In an effort to make sure each Royal Rumble was unique, the WWF decided to have two people co-win the Royal Rumble match this year. There were several other matches on the card including Championships on the line. Also, this was to be the last time we'd see the Undertaker for most of the year. Storylines progressed through this event and that's part of what I like about the Royal Rumble itself. Not just the Rumble match, but the whole event opens up doors for feuds and matches.
Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
The original opponent schedule for Tatanka was Ludvig Borga, who ended Tatanka's winning streak and injured him, preventing him from competing at the 1993 Survivor Series. Due to an injury sustained by Borga, he was replaced by Bam Bam Bigelow. Luckily, Tatanka already had a heated rivalry with Bigelow as well, so it worked out. By this time, Bam Bam had Luna Vachon by his side. It was a decent way to begin a show and it turned out better than had Borga been in the match. Tatanka defeated Bigelow but they would both collide again later in the Royal Rumble match.
Tag Team Titles - Quebecers vs. Bret Hart & Owen Hart
One of the best rivalries during this time was between the Hart brothers. Owen was continually looked at as being in older brother Bret's shadow. Two months earlier at the Survivor Series, the brothers had a falling out when Owen ripped Bret from the turnbuckles and shoved him as brothers Keith and Bruce looked on in horror. The brothers made up during the Holidays and Bret decided a great way for them to bond again was to become Tag Team Champions. Owen was ecstatic, as he was yet to win a Championship in the WWF.
The Harts had history with Jacques Rougeau of the Quebecers and they always had chemistry together during matches. It was a good match and fans were looking forward to the possibility of the Harts winning Tag Team gold. Being that Owen is my favorite wrestler of all time, I really wanted this to happen for him. At one point in the match, Bret was pushed off the apron while tagging in and hurt his knee, which the Quebecers worked on afterwards. Owen begged Bret to tag him back in but unfortunately, due to Bret's injury, the referee stopped the match and awarded it to the Quebecers. Owen was irate and started yelling at Bret for not tagging. In a moment that shocked the world, Owen then kicked the back of Bret's knee and left him laying, still upset about the match. The fans worried as Bret was to compete in the Rumble match later on and this might prevent that. Owen developed into a fantastic heel and we were officially on our way to a long feud between the brothers. It also created a funny moment that others ribbed Owen for, when he accidentally said; "...when I kicked your leg out from under your leg."
Intercontinental Title - Razor Ramon vs. IRS
These two were no strangers to each other as they had been feuding by association since the Summer of 1993. Razor ended the career of the "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, IRS's partner in Money Inc., while IRS defeated Razor's friend the 1-2-3 Kid. Razor and IRS were also on opposing Survivor Series teams. Former Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels interfered in the match when the referee was knocked out briefly. Michaels claimed he never lost the IC Title and kept showing up with a replica belt. The Heartbreak Kid then hit Razor with the belt. Although fans thought IRS won after the referee came to, another referee came down to explain the situation, saw Michaels' belt, and restarted the match. One Razor's Edge later and it was all over for the Tax Man. In an odd but unrelated turn of events, in his time with the WWF, Razor Ramon never competed in a Royal Rumble match.
WWF Championship Casket Match - Yokozuna vs. Undertaker
This feud developed during the Survivor Series when the two men battled and got counted out, continuing to brawl to the back. It was clear that even as big as he was, the 500 lb Yokozuna was having trouble fending off the Undertaker. Yokozuna's manager Mr. Fuji had a plan should such a situation arise. Suddenly, several men came out to attack the Undertaker including Bam Bam Bigelow, associate Crush, and henchmen Genichiro Tenryu and the Great Kabuki. Taker was able to fend them off briefly until Fuji stole Paul Bearer's urn. From there, Adam Bomb, Jeff Jarrett, Diesel, and the Headshrinkers came out to help put the Dead Man into the Casket. It took ten men for Yokozuna to retain his Title and put the Undertaker away.
After the match, as the men were wheeling the casket to the back, smoke spilled out from the casket and they backed away, frightened. On the screen appeared the Undertaker from inside the casket, as he vowed to one day return. After a small explosion, the Undertaker appeared to rise up from behind the screen and up to the ceiling. While they tried to have it come off as eerie, it was a little cheesy. Speculation then began as to the whereabouts of the Undertaker and it caused him to miss one of two WrestleManias in the span of 25 of them. The Undertaker would return in the Summer to discard an impostor and get revenge by finally defeating Yokozuna.
Royal Rumble Match
Though Tito Santana was no longer around to battle Rick Martel during the Rumble, Shawn Michaels and former partner Marty Jannetty tangled during this one. Other feuds kept going during this Rumble, such as "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Crush, as well as Bam Bam Bigelow and Doink. When Bret Hart was somehow able to enter into the match, he went right after his brother Owen for what he did to him earlier in the night. For the time being, Bret got what he wanted, as he eliminated Owen.
The last four men left were Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Lex Lugar, and Headshrinker Fatu. Hart eliminated Michaels while Lugar eliminated Fatu. The two fan favorites then battled it out to determine who would go on to face Yokozuna for the WWF Title at WrestleMania. In an unprecedented turn of events, Hart and Lugar eliminated each other and their feet touched the floor at the exact same time. They showed different camera angles but they never did show the exact angle to tell who was actually eliminated first. WWF President Jack Tunney decided that both men were the winners of the Royal Rumble match. To determine who would have their Title opportunity first, Lugar won a coin toss. However, since the winner of the Yokozuna/Lugar match would have to wrestle twice, a match was set between Bret Hart and Owen Hart. In order to have this match take place and still have Bret win the Title in the end, this was probably the only way to go about it.
The amount of big stars entering the Royal Rumble had clearly dwindled by 1994 and it was ever present in this match. In fact, this trend would continue the next several years. If not for the winner getting a main event title shot at WrestleMania, they would just be completely generic. I was also not happy about the traditional two minute intervals being cut down. They were cut down to one minute the next year and when I get to that blog tomorrow, I'll discuss how it affected my feeling about the result. Needless to say, this year's Rumble match was highlighted by Diesel's dominance and the co-winner situation. The event itself also saw the implosion of the Hart brothers and a disappearing act for the Undertaker.
If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
https://tagmeadate.com/
https://tagmeadate.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment