Royal Rumble '91

Legacy Review

Royal Rumble '91

January 19. 1991 from the Miami Arena in Miami, FL

Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. I mentioned before that Piper is either really good or really bad in the booth, no in between. Fortunately tonight it's Good Piper.

This show takes places just two days after the start of Operation Desert Storm, kicking the patriotic fervor into an ever higher gear than shows like the '90 Survivor Series that took place during Desert Shield. Against this backdrop, we have the Iraqi sympathizing Sgt. Slaughter challenging for the WWF title.

Soft open with the American flag, the National Anthem, and lots of shots of kids in the crowd, many of whom are being told by their parents how to behave during the National Anthem. There's no shot of the arena at large or the ring until the anthem is almost over.

The Rockers def The Orient Express (w/Mr. Fuji) in 19:15- This is the Kato and Tanaka version of the Express. The Express pull a Suzuki-Gun before the bell, sending Marty out and letting Shawn get his HUGE 30ft in the air backdrop in early. The Rockers double team back, knocking the Express outside. DOUBLE tope suicidas! You didn't see that every day back then. That was mamma mia worthy. Kato and Janetty settle in. They pull the bridge up spot off on the first try. The Express try to double team but Janetty gets a leapfrog sequence going that ends with the Express crashing into each other. Nice. DEEP Steamboat-like armdrag by Janetty. The Express try to double team again but Shawn gets Tanaka to run and Kato to join him in dropping down to try to trip Tanaka. It almost ends with another Express crash, but they remember last time and stop just in time. Shawn comes up and gives them a double noggin knocker. Shawn gets on top to give the 10 punches to Tanaka, but sees Kato sneaking up on him and steps up to the top and hits him with a moonsault! The Express try double atomic drops but the Rockers flip out of them and hit double dropkicks. Then both Rockers go up top and hit dives all the way down to the floor! For 1991, this match is absolutely nuts. Shawn goes for a monkey flip, but Kato blocks it and Tanaka comes in a hot shots Shawn over the top rope. The Express drag him to the apron and Fuji whacks Shawn with the cane right in the throat. Shawn is now officially face in peril. Tanaka locks in the mandatory rest hold for Japanese wrestlers in the US at the time, the Oriental Nerve Hold of Extreme Pinching +2. Shawn does a Flair Flip over the top at about 100 MPH, then Tanaka superkicks him off the apron back in! Shawn does a full 360 degree sell to a double clothesline. The Express try to double clothesline him again, this time with Kato's belt, but Shawn ducks it, then dives on top of it to cause the Express to crash into each other again! Physics FTW! Hot tag! The Express try to come back on Janetty so Shawn says enough of this crap and blatantly cheats by tripping Kato from the outside. The Rockers go for a rocket launcher, but Tanaka pushes Shawn off the top rope and sends him crashing straight down onto the floor. Kato tries to slingshot Janetty into a chop from Tanaka, but Shawn comes in and hits Tanaka, allowing Janetty to use the slingshot to sunset flip Tanaka into the pin! Great finish. What a match. It's got crazy dives, some extremely creative and innovative spots, and good psychology to boot. Tag team wrestling at its finest. ****1/2

Sean Mooney is with Savage backstage. Savage says that Slaughter has promised him a title match should he win. He wants the same promise from the Warrior and he's sent Sherri to bait him into giving it. Cut to the arena and Sherri is on the interview podium with Mean Gene. She says that Slaughter is an "honorable man" that will keep his word (guffaws from commentary), and she calls out Warrior. Warrior comes out wearing his famous red, white and blue ring gear and face paint (as seen in the recent 2K games) and a USA bomber jacket. Tonight's WWF Championship Warrior belt strap color is light purple. Warrior refuses to answer, so Sherri turns on the charm with some very PG sex appeal, even giving Warrior a light kiss. Sherri gets to her knees, and judging by the reaction of the adult males right behind them it's pretty obvious what she's offering. Warrior is still unmoved and says no in the most over the top Warrior way possible. Savage is furious and storms out to berate Sherri. Time for Plan B. 

