Ringside Collectibles Ultimate Warrior Shoot DVD RecapScrapiron Bryan's Review: Before viewing this DVD I was skeptical about what I could learn from it that I didn't already know about Warrior. I've been an avid fan of his in ring work all my life and have researched the finer details of his behind the scenes controversies thoroughly for Warrior Central, sometimes getting clarifications from the man himself. However, I was soon blown away at how in depth this interview goes. No burning question goes unasked and Warrior, for his part denies us no answers. Running at just over two hours this is one of the most informative shoots I have ever seen. It covers everything from Warrior's earliest memories of wrestling, to how he got his start in the business, WCCW and the Von Erichs, how he almost became Vader, his meteoric rise to the top of the wrestling world in the WWF and the controversies behind his decisions to leave the company. WCW too is covered and Warrior gives his thoughts on the real reason why he was brought there in the first place. Warrior offers his opinions on many of the men he crossed paths with in the business including Bill Watts, Sting, Matt Borne, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, The Road Warriors, The Undertaker, Davey Boy Smith, Bobby Heenan, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, Vince and Linda McMahon and more! All this and everything in between is asked and answered in Warrior's oWn inimitable style including the question on every fans lips… would he consider a return to a WWE ring even now? Quality: I've seen a few of the shoot interviews which have been done in the past and have been disappointed with the quality. From struggling to hear what the Road Warriors or Jake Roberts were saying to being frustrated at how parts of the set kept falling down during Hacksaw Jim Duggan's shoot. For a first attempt Ringside Collectibles have nailed the quality aspect of it. The sound is crystal clear throughout and it's obvious that they have succeeded with the quality of their product where others have failed. Bonus Footage: The extras included in this DVD are the icing on what is already a pretty scrumptious cake. We are treated to two of Dingo Warrior's very early WCCW matches. From a fans standpoint it is awesome seeing the Warrior character in this early stage of development. Also there is the 30 minute Q&A session from RingsideFest 2004 which sees Warrior interacting with a group of avid fans up close and personally! Add to all that the fact that each individually numbered DVD is signed by Warrior himself and you have yourself a genuinely rare collectible.  Negatives: It's hard to find fault with this DVD. The quality of the product overall and the quantity of information and extras are second to none. If I was to ask for just a little more from it I'd have to say I really wish the interviewer had asked Warrior to elaborate on some of the comments he made. Specifically thjose about other wrestlers. Warrior gives his opinion on them all when asked but doesn't really go into detail about why he feels the way he does about them. But maybe that's just me being over critical. All in all what you get here is a first time opportunity to hear first hand the truth behind the mystique of the Ultimate Warrior. Do not pass it up! The DVD can be ordered from RingsideShoot.com  Now a brief recap of some of the topics covered: Pre WWF: He and Steve Borden (Sting) began working in Memphis for 25-50 dollars a night, which barely covered the price of traveling to each show. He says one of the funniest pieces of advice he got was when he asked another wrestler "How do you know your getting f'd on your pay?" He was told, "You'll know when your getting f'd, but what are you gonna do about it?" He and Sting moved on to Bill Watt's territory. Watts once asked Warrior to get on all fours while he showed him how to work a kick. Warrior had heard that this was something Watts would do to green wrestlers but instead of working a kick he would really lay into the wrestler. Warrior refused to get down saying "If you want me to get on the ground you're going to have to put me there." He left the territory shortly after that and went to WCCW. This is where he began calling himself Dingo Warrior. All the trademark Warrior mannerisms, face paint, attire etc took shape in WCCW. He enjoyed it there. Liked the situation he was in, where he was living, the car he was driving and the people around him. New Japan came in and asked him to go over to Japan and portray a new monster wrestler (Vader) but around the same time WWF came calling and Warrior went there instead working the C towns until he was ready to move up. WWF: The name Ultimate Warrior came about when Vince asked Warrior to drop the Dingo part of his name for a promo. The tape started rolling and Warrior came out with "I am not this Warrior, I am not that Warrior, I am the ULTIMATE WARRIOR!" He put more into his ring entrance that most guys put into their whole match. Warrior feels that if he wasn't blown up by the end of a match he wasn't giving the fans their moneys worth. One of the funniest moments of the shoot is when the interviewer asks what he thinks of "smart" fans who say Warrior couldn't work a more technical style. Warrior