Customer Reviews

The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior

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4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

First things first, I am was and still am a HUGE Ultimate Warrior fan. I got back into wrestling from 1997-2002 (I still watch it here and there but no longer consider myself a fan any more) and cheered for wrestlers like The Rock before he was big all the way up until he left (probably the single biggest reason why I lost interest in WWE again). Before that time I was a WWF fan from 1987-1993 and I absolutely loved the Ultimate Warrior. Bar none, he is my favorite wrestler of all time, as short a moment in time as it was.

I state this to make it known that I was extremely excited when I heard that WWE was releasing an Ultimate Warrior DVD, scouring the Internet for news on a daily basis to learn more about what was being released regarding my favorite wrestler of all time. I knew that this was not going to be any love-fest by the WWE brain trust, but I didn't care. Just the ability to see the warrior in the DVD format and have others talk about the individual that made moments of my sometimes crappy childhood filled with joy... it took me back to happy moments that you cannot easily feel again.

After having rushed out to pick up "The Self Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior" and watched the 1.5 hour special about his career in the ring, I find that it was a very FAIR assessment of Warrior's wrestling legacy. Other Ultimate Warrior fans have written online that this DVD badmouths the former Mr. Hellwig and puts him in a light that isn't completely accurate. In a situation of "he said she said" usually the truth lies somewhere in between so I am sure that this DVD isn't 100% accurate, but my overall impression of this disc is that it is very FAIR (and again, I remind you that I was about as a big a fan as there is of The Ultimate Warrior).

Starting off with the origins of the Ultimate Warrior from Rock to Dingo Warrior to Ultimate Warrior, this DVD speaks of UW's quick rise from a house show wrestler to beating the Honky Tonk Man in 30 seconds at SummerSlam 1988 in Madison Square Garden. Following Warrior's rise in popularity, the UW does the unthinkable on April 1, 1990 in Toronto, Canada at WrestleMania VI as he CLEANLY beats Hulk Hogan in the middle of the ring in what is the penultimate moment of my wrestling fan "career". From this point on we learn how the Warrior defended that very title as best as he could (and I truly believe the Warrior did the best he could do), until he eventually lost it to Sgt. Slaughter and arguably then had the best match of his career with Randy Savage at WrestleMania VII. The Ultimate Warrior's 1st run with the WWF came to an end in 1991 when (as the WWF and Vince claim - Warrior himself says this isn't true) during the SummerSlam PPV Warrior demanded more money or he wouldn't perform. After a 7 month hiatus we see The Ultimate Warrior make his incredibly shocking return at the end of WM VIII to begin his 2nd run with the WWF which would only last a mere 8 months or so. Warrior's last 2 runs at wrestling for major promotions are covered in his 4 month 1996 WWF run and his 3 month 1998 WCW run (he hasn't wrestled in a big promotion since that time).

Throughout the history of UW's wrestling career we get comments from Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, Ted Dibiase, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund, Jim Ross, Hulk Hogan, Bruce Pritchard, Jerry Lawler, Christian, Chris Jericho, Ric Flair and many others. To say that these fellow wrestlers put Warrior in a bad light is like saying that rotten eggs smell bad. It's quite evident that Jim (most of these guys refuse to call him Warrior unless it's with their eyes in the back of their heads) wasn't very popular in the back room, and never will be.

But as I have said numerous times in this review, IT'S FAIR.

You generally get the impression when someone is lying, and it's pretty evident that everyone on this DVD is speaking from their hearts. They truly believe what they are telling the camera about the Ultimate Warrior and it is highly entertaining to say the least.

As an individual that prides themselves on knowing as much as possible about The Ultimate Warrior, I learned new things about the man from Parts Unknown, more so than anything else, how little he was respected in the back room by "the boys". As much as wrestling is for the fans, when it comes to the end of the day, the most important thing is how you interact with your little wrestling family in the back room. The fans you see maybe 20 minutes a night, your fellow wrestlers the entire rest of the day. It's a shame that as loved as the Warrior was from 1989-1991, he was so disliked by everyone else.

If you read any of Warrior's posts on his web site (ultimatewarrior.com) he'll tell you over and over again how much he can't stand the WWF and that they are liars, but when you have so many people saying 1 thing and 1 other person saying another, you can't help but think that maybe the problem isn't everyone else. Mr. Hellwig (sorry, WARRIOR) would have you believe that Vince has "brainwashed" his entire stable, but after watching this DVD you will probably feel otherwise.

My only complaint is that as good as 1.5 hour feature is, this collection could have been even more. It's quite clear that no "double dipping" will be done for another Ultimate Warrior DVD, so why not have matches on here like Warrior/Slaughter from Royal Rumble 1991, the complete Super Posedown from RR1989 with Rick Rude, more interview segments like when he gets hits by Honky Tonk in summer 1988, Rude at WMV, Hercules at WMIV, the whole Jake feud in 1991 and so forth? There are a handful of matches on here including the 2 big ones with Hogan at WMVI (sadly Jesse Ventura's commentary had to be cut out) and Savage at WMVII, but this set of choices feels lacking.

Overall, a very entertaining DVD that any Warrior fan should take a look at, and any wrestling fan that wants to learn more about the Ultimate Warrior shouldn't ignore (especially if you are ignorant of the story of Warrior).

**** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

One of my favorite era's in WWF history is during the Ultimate Warrior's 1st run. I still get chills & my heart races watching the closing moments of WrestleMania VI. "The Self-Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior" is brutally honest. It takes a look at Jim Hellwig's career, touching on his start with Steve 'Sting' Borden as the 'Dingo' Warrior, & his various stints in other minor promotions before calling the WWF for a job. It covers some of the aspects of the Warrior that made him unique & appealing, like his ring enterances, & his extremely un-understandable interviews. Most of his major rivaleries & high spots are looked at, like Rick Rude, Andre The Giant, Bobby Heenan (who provides some awesome stories & insight though-out the DVD), his quick raise to the Intercontinental Title, his historic WWF Heavyweight Title victory, & other topics like why he left the WWF 3 times, his brief run in WCW, his horrible rematch against Hogan at 'Halloween Havoc', & more.

Extras include 5 matches:
Vs Terry Gibbs (debut match - note: no music, & he WALKS to the ring)
Vs Honky Tonk Man (SummerSlam 88, if you've never seen it, don't blink or you'll miss it)
Vs Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania VI, Title for Title)
Vs Rick Rude (SummerSlam 90, Steel Cage)
Vs Randy Savage (WrestleMania VII, 'Loser Must Retire' Match)

& some stories:
-Jerry Lawler tells a Warrior story from Memphis
-a promo for Warrior University
-Christian impersonates the Ultimate Warrior
-Ted DiBiase tells about an autograph signing with Warrior

Plus 2 hidden extras - both Warrior promos -
- In chapters, left click 'The Name Change' for 'Unleash the Warrior'
- In extra's, right click 'Warrior University' for 'The Journey Begins'

I bought the FYE exclusive, which contains a bonus DVD with 3 more matches:
Vs Hercules (MSG - 4/25/88)
Vs Sgt. Slaughter (Saturday Nights Main Event, 4/27/91)
Vs Randy Savage (SummerSlam 92)

- In a recent 'Ross Report' on WWE.com, a fan mentions 2 hidden extra's on the bonus disc. No hidden extras are on mine, so if anyone has any info on these extra's (perhaps another exclusive set), please post it as to where it's sold or where it is on the disc.

Anyway, very highly recommended. Warrior fans will appreciate it, non-Warrior fans will love it.

THE SELF-DESTRUCTION OF THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR

After being one of the most famous talked about wrestlers in the history of the sport it seemed as if we would never hear about The Warrior again after his short stint in WCW. But ah a form of filmmaking called the documentary as brought to life the memory of one of professional wrestling's most colorful forgotten figures. It seems like yesterday I was seeing the Warrior battle the likes of Ravishing Rick Rude, Andre The Giant, Hulk Hogan, Sgt Slaughter, and The Macho Man {at the time Macho King} Randy Savage. The last one in particular was the most exciting of his feuds, and I in particular was disappointed when The Warrior came out on top. Savage has always been a personal fav of mine, and I wish he had won that feud. But with that bias aside I have always found Warrior to be an entertaining figure.

