Board 8 > Lopen watches and talks about all the Royal Rumbles. And ranks them. TURBO.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Lopen posted...

Oh yeah totally forgot to mention that in 1992.

I loved how Taker just relentlessly tries to get Savage back in the ring for no real reason after he eliminates himself. I feel like he's just a pro who noticed Savage technically eliminated himself but wasn't due to be tossed yet, and wanted to get him back in the ring ASAP so people don't mistakenly think he's out.

Yeah even heenan was like "I guess Taker didnt want him out yet"
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Tag

Good stuff so far. 92 Rumble so clutch
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Tag
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Royal Rumble 1994

This is a Rumble I'm sure almost everyone remembers over pretty much every other Rumble, at least second hand, if for no other reason than the finish. Luger and Hart spilling out and hitting the floor at the exact same time was so controversial and interesting at the time, and I feel like this is a finish you can't actually do ever again with the way wrestling is now. Like it's just not treated enough like a sport anymore. These old Rumbles really had that feel to it-- how often do the announcers say to each other "how long has X been in!?" with such enthusiasm these days? Never. And I miss it. And that kinda mindset, treating it like a legitimate sporting event where stamina matters and all that, I think that was very necessary for this ending to work.

The funny thing is I didn't even remember Luger being injured from a "backstage assault" or whatever. Like yeah, Bret got crippled, remember that clearly, but Luger was kind of a footnote. Kinda felt that way this time too, but I acknowledged it existed. Oh, and the fakeout where no one comes out for 25, and they're like "oh that must be Bret's number :(" only for Bret to actually limp out at 27 was excellent too-- the best thing Bastion Booger ever contributed to wrestling, for sure.

Anyway, finish aside, there are two moments that stick with me on this one, the first being that I actually really liked the opening to this one. I'm always a fan of the tag team uniting and kicking ass so the Steiners being 1 and 3 got me started hyped. Really unfortunate that Kwang misted Rick Steiner and their dominance stops before it can even get started, but it was an exciting start for me.

Second, of course, and my actual favorite part of the rumble, is Diesel kicking all kinds of ass, emptying the ring and just gauntlet styling through jobbers. This is made even better when after plowing through like 10 guys, Randy Savage comes out to go 1v1... and sure, Diesel may be 7 feet tall, but you just get that feeling as Macho removes his coat and hat and tassels and s***, that it is on-- and sure enough, the guy just beats the ever living hell out of Diesel for 2 minutes. Savage is just not taking any of Diesel's crap. Jarrett is the next number, tries to interfere, Savage tosses him out and continues to destroy Diesel. It's so good. I wish these two like, had a feud. I feel like the matches would actually be great. I know that's weird to say, Kevin Nash having a great match, but this was just so fun to watch for the 5 minutes or so it lasted.

Now that being said, aside from those moments mentioned, I didn't much care for this. Great beginning, great end, but like, all the guys I pulled for early (Steiners, Diesel, Savage) were all out before the match was half over. Just kind of a bunch of whatever in the middle. Not 1993 tier, as there were actual stars in there, but it just wasn't very hype. I think Savage and Diesel were too good and I was just drained after that until crippled Bret came out. Like the people's enthusiasm for chanting "WHOOP THERE IT IS!" for Mabel was the most entertaining thing other than what I mentioned which should say it all.

Probably Undertaker having the most ridiculously overbooked match ever with Yoko didn't help energy levels either. What was that. What are these undercards in general jeez.

Royal Rumble Ranking:
1992 > 1990 > 1994 > 1989 > 1988 > 1993 > 1991

Still a solid Rumble for sure with all things considered, but only good enough for 3rd best so far.
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They had to write Taker off for six months. How else could that believably be done other than literal death? <_<

Underrated is how well Bret and Luger managed to hit as close to simultaneously as possible.

