Ultimate Warrior Dead - Cause of Death Revealed (VIDEO)
The Ultimate Warrior, celebrated last night on "Monday Night Raw," died of "atherosclerotic/arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease," an autopsy revealed. The 54-year-old collapsed last Tuesday while walking with his wife Dana and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
His autopsy and cause of death was revealed yesterday, but the coroner will likely conduct more thorough testing and put together a more complete history of the Warrior's health records. In the meantime, his family, friends, and fans around the world are grieving the loss of an icon in the World Wrestling Entertainment industry. Warrior was one of the biggest stars in the late 1980s and early 1990s, competing against other legends such as "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame last Saturday and appeared at Wrestlemania XXX, to the delight of fans. On Monday night, he gave an emotional speech on "Raw" and promised that the legend of the Warrior would never die. Unfortunately, though, Warrior collapsed the following evening while home in Arizona and was pronounced dead, sending waves through the WWE universe.
Last night, all of the WWE superstars, along with the administration, paid tribute to Warrior. At the opening of "Raw," all of them gathered on the stage as the bell was rung 10 times in Warrior's honor. That was followed by a video montage of Warrior's greatest moments, along with footage from the Hall of Fame induction, Wrestlemania, and last week's "Raw."
Part of the footage included Warrior bringing his young girls on stage with him at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and telling them that they were way too young to remember their dad as the Ultimate Warrior. The entire WWE universe has rallied around Warrior's family and offered their condolences and utmost respect for the family during their time of grief.
"We are all so sad the Ultimate Warrior has passed away," WWE Chairman Vince McMahon tweeted. "Our heart is with his wife Dana and his two daughters."
"Vince said to him a couple of days ago, 'I've always loved you. Sometimes I didn't like you, but I always loved you,'" McMahon's son-in-law Paul "Triple H" Levesque told the Daily Mail.
Watch the WWE's tribute to Warrior here: