It’s hard to reconcile the fact that this DVD/BluRay release comes from the same company that released The Self Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior a decade ago. Whilst this is not the “love-in” that last year’s Ultimate Collection was, it is still an affectionate look at the career of the Warrior, not the out and out hatchet job they once subjected him to. Does either tell the true story? Well no; the “truth” probably lies somewhere in between.
The set is built around a brand new documentary on the Warrior. As you will all know, the Warrior died just two days after his return to the WWE at WrestleMania XXX so this is understandably short on new Warrior footage, but you may be surprised as just how much of that there is thanks to Warrior being followed around at that show. It’s quite eerie at times to watch and ponder just how little time Warrior had left when he spoke those words.
The documentary starts off with a heartfelt word from his wife Dana, and her and her children feature prominently throughout. His career is skimmed over if I’m being honest but the wealth of contemporary footage does make up for this. Sting talks about their early days as the Freedom Fighters and Bladerunners as all concerned admit that they were VERY green in the early days. The parting of the ways and his time as the Dingo Warrior in World Class are mentioned (with a funny tale about Vince wondering what on earth a “Dingo Warrior” was before Warrior arrives at the place that made him famous.
His early days in the WWE are covered, with due respect paid to the part his pumping theme music played within the overall package. It’s also fun to see Warrior be self-deprecating about his interviews and talking about his infamous pre WM VI interview. That we’re still talking about that to this day though says a lot.
Hulk Hogan turns up and talks about their rivalry and how Warrior was one of the first in the business to dress and travel alone. The irony of HHH commenting on Hogan trying to protect his spot will amuse many of you. WrestleMania VI is covered, as is his loss of the title to Sgt Slaughter and the subsequent “retirement” match with Randy Savage at WrestleMania VII. Warrior puts Savage over as the person he enjoyed working with the most.
The SummerSlam 1991 controversy is touched upon (Warrior is alleged to have held up Vince for more money on the day of the show) but never really explained. Vince says he brought back Warrior the next year because it was good for business, whilst Warrior says he was promised another title run that time (which obviously never happened). He was soon on his way again due to drug issues (which Warrior and Vince are very candid about) before his 1996 return is looked at. Warrior admits that he didn’t miss the spotlight at all during his absence and that once that WWE run had finished he only went to WCW because the deal offered him a TON of money. Naturally, even though the Monday Night Wars ended years ago, all concerned take the opportunity to say how terrible the whole WCW experience was. At least Hogan admits it was his fault that their match there was so crap.
An interesting section on the Self Destruction DVD follows, with Warrior and his wife both commenting on how it wounded him. Interestingly although Vince comments on it you are left with the suggestion that none of it was his idea (which any wrestling fan will know simply couldn’t be further from the truth). The candid footage from one of the subsequent lawsuit meetings is fun to watch, especially as Hulk Hogan has to squirm when his attempts to be tough on the Self Destruction interviews come back to haunt him.
From there its back to Warrior’s 2013/14 return to the WWE family and there’s some poignant backstage footage of current day superstars wanting to meet and pass on their thanks to Warrior. The Hogan thing, which has been seen before, comes up and there’s also Vince’s story of his last ever meeting with Warrior.
Although the documentary is fairly brief in terms of the Warrior’s career it is a must for any fan of his. I will admit I teared up a few times, especially when his wife and children are speaking.
There are 20 matches in the extras. To be fair it would be a chore to sit through them all in one sitting and there’s little that could be said to be “must see” in them but they are generally fun to dip in and out of. There also a ton of interviews and promos that, if nothing else, remind you that there was nothing quite like an Ultimate Warrior promo. It also includes his Hall of Fame induction speech and his last ever promo from Raw.
The BluRay adds some story outtakes from the main feature and five more matches, including the WrestleMania VI match with Hogan. They are well worth the extra few pounds. The small segment where Warrior talks about playing “Barbie” with his kids is worth the upgrade alone.
Warrior fans will love this, and as we can obviously no longer hear from the Warrior this set represents his final thoughts on his career and legacy. Obviously his untimely death meant that there were restrictions on just what the WWE could do with this, but overall it is an entertaining and poignant overview of his career and a little sneak peak into the man behind the character. Twenty Warrior matches back to back would be a chore, but it would be churlish to complain about a set like this having too many extras. It should be noted that many of his best matches don’t make the cut (having been available on previous releases).
It’s not quite the perfect set and it doesn’t quite succeed in telling the whole story but if, like me, you were an excited kid back in the day in awe of the colourful and powerful Warrior you will love this.
Thank you to our partners, WWEDVD.co.uk and Fetch.fm for providing our review copy of Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe. Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe is available on DVD & Blu-Ray from Monday, April 20th 2015. You can pre-order your copy from WWEDVD.co.uk now by clicking here.
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