snaps back "Are you saying Ultimate Warrior fans aren't smart?" He says the wrestling style he used was the best style for Ultimate Warrior to get over. The best thing he did was not pay attention to what everyone else was doing. Some of the guys in the locker room told him not to run to the ring and shake the ropes. But instead of listening to them, Warrior listened to the fans. He didn't mind dropping the IC Title to Rick Rude as he felt his performance and the development of his character was more important than a belt. Says wrestlemania 6 was one of the greatest moments of his career as well as one of his best matches. It was awesome to go out and perform in front of that many people in that type of match but he laughs out loud when asked about "carrying" the company as champion. He says he didn't feel he was carrying the company as it takes a lot of people to make it work. He wasn't surprised when he was asked to drop the title and he wasn't disappointed as WWF always had something else for you to do. After he dropped the title he went straight into a feud with Randy Savage that culminated in the WM 7 Retirement match which was on a par with WM 6. He liked the Undertaker gimmick and found it creatively stimulating to help build Taker as a talent while maintaining his own babyface prominence. Warrior was considering taking some time off in 1992 which was written into his contract. But Vince used Warrior and the British Bulldog as scapegoats during the steroid trial to take some of the heat off himself. It looked better for Vince if he terminated Warrior's contract. Vince got back in contact with Warrior in 1995 about a return. Warrior negotiated a verbal contract with Vince. Vince sent him out a generic contract a couple of days later. Warrior called Vince telling him this wasn't what they had agreed. Linda McMahon became involved then and was more or less a go between for Warrior and Vince. Terms were eventually agreed and Warrior made his return at WM 12. HHH didn't like how the WM match was going to go down so tried to talk a few different ideas with Warrior. Warrior felt that he wanted to make an impression in his first match back and that Hunter was there to make Warrior look good so the match went down how he wanted. There were some clear lines drawn in Warrior's contract which were crossed by WWF. Warrior owned the phrase "Always Believe" for his other endeavors (comic book etc). He went to a merchandise convention unexpectedly and saw WWF using his phrase everywhere without promoting Warrior with it. He got on the phone to Vince and voiced his frustration. Vince just told him "Shit happens." That was the beginning of the end of his 1996 run.  WCW: The night before Warrior made his debut in WCW, Vince made Warrior a huge offer to go back to WWF. Warrior turned it down because of his previous dealings with WWF. Hulk Hogan was the person who convinced Warrior to go to WCW telling him that he was the one writing the checks over there. Warrior told him "if you want me to go there you're going to have to write a pretty big check." He feels WCW was very badly run. People would turn up an hour before TV and not have a clue about what they were going to be doing that night. He didn't particularly like the smoke entrances and thought it was only going to be used on his debut. But they kept setting it up night after night. His debut went down really well and should have been used as a launching pad for the rest of the feud but WCW really dropped the ball. Warrior injured his arm at Fall Brawl Wargames but kept working out during his rehab so he would be ready for Halloween Havoc. Other people would take six months to rehab after an injury like that. Warrior was back in six weeks. In hindsight Warrior feels he was brought there only so Hogan could get a return pin on him and he thinks that is pathetic. Warrior feels his WCW run was brutal compared to his time in WWF yet has no regrets about it.  Thoughts on other wrestlers: Bruiser Brody was a conniver and a bum. Enjoyed working with Hercules as Herc did what he could to put Warrior over. Says of Andre, "He either liked you or he didn't." And if he didn't like you you didn't ask why. But Andre liked Warrior for how much he put into his matches and his character. Bobby Heenan was always a two faced bastard. Hulk Hogan's whole life has been a work. Curt Hennig was a good guy who seemed to have springs in his legs and it was great working with people like that. Randy Savage is a stand up guy who he got along with really well. He liked working the 6 man tag matches with Legion of Doom and had a lot of respect for them. Jake Roberts is a liar, a letch and a loser. Davy Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid took Warrior under their wing when he first went to WWF and he always has a special place in his heart for them. Warrior feels he may be responsible for what HHH has accomplished in the business. But if HHH wants to tell the story of their WM 12 match differently today then he's still the same puny little bastard he was in 1996. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash are shit stirrers and back stabbers. That's pretty much all you're gonna get fom me. If you want to know more go to Ringsideshoot.com and order the DVD NOW! |