Dana Warrior blogs about heroes in the WWE Universe

“… If what that man did in his life makes the blood pulse through the body of others and makes them believe deeper in something larger than life, then his essence, his spirit, will be immortalized by the storytellers, by the loyalty, by the memory of those who honor him and make whatever the man did live forever.” — The Ultimate Warrior

I can never read that quote or hear my husband speak it without crying. Nearly three years later, I don’t weep with the shattered heart I did in the start. I smile and shed a tear of pride. To everyone else’s ears, his final public words are an eerily prophetic proclamation. To me, he spoke an assignment … one I have worked diligently to show up and complete daily since he died in my arms.

Warrior was not only speaking of Ultimate Warrior in those final sentiments, although the brushstrokes of his words certainly have the mark of his indelible mask. Warrior was once again championing the everyday, behind-the-scenes heroes, as he did in his WWE Hall of Fame speech. Warrior’s Ultimate call to arms of honoring true heroes is perhaps his most poignant legacy. It is with powerful pride I share the platform WWE has offered me to honor those my husband wished to see credited.

As a writer, when Warrior called upon the storytellers to champion unsung heroes, I heard a whisper in my ear that he meant me. This light voice has resonated and grown into his booming decibel as time unfolded and a broken heart began to heal. When I was approached about shining a spotlight on heroes making a difference in communities across the world, I wept once more; this time with purpose. Having the ability to put on such a public platform true heroes to be embraced by the WWE Universe is exactly what my husband called me to do. I knew his heart, his mind, his very soul. When he took his last breath, he entrusted me with the assignment to carry on his Warrior Mission and so I shall, not in the ring; but in word and in service.

We all have heroes. Some we know and some we feel as though we do. Some heroes have changed the world while others only our tiny slice of it. Heroes are not always mighty giants, they are often tiny little ladies, or even tinier children we lose to a savage disease. These heroes makes us strive to be better people — the kind of people they are in our eyes — so that one day we might see the ghost of their reflection in another’s eyes cast upon us, too.

Heroes live in your community, your workplace, your school, your home. My mission will be to seek them out and tell their story in the hope that they will inspire others to give back.

Every single one of you, woven into the fabric of the WWE Universe, is a storyteller. I will count on you to help me know the unsung heroes in the world in which you live. I will travel near and far to meet, listen to, then tell the stories of those who have made the selfless choice of service to others and in so doing have immortalized their work as important enough to “live forever.”

I am honored, in advance, to meet these incredible heroes. I am humbled to be the chosen storyteller. I will champion those too humble to seek glory, and too busy making a difference in the world to even want it.

I believe in service.

I believe with all my healing heart this is a mission worthy of this storyteller, this warrior woman. I believe in heroes and their stories — always!

 xo, d