One of the things I found that interested me the most was that he started out on his own as The Dingo Warrior in Dallas TX. I always knew that Warrior started out his career with Sting, but as a soloist it seems weird that The Ultimate One was once called Dingo. So that was the first surprise to me offered from this documentary, though that was far from the most surprising. One thing I enjoyed most from this DVD was all of the early video footage of Warrior; it seemed weird seeing him in the early stages of the development of his character. They even called him The Dingo Warrior in his earlier matches with WWE {I still say WWF}. The story of how he got the name change from Dingo to Ultimate was some what interesting seeing that Vince did the opposite of what he wanted. If you listen to what is said they say that didn't want another Warrior, since Animal & Hawk, and Kerry Von Eric already had that title in some way. But since he was more energetic, he was that much more ULTIMATE-hence the name. Also I found it interesting that nobody really liked the guy, especially The Weasel Bobby Heenan. The things he said about Warrior surprised the heck out of me, also I loved the footage of the weasel suit match. Also the fact that Andre knocked the crap out of him struck me funny, also a surprise Andre didn't like him. Let me stop and take time to ask a question, if you were the top guy in a major entertainment company, would you risk your career by not performing unless you get more money? Here's a better question would you do it minutes before you had to go on, I wouldn't but this guy did. I absolutely agree with Vince's decision to fire him, but I kinda wish Hogan's idea would have been carried out, because that was mad crooked. But to Vince's credit he gave Warrior another chance as any one who saw WRESTELMANIA 8 would know, as he returned to aid Hulk Hogan. Of course it seems that Warrior had a bit of a drug problem and again he was shown the door. And being the forgiving sole that Vince is he got a third and final chance. We all remember the short lived 96 Warrior who had his own comic book, cussed, and actually spoke were you could understand him {at times}, even wore the out of place cap. But even with victories over Vader, and then I-C Champ Goldust, he still skipped out and refused to show at promoted events. So with that said his glory days of the WWE came to an end, but that wasn't the end of his career. Remember the OWN {One Warrior Nation}, me neither. It took watching his return to wrestling with WCW to remind me. Of course with a name like that, it seems funny that there were TWO members in the ONE Warrior Nation, The Disciple was the second. Watching the footage from Nitro brought me back to that time period, and made me remember how great the hype was but how boring the actual rematch between Warrior & Hogan was. Next question for ya, if you had a history of being fired, and were very unreliable would you want way more money then any company would give you. My answer would be no, I would be happy to be employed in the big time again. So Warrior is gone, but that isn't the surprising thing, that would be his name change. This guy actually changed his legal name to Warrior, what the hell. And in a further attempt to keep his name he sued the WWE for millions for the right to his wrestling identity.

With all that aside the DVD actually has some great moments that highlight the man's career and also some humorous ones as well. Like the Ultimate Warrior's interviews, I actually never really noticed how crazy they were until I revisited them in the form of this documentary. To be honest some of them were actually good and made sense, well at least sounded cool I guess. And also the thing about him being from parts unknown was pretty funny, especially the guest speakers on the film like Jericho and Gene Okarland. But this DVD also includes great moments though out his career, like his classic feud with Randy Savage, his win over Hogan at Wrestlemania 6, and feuds with Rick Rude, Slaughter, and The Million Dollar Man. The DVD also includes 5 matches in their entirety, including Warrior vs, Terry Gibbs on Wrestling Challenge, vs Honky Tonk Man at Summerslam 88 for the I-C title, vs Hogan at Wrestlemania 6 title vs title, vs Rude at Summerslam 90 in a cage for the title, and vs Savage at Wrestlemania 7 in a retirement match.

This is with out a doubt one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long time, I recommend it to every body. Also Christian doing the Warrior interview was great.

Not quite the hatchet job it has been made out to be, this documentary actually does get across what a huge star Ultimate Warrior became, before his 15 minutes ran out. However, in the last third or so, it does become rather unrelenting negative in its portrayal of the guy, and it would've been better if he had been given the opportunity to give his side of the story.

