By Greg Parks, PWTorch columnist

How can one eulogize The Ultimate Warrior and do justice to the man and character, when Warrior himself did just that less than 24 hours before his death?

This is difficult for me to write. I don't want to glorify Warrior because of what he has said over the years and what those comments represent. But this is as much about a character as it is the man, though Warrior himself made it almost impossible to separate the two over the last 25 years.

I began watching wrestling around the time the Warrior rose to prominence in WWE, making him inextricably tied to my childhood memories. Like most people, I found Warrior fascinating simply because of how different he was. As a kid, the term "work rate" meant nothing to me; I simply saw this colorful ball of energy surge in and out of the ring each Saturday afternoon. The face-paint, the tassels, the rope-shaking, the physique. It was all smoke-and-mirrors to distract from his lack of in-ring prowess.

Because of this, I was excited when Warrior and WWE had mended fences enough for him to join the Hall-of-Fame. Had I not been a child of the late 80s-early 90s, I could've instead been offended by WWE making nice with a man who has spewed so much hatred over the years and for whom those in the wrestling business have held almost universal disdain.

In the end, those two days he once again stepped his boot on WWE soil helped exacerbate the shock and pain felt by many fans upon his passing. It would've been so much easier if Warrior had stayed out of the public eye, shrouded by his hatred, his stinging, vile words about Hulk Hogan's family and homosexuals the last memories most would have.

But no. Warrior's last two appearances humanized him in more ways than one. To see the love his wife had for him and vice-versa, the way his daughters looked up at him in awe as so many fans have over the years. His mother, so proud of her son. It was a side of Warrior we had never seen, and a peek behind the curtain that made one think, "well, he can't be ALL bad."

Warrior's look humanized him as well. There was no face paint. There were no bulging muscles, no long, stringy hair. He looked like a normal, 54-year old father, perhaps more frail thanks to years of admitted steroid abuse and pro wrestling bumps. For these two nights, he was just a guy, separated somewhat from the Ultimate Warrior character. It was like he was allowing the fans inside to see the real him, one few have seen over the years. There was never a sense of appreciation for the fans by Warrior during his career. We got that on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

It would've been so much easier for so many fans had none of this happened. And yet, most fans are also thankful he was able to say one last goodbye to the wrestling business and its fans. It was closure. Closure some thought would never come. Closure for the Warrior and closure for his fans.

It only seems appropriate that, thanks to his near-prophetic promo on Raw, Warrior's death is surrounded by the same mystery and mysticism that made the character famous and beloved by fans for decades.

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