DVD Review: Ultimate Warrior – Always Believe

Certificate: 15
Running Time: 9hrs 00mins (540mins)
Discs: 3

Disc 1

• A Message From Dana Warrior
• Always Believe
• Beginnings
• The Blade Runners
• Dingo Warrior
• Ultimate Warrior
• SummerSlam 88
• Competing for a Spot
• WrestleMania VI
• What’s Next?
• WrestleMania VII
• SummerSlam 1991
• Back in the Spotlight
• The Ultimate Love
• WCW
• “Self-Destruction”
• One Warrior Nation
• The Journey Home
• Hall of Fame
• Back Home
• The Apology
• An Incredible Weekend
• April 8, 2014
• Outpouring of Support
• Nattie
• Future Diva
• No Greater Tribute
• Final Letters
• The Spirit of Ultimate Warrior Will Run Forever

Disc 2

• 2-on-1 Handicap Match: Dingo Warrior v Perry Jackson and Chico Cabello – World Class Championship Wrestling * July 25, 1986
• Dingo Warrior v Big Bear Collie – World Class Championship Wrestling * June 2, 1987
• Ultimate Warrior v Frenchy Martin – Madison Square Garden * November 24, 1987
• Ultimate Warrior v Brian Costello – Wrestling Challenge * November 29, 1987
• Ultimate Warrior v Mike Sharpe – Philadelphia, PA * December 5, 1987
• Ultimate Warrior v Conquistador #1 – Wrestling Challenge * May 8, 1988
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Ultimate Warrior v Honky Tonk Man – Boston, MA * October 10, 1988
• Intercontinental Championship Match: “Ravishing” Rick Rude v Ultimate Warrior – East Rutherford, NJ * May 8, 1989
• Ultimate Warrior & King Duggan v “Ravishing” Rick Rude & Andre the Giant – Madison, WI * June 6, 1989
• Ultimate Warrior v John Weiss – Wrestling Challenge * September 24, 1989
• Intercontinental Championship Match: Ultimate Warrior v Andre the Giant – Maple Leaf Wrestling * October 29, 1989
• Ultimate Warrior v Brooklyn Brawler – Wrestling Challenge * March 11, 1990
• WWE Championship Match: Ultimate Warrior v Haku – Saturday Night’s Main Event * April 28, 1990
• Ultimate Warrior v Sgt. Slaughter – Saturday Night’s Main Event * April 27, 1991
• Ultimate Warrior v Rick “The Model” Martel – Wrestling Challenge * April 28, 1991
• Ultimate Warrior v Smash – Superstars * May 18, 1991
• Ultimate Warrior v Skinner – Superstars * May 2, 1992
• Ultimate Warrior v Papa Shango – Lexington, KY * May 19, 1992
• Ultimate Warrior & “Macho Man” Randy Savage v The Nasty Boys – SummerSlam Spectacular * August 19, 1992
• Ultimate Warrior v Isaac Yankem – RAW * April 29, 1996
• Ultimate Warrior v Owen Hart – RAW * July 8, 1996

Disc 3

• Bill Mercer interviews Dingo Warrior – World Class Championship Wrestling * September 19, 1986
• Nightmares are the Best Part of My Day – Superstars * February 27, 1988
• I Live For Anger and Frustration – Wrestling Challenge * March 13, 1988
• Normal People – Wrestling Challenge * June 5, 1988
• I Won’t Let You Down – Wrestling Challenge * June 25, 1988
• Legends Weren’t Built Overnight – Superstars * July 16, 1988
• Craig DeGeorge Interviews the New Intercontinental Champion – Superstars * September 3, 1988
• You Can Feel It – All American Wrestling * September 18, 1988
• Totally Out of Control – Wrestling Challenge * January 29, 1989
• A Test Like all the Others – Wrestling Challenge * May 28, 1989
• We Shall Conquer the Giant – Superstars * July 15, 1989
• Mean Gene interviews Ultimate Warrior about SummerSlam – Wrestling Challenge * August 13, 1989
• The Eighth Wonder of the World – Superstars * September 9, 1989
• Mean Gene interviews The Ultimate Warriors – Wrestling Challenge * November 5, 1989
• The Brother Love Show Discussing the Royal Rumble – Superstars * January 13, 1990
• I Speak to You, Hulk Hogan – Superstars * February 3, 1990
• The New WWE Champion – Superstars * April 14, 1990
• The Brother Love Show Discussing SummerSlam – Superstars * June 23, 1990
• Confined Spaces – Superstars * July 21, 1990
• Leaving Nothing Behind – Wrestling Challenge * August 12, 1990
• Useless Dreams – Wrestling Challenge * August 26, 1990
• The Brother Love Show with Queen Sherri – Superstars * September 8, 1990
• Sister Love – Superstars * October 13, 1990
• The Commander in Chief – Wrestling Challenge * December 23, 1990
• Your Ultimate Destruction – Wrestling Challenge * December 30, 1990
• Total Surrender – Superstars * January 5, 1991
• The Smell of Defeat – Wrestling Challenge * January 13, 1991
• Mean Gene interviews Queen Sherri – Royal Rumble * January 19, 1991
• I am the Wildness – Superstars * February 9, 1991
• I Said Sew It In! – Superstars * February 16, 1991
• You Have Found the Madness – Superstars * February 23, 1991
• Don’t Look Back – Superstars * March 9, 1991
• One More Step in the Destiny – Wrestling Challenge * March 10, 1991
• A Battle Like No Other – Wrestling Challenge * March 17, 1991
• Now We Are Back – Superstars * May 4, 1991
• Then We Shall Feast – Superstars * April 11, 1992
• These Are My Warriors – Superstars * April 18, 1992
• The Papa Shango Curse – Superstars * May 23, 1992
• Only Desperate Men Act with Impatience – Superstars * August 8, 1992
• The Ultimate Maniacs Are Born – Superstars * September 19, 1992
• The Ultimate Maniacs Are Out of Control – Wrestling Challenge * November 7, 1992
• One Warrior Nation – WCW Monday Nitro * August 24, 1998
• Running to Reappear – WCW Monday Nitro * September 21 * 1998
• Ultimate Warrior – Hall of Fame Induction – Hall of Fame * April 5, 2014
• The Spirit of Ultimate Warrior Will Run Forever – RAW * April 7, 2014

