Was The Ultimate Warrior the wrong guy?: Bryan & Vinny Show

Bryan and Vinny review the main event from the January 27, 1990 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, continuing the build to WrestleMania VI. But the question remains: was The Ultimate Warrior the wrong guy for the push? [January 14, 2021]
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[@LebD]

He was popular with the fans at the time and some were getting sick of Hogan's routine.

[@thefinnishchamp]

Yes and no. He was the right guy to get over but the wrong one to stay over

[@supertarantatikataka3313]

yeah, perfect guy to beat Hogan at a stadium mania but nowt after that

[@thecedex]

"The anybody can be your guy" comment from Bryan actually is true. When I was a lad and casually would see Wrestling on TV of course I would know guys like Hogan or The Warrior. But I was a Curt Henning mark when I first saw Wrestling to the point I thought he was a babyface. I mean I was like 6 or 7 years old back then and thought Wrestling was real. So why wouldn't a kid cheer for a guy who call himself Mr. Perfect with those vignettes of him doing awesome things? And thought he was just the coolest. lol

[@Edtheboss973]

The next guy should have been Tugboat Thomas! Tugmania running wild brother!

[@Ortonstraightbrother]

Warrior wasn't the best in ring worker, but he had the charisma and made that character work.

[@dukiewilkos4247]

I agree. I took me along time to realize how bad the warrior was. He was still awesome as a kid though.

[@gabeblack8247]

Warrior was over with the crowd, one of the most important things to be the guy. He had the look but yes, he could've practiced more to be a better wrestler though

[@gbrooks2]

Truly the Lars Ulrich of pro wrestling.

[@ahmeddemha6112]

Also could’ve learned how to be less of an asshole.

[@ahmeddemha6112]

@Heavy Metal Collector Well I far as I know Warrior hasn’t yet been accused of doing gay porn.....not that there’s anything wrong with that.

[@DigestiveCeremony]

@@gbrooks2 Lars can still play Master of Puppets, though.

[@johndawhale3197]

He was a great wrestler...this talk of him being a shit wrestler is nonsense.

[@doubles7533]

I don't think he was the wrong guy at all, at the time. He was incredibly over, and Hogan was starting to get booed. Plus Hogan wanted to go become a movie star so Vince needed a backup plan.

[@ronniejdio9411]

Vince should have had a plan C

[@Lannister_in_debt]

@@ronniejdio9411 that C was lex luger!

[@ronniejdio9411]

@@Lannister_in_debt plan D was Brett and plan F was Diesel. Guess he should have stuck w plan c

[@ronniejdio9411]

@Heavy Metal Collector sure. Brett could have had a decent match w luger at mania. A torture rack countered into a side leg sweep and sharp shooter would have been a great finish

[@nagorak666]

I think retrospectively he was definitely the wrong guy because of his attitude.

[@CallingALLmarks]

I was a little warrior for Halloween in kindergarten and had a hogan cake for my birthday that year.

[@glass_oni0n]

what they wanted Warrior to be they always had in Randy Savage. for as much as they made, WWE left a lot of money on the table between Hogan and Savage. then WCW left 3x the amount on the table by never really going there with a meaningful feud between the two.

[@ParentsNightIn]

Hogan winning the 1990 Rumble made zero sense. Either Warrior or Perfect should’ve won it, to elevate one of them.

[@ParentsNightIn]

@Jay Dee Hogan didn’t need to win that too, he’d won virtually every match in his WWF career, he was already invincible.

[@ahmeddemha6112]

@Jay Dee ???? Wasn’t that pretty much most of Hogan’s career in the States?

[@bdot187um]

​@@ParentsNightInHOGAN MUST POSE

[@EdwinAces]

Warrior was the guy, you can't manufacture over and unlike guys afterwards he was mega over.

[@peterlee6374]

It’s like Goldberg, people shot on him in WCW and go “he couldn’t wrestle” and that other shit but ignore the fact he was fucking over Warrior was fucking over

[@xGodofAcidx]

People talk about Hogan sabotaging Warrior.. I think the biggest sabotage Hogan pulled was on Vince, when Vince asked him to pass the torch to this guy. One look at his work and his promos and Hogan knew they'd be begging him to headline WM7, and they did. Juxtapose that with the way Hogan inserted himself into Savage's title run and made damn sure to overshadow him, because he knew Savage actually had the ability to stay on top.