The Big Boss Man def The Barbarian (w/Bobby Heenan) in 14:15- This is the early part of the Boss Man vs Heenan feud that will culminate at Wrestlemania VII. Heenan's been insulting Boss Man's mamma, so Boss Man is going to tear through the entire Heenan Family (which, this being towards the end of Heenan's managerial career, is only three guys). Barbarian stalls for a while before getting in and sucker punching Boss Man. Boss Man throws him out and goes after him, during which Heenan tries to hide behind the opposite ring post. Cactus clothesline from Boss Man! I've seen it a bunch, but I'm still surprised how quick and agile Boss Man was at his peak. He was really good. Boss Man gets his foot caught in the ropes and dangles outside, letting Barbarian get some shots in. Barbarian then rams his back into the ring post. While Boss Man is down Heenan takes his opportunity to get a kick in. It's the bear hug! Boss Man fights and bites his way out, then hits an enzuguri for a 2 count. Barbarian rolls him up for 2. Boss Man hotshots Barbarian over the top rope, but Barbarian grabs the bottom rope for 2. Barbarian his his clothesline off the top rope finisher but Boss Man gets his foot on the ropes for 2. Boss Man hits the Boss Man Slam (Rock Bottom), but Barbarian *just* gets a knuckle on the rope for 2. Very Knuckle of Owens there. Great series of near falls. Barbarian goes up top again and hits a crossbody, but Boss Man reverses it and gets the 3! Living proof that Boss Man was good enough to carry someone at his peak to a good match. Barbarian held his end up well too. The crowd was also into the whole thing. Way better than you'd ever expect it to be going in. ***

WWF Championship: Sgt. Slaughter (w/General Adnan) def The Ultimate Warrior (c) in 12:47- Slaughter and Adnan try to clothesline Warrior with the flagpole as soon as he gets in, but he ducks it and then runs right through it, breaking the pole. Warrior picks the pole up, snaps it again, and tears up the Iraqi flag. During this Adnan went over the top and onto the floor, and he says "screw this" and goes back to the locker room. Surprised that didn't lead to anything. Warrior force feeds Slaughter part of the flag and chokes him with another piece, right in front of Hebner. Warrior beats Slaughter from pillar to post FOR AMERICA. Slaughter takes a Bret bump over the top and out. I've said it before, but Slaughter was one insane bumper. He was a human pinball. Sherri runs out and grabs Warrior's foot while he's running the ropes. Warrior takes the bait like an idiot and chases her all the way to the entrance area. Savage ambushes him and hits him in the back with some of the lighting rigging. As Warrior crawls back to the ring Slaughter stops the count so he doesn't win by countout, and drags Warrior back in. Slaughter works the now hurt back to set up the camel clutch. He locks the clutch in, but Warrior's feet are dangling off the apron and Hebner breaks it up. Warrior Warriors Up and starts hitting the running clotheslines and diving tackle. Sherri runs out again and gets on the apron. Warrior grabs her, pulls her in, and press slams her outside on top of Savage. Slaughter takes advantage and knees Warrior in the back. While Warrior is in the ropes and the ref is distracted, Savage smashes Warrior in the head with his scepter. I don't know what breakable material the scepter is made out of (sugar glass?) but it's a straight, hard shot and pieces go everywhere. An amazing visual. It's academic after that. Slaughter drags Warrior in, drops an elbow, and we get the super slow match ending 3 from Hebner. There's no announcement right away as Hebner checks on Warrior, and commentary holds out hope that there's been a DQ. Warrior runs to the back after Savage. Finally Finkel announces the AND NEWWWWWWWWWWWWW. The crowd is extremely not happy and commentary is livid. Should have agreed to give Savage that title shot. Not much of a match, it was all about the run ins. *1/2

We get an ad for Wrestlemania VII, which is advertising it for the LA Coliseum and hints that there will be 100,000 people there. Yeah, it didn't work out that way.

