Review: WWF/WWE Royal Rumble 1993 DVD

Brett Mix’s  WWF Royal Rumble 1993 Review:

 

“Bret`s father Stu giving him words of encouragment!” –Gorilla Monsoon

 

“Yeah I can hear him, he`s saying “Uhhh…EH….Uhhhh…EH……Uhhhhhhh….EH” –Bobby Heenan

 
“WILL YOU STOP!” –Gorilla Monsoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
-WWF Royal Rumble 1993 took place on Sunday, January 24th, 1993 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California in front of 16, 000 fans.

-This was the 6th Annual WWF Royal Rumble event.

-Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan do commentary again for the event.

-Doink the Clown defeated Jim Powers at 5:57 in a dark match before the PPV started.
-Giant Gonzalez was not an entrant in the Rumble. This was his WWF debut.
-This was the first Royal Rumble match to feature the stipulation of the winner receiving a WWF Championship shot at WrestleMania.
-Bob Backlund (who was slammed on the concrete floor by The Berzerker about a half hour into the match and remained there for a short period) broke the record for longest lasting in a Royal Rumble, lasting 1:01:10. The record was previously held by Ric Flair who had set the record in 1992.
-Before the Royal Rumble match, Bobby Heenan introduced Lex Luger.
-Tito Santana competed in the Rumble for a sixth consecutive year, making him the only wrestler to appear in all 6 Rumbles to that point.

-According to Bret Hart during an interview with the Below the Belt show, the WWF was actually preparing to have a Hart/Warrior match at Royal Rumble 1993. Warrior was replaced by Razor Ramon after he left.

-Now onto the PPV…………..

.

 

 

 

 

1) Opening Contest- The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) vs The Beverly Brothers (Blake and Beau)

God I love the Steiner’s theme, it just sounds so 80’s for 1993!

Not one single offensive move was hit before Monsoon was already yelling at Heenan which was quite hillarious. This is one of the better events for comedy from those two and it’s just more consistent throughout the night. Gorilla Monsoon must of said he was going to knock Heenan out in each match.

The match begins with some nice chain wrestling from Scott Steiner and Beau of the Beverly Brothers. A standing wristlock by Steiner and the fans have great energy like you’d want at the beginning of any PPV and tag matches work good with this formula, hence why there are so many. A nice flip by Scott out of the corner of the ring and then Beau complained that he held onto his tights and then he gave him a little shove before they tied up again.

Then Beau punched Steiner before pulling his hair to slam him against the mat before posing and the fans booed. He stomped on him before hitting him with an uppercut and then a knee to the guy before he came off the ropes and Scott hit a sidewalk slam! Man, Steiner owned back here. Scott Steiner cornered Beau as he was complaining about cheating going on but he tagged in Blake, who then smacked Rick’s earmuffs on the outside to get him riled up and then Scott tagged in Rick. Rick circled around the ring with Blake before ke knocked Beau off the apron! Blake then turned Rick around and punched him before irish-whipping Rick Steiner and hitting a well executed power slam and the fans boo. Beverly Brothers in control before Rick Steiner did a leap frog and then caught a 250 pound Blame in mid-air and then slammed him which got a great ovation!

Rick tags in Scott Steiner and then he hits a bear hug into a belly to belly suplex. A nice double team move by Blake and Beau to get the momentum back in there favor and Beau dropped his body weight on the lower back of Scott Steiner before he hit a back breaker. Beau picked up Scott and then Blake dropped a double axehandle into the lower back of Scott Steiner. Beau then another sideslam to Scott Steiner to injure his back even more, more tag wrestling strategy by The Beverly Brothers with frequent tags and continuing to work on the lower back of Scott Steiner. Great continuity.

This is the third Royal Rumble in a row where they have opened the show with a great tag match.

Blake worked over Scott’s back some more and then Beau from the outside choked out Scott Steiner with the tag rope and then Heenan said “Scott’s just HANGIN around” the way I see it. Hillarious. Monsoon said “You’re not gonna win the match that way!” Heenan shot back with “Yeah, you gotta hook the tights!” then Monsoon’s “WHAT!?!?” that followed was priceless.

