Review for WWE Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe

The Ultimate Warrior is one of the reasons why I watch wrestling. It is no secret that I love this superstar and I would happily put him up there in my Top Ten alongside the likes of Ric Flair, Roddy Piper and The Roadwarriors. He is the reason I would beg my Dad to get Sky Sports so that I could watch him explode through the curtains, run around the ring, shake the ropes and ten moves later be finished and victorious.

Some say he was a flash in the pan and really when you consider his run was a combined less than ten years that could be true. But then we could say the same about many other things. Are The Beatles a flash in the pan because they technically only existed (single and album-wise) for less than a decade? No. The Ultimate Warrior has had a huge impact on the business. There are wrestlers who are still wrestling who have not even come close to matching the impact he had on professional wrestling. Shane Douglas maybe the reason why ECW exists and can boast multiple great matches, but did he headline Wrestlemania? Did he hold one of (if not THE) most important belts in the business? No. You ask ten people who Shane Douglas is... maybe... maybe a couple will know who he is. You ask the same ten who the Ultimate Warrior is and the majority will know. Now that is an impact.

Always Believe is a look at the Warrior's career up to his sad death in 2014 just after being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. We get to see how he got into the business, though it is still far too brief for my liking, his move around the territories until arriving in WWE in 1987 and the explosion of his popularity is phenomenal. At points, he was rivalling and even beating Hulk Hogan in the merchandise and crowds. This was eerily similar to when CM Punk beat John Cena in popularity a few years back.

The bad times are also dragged up. Experimenting with growth hormones, which was not illegal, but certainly not something that WWE wanted to be seen connected with. His move away from WWE, his time in WCW and the horrendous Halloween Havoc match (which at least Hogan admits was all his fault). We then get to see the Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD which buried the Warrior and resulted in lawsuits.

The positives are also looked at, from his wonderful family and his well deserved induction into the Hall of Fame (which is included in full) and his time during that weekend. One of the best, and more poignant moments was a reconciliation between Hogan and Warrior which was great to see and you could feel that all problems, all bad blood was being buried and that was fantastic.

Of course, it is still sad that Warrior has died and when you watch that final promo on Raw it is eerily prophetic. Maybe Warrior knew his time was limited, maybe it was coincidence. Either way it is so sad hearing people talk about him and the effect he had on them. Whether it was as a fan or a friend, you could tell the sentiments are genuine.

What is excellent about this set is that they include multiple promos from his career. Yes, most are as mad as I can remember, and I can't watch them without thinking of the Spoony One's Translations underneath. However, they did exactly what they should do, they made me pumped up. I wanted to see the Warrior and I wanted that intensity that only the Ultimate Warrior could bring. Few matches are included, but they do include the match against Hogan at Wrestlemania VI which is a classic that I can rewatch any time. They also include a fantastic six-man tag match between Warrior and The Legion of Doom against Demolition which is fantastic.

Always Believe is one of those sets that I enjoyed enough to watch again. This is not something I will watch once and put on the shelf, by the time I have posted this I will probably be watching it again. The history of the Ultimate Warrior is fascinating and though I do wish it was more extensive, coupled with the set from last year it gives me all the stories I need about the one, the only, the ULTIMATE WARRRRIIOOORRR!!!!