[@mattthomas1442]

Hogan knew he was bigger than the WWF and that nobody there could draw like him. Savage drew for a few months after he got the belt but that was due to him headlining with a white hot heel in Dibiase who fans hated due to Hogan. Once they ran that loop and Savage had to work with Andre the numbers dropped so Hogan had to be put on his card. Same when Savage got the belt after mania 8. Him and Flair were working 1 loop and Bret was headlining the other with the IC and he was regularly outdrawing them. With that said that's not a knock on Savage or Warrior they did the best they could but nobody was Hulk Hogan.

[@ahmeddemha6112]

You forgot Hogan fucking over Yokozuna and Bret Hart at Wretlemania 9 eventhough he was already on the card competing for the tag titles.

[@loudiamondphillips6359]

Having no opponent after hogan is what killed him. They should have signed a monster like Vader to get warrior all the way over. Just let those to go out there and stiff the shit out of each other.

[@sethfreakinrollins9889]

I think he was okay. He definitely got too much hate for being overrated, but the same happens to every wrestler who gets a major push.

[@kamfisher1714]

If he’s not 165 pounds who does holds, flips and kicks then he’s not overrated!

[@unciervoenciervado]

@@kamfisher1714 if he doesn't gas out in the first 30 seconds of the match then he can't draw MONEY

[@kamfisher1714]

@@unciervoenciervado He already did.

[@splash8429]

@@kamfisher1714 that wasn't the case in 90s

[@kamfisher1714]

@@splash8429 Compared to hogan of course, but he did draw and was over.

[@TNLable]

Summerslam 1989 and Royal Rumble 1990 are more gold than their original value simply because Tony Schiavone called the match

[@mattthomas1442]

There was no right guy cause nobody was Hulk Hogan. Yes Savage drew as champion but that was mainly due to him working with DiBiase who fans hated cause of what he did to Hogan, so they paid to see DiBiase get his payback. By the fall when he wasn't facing the white hot heel they needed Hogan on the card to boost attendance. In hindsight they probably should've had a heel take the title off Hogan but there was no baby face on Earth at that time that could match Hogan and he knew it. Warrior did about the best you could do. There's a reason it took another 8 years for another baby face to draw like Hogan and that's because he was simply one in a million, they just aren't out there.

[@ahmeddemha6112]

While that may be true the way they (and WCW) pushes Hogan caused significant damage in the long run.

[@karlm641]

Warrior was over like crazy and was definitely the right guy. Don’t listen to these guys on this one, it didn’t work long term but everyone thought warrior was cool as hell and wanted to be like him... not something you can say about the 10 stone weaklings on the product today

[@RobertoTheOriginalManFromTheA]

Warrior offense is cocaine and roid rage.

[@jonbeargaming6254]

Kind of a random comment, but I love what you've done with your webcam, Bryan. Looks snazzy!

[@Hakimi655]

Some 4k stuff right there

[@TheSaxon.]

Why does Warrior get such scrutiny? What about Hart, Michael's,Taker, Benoit, Eddie and many more who never really drew and weren't as over?

[@DigestiveCeremony]

Warrior was a bad wrestler, bad promo, and never got better at anything during his entire career. The scrutiny is more than justified.

[@Jayage5d]

@@DigestiveCeremony But does that even matter? When Warrior was very over and was a huge drew at the time.

[@sairajdegvekar8726]

@@Jayage5d he drew only for some time but after that he was never same. He was more trouble in locker room than hbk in 1997. Warrior was over but for some time and he never improved even being in biggest pro wrestling company in period where wrestling was mainstream. On the other hand taker sting hbk always evolved with time. Even sting wrote in his book that warrior never understand why he needs to put over smaller guys in wrestling.

[@johndawhale3197]

Jealousy.

[@danielturner2415]

why is bryan always changing up his microphone?

[@samoanjoseph1457]

I could honestly believe he sees something in WWE regularly that makes him drop his head and hit the mic, damaging it and requiring a replacement. Probably got a drawer full of them.

[@NYKgjl10]

Warrior was mega over with the audience and Vince love guys that look like greek gods with a body.

[@TPRES_74]

Mr.Perfect was supposed to be the Guy but he had gotten injured and then it was off to plan B.

[@michaeltracy2725]

Where did you ever hear that?