The Beverly Brothers continued there offense to Scott but Beau hesitated a moment before a vertical suplex and Scott Steiner then countered with one of his own and he slammed hard into the mat! Scott Steiner then got slammed head first into the corner and then irish whipped into the other side before taking kicks to the upper body, before he used the ropes for leverage to elevate himself in the air only to drop down knee first into the lower back of Scott Steiner. The Beverly Brothers were an underrated tag team, then again so are the Steiners so this was a great back and forth match.

Scott finally got a tag in to Rick but he was then double teamed by the Beverly’s who used this formula nicely throughout.

Blake went for Rick until he just managed to tag back in Scott and then he pushed Beau into a corner and gave him shots from up top before Blake picked him up and Beau missed a flying clothesline. Blake then caught a sunsetflip from Scott who got a two count, then irish whipped Blake to the ropes and caught him with a powerful and always awesome looking Frankensteiner at 10:34.

Great tag team opener and if it had about five more minutes it could of been a true CLASSIC.

 

 

 

*** 1/2

 

 

 

2) The “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels (c) vs Marty Jannetty for the WWF Intercontinental Championship

 

 

There has been rumors that Shawn showed up drunk for this match. It didn’t look that way but it was by no means the best these two could of done. There was nice spots with near falls during the climax but the action throughout wasn’t the best but then again that’s with high demand.

Sherri was the focus of both men as was obvioussly the bad blood between them after The Rockers split. Sensational Sherri came out and stood at ringside. Jannetty came out first, Shawn came out 2nd and danced to that Sherri version of “Sexy Boy.”

Watching Stu and Helen while Shawn is doing this is priceless.

Anyway the match about to get underway and the late Joey Marella was officiating this one.

Marty Jannetty caught HBK with a big right hand and then Shawn took a walk went to slam Marty’s head to the mat but Marty got the better of him and irish whipped him to the corner before an atomic drop.

Marty Jannetty then with a knee lift and back dropped Shawn over the top to the outside and then Marty swung him inside the ring before clotheslining him outside of the ring.

Jannetty then flew over the ropes and fell on top of Michaels, before going back inside and then flying out with a flying forearm. Jannetty goes up to the top rope and he was about to hit a double axehandle and then got caught with a shot by HBK to the mid-section and then he rammed Marty Jannetty’s shoulder into the post. HBK then rammed him in again as Heenan laughed and loved it while calling Marty Jannetty a crybaby.

Sherri looked on looking concerned for both men.

Pace was a little slower in this one when Shawn got on the offense due to him being a heel taking the slow “look at me” approach. Heenan said he’s having fun and he’s going to play with him a bit. Shawn hit a shoulder breaker to further weaken that area of Marty Jannetty before cornering him and landing lefts and rights.

Both guys on the outside and Shawn slammed Marty Jannetty on the mat outside the ring to hurt his shoulder some more. Heenan claimed it was embarassing as Marty Jannetty was crawling back to the dressing room and Monsoon quickly shot back with “HE IS NOT!” Shawn then kicked away at Marty Jannetty’s stomach and then lifted up Marty Jannetty’s leftarm to expose it as he rammed him into the top buckle, before coming off the top and landing a double axehandle to that area.

Shawn then locked in an armbar to follow up on already the severly injured shoulder of Marty Jannetty. Heenan kept asking Marty Jannetty if it was hurting him from the announce booth which was of course hillarious. Heenan saying Marty Jannetty looked up to Shawn while they were in a team was also good.

Marty got out of the armbar with some help from the crowd but as he pushed HBK to the ropes he bounced off by lifting up the weakened arm and dropping him on the hurt shoulder, then Shawn got a two count.

HBK went back into the armbar before Marty Jannetty got out of it and then HBK punched him square in the jaw before slamming him hard into the mat.

Shawn Michaels from the inside on the second turnbuckle and leaped off but Marty Jannetty caught the IC Champ in mid-air with a boot to the face.

