WWE Royal Rumble - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 2
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve AustinBrand: GENIUS PRODUCTS INC
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Running Time: 825 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-11-27
Studio: World Wrestling
Movie Reviews of WWE Royal Rumble - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 2
Movie Review: The New Generation Era Or Pre-Attitude Era
Summary: 4 Stars
This volume of the Royal Rumble is probably the weakest of the four volumes but it has its moments and significant bouts. Let's get to it:
The Royal Rumble 1993
This Rumble was the first to introduce the winner getting a title shot at WrestleMania and its been that way ever since.
The Steiner Bros. Vs. The Beverly Bros. - This was the then-WWF debut of Rick and Scott Steiner, fresh from their run in NWA/WCW. This was a good bout against The Beverly "Brothers" (who weren't really brothers/just close friends, similiar to the Edge/Christian thing).
The bout featured one of the nastiest Frankensteiners I've ever seen from Scott as he practically piledrove the man's head into the mat! Ouch! Its amazing he walked away from it. Good opener.
Marty Janetty Vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE I-C title Match) - This was almost a year after the Rockers' break up and Shawn was beginning to find himself as a singles wrestler. Add in the betrayal of the late Sherri Martel and you could've had a classic but it just didn't quite hit the mark. The two would later have a much better match that summer on RAW where Janetty actually beat Michaels for the I-C title.
This one was just good. It wasn't that great.
Bam Bam Bigelow Vs. The Big Bossman - This one just sucked! These two had better matches than this one. I don't mean to talk ill of the dead but this one stunk! The best part of the match was when it was over. Just watch once and skip.
Bret Hart Vs. Razor Ramon (WWF World Title Match) - While more known for his tag team with Kevin Nash and his WrestleMania X ladder match with Shawn Michaels, this bout with Bret hart is often a forgotten match as it was very good and showed that Razor could've been a main eventer if not for his personal issues.
As for Hart, what needs to be said, he was one of those guys that could make a broom look good in the ring and he certainly did that with Razor. Good match to watch.
The Rumble itself that year wasn't that good but it didn't stink. The highlights was then 43 year old Bob Backlund lasting an hour before being eliminated by the late Yokozuna. It also had appearances from guys that have been lost to time like Max Moon (Paul Diamond), Dameon Demento and Giant Gonzales. The final guy I named was put into a forgettable feud with The Undertaker! Quite frankly, Gonzales makes today's Great Khali look like Ric Flair! He stunk that bad!
In the end, Yokozuna won and won his title shot against then-champion Bret Hart at WrestleMania and we know how that ended and it wasn't to the liking of either Hart nor Yoko!
THE ROYAL RUMBLE 1994
Tatanka Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - Great opener. These two got busy on each other in this one! Tatanka wins after an impressive and hard flying bodypress on Bigelow for the win.
Bret & Owen Hart Vs. The Quebecers (WWF World Tag Team Title Match) - This bout was very good and it showed the team work of both sides. Still, it was just a set up for Bret Vs. Owen as Bret cost his team the match by going for the Sharpshooter with a bad leg instead of tagging out to his brother Owen! When he failed, the referee stopped the match which enraged Owen, starting the feud that would have several good to classic matches during 1994.
Razor Ramon Vs. I.R.S. (WWF I-C Title Match) - A pretty decent bout that saw a mix of brawling and wrestling between the two with a little Shawn Michaels thrown in to further the storyline between Razor and Shawn for WrestleMania later that year. Razor wins with his "Razor's Edge" powerbomb after I.R.S. thought he had won the belt.
The Undertaker Vs. Yokozuna (WWF World Title Match/Casket Rules) - Not the greatest bout but it showed the fighting spirit of UT as Yoko set a trap for him as several heels at the time came out to gang up on him and (in the end) put him in the coffin to help Yoko retain his title.
