Ultimate Warrior's 11 Losses - From Cleanest To Screwiest
3. Vs. Sgt. Slaughter - WWF Royal Rumble 1991
Yes, this was a dire and exploitative period that illustrated and hastened the WWF's mainstream demise, as exemplified by the "security measure" that was downsizing the WrestleMania VII venue. But lost amid the headlines and abbreviated history is that the in-ring transcended the creative.
The trilogy of matches that spanned the dovetailing main event picture were all great, by the standards of the WWF main event scene of the early 1990s. Ultimate Warrior Vs. Sgt. Slaughter was a miraculous match even before the home run execution of the iconic finish.
It absolutely did not mess around.
Warrior charged into Slaughter and General Adnan the very second the bell sounded. The crowd were lit up, jolted into life by Warrior's unreal electricity, and he put the f*cking boots into Slaughter like he was a liberal minority. Randy Savage shifted the structure with a phenomenal run-in, almost tripping over Warrior as he blasted him because he was so invested in the intensity of his performance.
A wild and urgent smoke-and-mirrors sprint of the highest drama, Warrior roared back and intercepted Sherri's distraction by throwing her flush into Savage in a wicked bump. This created an opening for Slaughter to wring Warrior's neck on the ropes, which in turn created an opening for Savage to crack Warrior over the head so hard with the sceptre that you could almost feel the sharp, blinding pain coursing through his head.
Awesome, awesome stuff: a f*ck finish that mapped the road to WrestleMania superbly.
Clean rating: There are pit stains on the t-shirt, but it still looks fantastic.