Royal Rumble 1995 Review

Sunday, January 22nd, 1995
USF Sun Dome
Tampa, Florida

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Pamela Anderson arrives via limo and the locker room drools over her. 

Intercontinental Championship Match
Jeff Jarrett vs. Razor Ramon

Razor gets the hot start after ducking a clothesline and then hits an early fall away slam. After regrouping outside the ring, Jarrett steals a move out of Razor's playbook and trips him up and messes up his hair while he's down on the mat. Razor fires back and clotheslines Jarrett outside the ring. The Roadie is once again there to try to help Jarrett regroup. They make reference that Todd Pettengill showed off that Lawrence Taylor was in the building during the pre-show. We get some pinfall attempts by both men and then Jarrett slaps on a sleeper hold. Jarrett then does some pinfall attempts with his feet on the ropes and is eventually caught. Razor catches Jarrett's feet from outside the ring and then crotches him on the ring post. Razor then hits a second rope reverse bulldog for a 2 count. Jarrett then sidesteps Razor and throws him over the top rope. Razor is limping outside the ring and Roadie comes from behind and clips him in the knee behind the referee's back. Razor is counted out, but then Jarrett grabs a mic and says that he's here to win the Intercontinental belt from off Razor's waist and calls him a coward. He eventually gets Razor to limp back into the ring and the match is re-started. Razor gets a couple of cheap pin attempts, but Jarrett kicks out. Jarrett goes to work on the knee. Razor is able to kick Jarrett over the top rope with hit good leg, but Jarrett still goes back to work on the knee. Jarrett puts on the Figure Four in the middle of the ring. After a lengthy stay in the hold, Razor does manage to get out of it. He goes for a second rope back suplex, but Jarrett falls on him for a 2 count. I would have guessed that to be the finish. Razor signals for the Razor's Edge, but his knee gives out. Jarrett goes for an inside cradle and we have a new champion. You can hear the groans in the crowd for that finish. The match was good, but the ending felt a little flat. 

Match Rating: ***1/4

We go back to Todd with Pamela Anderson and she's going through all the gifts that the WWF Superstars have given her. We get some pretty lame attempts at humor. We then go back to Stephanie Wiand and she's with Jarrett and Roadie celebrating. 

IRS vs. Undertaker

Who in the world thought IRS was going to win this match? Even more importantly, who cared? We get lots of stalling and then Undertaker dominates. IRS and DiBiase are frustrated, so now it's time to bring out the druids. Again, who cares? There is no reason both of these guys shouldn't have been in the Royal Rumble instead to help bolster the garbage roster for that match. IRS tries to use the distraction, but it doesn't work and Taker just dominates some more. The druids and DiBiase shake the top rope and Undertaker falls off. But since he gets to no sell everything, he is back up. IRS clotheslines him over the top rope, but he of course lands on his feet and goes after the druids. IRS attacks and throws him into the steps. The druids attack behind the referee's back, but they look more concerned with their hoods falling off than they do with hurting him. Taker is able to throw IRS into the druids and Taker gets him up for a Tombstone. The druids interfere and he kicks them off the apron. IRS escapes and hits a running clothesline. Taker sits up and ducks a clothesline. He hits a chokeslam and that's all. That was a really weak finish there. I will say, I don't like either of these guys, especially in terms of match quality. However, the action was better than I anticipated or remembered. The story is still terrible and never once did you think IRS was going to win. I guess all I am saying is that I anticipated a 0 and got something a little better. During Undertaker's celebration, the druids attack Taker. Taker fights them off and out comes King Kong Bundy. Not that I actually would believe that anyone would think that Bundy was going to win the Rumble tonight, here's confirmation that he wasn't. IRS attacks Paul Bearer and steals the urn. Bundy then attacks Taker as IRS goes to the back. So last year Undertaker was killed by Yokozuna and a bunch of others, this year he's beat up by King Kong Bundy. The creative for Taker was just horrendous, but I'm just stating the obvious. 

Match Rating: *

Todd is with Diesel from earlier on and Diesel isn't having it. They then go to an interview with Bret and all he wants is to win back that title. 

