I've grown up in the past few years of my life, substancially. After moving out of mom and dad's house I've changed quite a bit. As a kid, I had many different hobbies, and now each of those hobbies is turning into a different bill that I pay. Watching pro wrestling on Monday nights used to be one of my favorite pass times, but now it no longer exists in my weekly agenda anymore.

To put it lightly, I feel that the professional wrestling industry is a strange one, indeed. Human beings that build-up (or depending on the wrestler - pump up) their bodies to exorbitant masses, complete with arm-bands or other flashy in-ring apparel (such as vests with streamers or expensive robes). Some wrestlers have catchy theme songs while others have boring, lackluster music. No matter who is in the ring, they are there because their "persona" must tell the audience a story.

The Ultimate Warrior was one of the WWE's most beloved superstars in the late 80's. A time when kids and teenagers alike watched turtles eat pizza and save news reporters from an evil Japanese man with a spiked mask and iron claws. The Ultimate Warrior was like a cartoon-come-to-life that was brought into the wrestling ring. He wore snake-bite-tight armbands around humongous biceps, hair that was shoulder length, facial painting, and colorful trunks with matching knee pads and boots. Running as fast as he could down the aisle, the Ultimate Warrior astonished all wrestling fans even to the last row in the largest arenas. During his ring-sprints the speakers would blare an intense song heavy on staccato drum beats and electric guitar riffs chugging and hitting high notes, reminiscent of something off a Guns 'n' Roses or ACDC cd.

Now the WWE has released this video that tells the story about Jim Helwig (The Ultimate Warrior) prior to reaching super-stardom, his run as The Ultimate Warrior, and it also discusses what he has done since leaving the WWE.

(Spoilers)Jim Helwig started wrestling in a small wrestling promotion in Texas with the man that later on became "Sting". They went by the tag-team name of "The Bladerunners". Both men posessed very strong physical bodies with limited in-ring abilities and used brute strength to crush their opponents. It was later on that Jim was called "The Dingo Warrior". A dingo (to my knowledge) is some kind of a large armadillo-like creature. The only reason I am making this assumption is from seeing an enemy called a "Dingo" in an un-named RPG video game.

(Spoilers)When Jim jumped ship to the WWE, he was given the name "The Ultimate Warrior" because it sounded better than Dingo Warrior. Brute strength coupled with a strong marketing blitz made the Ultimate Warrior a household name. In the movie, we are given a taste of his earliest wrestling matches with Terry Gibbs and Andre the Giant. In his match with Terry, the warrior uses power moves like hip tosses and body slams. When he wrestled Andre, he had to use power clotheslines and running shoulder butts to knock the big guy off his feet. With ease he over powers his competition. The dvd also has his Intercontinental Championship match with the (hahn-key I can't say what his real name is here cuz it's considered derog so i'll call him tonk) Tonk Man at Summerslam '88 (a match where Tonk gives no opposition and loses the belt almost in record time). Other (unimportant) matches like ones he had with Rick Martel and Ted Dibiase are shown to address his story and problems.

(Spoilers)Jim never really displayed a great technical wrestling match, as he usually relied on his power and interviews to override his lack of wrestling ability. But as poor of a wrestler that Jim was, he was multitudes worse at giving interviews prior to matches. At best, his interviews were very confusing as he talked about taking his opponents to "Parts Unknown" and "The powers of the warriors will soon prevail". He would turn an already-exagerrated pro wrestling interview into a twisted spiritual ritual.

(Spoilers)This turned out to be a sad state of affairs for the warrior because he ended up degenerating even worse business-wise. After gaining a hot-spot in the WWE as the reigning world/intercontinental champion, his ego went to his head. Minutes before his tag team match with Hulk Hogan against Seargeant Slaughter and General Adnom (sp?), The Ultimate Warrior told Vince Mcmahon (owner of WWE) that he wasn't going to wrestle unless "X" amount of money was paid to him. This led to the Warrior's termination.

(Spoilers End)This kind of ego-bolstering, high-impact wresting, and idiotic-interviewing is what to expect in this video. It is chockful of important wrestling matches in the warrior's career and does a great job presenting it chronologically. It shows the viewer the entire story of the Ultimate Warrior complete with interviews of past and present WWE Superstars and commentators. For wrestling fans that are curious about the Ultimate Warrior or old fans that loved the Warrior, this DVD is for you.


The DVD has extra (full-length) matches. These include the warrior facing off against Terry Gibbs, Tonk Man, Hulk Hogan, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, and "Macho King" Randy Savage. Dolby Digital friendly with an easy-to-navigate menu.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8