Although Cena and Batista would later do that EVEN BETTER, BY ACCIDENT
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Also what do you think of Harts vs Quebecers as a storyline pivot? Do you think Owen's frustration was justified, even if his actions weren't?
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Well I buy that Owen could be envious enough that he could interpret what happened as Bret being some sorta glory hound, but as an outside observer no he wasn't really justified Bret was mostly just unable to tag. But I mean, that's kinda why it works-- it was both believable that he would think it was justified but also not actually justified, which is kinda important.

I actually really thought that part was good-- would've mentioned as much in the write-up but I'd been rambling too long about the Rumble to talk much about the undercard.
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Lopen posted...

I know that's weird to say, Kevin Nash having a great match, but this was just so fun to watch for the 5 minutes or so it lasted.

Nash was very much capable of having great matches. It's just that he only wanted to do so at a couple times in his career, mostly against his friends.
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I honestly can't remember any great Kevin Nash matches, and I say this as a fan of Kevin Nash overall.

Like my favorite one I've seen might very well be his match with Bret Hart on well, the next Rumble, not to get too far ahead of ourselves, and to my knowledge Bret isn't a guy who's ever been too chummy with him.

And given the finish to that one is the total nonsense that it is, that's kinda saying something. It doesn't ruin the match or anything but it kinda keeps it from being a really great match I think-- guess the finish is not really his fault by any means though.

It's certainly possible they exist and I haven't seen them, however!
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Nash vs. Michaels at Good Friends, Better Enemies was god damn awesome. Followed closely by Nash vs. Bret at Survivor Series 1995.

Beyond that, it's gets tough finding good Nash matches.
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Is there a Rumbles playlist on the network?

I have a lot of work to do tomorrow so I thought an all day long Rumbles in the background might break it up but only if itll autoplay
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I think Nash's best, most underrated quality was his ability to sell an angle.

Even stupid angles.

Even "I stole Triple H's phone and texted myself" he did a good job of selling, it was just a bridge too stupid.
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If you pick a Rumble it'll autoplay through all of em in order yeah
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Eddv posted...

Is there a Rumbles playlist on the network?

I have a lot of work to do tomorrow so I thought an all day long Rumbles in the background might break it up but only if itll autoplay

There's a Subscriber's Choice playlist with ten Rumbles in it.
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I was about to mention Bret/Diesel Survivor Series '95 as a really good Nash match. Glad someone beat me to the punch!
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Undertaker/Diesel is better than it has a right to be
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I'm watching 1990 rumble. Is that Tony Schiavone?
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Yes
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Royal Rumble 1995

This was another Rumble I'd never seen. "This will be the most intense rumble ever as every entry will only have 60 seconds." This was an automatic red flag for me, as I kinda don't even like the 90 second spacing, but I was keeping an open mind. Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog start, so you know, promising start!

Then uh... Duke the Dumpster Droese, Eli Blu, Sione, Jimmy Del Ray, Tom Prichard... what? What is this? Save_us.Damien_Demento. This match was everything I hated about the late-mid part of the 1993 Rumble, but it was for the entire Rumble. Like it just actively sucked my enjoyment out of the match for these losers to keep coming out. A four way between Luger, Crush, HBK, and Bulldog for a title shot would've been much much better than this and frankly more prestigious to win.

That wasn't really the only thing wrong with this by any means, though. The 60 second entries were just too fast. There was no time to breathe. Like mid match Bret comes out to attack Owen Hart and Backlund as revenge for them interfering in his match earlier, and someone would come out before the beatdown even finished. And the damn ring kept filling with like 10 guys cause it's hard to eliminate people that quickly. Then you have two moments in the match where it turns into a women's elimination tag match with people getting eliminated every 5 seconds because they realize "oh the ring is too full."

