10 of the most controversial wrestlers of all time

#2 The Ultimate Warrior

Jim "Warrior" Hellwig, here portraying the Ultimate Warrior character.

The Ultimate Warrior got his start in the pro wrestling business after being scouted at a bodybuilding competition. He would join Powerteam USA along with Steve "Sting" Borden, and they would continue to team together after Powerteam USA disbanded.

As the Blade Runners, the duo were meant to be evocative of the Road Warriors gimmick. Eventually the two went their separate ways, with Sting joining the NWA--and eventually WCW--while the Warrior would sign with WWE.

Warrior was insanely popular during his initial WWE run, squashing Honky Tonk Man at the first SummerSlam to capture the IC title and then also winning the WWE championship at Wrestlemania VI.

But when Warrior's in-ring career came to an end, he began to say some things that were unheroic. He seemed angry that Martin Luther King had a holiday named after him, mocked Hurricane Katrina victims, and said to a group of Republicans at U Conn "Queering don't make the world work."

Warrior seems to have mellowed out before his death, but he was mired in controversy for much of his post-wrestling life.