Then again, having read some of the nonsense he's spewed in recent years, he does seem a little 'off', and it would've probably been quite difficult to get anything worthwhile from him. If anything, having him rant about himself on this DVD might've ended up making him look worse.

A must-buy for any wrestling fan who grew up in the 1980s.

If you're one of the clueless out there that think The Ultimate Warrior was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, then this DVD is probably not for you...

But if you're one of the sensible out there that know the Warrior was a slightly entertaining, mildly diverting, talentless musclehead who made no sense on the mic or in the ring at all, then you'll most likely enjoy this minor but amusing mini-documentary and handful of matches and extras.

Sure, he might seem interesting to little kids back in his heyday, but anyone over the age of twelve can see through this guy and know he's even less skilled as a pro-wrestler than Hulk Hogan. But thankfully he was never as bad as Lex Luger. No one's that bad...

This 1-disc DVD features about a 70-minute WWE-produced "documentary" on the rise and fall and rise and fall and rise and fall of one of the strangest wrestlers to ever appear in The Fed. It features interviews with many different WWE personalities, from Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon himself to Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, The Brooklyn Brawler, Ted DiBiase, Christian, Bobby Heenan, Edge, Chris Jericho and Gene Okerlund. There's also some archive interview footage of Triple H talking about his squash match with Warrior at WM XII where he jobbed for Warrior in a quick, forgettable match. I didn't like that part too much, since Hunter is still with the company and could have easily done another quick interview on the subject that was up to date and not half a decade old.

Some people might complain that this shouldn't have been released without interviewing The Warrior himself. But seriously, besides for comic relief, would you really want to hear his nonsensical ravings about things that either probably never happened or are blown way out of proportion? I didn't think so...

Of course, since this is an official WWE DVD, it is going to be biased toward the WWE side of things, naturally. However, this is not a "burial job" of The Warrior like everyone is saying it is. Anyone who grew up or watched wrestling during the Warrior's time in and out of WWE and WCW knew he was as difficult to work with as Val Kilmer and even stranger cutting a promo or doing an interview. The best part of the DVD shows some of his weirdest promos ever, with guys like Jericho, Edge, Christian and Heenan commenting on their silliness. Very funny stuff...

Overall, the documentary is light and fluffy, nothing too heady or controversial. It goes through his early days tagging with Sting and then his debut with WWF, taking the belt from the greatest IC champ of all time, The Honkytonk Man in one of the quickest squashes ever. Then it goes through his feuds with Ted DiBiase and Ravishing Rick Rude for the IC belt. Notice how he gets paired with wrestlers who can actually work in the ring? What a coincidence...It also goes into his international touring feud with Andre The Giant and this is also one of the better parts of the DVD, with Heenan telling a great story on how Andre got Warrior to "play ball." The world title win over Hulk Hogan is the centerpiece of the feature, then going into his main event feuds with Sergeant Slaughter and Randy Savage. I don't know about you, but some of my favorite moments in the WWE were back during the Royal Rumble/Wrestlemania period of 1991 when the Warrior and Savage faced off with some of the most jumbled, head-scratching, hilariously cryptic promos ever. So I guess they were a natural fit...The DVD talks about that fact as well quite humorously.

The doc ends with The Warrior leaving and returning and leaving and returning over and over again through the WWE and into WCW in a well-done segment. It only soldifies the argument that The Warrior was strange, self-centered, knew nothing about the business and was a terrible worker in the ring. His rise to fame and glory would have lasted longer if he weren't so volatile behind the scenes and actually tried to improve his in-ring skills. Ric Flair, Bobby Heenan and Ted DiBiase had some very frank and candid comments on their opinion of The Warrior; and they weren't the complimentary kind...

I'm sure a lot of people out there will make the argument that the WWE is just playing the bias card with this DVD, retelling wrestling history in their own image, not being to fair to the former Jim Hellwig and making him out to be worse than he really was. If that's true, then answer me this: is there any evidence over the last fifteen or so years to the contrary? Not one. Just check out his loony website or the shoot interview DVD that just came out or just check the internet for his college speaking tour videos. All of them are totally out there and painful to read/watch.