Shawn Michaels picked up Jannetty who had boughten himself a moment and irishwhipped him to the buckle and charged towards him but Marty Jannetty moved out of the way and the Champ has HIS shoulder rammed into the post this time! Marty Jannetty with a ton of adrenaline willing him on gives HBK some hard blows with the fans cheering on until HBK resorts to pulling Jannetty from the inside to the out. Then from the ring apron Marty Jannetty suplexed HBK from inside to outside over the top to the floor! Sherri then slapped HBK on the outside! Marty Jannetty then with a suplex from the apron to inside the ring. Marty Jannetty then rammed Shawn`s head onto the steel steps. Marty Jannetty then irish whipped HBK who ducked a clothesline but caught a power slam! Marty Jannetty from the top had a long distance to go but he stopped in mid-air as Shawn was getting up and landed a DDT (Strange moment) but got a nearfall. HBK went for a superkick, Marty Jannetty ducked it and then hit one of his own and got a two count as the crowd popped thinking it was three!

Marty Jannetty went for a sunsetflip and then the two countered each other`s pinning attempt and Marty Jannetty hit a sling shot to the steel post before hitting a backslide on HBK. The ref caught an elbow as Michaels tried to punch Marty Jannetty. Sherri came in the ring and went to hit Shawn in the head but he ducked while Marty Jannetty held him up and she hit Marty Jannetty. Sherri then can`t believe what she did and Shawn looked pissed off at Sherri.

Shawn hit a superkick (one of the weakest ones I`ve ever seen from him) while Marty Jannetty got to his feet and he won the match at 14:20. Sherri ran to the back and Mean Gene tried to settle her down and he yells for the first time ever “Sherri! Damn it! Settle down!“ Hilarious. The fans even laughed.

This was as said a good match, even great at times but it had its ugly moments as well and overall it can be considered an even three.

***

 

 

3) Bam Bam Bigelow vs The Big Boss Man

 
Bam Bam with a ton of power moves to Traylor.

 

The funniest bit of this match was when Gorilla Monsoon said “Mean Gene Okerlund a loser…pleeease….” to Heenan after Bobby was implying he was.

Bigelow was in control until Bossman came back with hard rights into the corner and then hit some first to the head of Bigelow.

Bossman then with a sideheadlock and more blows to the head before a sidewalk slam by Bigelow.

Bam Bam stands by Bossman as the crowd boo.

Bam Bam then went for a diving headbutt but couldn`t follow it up with anything and Traylor slammed Bam Bam`s head into the mat hard.

Bossman swung off the ropes and then Bam Bam back dropped him over the ropes and Bossman hit the ground hard and you can see the expression on his face.

Bam Bam kicked away on Bossman`s lower back after the back drop over the top rope. Bigelow then with another big kick to the lower back of Bossman! A double axehandle by Bigelow to Bossman and then a hard blow to his lower back!

Bam Bam just methodically wore down another big man with constant back torture with shot after shot and then he squeezed from behind but his big arm`s didn`t fit around Bossman`s waist.

Bossman though got out of it and went off the ropes and was picked up by Bam Bam who hit a nice leverage clothesline by falling back while he lifted Bossman and he fell off hitting the top rope throat first!

Nice move.

Bigelow went right back to the back work on Bossman.

Bam Bam Bigelow then tugged on Bossman`s waist and this spot was just for conditioning reasons despite both these guys being better then most big men. (Especially Bam Bam)

However this lasted too long, over a minute and a half of him doing nothing but hold the waist and to this point we had seen fast action in the night. Bam Bam then slammed Bossman down and then kicked at his stomach before giving him a big headbutt before coming off the ropes with a huge shoulder block.

Bossman ducked a flying crossbody from Bigelow and Bossman hit a backdrop to Bam Bam Bigelow.

Bossman wound up and caught Bam Bam Bigelow with an uppercut! Traylor did his usual spot of sliding under the bottom rope and catching Bam Bam in the head with an uppercut.

Big Bossman came off the ropes and Bam Bam caught him with a size 16 to the head before going up to the top and hitting a flying head butt at 10:10.

Kind of dissapointed, I remembered this was a good big man match, but not this time. Decent at best.

