Before his untimely passing, The Ultimate Warrior was given a rare chance to save his WWE legacy. This opportunity turned out to be Ultimate Warrior: The Ultimate Collection and it will give you a new appreciation for one of wrestling’s most polarizing figures.
The biggest smear job ever produced by the WWE was a DVD a few years back which ripped apart the Ultimate Warrior as a performer, a businessman, and a man. Warrior’s legacy was shredded apart by his peers, leaving viewers with an opinion that the Warrior was over-hyped, terrible in the ring, and made it on luck over talent.
The new DVD, T\Ultimate Warrior: The Ultimate Collection gives the Warrior a chance to tell his own story. It’s one of the best documentaries the company has ever produced in that it left very few stones unturned and offers a side to the Warrior that most fans have never seen. Whether you like the Warrior or not, and I have always been in the middle on him, you can’t help but have a new appreciation for him coming out of this production.
I won’t go through the entire DVD because I don’t want to give everything away before you get a chance to see it. I’ll just jump around and recap some of the highlights on the DVD. I should mention that the format of the DVD features Warrior talking between matches about the match and/or opponent followed by a match or sometimes even two. This differs from most DVDs in that nobody but the Warrior talks throughout the DVD.
Warrior goes into detail about breaking into the business with Sting. He reveals that even though he and Sting were tag team partners, they weren’t necessarily close friends. Warrior describes Sting as someone who likes to be told what to do which is where they differ. They show an early match with the Bladerunners from Mid-South which is just a quick squash, in addition to a promo video. They were both green as grass but you could definitely see some potential in each of them.
Warrior talks about developing his character in World Class and finally going to the WWE. Warrior puts over the jobbers quite a bit who he worked with along the way. The DVD features some squash of these early squash matches and it is interesting to see how raw Warrior was in those early days compared to later in the DVD when he is at his peak in 1989.
Warrior has nice things to say about all of his opponents. Warrior puts over Bobby Heenan, Hercules, and Harley Race. There is a match from Boston between Harley and Warrior. What I took away from this match is how you can see Warrior starting to improve in the ring. By the standards of that time period it was a pretty decent match.
The Warrior covers his first intercontinental title win. Warrior says the timing was right and was excited to take the belt. A couple of matches are shown featuring Warrior against Honkytonk Man. One thing you cannot dispute whether you like him or not is how over Warrior was at this point. The fans were going crazy during both matches, especially the title win. It takes more than just luck to connect with a crowd the way Warrior did.
Warrior goes in depth about his relationship with Randy Savage. Warrior liked Savage and felt that Savage was like him in that he was always ready to go. He talks about the chemistry they had and really enjoyed working with Randy. A great match is featured here from Boston Gardens between I-C champ Warrior and WWE champ Savage.
Warrior has some interesting things to say about dropping the belt to Rick Rude. Warrior said he had no problem with it and says he saw the bigger picture (rematches and their WWE title feud) later on. Warrior says that titles don’t mean as much to him and that he didn’t need belts to be better. “I never got caught up about the belt, not like guys like Bret Hart.” Warrior said he had no problem with that mindset although it seemed odd that he went out of his way to use Bret as an example here.
One thing I thought was kind of interesting was when he talked about Andre the Giant. Bobby Heenan has said in past interviews how Andre was not a fan of Warrior’s. Yet Warrior thinks he and Andre had a real good relationship. Warrior points to a spot in their matches where Andre would sell his bear hug and how much that meant to him. Warrior says the contrast of styles made for intriguing matches. Warrior says he was honored to work with Andre and remarked that Andre was always in a good mood around him. Warrior talked about how happy Andre was which contradicts how most people remember Andre back then. Even Andre’s close friends have described the Giant as miserable and in a lot of pain during this time period.
Warrior spends some time talking about his WrestleMania 6 title win. Warrior remarks that the company knew they couldn’t turn him heel like Hogan’s other opponents. Warrior loved the match, especially the chemistry he and Hogan had. I watched the match again and it was much better than I remember it. What was interesting in watching the match is how the fans slowly moved to Hogan during the match. I think it is fair to say that the match is either the second or third most famous WrestleMania match in history.
Warrior goes through the rest of his career including his series with The Undertaker, his return at WrestleMania 8, and later in 1996. One of the most anticipated segments of the DVD was how he would address his failed WCW run. Warrior doesn’t sling a whole lot of mud here although he does make an accusation about Eric Bischoff that I had never heard before.
One thing that the Warrior never really covers are exits out of the WWE. Warrior never gives his side of the stories which may actually be a good thing in retrospect. Warrior comes off as humble and classy throughout the production. Throwing salt on those old wounds may have muddied up the tone of the production.
Surprisingly my biggest takeaways from this DVD set came from the matches and not so much the documentary. There is no way you can criticize the Warrior’s work or blow off his success as lucky after watching the matches. He connected with the fans during that time period like nobody other than Hulk Hogan did. When given decent opponents he had very good matches and often told good stories in the ring. These aren’t the kind of matches you would expect from the person characterized in the first DVD.