[@TPRES_74]

@@michaeltracy2725 - I forget. I do remember some Wrestler talked about it. He said that It was well known that was the plan.

[@AGxAG]

We had Demolition at number 1 and 2 at the 1990 rumble I think.

[@Jcz487]

6:03 Me = D'lo Brown/Goldust

[@slackerdc]

I am sick and tired of everyone dumping on the Ultimate Warrior let us just count all the great qualities he had: 1. He had a great look! ... no... ... Uh.. OKAY BUT STILL!

[@cazador918]

Hogan did confirmed in the Steve Austin podcast that indeed it was sabotage

[@wrestlingtapes2036]

Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, the list goes on.

[@weatheredtome]

Definitely one of the stupidest things I've read in a comment section; thank you!

[@Eidenhoek]

Perfectly-fine guy for the push.

[@markant9534]

Couldn`t draw as champ after WM6.

[@bdot187um]

​@@markant9534while I agree, still better than those who came after in the mid 90s.

[@tylerleggett5088]

Not watching wrestling as a kid, I had no nostalgic affinity for guys like hogan, warrior, and goldberg. Looking at their abilities with an objective more 'mature' lens, they all seem like vastly overrated muscle heads that could only do three moves. Never saw the appeal. I'm glad I really got into wrestling around 2016 in what I call the workrate era. I wonder how fans in 30 years will look at modern wrestling.

[@brianparker5592]

Meh...that’s all they will say. The characters and personalities aren’t the most captivating.

[@bdot187um]

I take muscle heads with larger than life personalities over today's gymnastic performers everytime.

[@dont_follow5777]

It was going to be warrior. Then it was going to be Sid. But there was no replacing Hogan. Just a different era came and that search ended.

[@paulearl8203]

Huge draw. Second biggest star of the era and at time just as popular as Hogan. No he wasn't the wrong guy. Simple.

[@bdot187um]

Did he draw sure, was he a star no doubt, but he wasn't on Hogan's level.

[@jonjohnson1978.]

​@@bdot187um who was or has been since only 3 guys. He was getting burnt out which he said himself. A new guy was needed

[@ronniejdio9411]

I was there and half the crowd hated Hogan. Perfect got a semi pop when he hit the perfect plex... they should have had curt win the rumble and have a heel champ for. A while. The best thing about that show was how much I hated it. We were surrounded by kids and we were used to seeing NWA shows w drunk adults. The kids would booo the Brooklyn brawler and flap their hands at coco beware and do the stupid buchwackers arm thing. Perfect? Booooo the model ? Boooooo We were MISERABLE AND THEN THE LIGHTS WHEN OUT GONG GONG GONG The Undertaker came out. We walked slowly to the ring. And there was ... Put silence. No kid boo. No kid made a sound. They were scared too. That's when I knew undertaker would be huge in the WWF.

[@mikeabel7577]

This comment is bullshit. The Undertaker was not involved in this show. He wasn't working in the WWF at the time, he was still working in WCW. Also, the WWF did not turn off the lights during Undertaker's entrance until SummerSlam 1994. What are you talking about?

[@skee8721]

The Ultimate Warrior should have been Tom McGee! lol

[@chenry15]

Brian, two Choices for The Main Event of WM 6 Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior or Hulk Hogan vs ZEUS (was rumored at the time)

[@JeremyBearimy913]

Wasn't this the same year where they were also mulling over Hogan vs. Mr. Perfect??

[@rubberchix]

Vinnys sign :'D

[@johndawhale3197]

Warrior is the greatest wrestler of all time...these fools call Vince delusional for recognizing his greatness when these guys are in complete denial of Warrior's brilliance.

[@press_x_tojason]

He tried to beat a guy whose signature move was a leg drop by doing… a log roll comedy spot.

[@jordandupe398]

WARRIOR wasn't Booked Well & didn't improve as a performer.. BC he was so weak in RinG, A HEEL Factory should have been waiting on WARRIOR foR him to run through. Also, the storyline's needed to have some depth and ga ga because HE was so limited in his ability to tell a story physically. Hot ANGLES would have been the KEY here. Besides the SAVAGE interference @RUMBLE91, I can't think.oF one BIG ANGLE WARRIOR was involved in his entire WWF CHAMPIONSHIP Run.... It's NOT a huge SURPRISE he failed...

