Why Did WWE Do The Self-Destructon DVD?

[Pay Per Ghost]

Most of us have seen this right? The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior is a very well done, albiet one-sided fun piece. It was surprising to see WWE ...well bury a character like that. Clearly he didn't have any good relations with Stamford but Vince and the E have had their fair share problem with the talent over the years. Have always maintained a 'no mention' decorum sans the Attitude Era where they would mock them. That's it. A whole documentary shitting on one?

Why him? Shit and giggles?

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Because WWE likes to make money and they knew a WWE about the Ultimate Warrior, albeit one that shit all over him, would make money. Pretty simple answer but it is also the most logical one at that.

 

[dotty_84]

From what Warrior says about being asked by WWE about the HOF and him rejecting, possibly Vince got pissed at it, so why no make money off him and be completely negative about him. Thing is Warrior isn't anywhere near destructive as they make, he's not exactly struggling for money, he seems happy, has his gym etc.

I still think he'll be in WWE HOF soon.

 

[KevinCarsner]

Warrior was out for himself and I think Vince couldn't get over him being strong armed by someone he hired working for the company he built. I think the release of the Self Destruction DVD was just as much about closure and a way for Vince to say "HAH! I win motherf*cker" as it was about profit. Worked pretty well too as it's one of the only DVD's my non-fan friends will gladly watch since it is hilarious. I'm sure that's the same story with lots of other former / non-fans.

I remember hearing that they were planning a similar project for Bret before they made amends with him. I wonder if there is any truth to that?

 

[ironsheik84]

I know these things are always one sided, and the WWE/Vince will say one thing and the Ultimate Warrior will say another BUT... I think the biggest insult is for a performer to spit in the face of the people who made you who you are. Him threatening to no show gives him a thumbs down in my book, just like why I'm not big on Dwayne "Don't call me the Rock" Johnson.

 

[holdingholder]

I've heard that WWE offered Warrior a chance to be a part of the video (filming new interviews and such) and it was supposed to be called something like the "The Awesomeness of the Ulimate Warrior " or something like that. When he balked at the idea they renamed it and changed the direction of the project. That being said, I'm sure his royalties were more than substantial for it, if Madusa made $300,000 off of her small parts in a couple WWE vids I'm sure his take was at least in the millions.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

Nope.

Warrior sued the WWE for the intellectual property of the name "The Ultimate Warrior". He won, because he changed his legal name to Warrior, there was nothing Vince could do about it.

The DVD is retalliation to the loss of the intellectual property. Mcmahon is a control freak that doesn't like to lose. The DVD was a bit over the top in my opinion. It is funny as hell though.

 

[HollywoodLuthias]

Nope.

Warrior sued the WWE for the intellectual property of the name "The Ultimate Warrior". He won, because he changed his legal name to Warrior, there was nothing Vince could do about it.

The DVD is retalliation to the loss of the intellectual property. Mcmahon is a control freak that doesn't like to lose. The DVD was a bit over the top in my opinion. It is funny as hell though.

Not true Warrior lost

The lawsuit that Jim 'Ultimate Warrior' Hellwig filed against WWE back in January of 2006 is now over. Judge Douglas L. Rayes ruled that Warrior could not sue for damages over WWE's comments about him on the "The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior" DVD. Warrior claimed the DVD violated a March 2000 Settlement Agreement between WWE and Ultimate Creations Inc, which is Warrior's Arizona corporation. That agreement allowed WWE to use footage of Warrior, but that Warrior owned the rights and trademarks to the Ultimate Warrior character and could use them in any future venue as he decreed, and agreed that both parties would "not disparage each other." WWE paid $890,000 to Warrior's Ultimate Creations as part of the settlement agreement. The court found that Warrior made "publicly disparaging claims" against WWE and ruled that Warrior himself breached the deal, so therefore he was not legally able to receive damages for the same thing he accused WWE of

 

[mankind72]

Yeah warrior lost that court case. The reason that the dvd was done was basically because it was true. he isnt liked within the industry, he did demand money off Vince at Summerslam, he is an absolute lunatic of a man (although very entertaining). the bottom line is even if Warrior had taken part in the dvd it wouldnt have put him in a good light. So he didnt take part at all and hoped that people would think it was just a hatchet job on him

 

[mdj2010]

To be honest, I think that the idea that it is totaly one sided isn;t the truth. The documentary does paint some very negative images of the Warrior. But, to be fair, it has always sounded like working with him was a nightmare and it was his erratic, untrustworthy and selfish attitude which really created his own self destruction.

