Shad Gaspard is being honored as this year’s WWE Warrior Award recipient.
FOX Sports’ Ryan Satin reports WWE has confirmed Shad Gaspard as this year’s Warrior Award recipient. According to Satin, Gaspard’s wife and son will be accepting the award on his behalf. F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer first reported Gaspard would receive this year’s award in Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Shad Gaspard passed away after saving his son from a riptide while they were swimming at Venice Beach, California. Gaspard told lifeguards to save his son, Aryeh, before helping him, but he disappeared into the water soon after. After an extensive search for him, Gaspard’s passing was confirmed on May 17, 2020. He was 39 years old.
Shad Gaspard has been posthumously named the recipient of the 2022 Warrior Award. Named after WWE Hall of Famer The Ultimate Warrior, The Warrior Award is presented to an individual who has exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance and who lives life with the courage and compassion that embodies the indomitable spirit of The Ultimate Warrior. The news was first reported by Foxsports.com.
The Warrior Award presentation will be part of the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Friday, April 1, at American Airlines Center in Dallas as part of WrestleMania Week. The event will stream live exclusively on Peacock in the U.S. and WWE Network everywhere else.
A larger-than-life Superstar with boundless charisma, Shad passed away on May 17, 2020. While swimming with his son, the pair got caught in a strong current in Venice Beach, Cal. In a heroic act of love, the concerned father instructed lifeguards to save his son before himself and disappeared soon after. Days later, his passing was confirmed. He was 39 years old.
Shad’s bravery and selflessness will be honored next Friday with the 2022 Warrior Award as part of the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer Induction Ceremony.
The WWE Warrior Award was established in 2015. Connor “The Crusher” Michalek, Joan Lunden, Eric LeGrand, Jarrius “JJ” Robertson, Sue Aitchison, Rich Hering and Titus O’Neil are the past recipients of the award.
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