The DVD is rounded out with a few outtakes and 5 matches. The first two, one of his WWF debut against Terry Gibbs and the other his IC title win over Honky are mercifully short. The others...Not so much...Warrior versus Hogan at 'Mania VI is one of the worst main event matches in terms of actual in-ring wrestling. Hogan put on a better show with HBK at SummerSlam 2005. But he was in the ring with HBK, not Warrior. You do the math. The best match on here is Rick Rude versus Warrior for the IC title in a steel cage from SummerSlam 1990. Rude was one of the best workers in the WWF at the time and it shows here as he carries the clumsy, clueless Warrior through arguably UW's best match ever (if you can call a match featuring the Warrior good, that is). The final match is Warrior versus Savage in a retirement match. Unless you're five years old, retirement matches are retarded because we all know that even if they lose, they'll be back again some day. This is a decent match, carried by Savage who is severely underrated as one of the better workers of the Golden Period of the WWE: the late 80's thru the early 90's.

Bottom Line: The Self-Destruction Of The Ultimate Warrior is a light and fun disc if you're looking to reaffirm your opinion that the Warrior was a no-talent, insane bodybuilder posing as a wrestler and looking for some chuckles to get you through the day. It's also a nice nostalgia trip for those of us who cut our teeth during the late 80's and early 90's of WWE programming. It's sad to see that today's cards can hardly compare to back then. If you're a Warrior fan, you might want to look elsewhere for your fix...

...you know it's gonna be bad but you can't stop watching it. That basically describes this DVD about the Ultimate Warrior (which resulted in a lawsuit filed today) as it's ALMOST a complete burial on the man. I said it's an "almost" burial because certain people like Jericho & Christian did give him his respect on certain issues while people like Edge (who openly said he couldn't be a fan of Warrior's because of his allegiance to Hogan); Dibiase; Heenan; Lawler; McMahon & others just completely have nothing good to say at all. Just about everything about Warrior gets ripped on...ring entrance, wrestling skills, his bad career decisions, his bad attitude towards those in the locker room. His interviews are also touched upon as they focused on one he did leading up to WrestleMania VI (although on the DVD, they say it's the one he did at the event which it wasn't) including Christian doing a funny imitation of it.

The one thing that is very noticeable is how WWE did somethings to make Warrior look worse than he actually did & alter information (showed flyers advertising "WWF Champion Ultimate Warrior vs. Vader" when Warrior wasn't champion when Vader was around back in '96), them mocking how he's from Parts Unknown when they currently have characters using that same "location" (like Kane) along with the little things he did like shaking the ropes (which Batista currently does as well.)

Anyways, they discuss his time starting as Bladerunner Rock & Dingo Warrior all the way to his beginnings under Ultimate Warrior. His feuds with Hercules, Bobby Heenan in Weasel Suit matches, winning the Intercontinental Championship from Honky Tonk Man, feuds with Andre The Giant (Bobby tells a funny story regarding a match they had) & Rick Rude, the buildup to his match with Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI, feuds with Sgt. Slaughter & Randy Savage (who also has some shots taken at him) are covered along with the impact of his Intercontinental & WWE title reigns. It starts to go all downhill from here as they talk about the SummerSlam '91 incident; the name change to Warrior; his two returns to WWE including the train wreck feuds with Papa Shango & Jerry Lawler along with Triple H talking about his WrestleMania XII experience with Warrior; his lawsuit over the ownership of his name; and his short time in WCW including his HORRIBLE (and that's putting it lightly) match with Hollywood Hogan & they even talk about WCW's cheap Warrior ripoff in back in '95 called Renegade (RIP). At least on the positive side, you get some "urban legends" about Warrior answered like if there were ever two Ultimate Warriors & why he left WWF the second time.

The DVD extras include the old Warrior University commercial followed by comments by McMahon on a visit to there; Lawler & Dibiase telling stories on the Warrior; Christian doing an old Warrior promo; and two hidden "Unleash The Warrior" promos that were done back in '96.

