The Ultimate Warrior's untimely passing on April 8th, 2014, came as a
huge shock to the world of wrestling. Not 24 hours earlier, Warrior had
been in a WWE ring, addressing the crowd on Monday Night RAW as one of
the newest inductees to the WWE Hall of Fame. It was something fans and
wrestlers alike had never dreamed would happen, the gulf between Warrior
and the WWE seemingly too great to ever be bridged, but what came to
pass was a celebration of Ultimate Warrior's life and career and,
ultimately, a fitting tribute to a man who exemplified intensity,
passion and destructicity. Now, a year on from that fateful night after
RAW, WWE Home Video presents 'Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe', a three
disc DVD set that charts the life and career of The Ultimate Warrior,
as well as paying tribute to the man behind the facepaint and the life
he led.
Disc one contains the documentary portion of the set, beginning with
Warrior himself telling the story of how he got his start in the
wrestling business with promotions like Mid-South and World Class
Championship Wrestling. As with many of the WWE documentaries, this is a
well produced feature with an abundance of clips from Warrior's career
as well as a good selection of talking heads providing further insight
and, in some cases, other sides to the story. Observations from current
WWE superstars are kept to the action in-ring, leaving the weightier
comments to those who played a role in Warrior's journey, such as Sting,
Hulk Hogan and the McMahons. When it's time to address the troubles
that caused the rift between the Ultimate Warrior and WWF, both sides
give a frank and candid appraisal of the situation, rather than attempt
to gloss over their respective mistakes. A similar approach is taken to
the infamous WWE DVD release 'The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate
Warrior' and the ensuing legal battle that followed, which was
refreshing to see.
The latter stage of the documentary takes a good look at Warrior's
personal life, with interviews from his wife and two daughters as they
accompany Warrior to WrestleMania weekend and the Hall of Fame ceremony.
We get some great scenes as Warrior revels in being back and involved
once again in the world of wrestling and as he connects with friends old
and new in the WWE, including a touching moment as Warrior presents
Vince with an unexpected gift. The overall feeling is one of redemption
and resolution, as we follow Warrior onto the stage at the Hall of Fame
ceremony and he delivers his message of motivation and perverseness, the
ethos by which he lived his life. Understandably, things becomes
somewhat maudlin as the story travels through the events of Warrior's
sudden demise and beyond. But, while we see his family struggling to
deal with Warrior's death and everything the WWE did to take care of
them in such a trying time, it never comes across as exploitative or
self-promoting. The overall tone is one of tribute and, as the
documentary comes to a close, you might feel that it's intended for
Warrior's family as much as it is for his fans.
Disc two concerns itself with Warrior's in-ring career, with twenty one
matches spanning the breadth of Warrior's WWF tenure (and two from his
early days in WCCW). These aren't the usual Ultimate Warrior matches,
however, but rather a collection of more obscure matches that provide a
good companion to the 'Ultimate Collection' DVD set released last year.
Included amongst the twenty plus matches is an early 1986 example of
Warrior working as a bad guy (with the legendary Gary Hart in his
corner, barking orders), Warrior's first ever appearance at Madison
Square Garden from 1987, Honky Tonk Man's title rematch after losing the
Intercontinental Championship to Ultimate Warrior in 1988 and a great
match with Ravishing Rick Rude from 1989. There's also notable bouts
such as a match with Andre the Giant from Maple Leaf Wrestling, or
Warrior as the new World Heavyweight Title defending his title against
the dangerous Haku. Plus, Warrior's last ever match on WWF television,
facing off against Owen Hart on Monday Night RAW in 1996.
The final disc of the set is dedicated to Ultimate Warrior's always
colourful and very intense promo style, with over forty interviews
spanning the length and breadth of his career. We get to see the Warrior
persona as it's developed and grown, from the early days as Dingo
Warrior to his first title run with the Intercontinental Championship.
With highly memorable moments such as Warrior's legendary promos for his
feud with Hulk Hogan, Warrior scaring the wits out of Sensational
Sherri on the Brother Love Show and Warrior ranting at length about the
likes of The Macho King, Rick Rude, or Papa Shango, this is a good
collection of over an hour and a half of classic Ultimate Warrior
promos. Also included are Warrior's appearances in WCW, his entire Hall
of Fame induction speech and his final ever appearance on Monday Night
RAW, mere hours before his passing. Overall, this is a well constructed
set. While the match selection may disappoint people expecting to see
the best of the Ultimate Warrior, when paired with the 'Ultimate
Collection' set released last year the two releases form a comprehensive
look at the life and career of Warrior, one that's sure to please his
fans. I thought the documentary was particularly well done and provides a
fitting tribute to a man who took the wrestling world by storm.
'Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe' is available to purchase on DVD or BluRay now from
http://www.wwedvd.co.uk/
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