The Mountie (w/Jimmy Hart) def Koko B Ware in 9:12- Commentary is still going on about Slaughter's win but, unlike today, they say explicitly that they should focus on the guys in the ring right now. Koko's win/loss record was never impressive to begin with, but at this point he's very much a jobber to the stars. Jacques Rougeau had just debuted the Mountie gimmick a few weeks before this. It's so early that the real Mounties hadn't caught wind and complained yet, so commentary talks about him going through actual Mountie training and using crowd control and pacification techniques that the real Mounties use. That wouldn't last long. Koko gets thrown out and as Hart distracts the ref Mountie gives him a shot with the cattle prod. Hart is cutting promos on Frankie outside. That's fantastic. Koko's comeback turns up the juice a bit, but Mountie catches him and hits a Boss Man Slam-ish type thing to win. **

Intermission time. Mooney is with Savage and Sherri. Savage: "no one says no to me!". They're interrupted by a loud pounding on the door and he and Sherri bail. Monsoon and Piper are still furious about Slaughter winning. We get the pre-Rumble promo montage, including Undertaker still being managed by Brother Love.

Piper talks about having dinner with Virgil and trying to give him some lessons in life. Mooney is with DiBiase and Virgil. DiBiase lists off various humiliations he makes Virgil do because MONEY. Virgil looks displeased. 

"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase & Virgil def "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes in 9:57- Like Survivor Series '90, no polka dots for Dusty. This is Dustin's PPV debut. Dusty and DiBiase had been feuding since Summerslam '90, even after the initial catalyst for the feud (Sapphire) left WWF. Dustin came in a few months before this and beat DiBiase on weekly TV. The heels jump to start, but the Rhodeses fight them off with the Bionic Elbows. DiBiase orders Virgil to go in and teach them a lesson. Virgil gets taught by Dustin instead, and DiBiase goes off on him outside and demands to be tagged in. DiBiase works over Dustin for a bit, but the faces take back over and Virgil makes multiple saves. Dustin knees the top turnbuckle after a Virgil dodge. The heels work the knee over. DiBiase holds Dustin for Virgil to hit, but Dustin ducks and he hits DiBiase instead. A livid DiBiase lays into Virgil with punches and chops, which allows Dusty to tag in. Dusty cleans house, but DiBiase dodges a charge, rolls Dusty up, and gets a clean pin. This would be not only Dusty's last match in WWF, but his last as a full time wrestler. He would be back in WCW later in the month at the head of the booking committee under Jim Herd's awful management, and also do spot work as a manager and still wrestle the occasional special tag match. Dustin would go with him for his great early career run as The Natural before coming back to WWF in 1995 painted gold. **1/4

But the real money in this match is afterward. DiBiase gets on the mic and berates Virgil for his mistakes again, then demands that Virgil collect the Million Dollar Belt and put it around his waist. Piper begs Virgil not to on commentary, but Virgil gets the belt, gets in the ring....and drops it at DiBiase's feet. DiBiase lays into him some more, reminding him about his mother, and tells Virgil again to wrap the belt around his waist. Virgil gets on one knee, picks the belt up,.........and nails DiBiase in the head with it! Piper and the crowd go absolutely nuts. Virgil walks out a new man. A truly earned moment.

Mean Gene/Hogan promo. Hogan pays tribute to the troops, and Gene tells him that there's an "unconfirmed" report that Slaughter has defaced the American flag. I guess Hogan has to call the hotline to get confirmation. Hogan vows revenge and gets so worked up he loses his place in his promo.

Now, I don't want to say that this Rumble is predictable, but after Slaughter winning the title and that promo, there's amoebae on Saturn that know who's winning this match.

Royal Rumble- Standard two minute intervals. Managers are being allowed to stay ringside in this one. This is the last Rumble with no real stakes other than pride (and, presumably, a winner's purse). '92 was, of course, for the WWF Title, and '93 was the first year of the winner getting the world title shot at WM stip.

