THANK YOU, AND REST IN PEACE, ULTIMATE WARRIOR

He knew.
He had to know.
There was no other reason that Jim Hellwig had to make his peace with Vince McMahon and the WWE after all these years.
The Ultimate Warrior was dying. For real this time.
How else do you explain it? In the last year, he came back into the fold and allowed his likeness in the WWE's popular video game series. He got the full DVD documentary treatment. He went into the WWE Hall of Fame. He signed the Legends Contract, which allows his likeness to continue to be used for more DVD's and T-shirts and more and more merchandise (including, but not limited to, that mask he wore in the ring in his now prophetic last promo on Monday Night Raw).
And why would he do all that now?
Plain and simple: Money.
Money for his family. He was dying, and he wanted to make sure they were taken care of.
And it breaks my heart that it came down to that.
This was someone I grew up watching. Playing as a video game character on the old WWF Superstars arcade game (remember when we left our house and paid at 25 cents just for the chance to play a video game). I'd team him and "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase to cause havoc in the ring. He was the guy whose intensity made him the guy who you knew was going to put on a show.
But as often occurs in an industry where egos run wilder than the Warrior's high octane entrance, Warrior's time in the limelight exploded. Over money, natch. This was still in the days that boys were the boys, before some of the guaranteed money that are built into the contracts of current WWE performers. Drinking, drugs, partying, sharing rooms and rental cars to save money and backstabbing were more the norm if you believe the stories from the era.
And with his physique, the cloud of steroid abuse followed him -- and likely played a role in his estrangement from the McMahon empire in the first place. And, when all is said and done, the abuse he put his body through (steroids or just the wrestling business in general) will have contributed to his premature death.
So while I remain just swimming through the emotions of his death, I'm happy he buried the hatchet and protected his legacy. He deserved it for all the moments of happiness he gave to his Warriors through the years.