 

* 3/4

 

 

 

 
4) Bret “Hitman” Hart (c) vs “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon for the World Wrestling Federation Championship

 

 

This is better then the match at King of the Ring 1993…

When I say “The Bad Guy” I mean that literally, he was a HEEL. Nice pre-match footage of him attacking Owen Hart to get to Bret before the match.

As said at the beginning of the review, it was originally going to be The Warrior in this match against Bret.

Hall works with Bret almost as good as he works with Michaels but usually the same group of guys who work good with one of Bret or Michaels works good with the other.

Nice starting sequence when Bret gives a kid his shades then Razor mocked it and went out and threw his tooth pic at the same kid for heat as the fans booed, then Bret attacked him.

Bret scored with big right hands and forearm shots into the corner as the crowd was going wild for the WWF Champion. The Hitman had a ton of FEMALE fans in this match, you`d think he was The Rock.

Razor scored back with a few and Heenan pointed out Razor was tough. This was a title defense so they wanted to make sure Ramon went over as a legit tough competitor.

Ramon backs The Hitman into the corner then irish whips him hard into the buckle before charging the high corner but exposed his left knee. The Hitman took apart the knee next which was a sound move but not surprising since Bret is so fundamentally, technically sound. Bret took the knee off Razor and then dropped his body weight onto the knee before slapping on a figure four and the crowd was going crazy for Bret Hart.

Bret cornered Razor and took apart both knees this time as he planted one above the middle rope and kicked at them.

Monsoon says Stu is giving Bret words of encouragment then resort to the top of my review for the hillarious Monsoon-Heenan dialogue there.

Soon enough Razor irish whipped out of desperation The Hitman to the corner and Bret sold the sling shot brilliantly and hit the bottom of the ring post from the inside stomach first damaging the ribs.

Rib damage makes it hard to breathe, Razor`s strategy then became apparent to suck the life out of the WWF Champion.

Razor Ramon hit a back breaker to follow up on the rib punishment on the outside.

`Inside the ring Razor slapped on an abdominal stretch (after some more punishment in the ring) to kill the bad ribs of Bret and Heenan loves it. Bret gasped for air and that`s just what Hall wanted.

Bret though magically reversed it into an abdominal stretch but couldn`t hold it, bought himself a little time as Razor missed an elbow drop to Bret`s head and then Razor got up and overpowered him with a hard irish whip to the corner. Heenan calls Monsoon an APE and Monsoon said he`s going to knock him out! Great stuff.

Razor continues the punishment but Bret comes out of it with a big crossbody and then some near falls however the damage had been done and Razor kicked at Bret`s mid-section that had been exposed. Ramon followed up this with good psychology and slaps on a bearhug mid-ring until Bret poked him in the eye then got out of it.

Razor had The Hitman Bret Hart on his back in the middle of the ring while he stood in the corner and then Bret got up selling brilliant to no surprise and was able to backdrop Razor out of the ring back first.

The BAD GUY HAD BEEN IN CONTROL and was looking to become the World Wrestling Federation Champion.

Bret flew through the ropes and connected with Ramon on the outside. Bret then pounded on Hall in the ring as the fans chanted along with his striking blows. Bret showing great signs of resilience and then knocked Razor down on the canvas. I liked earlier when Monsoon talked about Bret defending the WWF Title more in the last few months then some people did in there entire run`s as Champion. Bret hit a nice back breaker and that`s why he is the Excellence of Execution. Bret flies off with a clothesline but only a near fall. Hart then hits his Bulldog which is a signature move. Bret Hart then followed that up with an side russian legsweep ATTEMPT until Ramon countered with an awesome neck breaker. Bret to his feet first and grabbed the long legs of Hall and went for a Sharpshooter attempt but Hall with his long reach grabbed the ropes which were near him obvioussly and then Bret pulled him back again but Hall got out. Ramon continued to follow the story of the match and hit The Hitman in the gut with strong blows to injure the rib-section. Razor Ramon set up Bret up high until Bret caught him with an elbow then flipped over his back and hit a back suplex in awesome fashion.

