Andrew Lutzke
We open with two Warrior commercials from the era. In the first one he eats cigarettes and warns us not to smoke. Then we get a fabulous Slim Jim commercial where the Warrior blows up a kid’s clubhouse as he breaks in to share the BEEEFY SPICY TAAAAAAASTE!!!!!
After editing the intro music in two different manners in Macho Man and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan Coliseum Home videos on the WWE network, here the Titan logo flying over the mountains is shown in its full glory. The oversight of details on the editing is clearly lacking
The Warrior introduces what we are about to watch. I learn that Hercules is not just a gimmick, but the actual immortal god in the flesh.
The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hercules
Hercules doesn’t want to wrestle, so they have a tug of war instead, using Hercules’ chain. Jesse Ventura appears to have been edited off the commentary here. The Warrior snaps the chain, so Hercules clotheslines and chokes him with it. During this heavy heat angle one of the front row fans just keeps casually munching on popcorn. I laughed.
A squad of jobbers pour in to save the Warrior’s life. Herc walks away, but the Warrior springs to life and attacks him in the aisle, choking Hercules with his own chain.
Intercontinental champion the Honky Tonk Man vs. The Ultimate Warrior
YESSSSSS!!! This is from Summerslam ’88. Honky has been the champ for 14 months, sneaking out of every match with the title through unscrupulous means. Honky challenges anyone….uh oh!!! The WARRIOR rushes to the ring, blasts Honky with a few clotheslines, and splashes Honky to capture the IC title!! A major mark out moment for me to this day!!
That was actually brilliant psychology from the Warrior as he overcame Honky’s bullshit by blitzing him before he could find a way out of the match.
Intercontinental champion the Ultimate Warrior vs. the Honky Tonk Man
This is Honky’s rematch on “Saturday Night’s Main Event” five months later. Honky had gotten a long run of rematches as the B-show main events, so with the money now made, we can get a national blow off. Honky’s deluded pre-match promo about how he is still the champ and the fans love him makes me smile.
“My opponent only knows defeat, and that I will not deny himmmm!!!!” – sage Warrior.
Honky runs for his life, but the Warrior hounds him at ringside. Warrior presses him back in the ring, then slams Honky and Jimmy Hart together. The camera wisely cuts away from the Warrior’s poor corner strikes.
Warrior misses a charge, which allows Honky to grab the mega phone and jam it into the champion’s ribs. Honky works over the Warrior for a bit, before the Warrior tries to fire up. The champ throws an diving elbow from a terrible angle and misses the mark, opening Honky up to deliver more punishment.
The Warrior roars back, teasing a finish via a flying splash. He lands on Honky’s knees instead. Honky can’t capitalize for long and winds up smashed with a flying tackle and pinned.
The rib shots with the megaphone meant nothing. Honky was probably glad he was done getting stiffed every night by the Warrior’s blows.
Intercontinental champion the Ultimate Warrior vs. Greg “The Hammer” Valentine
This one screams styles clash. This is the dark match main event from February 1989’s “Main Event” special. Valentine stands in the middle of the ring as Warrior zig zags around him during his running entrance.
Jimmy Hart runs interference early on, allowing Valentine to whack the Warrior with his shin guard. Warrior doesn’t even stay down for a one-count off that.
The challenger tries to wear at the Warrior, but it doesn’t last long. Valentine is battered with a flying tackle, leading to Jimmy Hart getting involved again. Hart is tossed into Valentine. As the ref gets Hart out of the ring, the Warrior cracks Valentine with the shin guard, allowing him to score the pin.
Valentine tried to work his grinding offense in as best he could, but the Warrior’s manic energy really went against those efforts.
Intercontinental champion the Ultimate Warrior vs. “King” Haku
They tease a quick finish as Warrior downs Haku for a nearfall in the first 30 seconds. Haku responds by raking the Warrior’s eyes, which is not sold. Warrior keeps up the pressure until he misses a corner charge. That sets up the nerve hold of extreme discomfort.
Haku and Warrior have an awkward moment in the corner as Haku pauses while trying to slam the champ’s head into the turnbuckle, waiting for Warrior to fight back. Warrior pauses, waiting for Haku to try his spot again.
Another nerve hold. Warrior springs out and goes for another flash finish, but his splash attempt only finds Haku’s knees. Haku hacks away at Warrior to set up further nerve pinches. The King tries a splash of his own, but the Warrior puts his knees up.
Warrior fires up. Flying tackle. An attempt for a press slam is blocked twice and Warrior ends up reversing a suplex to set up the winning splash. Bleh!
I am beginning to notice a trend of all the non-jobbers avoiding taking the Warrior’s press slam finish
WWF World champion Randy “Macho Man” Savage vs. Intercontinental champion the Ultimate Warrior
Thankfully this is a Superstars dark match main event, and not the MSG match between the two that I have already reviewed. Savage attacks Warrior before the bell. This doesn’t deter the Warrior, who pounds away on the World champ. Savage tries a top rope attack and winds up being caught. Warrior tries a slam, but almost drops him. He saves the spot nicely by moving Savage to the turnbuckle for a tree of woe.
Warrior misses a corner charge, and is driven to the floor. Savage drops a double axe handle down on him. Macho Man contains the Warrior with strikes and a headlock. The Warrior manages to reverse a suplex, which draws out Rick Rude.
Rude poses around ringside. Savage tries to fend off Warrior and ignores the Ravishing One. Warrior tries a splash, but lands on Savage’s knees. The Warrior fires up almost right away. Savage is downed with a clothesline, but instead of continuing his World championship dreams, Warrior chases Rude at ringside. Warrior captures him in a choke, allowing Savage to drop the double axe handle on his challenger. Warrior is counted out.
Macho Man and Rude celebrate together, but fail to keep their eye on the Warrior. Warrior attacks the men from behind. Savage is dumped to the floor, and Rude is nailed with the press slam face drop. That was pretty much the exact same finish as the other bout between these men from the era.
We see the “Super posedown” from the 1989 Royal Rumble. It’s odd they aired this after the last match as this angle would have helped set up the finish much better. Ventura plays this straight, commenting on flaws in the Warrior’s posing style. Monsoon is the meathead, screaming for the Warrior.
I don’t think there was any kind of big screen at this event, so the live crowd might as well have gone to the concessions during this 10-minutes plus of posing exhibitions. Rude attacks Warrior with a work out device during the final pose downs.
Nick Bockwinkel and other agents come down to check on the Warrior. He jumps up and attacks everyone. Poor Bockwinkel takes 3 bumps, including being knocked to the floor with one arm trapped awkwardly, hampering his chances of properly taking the edge off the bump.
We see the end of Warrior vs. Rude from Wrestlemania 5. Donald Trump laughs at ringside at Rude selling his bad back while trying to pose. Heenan screws the Warrior out of the title. Heenan is abused after the match, including taking a sloppy face first press slam.
Warrior and Rude’s rematch from Boston Garden is shown in highlight form.
Final thoughts: I enjoyed this video way more than I was anticipating. Sometimes being a mark can overcome less than stellar workrate.