On the other hand, the documentary also point to how great he was with the fans and how he got some of the buiggest pops of all time. We hear tales of how thrilled the Warior was and that he did truly appreciate the honour of holding the World Wrestling Federation championship.

Sadly, regardless of this, his repuation was tarnished by the fact that he was a troublesome character to do business with at times, because he always put himself first.

Not that tghis is likely to happen any times soon, but were the WWE to produce a Scott Hall DVD, they couldnt; do so fairly without pointing to his addictions and the fact that this has really tarnished his reputation.

Warrior still has time to redeem himself in the eys of the wrestling industry. However, I doubt he cares and sadly, I think the fans stopped caring long ago, because whatever company he went to, he would eventually end up letting us all down.

 

[H33LTurn]

It was because of how lucrative the concept was. Here you have one of the biggest stars in WWE/F history who had as big of a downfall as a rise to stardom. If theres one thing the audience loves is to see someone make it to the top... only to fall from grace. Warrior's story was no different and that coupled with the fact that he probably didnt get along all that well with Vince lead to the Self-Destruction DVD.

 

[neildittmar]

I am also of the opinion that WWE wanted to do a "real" piece on the Ultimate Warrior, hopefully tying it into a HOF induction and/or some other type of long-term deal. So Warrior was at odds with Vince... it didn't stop him from returning to the company at WM8. It didn't stop him from returning in 1996. Why would it have stopped him then? So many performers who have been at odds with Vince have gotten over it, did the deal, cashed the check, and moved on.

Except for the fact that, for whatever reason, Warrior didn't that time. He stuck to his guns and told Vince no. If I had to take an educated guess, Warrior was probably telling the truth when he said that the joint Warrior/WWE DVD was turning into a "slander piece" of sorts. Insomuch that Warrior is the kind of guy who tends to admit no wrongdoing, and WWE probably felt the DVD would be remiss if it didn't include the Summerslam incident, his multiple times vanishing and returning, etc.

In other words, there were two sides of the story here. The Warrior's "It's all Vince's fault" version and the WWE's "it's all Warrior's fault" version. As always, the truth lays somewhere in between, but because "Self-destruction" was a WWE produced piece, the truth slanted their way.

 

[stitchface247]

It's business. Warrior and Vince both look out for #1. It is more a story of similar people not liking reflections of themselves. Vince pissed a lot of people off by breaking away from territories and is hated by numerous wrestlers for being a narcissistic, financially driven douche. He's just wealthier than Jim and putting out interesting videos that make you $$$ is within his means. Besides, Vince has had rough dealings with many of his top wrestlers: Hogan, HBK, Bret Hart, Savage, etc... Warrior is just more "out there" mentally than the others and gets treated more harshly.

 

[HBsam31]

I thought it was a great dvd even though it was quite one sided. I am sure Vince just wanted to get a measure of revenge for Warrior holding him up for money or whatever it was he did. Also I am sure he made a lot of money off the dvd as well. I think one day Warrior and WWE will make amends, but I am not sure if anyone would even care anymore.

 

[OneTooManyPunts]

There's plenty of reasons why the WWE made the Ultimate Warrior Destruction DVD.

First and foremost, they could. WWE owns the only body of work in Warrior's career with any substance, and has realized more and more as their DVD releases have continued to pick up steam that their is a market for products centered around the 'Golden Era' superstars.

Second, Warrior has hyper critical of WWE for years. Vince being Vince, and the WWE being the business and public minded entity that it has become, knew they had the opportunity to counter anything Warrior has ever said about WWE, and could essentially corner him within the business even more so than he already is.

There's always the outside chance that WWE was measuring interest in Warrior as well. WWE has shown they are not above bringing in just about anyone from company's past, if they think it will generate ratings and pay paper view buys.

But more than anything, I do believe it was simply WWE, and Vince McMahon's visual middle finger to Jim Hellwig, and their way of painting him in as bad a light as possible, and while not everything they had to say may have been true, quite a bit of it was.

 

[Headman]

According to Warrior he and Vince were in negotiations to do a Warrior DVD. Warrior didn't like Vince's time table and felt he should have a little more creative control over what went into the DVD and who spoke on it. After the negotiations stalled Vince decided to do a hit piece instead. It's probably the single most petty thing the WWE has ever done. Well aside from the montreal screw job.