The Rumble match that year started out slow but picked up once Diesel (Kevin Nash) showed up and pretty much stayed no lower than medium speed from then on out. Ends when Lex Luger and Bret Hart both were eliminated at the same time. Leading to the controversial decision by the late Jack Tunney to declare both Hart and Luger winners of the Rumble. Not a bad Rumble card.
THE ROYAL RUMBLE 1995
Razor Ramon Vs. Jeff Jarrett (WWF I-C Title Match) - The future founder of TNA wrestling was making his own name at this point, going for the I-C title held by Razor Ramon (who was into his second reign as champion at this point). Jeff neutralized The Razor's Edge by working on Ramon's leg for most of the match. Ends when Jeff catches him in a small package for the win and Jeff's first I-C title.
The Undertaker Vs. I.R.S. - Slow bout. Not that memorable but it does set up UT's WrestleMania confrontation with King Kong Bundy at WrestleMania 11.
Bret Hart Vs. Diesel (Kevin Nash) (WWF World Title Match) - While many remember their King Of The Ring 1994 bout or their classic Survivor Series '95 bout, this bout is often forgotten when discussing bouts between these two as it was very good as well! Features run-ins from both Shawn Michaels and Owen Hart which caused the match to stop twice but it continued. Finally, when Michaels and Hart showed up with Jeff Jarrett, Bob Backlund and The Roadie ("Road Dog" Jesse James from DX), the ref put a stop to the match for good. Good bout up until the big run-in though.
1-2-3 Kid (X-Pac) & "Sparkplug" Bob Holly Vs. Tatanka & Bam Bam Bigelow (WWF World Tag Team Title Match) - The former enemies from last years' R.R. were now part of The Million Dollar Corporation led by Ted Dibiase against this then-rookie team of The Kid and Holly. This wasn't a bad match and it ends like a lot of X-Pac matches back then. He gets in a lot of moves but basically he and his partner get the crap beat out of them but then their opponent makes a mistake and BOOM! The Kid and Holly win the WWF tag team titles. This also sets up the angle with Bam Bam and Lawrence Taylor in one of the worst celeb/wrestler matches ever at WM!
This one Rumble bout is remembered really for one thing....Shawn Michaels going in first and winning it! What's often not discussed is that Shawn only went 30 minutes or so to win s people came in every 60 seconds. Several other winners like Ric Flair, Rey Mysterio and Chris Benoit started at around the same position and wrestled far longer to win! Plus, this Rumble wasn't exactly star studded. You could even argue it had one of the worst lineups ever! I will say it gave us a thrilling ending with Michaels and the late Davey Boy Smith though.
Overall a good Rumble card.
THE ROYAL RUMBLE 1996
This one was basically geared around Shawn Michaels but it wasn't a bad card overall.
Jeff Jarrett Vs. Ahmed Johnson - This was more of a display for Ahmed who was a newcomer at the time and it was his first PPV one on one matchup. Too bad he was too injury prone and hurt a lot of guys he worked with because he really had potential. The ending was a sign of things to come in later years as Jarrett came off the top rope with a guitar shot, calling for an immediate DQ!
The Bodydonnas Vs. The Smokin' Guns (WWF World Tag Team Championship Match) - This showed Sunny in her heyday as well as Skip (the late Chris Candido) and Zip (Dr. Tom Prichard) against Bart Gunn and Billy Gunn (the latter who would go on to greater fame with DX). Not a bad bout but it was more about showing the lengths that Sunny would go to get the win for her team. It didn't happen on this occassion as her interference backfired, allowing The Gunns to retain their titles.
Goldust Vs. Razor Ramon (WWE I-C Title Match) - In his fourth and final reign as I-C champ, Razor defended the title against Dustin Rhodes' new character which clearly pushed a homophobic button to the hilt! While its funny now, the Goldust character caused a lot of outrage from wrestling fans back then.
As for the match itself, it was actually a good contest. Ends when The 1-2-3 Kid (X-Pac) comes in and knocks out Razor with a spinning kick from the top rope, allowing Goldust to get the pinfall and his first I-C title.
