Actually he is not dead. That has been a rumor going around for years. That rumor, if I remember correctly, started in WCW when they brought out a wrestler named Renagade who was a cheap rip off of Warrior.
I am not 100 percent sure about where that rumor started.
I do know for a fact that the original Ultimate Warrior, Jim Helwig, is alive and kickin.
i heard the rumor right after wrestlemania 6. i know all about the renegade.