WWF Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. Diesel

Diesel gets started with some brawling and clotheslines Bret over the top rope. Bret is able to trip Diesel up and slams his leg into the ring post. Bret works on the leg some more before slapping on the Figure Four. Diesel is able to eventually grab the ropes, but Bret is relentless and goes right back to the Figure Four again. Diesel gets to the ropes again and Bret refuses to release the hold. Bret is playing the heel role here and after talking to the ref, Bret dives through the ropes on Diesel. Diesel is able to throw Bret into the steps to shift the momentum. Diesel hits a big side suplex and that gets a 2 count. Diesel runs into a boot and Bret then hits a second rope clothesline. Bret goes up top and Diesel gets him up for a press slam, but Bret counters and falls onto him for a pin attempt that gets a 2 count. Bret again trips up Diesel and this time ties up Diesel's legs together around the post. The ref cuts him free and Bret hits a bulldog for a nearfall. Bret does a slingshot dive to the floor and Diesel catches him before ramming his back into the ring post. Diesel signals for the Jackknife and there are some audible boos. Diesel hits it, but Shawn Michaels comes in and attacks Diesel before he can count 3. We get an official announcement that the match must continue. Bret goes right back to work on the leg of Diesel and once again puts on the Figure Four. Diesel is able to slug his way out of it and then Bret misses with a charge into the corner. Diesel comes back with some stiff knees to the gut. Bret somehow gets away with hitting Diesel with a chair to the knee. Vince thinks it didn't hit him, which is kind of weird. Bret slaps on the Sharpshooter, but then Owen comes out and breaks it up. The referee once again says that the match much continue. The booking here is pretty terrible, since there is no reason whatsoever that Bret shouldn't have been disqualified. Diesel crawls over to Bret and gets a 2 count. We get some brawling and Diesel goes to grab a chair. He thinks the better of it and while he's outside, Bret drops down to start selling a knee. He lures Diesel in and almost gets the victory with an inside cradle. We now get a ref bump and Shawn, Owen and Bob Backlund all come down. Out comes Jeff Jarrett and Roadie as well. They officially announce that the match is a draw and the crowd hates it. Backlund comes back in and puts the Crossface Chickenwing on Bret. Diesel clears out the ring with the exception of Bret. Diesel helps him up and they eventually shake and hug. I completely get that Bret was so desperate to win that he stooped to heel tactics, but it just makes zero sense that he would be able to use a chair in front of the referee and get away with it. All of the interference stuff was just too much as well. On the other hand, the action was really good here and better than most things for the past year in WWF. 

Match Rating: ***3/4

Back to Todd and Pamela is getting dressed. Hilarity (doesn't) ensue. We then switch gears to Stephanie Wiand, 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly. They cut a gee golly promo comparing themselves to the San Diego Chargers. Jerry Lawler then struggles to draw a picture of himself kissing Pamela in a failed joke. 

WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
Bam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka vs. 1-2-3 Kid & Bob Holly

The winner of this will face the Smoking Gunns tomorrow night. They really didn't build this story as well as I was kind of hoping they would have. Bam Bam and Tatanka were hardly impressive and as a result, it's hard for me to buy that they are the heavy favorites here. Not to mention that Ted DiBiase is a terrible manager and nowhere along the lines of Bobby Heenan or a Jimmy Hart. On a side note, the teams for whatever reason are not standing the standard tag team corners for WWF. Bam Bam runs through a double elbow and hits a double clothesline to take both opponents down. Bam Bam goes for a powerbomb, but Kid pops up and hits a hurricanrana, which was something you never saw in 1995 WWF. Bam Bam is able to come back with an enzuigiri. We get a double top rope crossbody, but they're both caught in midair. They counter that and push DiBiase's team into each other and get a 2 count. Tatanka ducks a clothesline and then Bam Bam pulls the top rope down to send Holly crashing to the floor. The action has been very solid here so far. The heels then dominate Holly until Tatanka and he hit a double crossbody. They both make tags and Kid clocks Bam Bam with a kick and then a missile dropkick. He hits a dropkick on Tatanka to knock him off the apron and then hits a somersault dive. He goes back up top and hits a top rope crossbody, but Tatanka breaks up the pin attempt. DiBiase gets up on the apron and Bam Bam press slams Kid to the floor. Bam Bam goes up top but for whatever reason, Tatanka comes in and doesn't see it. He runs the ropes and Bam Bam falls from the top. They could have come up with a better way to execute that spot. Kid rolls on top of Bam Bam and the "underdogs" are the champs. I didn't love that ending, but the rest of the match was entertaining. Kid was one of the best parts of the New Generation era and always seemed to deliver when given the chance. Bam Bam was motivated here as well. 

Match Rating: ***1/2

After the match, they show Bam Bam doing the walk of shame. He sees Lawrence Taylor laughing at him and Bam Bam doesn't like it. LT reaches out to shake his hand, but Bam Bam shoves him. You probably should never mess with a football player, but at the very top of that list is LT. 

They show a clip of Diesel in the Royal Rumble last year. We get a promo from Shawn Michaels about winning the Rumble and then they show the footage of the finish of last year's Rumble. Lex Luger then cuts a promo and then Vince apologizes for the incident involving LT. 

Howard Finkel then introduces Pamela Anderson, which really was a pretty big deal around this time. 