The Rumble match itself saw Shawn Michaels take the win to become the first two time winner of the Rumble since Hulk Hogan did it in 1990 and 1991. This also saw other strong performances from a younger HHH, the late Owen Hart, Steve Austin (who was not yet "Stone Cold"), Diesel, Vader and the late Yokozuna.
Bret Hart Vs. The Undertaker (WWF World Title Match) - I can't recall a bad match between these two! While their two one on one matches the following year were better than this one, this isn't a bad encounter. Ends when UT actually has Bret beat but Diesel (who had a confrontation with The Dead Man prior to the match) gets Bret DQ'ed! He even flips UT the bird!
While still in "The New Generation" era, we see foreshadowing signs of the more aggressive Attitude era in this PPV.
THE ROYAL RUMBLE 1997
This one isn't that great as a card. To be honest, its remembered for two things: Steve Austin winning The Rumble in a controversial fashion and Shawn Michaels regaining the WWF World Title. I personally will also remember it for being one of the starting points of the vaunted and still celebrated WWF Attitude era.
Goldust Vs. HHH (WWF I-C Title Match) - This one was a brawling type bout which saw Goldust break from his suggestively gay character and act more like his old Dustin Rhodes character in WCW. Not a great technical match but rather a wild brawling one to the point where even the viewer is saying "why isn't the ref DQ'ing anyone?" This might as well have been a hardcore match!
Anyway, ends when Hunter gets his now vaunted Pedigree on Goldy for the win and retains his I-C belt.
Farooq Vs. Ahmed Johnson - This match wasn't even a classic power man match as their styles were just too similiar. Rather, it was used to further the Ahmed Vs. Nation Of Domination storyline which would carry throughout much of the year (that's another whole review).
Nothing special here but there is a very ECW'esqe moment after the bout where Ahmed used his "Pearl River Plunge" (Tiger Bomb) on a NOD member through a table off of some ringside steps!
Vader Vs. The Undertaker - In the first ever meeting of (arguably) two of the best big men ever in the game, UT and Vader traded the advantage several times until Paul Bearer interfered on Vader's behalf. This allowed Vader to get the pinfall over UT. This also saw UT do something uncharacteristic of him at that point as he attacked the referee after the match!
Fuerza Guerrera, Heavy Metal & Jerry Estrada Vs. Perro Aguayo, El Canek & Hector Garza - I don't remember much about this match other than it wasn't every eventful. I don't even remember who won! Best to look at this once and then skip.
The Rumble match saw the continuation of the Ahmed Vs. Nation feud, the Vader Vs. Undertaker feud, HHH Vs. Goldust and Bret Hart Vs. Steve Austin! The ending was one of the most controversial ever as Hart actually eliminated Austin near the end of the match but the referees didn't see it! Seeing this, Austin snuck back in and eliminated the remaining wrestlers including Bret Hart! This continued Austin's momentum while continuing Bret's "crybaby" rants which would eventually make him a heel while turning Austin into a face.
Sycho Sid Vs. Shawn Michaels (WWF World Title Match) - To be honest, their Survivor Series 1996 match (where Sid won the title) was better than this but this one wasn't that bad. It was mainly carried by the fact that this event was in Shawn's hometown of San Antonio, TX and the majority of the crowd was for Shawn. Ends when Michaels hits his SCM on Sid after hitting him with a video camera.
Overall, this volume of the Royal Rumble has its historic moments but this one is the weakest of the volumes. Still, I would recommend it for its history value.
Summary of WWE Royal Rumble - The Complete Anthology, Vol. 2
Vol. 2 - From 1993-97, the Royal Rumble became a key event for Superstars, as well as the first step on the road to WrestleMania. Vol. 2 champions include Yokozuna, Bret Hart/Lex Lugar, Shawn Michaels (also a back-to-back winner) and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.Sports DVD Video
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