and doubly so because he's leaving behind two young girls. I won't engage in speculation as to how he passed, but I will say that I'm glad he at least got to have his moment in the sun, receiving his Hall of Fame induction, and getting a chance to thank his fans, in addition to returning to WWE after an estrangement that lasted nearly two decades.

You can watch his farewell speech from last night's Monday Night Raw below. In retrospect, a lot of it is incredibly chilling, and deeply poignant. But then, not many people get to go out on top. Long live The Warrior.

Credit: WWE

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