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Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell opened up about his last interaction with The Ultimate Warrior that took place at the latter's Hall of Fame induction.
The Ultimate Warrior was one of the most popular stars of his generation, and he was a former WWE Champion. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014, 18 years after his last appearance with the company. However, he tragically passed away just a few days later due to cardiac arrest.
Speaking on Wrestling Shoot Interviews, Dutch Mantell stated that the former champion thanked him during their interaction on WrestleMania weekend. Dutch added that he was taken aback by The Ultimate Warrior mentioning him in his induction speech.
"The weekend that he was inducted, I briefly went through there and shook his hand. He said, 'I remember you, thank you very much and you're very nice.' He went up and gave his Hall of Fame speech and he mentioned me in the speech, which surprised me because I was just trying to help these guys. It was really surreal because he made it to RAW on Monday and then the next day, he died. So a very set of surreal circumstances surrounding the last time I was around The Ultimate Warrior," said Mantell. (from 2:38 to 3:33)
Dutch Mantell says The Ultimate Warrior looked alright before his WWE Hall of Fame induction
The Ultimate Warrior's passing sent shockwaves through the wrestling world as the former WWE Champion appeared on RAW the previous day.
On April 8, 2014, he suffered a heart attack outside a hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, and passed away at a nearby hospital a short time later at the age of 54.
Speaking about his demise, Dutch Mantell mentioned that The Warrior looked like himself before his Hall of Fame induction:
"He looked like Warrior to me," Mantell continued. "He didn't look like he was sick. He didn't look flushed, he looked OK. But every time I saw him he always looked inflated, because he was. So I didn't look for anything out of the ordinary." (from 3:50 to 4:08)
The Ultimate Warrior was one of pro wrestling's biggest stars in the late 1980s. WWE introduced the Warrior Award to keep his memory and legacy alive, as the honor is annually given out at the Hall of Fame ceremony.
Please credit Wrestling Shoot Interviews with H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use any quotes from the article!