Matches Include:
vs. Terry Gibbs - This was nothing special past Warrior's television debut.
"Wrestling Challenge" Oct. '87

vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Honky Tonk Man - All I can say on this one is don't blink because you'll miss the longest Intercontinental Title reign end in seconds.
SummerSlam '88
(History Of Intercontinental Championship)

"Title vs. Title" Match vs. WWE Champion Hulk Hogan - This was at the time the most unique WWF Title match in history. The two most popular wrestlers in the company fought each other in the main event with both the Intercontinental & WWF Title on the line. This was one of the best Ultimate Warrior matches in his lifetime as they just told a great story & this is truly a classic even down the the fans being split right down the middle throughout the match.
As a side note here, Jesse Ventura's commentary was removed from this match.
WrestleMania VI
(Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology, History Of The WWE Championship)

WWE Championship/Steel Cage Match vs. Rick Rude - Warrior's first major challenger for his WWE Championship was the only man to have defeated Warrior over a year earlier for the Intercontinental Championship in the Ravishing One. Rude entered the cage first & made it so Warrior would have to fight through Rude just to get in the cage to start the match. This started out as a slugfest as both men were trading punches more than anything else before Rude was able to get an advantage over Warrior. Rude was more focused on just punishing Warrior instead of winning the championship as he had plenty of chances to just walk out of the cage (as Heenan at ringside kept yelling for him to do) before it eventually backfired on him to the point where even Bobby got involved to help Rude out. Anyone who was around to witness Ultimate Warrior knows that he was very limited in what he could do so this was as good as you expected it to be but still entertaining.
SummerSlam '90

Retirement Match vs. Randy Savage - Without a doubt, Ultimate Warrior's greatest opposition was always Randy Savage & this match is the perfect example as he gave Warrior one of the greatest matches (if not THE greatest match) in his career. This was back in the day when wrestling was still "kayfabe" so you were on the edge of your seat for over 20 mins. not knowing who was going to leave since you really couldn't see either guy away from WWE at that time. The match itself is one of the top quality matches on this set & in both mens careers.
As another side note, the aftermath with Savage & Elizabeth is not shown here.
WrestleMania VII
(Macho Madness: Randy Savage Ultimate Collection)

Collectors Edition Bonus Disc:
vs. Hercules - Ted Dibiase referred to their series of matches as "the blind leading the blind" and he had a point here as it was just both men using their power against each other with it sometimes looking every stiff with both men at times looking lost at times too but you could tell that despite all of that, the crowd was still behind Warrior.
"MSG" Apr. '88

vs. Sgt. Slaughter - With cameos from Hulk Hogan along with Undertaker & Paul Bearer with their casket personalized for Ultimate Warrior, this was one of those "put a storyline over" matches & was nothing more than to setup the post-WrestleMania feuds between all four men.
"Saturday Night's Main Event" Apr. '91

vs. WWE Champion Randy Savage - I try not to use the word "classic" too much when it comes to Warrior but is his a lost classic when it comes to his career because as I said earlier, his greatest opposition was Randy Savage and that was the same case here. This was the WrestleMania VII rematch with the difference here in that both Savage & Warrior were babyfaces so they wrestled a different type of match than their Mania one with the factor of Mr. Perfect & Ric Flair being a ringside adding to the match. This always gets overshadowed by that encounter over a year earlier but it's one match that is a lost classic in Warrior's career.
SummerSlam '92

I wish they added more matches on here like the SummerSlam '91 match with Hogan vs. Slaughter & co.; his WM12 match against HHH (only to laugh at HHH's expense); and his Sat. Night Main Event six man tag with L.O.D. vs. Demolition. But the purpose & focus was the documentary which they did. Basically, I would recommend this for any Warrior fan to get the truth on SOME (not all) issues regarding him or just to have a laugh at his expense. However, if your a fan of the more serious WWE documentaries then this is one that you should pass on.

