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Speak to me...warriors!
Publisher: Shock
Mon, 24 October 2005
by: The Gimmick
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Back in the late 80's through to the early 90's The Ultimate Warrior was one of the most popular, if not the most popular, wrestlers in the WWE. He seemed to have everything that a superstar could dream of, then just as quickly as he rose to prominence, he disappeared. Did he become a rodeo clown? Did he become a cabaret singer? Or did he just slip back into obscurity back to Parts Unknown? This DVD tells the story of The Ultimate Warrior by the people around him in the WWE at the time.
Ok, it starts at the beginning of his career (how strange that a DVD would start at the start!) briefly describing the few territories he worked in, including UWF & WCCW among a few others and under the few names he took on, such as Blade Runner Rock and The Dingo Warrior. From there he quickly jumped to the WWE and this is where his story begins. For anyone thinking this is going to be a tribute to his fleeting yet highly successful career, you'll be very disappointed. This is basically a public bashing of the man once known as The Ultimate Warrior. For what reason Vince McMahon thought this story needed to be told is beyond me, but The Warrior (which is his real legal name now) must've done something to piss uncle Vince off, I can't think of any other reason for it. Anyway besides the bashing, it tells his meteoric rise battling such past stars as Hercules, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Andre The Giant & his memorable match for the WWE title at WrestleMania VI, Hulk Hogan.
 | | The boys got in trouble for stealing their mother's lipstick |
There is a section of the DVD that pertains to the whereabouts of Parts Unknown & being a native of Parts Unknown I can tell you that it is a lovely place although Planet Buttonhole is a lot better. Another section which I thought was great was all about his unique interview style. If you have never heard his classic interviews from his earlier days in the company you must see them. I know that it was meant to be a piss-take on behalf of the WWE, but having grown up watching him, I loved watching the interviews which I saw as a kid and reciting them as well. Nothing gets a threat or point across like an interview about skeletons and gods and sacrificing mortals. If only our world leaders gave speeches like that we'd all feel a lot safer in these troubled times.
Just quickly, I find it rather amusing that Jim Ross talks about not understanding The Ultimate Warrior. Jim Ross sounds like he has a mouth full of mashed potatoes and a wasp stung him on the lips every time he talks. And he is a commentator! Sammy's note: I'm not meaning to be overly serious here, or a Jim Ross suck up, but JR can't really help having (even more) trouble speaking clearly these days. He suffers from Bell's Palsy which has paralyzed both sides of his face.
Now the main controversy about this is why he left in August of 1991. Apparently according to Vince, on the night of SummerSlam 91 he was in the main event with Hulk Hogan taking on Sgt. Slaughter, Gen. Adnan & Col. Mustafa in a handicap tag team match. Right before he was about to go out, he told Vince he wanted a substantial amount of money or else he wasn't going out to wrestle. Vince reluctantly agreed to pay him and once the match was over Vince fired him on the spot. It wasn't until March the next year that The Warrior was brought back But by November of 1992 he was fired again this time due to a failed drug test. In 1996 though Vince decided to unleash The Ultimate Warrior onto the WWE fans one more time, and again within 4 months he was fired. This time over a dispute over The Warrior's wanting of time off to grieve over the death of his father. Vince argued The Warrior hadn't spoken to his father for about 10 years and didn't deserve the time off, which Warrior took regardless. And from there we saw the last of The Ultimate Warrior in a wrestling ring. He did turn up in WCW during the last few years of that company's existence, but from the match or two he actually had with them, you could tell he had some ring rust and Eric Bischoff wasn't willing to pay him the incredible amount he wanted to sign a multi year deal with WCW.
Along with the documentary there are some of his most famous matches, such as, his match with The Honky Tonk Man from SummerSlam 88. The Ultimate Warrior Vs "Ravishing" Rick Rude from SummerSlam 90, His "Retirement Match" from WrestleMania VII with "Macho King" Randy Savage and his most memorable against Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania VI. Also a few little bits and pieces including a match against perennial journey man Terry Gibbs from 1987.
 | | He gets quite a bit of attention doing his grocery shopping in this get up. |
This was a cool DVD but in my opinion there was no need to bury the legacy of The Ultimate Warrior as a character. Now all he's going to be remembered as is a guy who was fired all the time and no one liked, just like Jim Ross. But unlike Jim Ross, he has been publicly buried and no matter what he did you shouldn't air your dirty laundry like that. Unless they're gonna do a series of these about other superstars who nobody liked backstage, like Goldberg and Triple H. Highly unlikely!
I like to keep things as balanced as possible so do me a favour and check out these two links to The Ultimate Warriors website rebuttal of the DVD. Let me know what you think after reading them.
Link 1 & Link 2
And remember, never trust a midget or anyone with 2 first names.
by: The Gimmick
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More articles by The Gimmick
As I said earlier if you're looking for a pleasant memory of The Ultimate Warrior you may be sadly disappointed. This score is mainly for reasons of nostalgia | |
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