Royal Rumble

Drawing #1 is heavy favorite Shawn Michaels, followed by British Bulldog at #2. Shawn attacks Bulldog on his way in and we're underway. They aren't kidding that this is the fastest Rumble because before I can even process what's going on, we're on #3 and it's Eli Blu. No one reacts because no one knows who he is. Maybe they should have had him in a tag team match tonight instead of putting him in here as a meaningless competitor. Duke Droese is out fourth and he gets no offense when he arrives. #5 is my favorite in the match, Jimmy Del Ray. He gets Michaels draped over the top rope and out comes Sione at #6. Meanwhile, Bulldog dumps Del Ray out for our first elimination. #7 is Dr. Tom Prichard. Sione has Michaels over his head, but he's able to escape before having his night ended. Out comes Doink (and Dink) for #8. Before you know it, it's Kwang out at #9. This is quite the lineup they've assembled here. It's the return of Rick Martel at #10. We finally get another contender with the entrance of Owen Hart at #11, but before he even gets to the ring, he's attacked by Bret Hart. #12 is Timothy Well who appears to get a big pop, but instead it's because the camera misses Owen getting eliminated from the match. That's such a poor choice with the severe lack of contenders in this one. Then Duke gets eliminated and knocks out Earl Hebner I would presume by accident on his way down. Martel and Prichard are then quickly eliminated after. Doink is almost eliminated by Sione, but then Kwang finishes him off. Next thing you know the rest are eliminated as Luke makes his way into the ring at 13. He's quickly eliminated and we're down to our original two. #14 is Jacob Blu and again no one cares. Michaels ducks a clothesline and he's dumped over and again back to Michaels and Bulldog. King Kong Bundy is next to change the pace of this match. How will they get him over the top??? #16 is Mo and before you know it, he's no Mo. #17 is Mabel and the only mission tonight seems to be that they didn't want any tag teams to be in the ring at the same time. Mabel and Bundy go right at it in a dream match by no one. Mabel almost has him eliminated and Butch is out at 18. No, not Pete Dunne. Just like that Bundy is out. What a great way to build him up as a top guy to face Undertaker. Lex Luger is #19 and he quickly dumps out Mabel. We're now down to no one of substance left in this match, unless you for some reason think Bob Backlund is going to headline Diesel in a revenge match. Out comes Mantaur at 20, which gives Vince an opportunity to talk about how huge his legs are. Aldo Montoya is our 21st competitor. Not every competitor in a Rumble is going to be a big name, but woof. Henry Godwinn is #22 and honestly one of the best guys in this thing. #23 is Billy Gunn and he sprints in until it's his partner Bart at #24. 25 is Bob Backlund and he's going to win this thing. Just as he's getting in the ring, Bret attacks him on the floor. Steven Dunn is #26, as if anyone cares. Backlund gets in the ring and Luger helps him right back out. Bret then attacks him again on his way back to the locker room. Look at this youngster at #27, it's Dick Murdoch. Again no one cares and no one should. Adam Bomb is #28 and he has no shot. #29 is Fatu and he goes right after...Billy Gunn? I don't think that's going to make a difference. Luger eliminates Mantaur and we find out our last competitor is Crush. My favorite! He goes right to the Smoking Gunns and eliminates them both. Dunn is eliminated by Montoya and then Vince lets us know that one of these men will face the WWF Champion at WrestleMania. Those men are Crush, Adam Bomb, Lex Luger, Henry Godwinn, Fatu, Aldo Montoya, British Bulldog, Dick Murdoch and Shawn Michaels. This match has completely slowed down here and now we have Dick Murdoch doing the JYD headbutts on Fatu. You can't do that to Fatu. Bomb is eliminated by Crush, who is then attacked by Fatu. Michaels eliminates Montoya and then Murdoch tries to eliminate Michaels. Luger makes the save to a degree on Michaels for some reason. Fatu is gone and we're down to six. Murdoch puts Godwinn in an airplane spin and it leads to them both falling over the top, but Godwinn is able to hold on. Luger is able to eliminate Godwinn and we have a final four. Crush eliminates Luger, to which I ask, WHY? Michaels and Crush come to an agreement to team up against Bulldog. They work together for a minute and then Crush turns on Michaels. Michaels ducks a clothesline and Bulldog hits Crush to send him to the floor. Bulldog clotheslines Michaels over the top and Bulldog's music hits. It was clear that Michaels was still hanging on and he comes back in and knocks Bulldog out while he was celebrating. Bulldog would have a legit complaint of losing this match. They then show the footage of Michaels one foot hitting and just in case you weren't sure, Vince repeats "One foot" over and over. Michaels then celebrates with Pamela Anderson and she gets to show off her top notch acting skills. The match itself wasn't bad and it was the best year to do the 60 second intervals due to the lack of talent. However, the ending was never in question and they could have figured out a way to get a few more big names in this match. Undertaker and IRS didn't need to have that meaningless match and could have both been in it. Anyway, this was weak, but overall entertaining enough. 

Match Rating: **1/2

This show kind of gets an unfair reputation due to the lack of talent in the actual Rumble match, but outside of the Undertaker/IRS match, the undercard was very good. We got three good matches, even if the finishes were weak in all of them. I can't say this is a great show, but it's better than most people probably remember it being.

Overall Rating: 68%