Ultimate Warrior: How Did He Die? Cause of Death is Heart Attack, Report Says

Ultimate Warrior: How Did He Die? Cause of Death is Heart Attack, Report Says
In this April 5, 2014 file photo provided by the WWE, James Hellwig, aka The Ultimate Warrior, speaks during the WWE Hall of Fame Induction at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The WWE said Hellwig, one of pro wrestling's biggest stars in the late 1980s, died Tuesday, April 8, 2014. He was 54. (Jonathan Bachman/AP Images for WWE, File)
Jack Phillips
4/12/2014
Updated:
4/14/2014

The Ultimate Warrior, who died earlier this week, likely died of a heart attack, according to reports. On Saturday, it was reported that the WWE will have two tributes to the late wrestling star.

AP UPDATE: It was confirmed Warrior died of a heart attack-

Authorities in Phoenix say former pro wrestler The Ultimate Warrior died of cardiovascular disease.

Maricopa County spokeswoman Cari Gerchick says that’s the finding from an autopsy conducted Thursday by the county Medical Examiner’s Office.

The 54-year-old wrestler’s given name was James Hellwig. He collapsed April 8 while walking with his wife to their car at a Scottsdale hotel and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Scottsdale police have said there were no signs of foul play.

The Ultimate Warrior was one of pro wrestling’s biggest stars in the late 1980s.

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Earlier article:

“Monday Night Raw” will memorialize Warrior, and “it will most likely showcase U.W.’s most memorable moments ... as well his final appearance in the ring last week in New Orleans,” wrote TMZ.

And while The Associated Press reported that no results were released from an autopsy on Warrior--born James Hellwig--this week, it was reported that he clutched his chest before collapsing.

He collapsed while walking with his wife to their car in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Tuesday. He was pronounced dead at a hospital later that day.

Police have said there were no signs of foul play in his death.

Witnesses told TMZ that he was seen clutching his chest before he collapsed.

“Sources connected to the situation tell us officials believe Warrior suffered a ‘catastrophic medical event’ and so far, we’re told there is no evidence to show drugs or alcohol were a factor in his death,” the website writes.

It adds: “All signs point to massive heart attack.” 

After his death, condolences poured in.

“We are all grateful to have had the opportunity to get the closure with him, to work to get him back on that platform,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who is a wrestler and WWE executive, AP reported. “Knowing him now, there could have been no better send-off, really, for him, than that. It was everything he would have dreamed off.”

Warrior made appearances on WrestleMania 30 and on “Monday Night Raw” earlier in the week. He was also inducted in the WWE Hall of fame.

“No WWE talent becomes a legend on their own,” Warrior said last week. “Every man’s heart one day beats its final beat. His lungs breathe their final breath. And if what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse through the body of others, it makes them bleed deeper and something larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized.”

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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