5 Wrestlers Ultimate Warrior Made Look Legit (& 5 He Made Look Like A Joke)

The Ultimate Warrior is one of the most controversial figures in the history of professional wrestling, and for good reason. While he was one of the biggest stars of the 80s and 90s, he wasn't exactly the greatest in the ring. Beyond the ring, he wasn't well-liked either, as he commonly used backstage politics to always win.

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Well, not always. Throughout his wrestling career, The Ultimate Warrior did make a lot of incredible wrestlers and performers look like a joke. However, the former WWE champion also did occasionally put over talent, and it was a major deal when he actually did so.

10 Joke: Orlando Jordan

It's quite fitting that The Ultimate Warrior's final match saw him bury a talent that was much better, and younger than him at the time. In 2008, the former WWE champion traveled to Spain to compete in the Nu-Wrestling Evolution promotion, and face Orlando Jordan.

This match went over 17 minutes and was pretty terrible. To make matters worse, Jordan was pinned clean and lost his NWE heavyweight title. The title change and the win were extra pointless considering Warrior retired post-match.

9 Legit: Andre The Giant

To be fair, Andre The Giant didn't need to be made to look legit by The Ultimate Warrior. As one of the most beloved wrestlers in the history of the sport, his legacy was already secure by 1988. Andre and Warrior feuded for two years, mostly on the house show circuit.

RELATED: 4 Wrestlers Andre The Giant Made Look Legit (& 4 He Made Look Like A Joke)

Warrior, in classic fashion, won nearly every single match in the rivalry. However, in an April house show in Italy in 1998, Giant reportedly squashed the rarely-pinned wrestler in seconds.

8 Joke: Triple H

In March 1996, The Ultimate Warrior made his return to the WWE against Hunter Hearst Helmsley at WrestleMania XII. While it's hard to believe now, the latter was made to look like a joke in one of the most high-profile burials in WrestleMania history.

Triple H started fast, landing a pedigree. However, before he could even attempt a cover, Warrior was already up. He wound up pinning the future WWE CCO in a little over 90 seconds.

7 Legit: Rick Rude

Rick Rude is one of the few performers who knew how to get the best out of The Ultimate Warrior. The pair wrestled dozens of times in the WWE, and while they weren't all classics, they did have several great matches together.

In fact, Rude is one of the few to score a win over Warrior. At WrestleMania V in 1989, he even picked up a victory over the rarely-pinned legend to earn the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

6 Joke: Jerry Lawler

While it's often forgotten, The Ultimate Warrior's final WWE feud came in 1996 against Jerry 'The King' Lawler. The commentator famously began the feud by smashing a painting over the legend on an episode of RAW.

RELATED: Ultimate Warrior Vs. Jerry Lawler: The Final WWE Feud Of The Warrior's Career, Explained

However, that was essentially the only offense Lawler got in the feud. They had a blowoff match at King of the Ring that year, with Warrior picking up the easy win in under four minutes.

5 Legit: Sgt. Slaughter

The Ultimate Warrior had a lengthy feud with Sgt. Slaughter in 1991, with the latter being the WWE heavyweight champion at the time. Shockingly, the latter got the better of the majority of the feud, even picking up a high-profile win at the Royal Rumble that year.

While the wins did help put over Slaughter as a legit champion, the matches themselves were honestly terrible. Warrior wasn't great in the ring normally. However, he had zero chemistry with Slaughter whatsoever.

4 Joke: Tully Blanchard

Yes, even one of the Four Horsemen was made to look like a joke. On a 1989 episode of WWE Prime Time Wrestling, Tully Blanchard faced The Ultimate Warrior for the first time ever. It also wound up being the last time, and for good reason.

In classic Warrior fashion, he dominated Blanchard and completely no-sold everything the latter threw at him. As if that wasn't enough, he also ended up getting the victory by disqualification as Arn Anderson interrupted the match to stop the beatdown.

3 Legit: Randy Savage

The Macho Man, Randy Savage is similar to Rick Rude in terms of chemistry. Both men aimed to not just have passable matches with The Ultimate Warrior, but instead put on a great show, and maximize the potential the two had together.

Savage arguably had the most chemistry of anyone with Warrior. Not even just in singles' action either, as the two had a great run as a tag team dubbed 'The Ultimate Maniacs'.

2 Joke: Honky Tonk Man

Honky Tonk Man arguably was made to look like a joke worse than any other opponent The Ultimate Warrior faced. While names such as Triple H only lost a short squash match, that wasn't the case here. The two faced off a staggering 62 times from 1988 to 1995.

During that stretch, Honky Tonk Man won just six times, all by the way of count out. Meanwhile, Warrior dominated the field, picking up high-profile wins on television and even winning in just 31 seconds at SummerSlam 1988 to win the WWE Intercontinental title.

1 Legit: Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan didn't need to be made to look legit by The Ultimate Warrior, but that's what happened. At WrestleMania VI, the two faced off in what is more comparable to a heavyweight championship boxing match than a wrestling match. They fed off the crowd perfectly, with the tension being palpable.

While Hogan came up short, the match was praised and is still beloved today. Both men came out looking legit as well, which is hard to do. Sadly, Hogan later got his win back in WCW at Halloween Havoc 1998, in one of the most high-profile panned matches ever.