On Feb. 16, 1991, WWE held four house shows, including an event in London, Ontario, Canada. On Monday, its 35th anniversary, WWE added the footage to the WWE Vault on YouTube.
The card was headlined by a Royal Rumble rematch, with The Ultimate Warrior challenging WWE Champion Sgt. Slaughter for the title. Per The History of WWE, Randy Savage was originally slated for the title shot but was out with a broken wrist.
Despite later controversies, Warrior remains one of my all-time favorites. His mystique only deepens my appreciation for his work as a performer. Whenever unseen Warrior footage surfaces, I make a point to watch — and this one didn’t disappoint.
At the 1991 Royal Rumble, “Sensational Queen” Sherri lobbied for a WWE Championship match for her charge, “Macho King” Randy Savage. However, the reigning champion, The Ultimate Warrior, rebuffed her advances.
Irate, Sherri and Savage helped Sgt. Slaughter win the title, hoping to curry favor with the new champion. Their showdown was set for two house shows on Feb. 16 — a matinee in Oshawa and an evening show in London. Because of Savage’s injury, Warrior received the rematch against Slaughter, with Sherri standing in for Slaughter’s manager, General Adnan.
Technically, this match should have ended in the first minute. After snatching Slaughter’s military helmet, Warrior battered him with it, all in view of referee Joey Marella, who allowed plenty of rule-bending.
Slaughter finally gained control with Sherri’s blatant interference, which only earned her a mild warning. Later, Sarge choked Warrior with a cable and blasted him in the back with the title belt — all while Marella merely scolded him.
The chaos escalated when Warrior shoved Marella to the mat during his comeback and resumed attacking Slaughter. As Marella tried to tell him, “That’s it,” Warrior clotheslined him. Seconds later, the bell rang, and Warrior was disqualified, though Marella remained unconscious on the canvas. Officials tried to intervene, and Warrior briefly turned his aggression on them, allowing Slaughter to slip away.
Warrior’s disqualification didn’t dampen the excitement, though. Fans at London Gardens roared as he press-slammed Sherri to end the night — then added comic relief by hoisting Marella over his shoulder and carrying him to the dressing room.
The Customer is Always Right
Ironically, hours before I saw this footage, I was talking to a fellow wrestling fan who asked if I liked Warrior. After I said yes, he remarked, “Man, a lot of wrestlers didn’t like him.”
For years, many of Warrior’s colleagues criticized him — terrible wrestler, malcontent, bad guy — you name it. I laughed and told this person, a retail manager, “That’s their problem. That’s coworker drama. As the customer, I don’t care, nor should I.”
When I go to Best Buy, I don’t care if Jim the salesman clashes with his peers in the break room. What matters is how I’m treated. I don’t need Jim to have the smarts of Bill Gates or handle every transaction flawlessly. I care about the experience I have in the store.
That’s how I feel about Warrior. I enjoyed him for what he was. In 2026, I especially appreciate his matches — his entrances are pure adrenaline, and the bouts are quick and digestible, without long stretches of highspots or false finishes.
Most of all, I remember a pleasant email exchange with Warrior following WWE’s hit-piece DVD, The Self-Destruction of The Ultimate Warrior.
After Vince McMahon and others slammed him for over an hour, WWE then had the audacity to show his “best matches.” I felt cheated by the experience. This was the equivalent of coworkers having a spat on the sales floor, a total lack of professionalism and disregard for “the customer.”
Disappointed, I emailed Warrior expressing my support and received a warm reply signed by him that left a lasting impression.
I know some readers will point to the awful things Warrior said and wrote after his wrestling career. I don’t excuse those words. Like many, I was disappointed.
But I also saw his later efforts to inspire others as a motivational speaker. Biographies outlining his early struggles and his environments gave me some sense of who he was and why. One of life’s great tragedies is that he died before he could make amends.
Still, I’ll always have a soft spot for the character and the man. He was complex, tormented, yet bold enough to be different — defiant to the point of ridicule. A mystery wrapped in an enigma, yet someone who, through a brief email, showed me decency and respect, ultimately shaping my opinion of The Ultimate Warrior.