[@drewturner4845]

Yea I loved Warrior when I was a kid....to look at his matches or promo's now he's trash. WWF really should've picked Sting 100% better.

[@ahmeddemha6112]

How would they had picked Sting?

[@ahmeddemha6112]

@Heavy Metal Collector Sting would’ve likely had been another guy that Vince would’ve had wither in Hulk’s shadow or simply just overlooked outright.

[@simplyrecommended]

Was warrior the wrong guy? Ever heard of jinder Mahal If warrior came through the nxt doors today he be money

[@ronniejdio9411]

Jinder was a draw. There are surprisingly a half dozen worse champs than jinder

[@ahmeddemha6112]

@@ronniejdio9411 Jinder was a draw where?

[@ahmeddemha6112]

Like Ryback?

[@ronniejdio9411]

@@ahmeddemha6112 when he had the title and ratings and merch and attendance didnt tank

[@ahmeddemha6112]

@@ronniejdio9411 WWE were doing more or less doing the same numbers during Jinder’s reign that they were doing before he even got that push.. Reason why after he dropped the title they basically pretended that whole deal never happened. But then again they kept Lesnar in the title picture eventhough his repeated pushes did little for the company🤔

[@CK2008able]

Man, just saw a highlight video from last January and boy Bryan has aged in a year. Maybe it's the beard making him look old, or maybe he just looked in his 20s for twenty years

[@Kennedy1op]

No

[@MissterX]

Are you joking with the BLM sign?

[@jdf1720]

Everyone glosses over that Warrior's WM match with Savage was one of the best matches of all time.

[@tylerleggett5088]

Savage probably carried him.

[@Kiranbhandari2003]

No wrestler is underrated or overrated. They are just underused or overused

[@ahmeddemha6112]

So Kofi Kingston for much of his run has been underused even though he’s held multiple titles (multiple times). Whereas Brock Lesnar is overused eventhough he shows up infrequently to wrestle the same kind of matches?

[@bfunderb5899]

If he ever returns for The Rumble, the pop will be insane

[@jakejonas7366]

I’m betting it never happens lol

[@stevonwhite8933]

@@jakejonas7366 He really doesn’t know does he?

[@jakejonas7366]

@@stevonwhite8933 either he doesn’t know, or he made a hilarious joke that I laughed my ass off at. Or there’s the possibility he meant hogan.

[@weatheredtome]

Why would bodyslams wear you out if your opponent posts properly?

[@mattm6580]

"It was a nothing spot but people went crazy". No. It wasnt nothing. It was iconic. If you want nothing tune in to aew on wednesdays or raw on mondays. Whole lot of nothing going on there.

[@mxnzzchannel7590]

nice vd

[@peterlee6374]

In hindsight you could say he was BUT at the time he was fucking over and hogan was getting boos Warrior really needed a white hit heal to go up against

[@brycemcneil4404]

That is one thing that is underdiscussed. Both Warrior and Sting in 1990 needed a heel that would do a stratospheric program with them and they never got there.

[@peterlee6374]

@@brycemcneil4404 yeah anyone who’s “the guy” aswell has that mega heel opposite them Austin v McMahon/rock Sting 97 v hogan Bryan v the authority Dusty v flair/ horsemen

[@brennoncastillo]

Totally disagree, the guy is dead and very disrespectful. Say what you will but Warrior was more over than anyone the business tries to throw at us today. Can’t even watch the product today. Warrior was the guy and did have some technical abilities that he never gets credit for. Check out his matches in WCCW ‘86 But that was not his specialty. He did have great matches with Savage, Rude, Undertaker, Hulk Hogan but let’s face it Hogans matches were also wash rinse repeat but as a kid you did not care. Warrior was Awesome, different, so much energy and color and was way over. Maybe it was too soon to crown him the champion not sure but WWE/WWF and the Ultimate Warrior was a partnership that worked. The guy can’t defend himself I don’t think anyone should speak poorly of his work. The guy Obviously made tons of money and was very successful and poured a lot of passion and dedication to his character. When Vince put the belt on him and changed Warrior and took the face paint off that is what fans didn’t like. The Warrior won the title belt when it still meant something. Everyone made mistakes in the ring even Savage the perfectionist he was. Honor the man and let him Rest In Peace.

[@jameslamonica8972]

2 MARKS LOFNL

[@dylanstarr3553]

First