5 little-known WWE backstage disagreements

#2 The Ultimate Warrior and the WWE RAW baseball cap segment

The Ultimate Warrior did not want to suffer an injury

In March 1996, The Ultimate Warrior competed in his first WWE match in three-and-a-half years when he defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley at WrestleMania 12. He went on to face Goldust, Isaac Yankem, and Owen Hart before starting a feud with Jerry Lawler.

Ahead of their match at WWE King of the Ring, Warrior and Lawler exchanged words during an in-ring promo on WWE RAW alongside Vince McMahon. The segment ended as planned, with Lawler hitting Warrior across the back of his head with a framed portrait of the former WWE Champion.

While that part went according to plan, Warrior’s choice of attire was not received very well backstage. Bruce Prichard said on his podcast that he “went f***ing nuts” when Warrior decided to prevent a possible injury by wearing a baseball cap.

Another important person behind the scenes in WWE at the time, Jim Ross, gave his honest take on the segment on his Grilling JR podcast.

“Selfishness. Lack of trust, lack of understanding. You’re working with Jerry Lawler, for God’s sakes. You think Lawler’s gonna hurt you? No, he isn’t. You think you’re the first guy to get hit over the head with a framed picture? No, you’re not.”

Ross accused Warrior of trying to hijack the angle. He added that nobody in WWE knew Warrior was going to wear the hat and he “went into business for himself” that day.