If you bought last year’s Ultimate Warrior – The Ultimate Collection, this is a fantastic companion piece to that release, although a lot of the Warrior talking-head footage comes from that set. Of course, it was impossible to get new footage, but even the repeated comments are welcome and the other talking-heads compliment it with their own input.

The first disc is a documentary and something that WWE’s excellent production crew excel at. Opening with a very poignant speech from Dana Warrior, it runs through the man’s career with comments from Warrior himself along with Hogan, Sting, Vince, Triple H, Stephanie, Linda and a host of the current roster.

As with the previous DVD, it’s obvious on the candid behind-the-scenes segments how much it meant to Warrior to return home and bury the hatchet with virtually everyone he had previous issue(s) with. It’s also obvious to see how much it meant to everyone else to have him there for what turned out to be the last few days of his life.

The pride in his family and the pride they had in him in return leaps from the screen and footage of current day stars being in genuine awe at meeting him backstage (“I was a huge Warrior fan” was repeated over and over again… and not once did it seem false flattery). The part where Sheamus meets Warrior for the first time and is taken aback when Warrior immediately compliments the Irishman on his look and his style was great and another example of how genuine Warrior was in his comments.

There are two main differences between this collection and the previous release; The Ultimate Collection almost seemed like an apology for The Self-Destruction and, of course, Warrior was alive when it was put together.

Because of this, there are a lot of sentimental comments from the likes of Triple H, Vince, Stephanie, Linda, Dana and their two daughters. At times it can be too easy to point and say the tears are for show, but in this case, they are genuine tears of emotion at having lost a long-time friend.

Warrior’s wife (much like Vicki Guerrero after Eddie’s passing) has been accepted as part of the larger WWE family (as twee as that sounds) and his two daughters come across as bright, articulate little ladies, with Mattie laying the groundwork for being the most unlikely of second-generation wrestlers.

All of the footage from his return during the WrestleMania / HoF build to the backstage footage from his final appearance on RAW is both uplifting and sad. Uplifting because it gave him a fitting send-off and all of the emotional baggage had been shed. Sad, of course, because we were watching a man live out his final days live on TV.

Load the spaceship with the rocket fuel, load it with the Warriors and strap in for a fascinating documentary covering the life and career of a fascinating man.

Overview

When I reviewed The Ultimate Collection, I had written what would have been the final draft before he died, but hadn’t sent it to go on the site. Warrior then passed away and I felt that my review should be rewritten after watching the DVD again to give proper (and current) context.

With this set being released a year later, the same footage can be viewed from a perspective of distance from the rawness of his death.

There are loads of little things that make this a companion to Warrior’s last outing rather than just a repeat. Candid pictures of Warrior as a young bodybuilder meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sting talking about watching WrestleMania VI and being a little jealous, the relationship between the Divas and Dana and the girls, Hogan taking the blame for Halloween Havoc 1998’s match sucking majorly and just the genuine heartfelt emotion from everyone.

There are a lot of matches here that few people will have seen and the third disc is pretty much just promos, which are worth watching just for reliving the giddiness you had as a kid when this massive face-painted man ranted about things you didn’t understand (Warrior was very big on metaphors), but you knew he meant every word.

As a last word, anything that gets “Iron” Mike Sharpe on WWE DVD in 2015 can only be a positive.

If you buy the Blu-Ray version, you get the following additional content -:

Blu-ray Exclusive

• Ultimate Warrior? Who’s That?
• Disneyland Warrior
• The Ultimate Bike Ride
• Call Vince
• That’s My Dad!
• WrestleMania VI Movie Night
• Barbie Meets Ultimate Warrior
• Cockpit Door Promo
• Batista’s Homage
• Warrior Plays The Game
• The Warriors Meet The Goldbergs
• The Slammy Award Presentation
• Mattie v Nattie
• Warrior Girl
• Dingo Warrior v Rick Rude – WCCW * August 22, 1986
• Ultimate Warrior v Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania VI * April 1, 1990
• Ultimate Warrior and Legion of Doom v Demolition * Saturday Night’s Main Event – October 13, 1990
• Ultimate Warrior v Earthquake – Fort Myers, FL * February 19, 1991
• Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker v Papa Shango and Berzerker – Ontario, Canada * June 3, 1992

Points: 9/10

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