I would highly recommend the DVD. It is over eight hours long and full of fun matches from the 1980s and 1990s. The Blu-Ray comes with some extras that make spending a couple of extra bucks worth the cost. If you are a fan of Warrior, the time period, or just looking for a compelling wrestling documentary, you won’t do much better than Ultimate Warrior: The Ultimate Collection.
Disc 1
Warriors Back!
Finding Wrestling
The Blade Runners vs. Perry Jackson & Shawn O’Reilly
UWF • April 11, 1986
Move to WCCW
Dingo Warrior vs. Chris Adams
WCCW • August 8, 1986
Arrival in WWE
Ultimate Warrior vs. Barry Horowitz
Wrestling Challenge • November 7, 1987
Ultimate Warrior vs. Steve Lombardi
Superstars • November 14, 1987
Getting Noticed
Ultimate Warrior vs. Harley Race
Boston, MA • March 5, 1988
Upgrading Warrior
Weasel Suit Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
Los Angeles, CA • July 15, 1988
Intercontinental Champion
Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. The Honky Tonk Man
SummerSlam • August 29, 1988
Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Honky Tonk Man
Philadelphia, PA • December 17, 1988
The Macho Man
WWE Championship and Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho Man Randy Savage
Boston, MA • February 11, 1989
Simply Ravishing
Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude
SummerSlam • August 28, 1989
Building Momentum
Ultimate Warrior vs. Bob Bradley
Prime Time Wrestling • September 18, 1989
Ultimate Warrior vs. Brian Costello
Prime Time Wrestling • December 25, 1989
Ultimate Warrior confronts Andre on Brother Love Show
Superstars • July 29, 1989
Memories of Andre
Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Andre the Giant
Madison Square Garden • October 28, 1989
Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Andre the Giant
Saturday Night’s Main Event • November 25, 1989
DISC 2
Leading to Toronto
Ultimate Warrior Promo “Crash the Plane”
Superstars • March 10, 1990
Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Mr. Perfect
Madison Square Garden • March 19, 1990
Running to the Ring
The Ultimate Challenge
WWE Championship vs. Intercontinental Championship Match
Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior
WrestleMania VI • April 1, 1990
Responsibilities of the Champion
WWE Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Million $ Man Ted DiBiase
Wrestling Summit • April 13, 1990
WWE Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. “Ravishing” Rick Rude
Saturday Night’s Main Event • July 28, 1990
WWE Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Million $ Man Ted DiBiase
The Main Event • November 23, 1990
WWE Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter
Huntsville, AL • January 7, 1991
DISC 3
WWE Ultimate Warrior: Ultimate Collection DVDNew Direction
Steel Cage Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho King Randy Savage
Madison Square Garden • January 21, 1991
Ultimate Warrior ends Brother Loves Career
Superstars • March 2, 1991
No Limitations
Career Ending Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho King Randy Savage
WrestleMania VII • March 24, 1991
Into the Darkness
Ultimate Warrior on Paul Bearers Funeral Parlour
Superstars • April 13, 1991
Ultimate Warrior vs. The Undertaker
Toronto, ON • June 2, 1991
Returning
Gene Okerlund Interviews Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage
Superstars • July 25, 1992
Ultimate Maniacs
“Riding on the Edge of a Lightning Bolt”
Superstars • November 14, 1992
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Money Inc. vs. Ultimate Warrior & Macho Man Randy Savage
Saturday Night’s Main Event • November 14, 1992
Reestablish
“Faster Than a Cheetah”
RAW • March 11, 1996
Ultimate Warrior vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
WrestleMania XII • March 31, 1996
Warrior Confronts Goldust
RAW • April 8, 1996
Ultimate Warrior Returns!
Vince McMahon Interviews Jerry “The King” Lawler and Ultimate Warrior
RAW • June 10, 1996
Ultimate Warrior vs. Jerry the King Lawler
King of the Ring • June 23, 1996
Going to WCW
Ultimate Warrior Interrupts Hollywood Hogan
Nitro • August 17 1998
Replusive
Ultimate Warrior Promo
Nitro • October 26, 1998
The Right Story
Blu-ray Exclusives
Dingo Warrior vs. Matt Bourne
WCCW • October 24, 1986
Ultimate Warrior & The British Bulldogs vs. Demolition & Mr Fuji
Maple Leaf Gardens • July 24, 1988
Intercontinental Championship Match
Ultimate Warrior vs. Dino Bravo
The Main Event • February 23, 1990
WrestleMania VII Contract Signing
Road to WrestleMania VII • March 17, 1991
Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter
WrestleFest • March 30, 1991
Intercontinental Championship Match
Goldust vs. Ultimate Warrior
In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies • April 28, 1996
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Eric G.
Eric is the owner and editor-in-chief of the Camel Clutch Blog. Eric has worked in the pro wrestling industry since 1995 as a ring announcer in ECW and a commentator/host on television, PPV, and home video. Eric also hosted Pro Wrestling Radio on terrestrial radio from 1998-2009. Check out some of Eric's work on his IMDB bio and Wikipedia. Eric has an MBA from Temple University's Fox School of Business.
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