Bret came from the top and jumped into a big boot from Razor. Heenan says he could smell the Machismo coming on strong and that he`d make an unbelievable champion.

Razor went for the Razor`s Edge but The Hitman hit a back slide and this looked to be the closing spot but Razor kicked out and went back to work on Razor`s ribs. Another hard shot by Hall to Bret`s injured ribs making it look like the Champion might not be able to come back.

Razor stood strong in the middle of the ring and then kicked at Bret`s ribs while he was on his knees and he twisted The Hitman`s hands, Bret with a unique pinning combination as he flipped over Hall and then Hart translates that to The Sharpshooter and Bret Hart retains the WWF Title at 17:52. Big time ovation for Bret, they just don`t come BETTER as a PURE “GOOD GUY” then Bret.

Awesome match!

 

 

*** 1/2

 

 

 

5)  Main Event- The 1993 WWF Royal Rumble Match

 

 

The man who went from #3 to win it in 1992 began the 1993 Royal Rumble!

Heenan hilariously still loved Flair and bet on him again so he of course wasn’t happy but Flair looked motivated to begin this Rumble.

Ric Flair would leave the company the following night on Raw after losing a Classic “Loser Leaves Town” match with Mr. Perfect. He would not appear in the WWF again until the night after Survivor Series in 2001 appearing on Raw in a segment with Kurt Angle, Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Flair was #1 and another former WWF Champion in Bob Backlund was #2. Two Wrestling legends start off the Rumble, and that’s alright with me. It was probably alright with Stu Hart as well being the wrestling traditionalist he was, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was on his mind on a night seeing so many gimmicks like Doink The Clown, Papa Shango, Giant Gonzalez and others…..

Backlund at the age of 43 tied up with Flair in the middle of the ring and Backlund came off with a shoulder block. Flair was shocked and then tied up with Backlund again and Backlund came off with another shoulder block until he started to take Flair`s knees out each time he charged towards Backlund by dodging it then mocked Flair showing he was on his game. It`s kind of funny to see Flair against someone considered OLD, considering Flair wrestled to that age and was actually OLDER! And still is….Backlund almost had Flair eliminated but the third entrant then came out.

Papa Shango was out (aka Godfather) and then he beat on Backlund to make him drop Flair. Papa Shango worked over Backlund with some big power moves and what does Flair do for Papa Shango to show him his grattitude for what Papa Shango just did….he eliminated him. Flair flipped up Shango while he was kicking at Backlund and it eliminated him. Flair then beated on Backlund in the corner then WOO`d as he chopped him, Backlund reversed the pressure and cornered Flair and gave him a hard irish-whip to the corner. Flair was in the corner trying to buy himself some time but Backlund was then in the same predicament of trying to eliminate Flair the last time someone came in, and the clock counted down.

Same thing happens as the fourth entrant comes out and it`s Ted Dibiase! Dibiase`s last Rumble match as a wrestler. He had some history as one year he bought his entrant number. Dibiase and Flair double team Backlund and Heenan asked if you could be arrested for harassing the elderly and Monsoon asked him to stop! Good stuff. When Heenan was announcing the three men`s credentials it sounds so wrong Dibiase wasn`t a former Champion like the other two but that`s not surprising. Dibiase and Flair irish whipped Backlund to the ropes and hit him with a double revere elbow to the head. The clock counts down again….

One half of the Nasty Boys comes out next and he ducks a clothesline and hits a double one to Dibiase and Flair which buys Backlund a bit of time. He nearly eliminates Flair as the crowd got excited for a moment but that`s all it lasted, a MOMENT. The offense continued though and even Backlund made it to his feet and both faces worked over the heels in the corner.

Virgil came out at Number 6. No love loss between him and Dibiase and they go at it right in the middle of the ring. (Same thing as RR 1992 but this time they do it better) and then the two continue to brawl and Virgil hit Dibiase with a clothesline. Virgil and one of the Nasty Boys hit a double back drop to Dibiase. One of the Nasty Boys then charged towards Dibiase and then Ted Dibiase pulled the top rope down and he was eliminated. Dibiase and Virgil exchanged head shots towards the top buckle padding in one corner while the other two guys exchanged chops while it looked like Flair was going to eliminate Backlund.