The first two are the last two, as Bulldog and Shawn somehow got through this gauntlet of jobbers + Lex Luger and Crush. Bulldog tosses HBK out, HBK hangs from the ropes, gets a foot on the floor, they play Bulldog's music, he celebrates, and but then HBK gets back in and tosses Bulldog out. So even the end part of this sucks-- mostly cause of the music (I'm not sure this entire PPV had a clean finish), really feel Bulldog got screwed over by the sound guys there. HBK wins from #1, and while it looks good on a stat sheet, this could not be less impressive in practice.

I hated everything about this match. Except Bret Hart coming out to beat up Owen Hart and Bob Backlund for ruining his title match earlier. That was pretty cool.

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The undercard was kinda trash aside from Diesel vs Bret Hart for the title, which was actually pretty good till the finish, a no contest after like 10 guys interfere attacking both sides. I think Diesel may have been a bit underrated, particularly his selling-- dude takes much more convincing beatings from smaller guys than any big man I've ever seen. Between this and Macho Man's beating at Rumble 94-- I'm definitely gonna watch his Survivor Series match and Better Enemies match with Hart and Michaels after I finish this.

And IRS vs Undertaker what why is this a thing. Though it did give us this:

http://i.imgur.com/Z2Dlk6U.jpg

Look at the size of that damn urn. It's so ridiculous I love it.

Royal Rumble Ranking:
1992 > 1990 > 1994 > 1989 > 1988 > 1993 > 1991 > 1995
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I only hyped '95 Rumble for the finish, and the fact that 1 and 2 went wire to wire.

Like, if you asked me to remember anything specific about any Royal Rumble, I could probably only name one or two things.
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It's so quick BECAUSE it's so thin on talent

Would you want a full hour of those jobbers? Their logic was "at least there will always be something happening"
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Yeah, I mean, on a stat sheet it looks cool I guess and if you were a big HBK (or Bulldog to a lesser extent) fan in the moment I could see remembering it fondly, but it's just dreadful to watch.
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I do feel bad for Bulldog there because it feels like he never really got the push for the title he deserved, but the finish was pretty cool.
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The best part of the 1995 Rumble is the gigantic ovation Timothy Well gets for his entrance.

(that was actually for Owen Hart getting eliminated)
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Jakyl25 posted...

It's so quick BECAUSE it's so thin on talent

Would you want a full hour of those jobbers? Their logic was "at least there will always be something happening"

Well I see the logic THEY were likely using, but I feel if you've got HBK and Bulldog in there the whole time and there's some drama allowed to be built, and the guys have time to actually thin out the jobbers more often, the match could've been much better.

Also you could've actually had Owen and Backlund in the match instead of Bret wrecking them-- every bit of talent helps. If the match is longer you can scrap some undercard matches and put IRS, Undertaker, Bob Holly, 1–2–3 Kid, Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow in the match, too. The roster was thin but it wasn't THIS thin.
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Bigelow had to set up the WRESTLEMANIA MAIN EVENT with LT! The Rumble is secondary!

Taker is fighting IRS because DiBiase is still pissed that Taker beat his Fake Undertaker. He literally spends all of 1995 trying to get his urn back after the Million Dollar Corporation steals it.
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But yeah, like, even if you run with the assumption there have to be jobbers cause the roster is shallow, could these jobbers have been any more bland?

Give me Skinner, The "HUSS" Berserker, and Damien Demento over Timothy Well, Sione, and Eli Blu any day.
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Sione is The Barbarian! Repackaged into a s***ty Headshrinker.

1995 is the absolute worst year in WWE history
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Listen man I can't remember these guys names I just assumed that was one of those guys in pink that Harvey Whippleman was managing.

But really Barbarian that isn't Barbarian is worth being angry about anyway.
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I was randomly watching This Tuesday in Texas and Skinner was apparently undefeated at that point. And somehow had an IC title shot against Bret. That's just...yeah
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Well, going undefeated should get you a title shot!
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And hey, later on in 1995 Bret would fight a pirate who stole his jacket. And have a good match!
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95 Royal Rumble is definitely one of the weakest actual Rumbles i've seen. I've seen all the ones from 88 - 2003 and a few others here and there. Although to be fair, I wasn't really a fan of some of the attitude era Rumbles and I think people usually like those.
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Yeah I remember that Skinner and Bret match being a thing actually. I believe I saw a match between the two on one of those weird package videos they used to make. Bloopers Bleeps and Bodyslams or something.