1 & 2. WWF Tag Team Champion Bret "Hitman" Hart and Dino Bravo- Bret is on the cusp of his singles breakout. Bravo is on the cusp of the end of his WWF career. Bret gets Bravo over the top but not all the way out.
3. Greg "The Hammer" Valentine- Technically Valentine is still a heel (his face turn hadn't been shown on TV yet), but he goes after Bravo, much to Jimmy Hart's consternation. Valentine eliminates Bravo.
4. Paul Roma- Roma and Valentine double team Hart for a bit, but Roma quickly turns on Valentine.
5. "The Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich- All four guys brawl with almost no pairing off.
6. "The Model" Rick Martel- Martel and Roma give us some more heel on heel action.
7. Samba Simba- aka Tony Atlas.
8. Butch- He marches around the ring until Valentine chops him. Martel eliminates Simba.
9. Jake "The Snake" Roberts- This is the middle of his big feud with Martel, and Martel meets him right as he gets in the ring. Roberts gets the upper hand and Martel bails, giving Valentine a shot at Roberts.
10. Hercules- Power & Glory team up on Butch. Martel ties Roberts up in the ropes.
11. Tito Santana- As is tradition, former tag partners Santana and Martel immediately find each other. Roberts eliminates Roma.
12. The Undertaker- Taker's been in WWF barely 3 months and he's already got megastar written all over him. Taker eliminates Hart. Taker no sells all of Tornado's best stuff.
13. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka- Tornado and Valentine team up to try to get Taker to sell something. Doesn't work.
14. "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith- Martel and Roberts are still going at it.
15. Smash- Martel has gotten on the apron, again. Roberts goes after him, but Martel facelocks him and uses the leverage to eliminate Roberts.
16. Hawk- Goes after everyone until the heels gang up to beat him down.
17. Shane Douglas- The future ECW legend in his short lived rookie run in WWF. Taker eliminates Tornado and Snuka. Martel and Santana are going at it again.
18. nobody- This was supposed to be Savage but he was too busy running away from Warrior, becoming the first man to forfeit his spot in a Rumble. Taker casually low blows Bulldog.
19. Animal- LOD team up on Taker and eliminate him. While they celebrate Hercules eliminates Hawk.
20. Crush
21. Duggan- The early 20s lull is worse than usual this year since there's been no big elimination runs.
22. Earthquake- The first "business is picking up" entry, as Quake was still one of the top heels after his long feud with Hogan. Quake eliminates Animal.
23. WWF Intercontinental Champion Mr. Perfect- He takes his time getting in. As soon as he does he flip sells a turnbuckle bump. Perfect eliminates Duggan.
24. Hulk Hogan- Business is here. Hogan eliminates Smash, then goes right for Quake.
25. Haku- Hogan eliminates Valentine.
26. WWF Tag Team Champion Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart- Quake eliminates Santana.
27. Luke- In probably the only truly memorable moment from this Rumble, Luke gets in, Quake immediately grabs him and throws him out the other side, Luke lands on his feet and doesn't even break stride as he walks right back to the locker room.
28. Brian Knobbs- Knobbs eliminates Hercules.
29. The Warlord- Hogan eliminates Crush. Perfect keeps rolling onto the apron to rest and consult with Heenan. Hogan eliminates Warlord.
30. Tugboat- Goes right after Quake. Knobbs eliminates Douglas. BFFs Hogan and Tugboat go at it. Tugboat gets Hogan over but only onto the apron. Hogan comes back and eliminates Tugboat. Martel eliminates Anvil. Bulldog eliminates Haku. Bulldog finally eliminates Martel, who set a new longevity record this year (that will be broken by Flair the next year).
Final Four- Bulldog, Earthquake, Hogan, and, er, Brian Knobbs. One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doens't belong. Quake and Knobbs quickly eliminate Bulldog and turn their attention to Hogan. Lots of elbows, and Quake hits the Quake Splash. As the heels backs are turned, Hogan pops up. The Hulk Up Short Version. Hogan eliminates Knobbs. Hogan tries to slam Quake but can't. Quake drops more elbows and hits a powerslam, which leads to a Hulk Up Full Version. Punches, big boot, big man bodyslam, Hogan eliminates Earthquake.
WINNER- Hulk Hogan

Hogan becomes the first two time Rumble winner, and the first back to back winner. This is a very middle of the road Rumble. There's hardly anything in the way of memorable moments. No real big spots, elimination runs, huge showdowns, etc. The focus was clearly putting over the violent brawl aspect of the match, which was hammered home by commentary all match, as well as the "every man for himself" concept with all the heel vs heel and face vs face pairings. Not a bad Rumble, just not a particularly memorable one. And everyone knew who was winning. **3/4

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- You've got an average Rumble, a red hot tag opener, a huge face turn, a better than expected midcard match, and a shocker world title change with not a very good match but some very entertaining overbooking. All in all, not a bad show, and a good lead in to a perennially underrated Wrestlemania.
OVERALL SHOW GRADE- B+