For those that need a brief warm-up, Ultimate Death Match is a lame attempt to bridge the world of professional wrestling with the violence of grindhouse films. As both a wrestling fan and a genre cinema fan myself, I am doubly offended that Ultimate Death Match falls far short of any expectation that fans of either series will have.
Ultimate Death Match 2 returns to the independent wrestling federation that was struggling to get by last time. After concocting a sadistic tournament which would leave one wrestler dead, the federation has seen plenty of success because of voyeuristic internet fans. In the second annual tournament, the stakes are raised because not only will someone die by the end, but there is a large cash prize for the victor. Enough money to retire and give up a brutal physical lifestyle. The opportunity is not wasted on a new batch of wrestlers that not only want to prove themselves, but also provide for their families or leave the violent lifestyle behind.
I really wish I could tell you that there was more to the story than that, but there isn't. In roughly 90 minutes of run time, approximately 15 minutes is given to any actual "acting" performance that conveys the storyline. The rest of the film is simply a series of different wrestling matches, some of which that don't actually last longer than their introduction and by any wrestling standard, aren't very interesting.
I have tried to wrap my head around this many times and it sounds more bizarre the more I think about it, but I believe that Ultimate Death Match 2 was never produced to be a movie. I think this "film" (I use air quotes because I don't want to consider this art) is really a recorded Pay-Per-View match in an independent league that had an insane story thrown on top of it at the last minute in order to call it a "movie." The cover of the DVD box hypes appearances by wrestling heavy-weights like Kevin Nash, Raven, and even Larry Zabisco but NONE of these wrestlers actually perform in the ring. In fact, NONE of these wrestlers actually contribute to the story. The brief clips that each athlete are in seems more like backstage footage during an interview than it seems like rehearsed story. This is the most shameless name-dropping tactic I have ever witnessed. But that still isn't the worst part.
As much as I hated the original Ultimate Death Match, at least it made an attempt to offer some sensational violence in the ring to make it seem like this underground world of renegade wrestlers were really trying to kill one another. In Ultimate Death Match 2, not a single drop of blood is spilled, nor is there any display of excellent wrestling abilities. There are a few established names that independent wrestling fans will recognize like Dan Severn, Kid Kash, Shane Douglas, and Sandman, but even they give lackluster performances. I have seen each of these men give their blood, sweat, and tears in an unrehearsed wrestling match at the height of their popularity. Now, every single man lazily climbs in the ring and performs maybe three or four flashy moves before abruptly ending the match.
I can't take it. Ultimate Death Match 2 is actually worse than its predecessor, which is saying a lot! The poor acting, sloppy editing, pointless story, backwards logic, unimpressive wrestling, and overall lackadaisical effort from these films is becoming painful. No one should watch this. Not wrestling fans, not grindhouse fans, not even purveyors of terribly awful cinema (like The Room) should watch Ultimate Death Match 2. I'll even save you the trouble... Kid Kash dies. The f***ing star of the movie, the good guy, dies. There. Don't waste your money or your time on this garbage. Go watch wrestling videos online and forget that these films even exist.