Still a jobber in my head-- never took him seriously!
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He's currently a trainer at the Performance Center.

Today's rising talent can all thank The Skinner!
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http://68.media.tumblr.com/0a1fcac5853a9bf5c18cf518c4399655/tumblr_nbkk2h8Hcj1qdorwao5_400.jpg

Skinner in his more... fabulous days
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I tried to rewatch the 95 Rumble and absolutely could not.

96 is so much better.
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My favorite thing about the '95 Rumble is how utterly convinced McMahon is that Crush is about to win
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Diesel wasn't underrated, that was just a classic Bret carryjob.

We all keep falling for it!
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Royal Rumble 1996

I'm pretty sure I've seen this Rumble standalone, but I don't remember it at all. Or maybe I saw 1995 and I didn't remember it at all. I know I saw one of the two 90s Rumbles Michaels won at some point. First Rumble with music for the mid-match entrances whoo.

This Rumble kinda reminded me of 1989. Lots of sideshows strewn throughout the thing. You've got the hog farmer's slop, Damien evacuating the ring, an eliminated Vader throwing everyone out and then it not counting, Jerry Lawler hiding under the ring (this could've been cool but it was unceremoniously resolved), Razor chasing 123 Kid around. Just a lot of gimmicks. Unfortunately unlike in 1989 I found all these gimmicks to be annoying and they broke up the action rather than adding to the experience. Oh and the damn replays they were spamming all over the place like they were so proud of their new toy, oftentimes distracting from what was actually going on. I like how the announcers were claiming Owen Hart was not eliminated because the damn instant replay made them miss it.

Now that being said, the action in ring was better than 89. In large part due to Vader and Yokozuna who were the MVPs of the Rumble to me. I got much entertainment out of those two wrecking shop. They also had the only sideshow I actually enjoyed which was the thing with the Squat Team dude getting eliminated, then both of em coming back, and Vader and Yoko just eliminating both again. Shame they were only in the first half or so, but Yoko was getting tired.

Pretty meh Rumble for me-- which is a big improvement over 1995 to be sure. It was watchable but I was much closer to putting 1989 over this one than putting this one over 1994.

As for the Undercard (or overcard in case of Bret v Taker) it was kinda whatever. Taker vs Bret was almost identical to Diesel vs Bret, right down to the bs finish (all these PPV main events with DQs), but worse. And who thought that stupid mask Taker had was a good idea anyway.

Royal Rumble Ranking:
1992 > 1990 > 1994 > 1996 > 1989 > 1988 > 1993 > 1991 > 1995

Oh and Kama the Supreme Fighting Machine coming out to Too Much's theme music I couldn't help but laugh. Also wtf Dory Funk I thought that guy retired in like, the 80s.
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Kama the supreme fighting machine was always a better gimmick than the godfather or papa shango
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Godfather? Okay I'm listening.

Papa Shango? You take that back!
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Taker legit needed the mask for a few months after Mabel broke his face
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Of note: this period is when Diesel more or less invented the idea of a Tweener, at least in WWE
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You know I was hoping you or someone else would tell me that was the case. Well, I mean, not to say I was hoping for Taker's face to be broken but... compared to the alternative of thinking it's a good idea...
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Let that be a lesson: be careful letting fat men jump on your head
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Kama mustafa vs undertaker was a feud for the ages.
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No shout out to the Rumble debut of Isaac Yankem?
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I'm just glad we had theme songs for his debut.
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Lawler hiding under the ring is the only thing I remember about that Rumble.
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