On an internet wrestling radio show, someone summed this one up perfectly, "If you were a fan of Warrior, why would you buy it?, and if you hated Warrior, why would you buy it?" Seriously why would you pay money to see something about a guy you either love and don't want to see badmouthed, or a guy you hate and don't wanna waste either the time or money on. Curiosity is the only thing I can think of, I was curious too and felt cheated. NOBODY in the world needs to have a DVD released about what a loser he supposedly is OR claim that he's a coward when he doesn't want to appear on your programming AFTER the video is out to defend himself.

There is also NOTHING on this disc that even says that Warrior was asked to participate with the project. That seriously undermines the intentions of this video since the opposing side isn't there to back up the claims. Hell even Bischoff shows up on the Rise and Fall ECW DVD to defend his company stealing ECW's talent.

The video convinently glosses over some things like his departure in 92, McMahon says there was a "drug test and a violation" YEAH, McMahon coming under the gun for distributing steroids to workers and when Warrior wanted to do something else, McMahon fired him and Davey Boy Smith and pointed the finger at them. The Summerslam 91 match where Vince "as I recall" read LIE says he demanded more money or he wouldn't show. Big rumors go around saying Warrior wanted money for shows he's already done and McMahon hadn't paid up yet. Triple H says he's the most unprofessional guy ever to work with, yeah well Triple H in 96 was on the outs with WWE and Vince wanted Warrior to squash him.

Too many people in the disc (many of whom were kids when Warrior was around so what the hell are they doing on here?) harp about Warrior being too intense and having little skills. In a business thats known for intense guys, whoes the most intense there was, WARRIOR. When WWE pushes guys to the moon that usually don't have the GREATEST technical skills and usually rely on brawling and power attacks, who had this repitoire? WARRIOR. Who is one of the few guys who Hogan EVER put over clean. WARRIOR. Yeah this guy sucks alright. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the biggest fan of this guy but c'mon WWE your fooling nobody.

You know WHY WWE can get away with this, it's cause Warriors an easy target. WWE couldn't get along with him, the troublemakers at WCW used him, TNA Impact gave him a hard time and that with his recent speaking tours where he lets loose with some inflamitory things, makes him okay to target. Try doing this with an equally big name in the business like Hogan, make a DVD about all his backstage politicking and frail ego or how guys like Benoit and Kidman never got a break with him around. You'll never see it happen.

Purely a curiosity and nothing more, it WAS fun to see old WWE footage but thats about it. Don't waste your time. Get a TNA Impact PPV or ECW dvds or hell get some shoot DVDs from a website or tape trader, but leave this one alone.

When I first heard that the WWE was going to be releasing a DVD on the career of the Ultimate Warrior, I thought it was going to be your standard DVD on the career of a former WWE superstar. Boy was I wrong. Before I purchased this DVD, I had an idea of what it was going to be about, but the way Warrior is buried here far exceeded my expectations. It is one sided, as you don't get any testimony from the Warrior himself. When the Warrior was last seen in the WWF in 1996, he did leave on such horrible terms, which is one of the reasons why this DVD was made, in a way. I was a fan of the Warrior back in the day. But this DVD kind of surprised me. @ first I wasn't going to purchase it, but I couldn't resist. As for the story here, most of the things I was well aware of, some I wasn't. But it's worth a look in any case. Here's my review of the matches:

Ultimate Warrior vs. Terry Gibbs - Wrestling Challenge 10/24/87, DUD (Warrior's WWF debut, nothing much to say here, except that Warrior absolutely crushes the jobber)

Ultimate Warrior vs. WWF Intercontinental champion The Honky Tonk Man - Summerslam '88, *1/2 (I normally wouldn't give a match of this length that kind of rating, but let's face it, when Warrior defeated Honky Tonk, it was a great moment)

WWF Champion Hulk Hogan vs. WWF Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior -Title-For-Title - Wrestlemania VI, ***1/2 (That rating *may be* a little high for some, but looking @ the structure, the hype, the exection, etc, this was a pretty good match considering the wrestlers involved)

WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior vs. Rick Rude - Steel Cage Match - Summerslam '90, *1/2 (another match where there's nothing to write home about, Warrior creams Rude again)

Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage - Loser Must Retire - Wrestlemania VII, ****1/4 (The best match on this DVD and the best match ever for the Warrior)

Overall, there could've been a better selection of matches. But when you look @ the title of this DVD, the WWE clearly was not going to go out of there way to make this a grand release. Nonetheless, I recommend this DVD in good conscious.

The self destruction of the Ultimate Warrior is an interesting DVD in that the advertising for it makes you think every hates the guy. However upon watching it you realize that is not the case. In fact some of the guys have respect for the guy (especially the younger crowd), but some do downright hate him.

The DVD chroniclizes the Ultimate Warrior career from his days as one half of the Bladerunners to his final in ring appearance in WCW. They mostly talk about the character, his promos, and what happened backstage.

However don't expect to hear from the man himself as the Ultimate Warrior had nothing to do with this DVD, and the special features are even less satisfying. Only a handful of matches.

Overall the documentary is entertaining, but with a lack of special features, and misleading advertising, definetly not their best effort.

I watched this dvd last night and thought I would give it an honest review. First off, I am a bigger fan of Warrior now than I was back them during his wrestling years. Just check out his website and you will see the no bs mind and writtings of the man who has come out on top and really did rise above all the negative things said on the dvd. Was I the only one who noticed on the end credits that the Ultimate Warrior is a trademark of ultimate creations,Inc.? That should tell you something right there that unlike most WWE wrestlers, he is one of the few that owns his name. Smart move by the Warrior.

The first part of the dvd actually says some positive things about the Warrior. His energy level,attitude and of course his physique was what made him such a draw to the fans. He charged the ring and got fans into the match from the very beginning. They say he could not do much in the way of wrestling and his skills were limited. All I know is he did his job for the WWF. He got fans fired up and the whole time he was in the ring he stayed charged up. Not boring at all like so many "skilled" wrestlers who make you just want the match to end because there is NO excitement, NO energy, NOTHING there!

You will hear bad comments from Bobby The brain, Ted Debiase,Ric Flair and many others. I think it is a case of jealousy. Wait until you see the shape of these "icons" now. They look terrible, certainly not someone I would respect an opinion from. Now look at Warrior today,still working out,great shape and could blow all these guys away with his mind and body at the same time. I am sure if they each had their own "self destruction of..." dvd out they would find out that THEY are really hated to. The way this dvd is presented, even the music in the background you will notice is all a way for you to look at Warrior in a negative way.

And as far as his going to WCW for a short period of time...did you notice he was even more cut up and in better shape than when he was in the WWF? He actually got better as the years went by while the Hogans,Flairs,etc look worse and worse. Just being honest. Ric Flair was one of my favorites at one time and so was Ted Debiase. If anything this dvd showed the self destruction of these guys and I lost all respect for them all at the same time after watching this. All you hear about is about how Warrior was in this for the money. Well, what wrestler isn't in it for the money?

Warrior paid his dues and he was worth more than mnay,if not all of the other wrestlers at the time. This is marketing at it's best. I guess Hogan would go back to wrestling for $25.00 a night because he "loved" wrestling and only cares for the fans and not the money. I don't think so. As I said Warrior was smart and they don't like the fact that he could stand for himself and realize his worth. They are all in it for the money truth be told. There is nothing wrong with being successful and making more as you advance. He was at the top and the others who where there for years could not stand this.

I was going to say don't buy this dvd because of all the negative Warrioe bashing. But really I encourage everyone to buy it and you will hopefully see the "truth." If you don't want to lose respect for Flair,Hogan,etc. then don't buy it because if you saw this dvd the way I did then you will lose lots of respect for them. Funny thing is you will probably see Warrior in a better person...moving on, speaking,working out,and being a success AND owning his own name(a fact that WWF cannot stand).

This is my opinion and the way I saw it. I just saw so many other reviews and I wanted to show everyone there is another side to the story. Oh yeah, one more thing. As much as Vince/WWF gets mad at not having the rights to all the names in the company guess who else own their own name? Hulk Hogan is a trademark owned by Terry Bollea and is used with permission on this dvd....Talk about a hypocrite...Hogan does the same thing the WWF gets mad at Warrior for!