Some old school greatness NOW in the ring as we had Backlund, Flair, Dibiase, and LAWLER all in the same ring at once. It`s too bad it was the 90`s, but it was still good. Virgil was in there as well and he slammed Lawler`s head to the top buckle. Backlund worked over Dibiase in the middle of the ring with a kick to the mid-section. Lawler grabbed Flair from behind and then raked his eyes.

Max Moon came out at Number 8 and I remember reading that he couldn`t be in the same ring as someone else (forget who) because of an affair one of the two men was having with one of the two men`s girlfriends. Rumor sounds legit right, look it up if interested, I`m NOT so I`m not going to actually look it up. Flair almost eliminated Moon as he threw his head by his hand over the rope but Moon flipped back and Flair had thought he got rid of him but he got back in the ring. What the hell is Max Moon wearing anyway, terrible. Lawler slammed Moon`s head to the buckle then Flair tried to eliminate him from behind. Max Moon though comes out of that then irish whips Lawler to the corner and caught him high with a spinning heel kick.

Out next was Tenryu. He and Flair went into a chopping war and some where McQueen is in heaven. Virgil pounds on Lawler in the corner with a big right hand and then Dibiase slams Tenryu`s head into the top buckle. Lawler and Backlund going at it in the corner. Six guys in the ring currently beating on each other in three different corners.

The tenth entrant was Mr. Perfect who comes out to the 2nd biggest pop of the night (only behind Bret Hart) and he chops at Flair (who he was feuding with at the time) and Heenan can`t stop screaming “No, Oh My God NO!“ Perfect dominated Flair and caught him up high with a big slam. Hennig kept flipping Flair over and kicked at him. This was the night before their awesome Loser Leaves Town match on Raw.

Skinner the Alligator man was number eleven. Watching Stu and Helen talk to each other after these ridiculous gimmicks was again hillarious. Hennig then caught Flair by the head and eliminated him to a huge pop! Heenan says `DAMN IT, that`s not fair to Flair` following up on last year and then Heenan wouldn`t stop losing it while Flair looked pissed off and they`d meet the next night as stated before. Seven men still in the ring, Skinnger, Tenryu, Hennig, Dibiase, Lawler, Virgil and of course Bob Backlund.

Koko B Ware comes running out then Heenan asks if someone called a Cab. Koko then beat on Lawler in the corner. Skinner was drop kicked over the top rope by Mr. Perfect and was then eliminated. Dibiase hit Perfect with some chops and then Virgil hit on a fatigued Backlund in another corner.

One of the Headshrinkers Samu came into the ring by Afa`s throw under the bottom rope. Backlund`s endurance had been pointed out a few times to this point in the match.

Out next was The Bezerker! Nine guys were in the ring and then Lawler was back dropped by Perfect to the outside and was then eliminated. Crowd went crazy. King choked out Hennig though on his way out and the fans booed. Hennig pulled out by Lawler and Virgil is eliminated off screen. A hillarious spot in the corner of the screen just as the countdown comes on, watch it because it`s just before Taker comes out, Perfect took a shot at Dibiase just sitting in the corner and the crowd laughs.
The middle entrant (15) was The Undertaker as said with Paul Bearer, Heenan claims it`ll be time for Mania by the time he gets to the ring. The Bezerker and Backlund were on the outside of the ring but neither man out of the match! Bezerker slammed him on the cement floor! Taker eliminated Samu and then Tenryu. Four men in the ring and one man on the outside. Taker choked on Dibiase in the corner and then Bezerker irish whipped Koko but he moved out of his charge attempt then went to eliminate The Bezerker and Backlund who was still in the match was getting much needed rest on the outside after being slammed on concrete by the Bezerker.

