He didn't have any submission losses in the WWE. He had almost no losses period.
Not what I asked though. I asked about submission losses BEFORE the WWF. And I think I found one.
http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=55413
It doesn't mention how he lost, but any time he lost by DQ or countout, the site mentions it. So this was likely a straight up pinfall or submission loss. And considering Kevin Von Erich's finish was a submission (Iron Claw)... it's very possible that's how he lost.
He can know all the submissions in the world, it doesn't automatically mean he would win a submission match against a guy who has never tapped out.
Oh yes it does. Let's be real. It's not like this was Warrior's gimmick. That he was the guy that never quit; never surrendered; never submitted. It's just something that never happened in the WWF. Then again, I also don't remember Jake Roberts ever submitting in the WWF either. Does that make him an unstoppable no submit machine that would be a lock in this type of match?
This match has a 30 minute time limit. Warrior went over 20 minutes at Mania 6 against Hogan and Mania 7 against Savage. He and Savage also went 28 minutes at Summerslam 92. If Warrior can hang with Savage for 28 minutes then he can go an extra 2 with Flair.
Yes and no, but let's look at this.
The match is an 'Ultimate Submission' match. Designed to go the full 30 minutes no matter what. It's also the third round of the tournament, so Warrior has fought twice already and now has to go all out for half an hour (while not having much experience in this regard) against a guy who didn't start breaking a sweat until after a half hour.
Go back and look at the link to the card I showed you earlier... which may be an Ultimate Warrior submission loss. You notice something about that show? The Von Erich loss was his 2nd match of the night. Further proving my point about his cardio being a factor and how it makes him more susceptible to submitting.
Bear hug, Torture rack, take your pick. Power submissions aren't hard to do and can be very effective. Warrior has used the bear hug in matches before. The torture rack is easy to use and would be effective for a guy like Warrior. Even something like the sleeper hold could work for Warrior. Flair was taken down by the sleeper against Wahoo McDaniel back in the day and that's another hold that doesn't take much to do.
And technical submissions are very effective for someone like Flair here... since Warrior has little to no experience defending against them.
A sleeper works great for Flair here too, especially once Warrior is winded. Flair has far more weapons he can use.
The only time Warrior really lost in his career (not counting DQs or count outs) was by pinfall due to interference. Flair can bring interference all he wants but he still has to make Warrior give up or pass out and I don't see either happening.
Funny thing about all this... is Flair can't be DQ'd. He can and will take advantage of this to help wear down Warrior. The Horsemen would easily come into play in this one.
I'll take them out of it though, and this is how I'd book it.
First I'd hype the fact that Warrior doesn't submit. I'd make that his story for the match. I'd even produce training video of him learning the "Ultimate Submission" hold to win it.
Come match time though, he would submit. Maybe around the halfway mark, I'd have Flair score the submission after several dirty hits to the knee and locking his 3rd figure four in the middle of the ring, and Warrior submitting so he could still continue and make the comeback.
Then Flair goes on the run, while Warrior goes into overdrive. Warrior finally catches up to Flair, and beats him down enough to finally catch him in the Ultimate Submission with about 30 seconds left. Flair holds on, but finally taps at 30:01, a second after the bell starts to go.
Flair wins and moves on. Warrior comes out looking strong.
I do this because in the context of the tournament itself... it makes for a better story. Flair makes the guy who doesn't quit actually quit, but just wins by the skin of his teeth. Going to the next round, he has additional heat now which helps his overall story arch. Promoting the Warrior as the guy who doesn't quit, then have him not quit... is boring. It doesn't go anywhere, or do anything going forward.
That's just how I see it. Flair should win.