WWE announced that the Ultimate Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig) will headline the 2014 class of WWE Hall of Fame inductees on Monday, Jan 13 after being out of the professional wrestling business for 18 years.

“The Ultimate Warrior was the most intense, colorful, competitive and outspoken Superstar in sports entertainment history, and his contributions to WWE were extraordinary. We are thrilled to induct The Ultimate Warrior into the WWE Hall of Fame,” Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO of WWE, said in a statement.

Throughout his wrestling career, Warrior, now 54, won two Intercontinental Championships and participated in one of the most passionate rivalries in professional wrestling with Hulk Hogan. One of Warrior’s most infamous matches was the WWE Championship match in WrestleMania VI, 1990, in which Warrior defeated Hogan to take the title.

Hulk Hogan Congratulates The Ultimate Warrior

Despite their rivalry, Hogan recently said that he was happy with Warrior’s upcoming inclusion into the WWE Hall of Fame.

“He’s a good choice for the Hall of Fame… he’s a good man,” Hogan told TMZ.

Though Warrior has been out of the industry since 1998, he has had a career in WWE video games. In 2012, Warrior appeared as a character in ‘WWE2K14.’

The WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place Sunday, April 6, 2014 at the New Orleans Arena, kicking off Wrestle Mania XXX. Tickets go on sale Saturday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m. ET. The ceremony will also air live on WWE Network.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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