Terry Taylor came out and if anyone doesen`t know he was the worst gimmick ever in The Red Rooster. Dibiase eliminated him in seconds thankfully and he eliminated Koko at the same time. Million Dollar Man turned around and caught a big chokeslam by Taker and then Undertaker eliminated Ted Dibiase. Dibiase out and Taker now being beaten down by the Bezerker as he cornered him with some spears to the mid-section. All of the sudden a big man in a costume comes out at well over 7 feet. Giant Gonzalez with Harvey Whippleman come out and Giant wasn`t in the Rumble this was just his WWF Debut by making an appearance. Taker eliminated The Bezerker.

All of the sudden Taker and Gonzalez met face to face in a “moment of the rumble” type spot to be remembered…there’s usually a few of them like this each edition.

The two men not intimidated by the other then continue to stare at each other and the WWF clearly wanted everyone to stay clear of this SPOT (preview of Mania) in the match due to the “clever” booking.

Damien Demento had came out but stood outside the ring while The Giant Gonzalez had beaten on The Undertaker and nobody had done that in the WWF to this time. He left Taker down.

IRS was out next. The rumble match continued and Backlund got back in the ring.

Tatanka came out next and IRS went to work on him while Backlund and Demento went at it. Bearer lifted Taker who was laying on the ring apron and Bearer said the power of the urn would help him. Bearer got Taker to the back with help from the Urn. Backlund and Demento are going at it in one corner while Tatanka and IRS are in the other.

The other half of the Nasty Boys comes running out and we now have five guys in the ring. Tatanka and Backlund try and eliminate Demento in one corner while IRS and the remaining Nasty boys were in the other corner and these kinds of moments kind of suck the life out of the fans for the first real time in the match which is unfortunate.

Out at 21 was Typhoon. Heenan calls him Tugboat by mistake if there`s a difference and he stomps on Demento.

Fatu then came out next. (AKA, Rikishi Phatu, The Sultan, etc) Rikishi *cough* Fatu then hammers on IRS and one of the Nasty Boys. IRS kicked at the head of Demento and Fatu worked on Tatanka in the corner and I always laugh at how Heenan says that name. The pace still was incredibally slow during these moments as the Rumble match needed a bigger star, Backlund was all good but this wasn`t really his era and had already been in the ring for the whole match.

Earthquake comes out next at 23 and both Natural Disasters are in the ring and the late John Tenta hits his own partner! Typhoon and Earth Quake went at it to no reaction in the corner. Backlund and Demento went at it in one corner and Fatu dropped a big elbow to his head.

Carlos Colon came out and Monsoon hillariously calls him a youngster when he was in his 50`s. Demento then almost eliminated by Tatanka and it really looked like Damien Demento`s feet hit the ground but who cares, it`s Damien Demento, the man who main evented the first RAW with Undertaker. (Coincidentally within 2 weeks of this match) Carlos Colon then would end up eliminating Damien Demento. Carlos Colon then went after Fatu in the corner and Earthquake tried to eliminaste Backlund who hadbeen in for fourty six minutes and counting to this point.

Tito Santana ran to the ring next and went after Earthquake. Typhoon had been eliminated and so had Fatu but I missed both eliminations as it happens when doing a Rumble match due to the activity everywhere. Santana ALMOST eliminated Backlund but he stayed in SOMEHOW and then the buzzer went off.

The Model Rick Martel came out next. Martel lasted one year a ton of time in the Rumble match (believe it was 1991) and he broke the record at that time. Actin continued all over the ring in every corner as the Rumble was starting to fill up again!

Yokozuna out now as entrant Number 27 (Where you want to be in a Rumble match) and came into the ring. Tatanka was thrown over the top rope out of the ring. Yokozuna hadn`t even been brought off his feet during his run at this time let alone over the top. Carlos Colon was eliminated.

Eathquake then wanted some of Yokozuna! The two big men about to measure each other’s power!

Yokzuna then met with Quake face to face as the crowd roared. He came off the ropes and gave him a shoulder block but Yoko didn`t move and then Owen Hart was out next. The Rocket came in the ring in that fashion and then went to work on Martel until he turned the tide on him.

Repo Man came in next to no reaction. Why did he even exist again, I don`t know. Yokozuna headbutts Santana in the corner, Owen works on Martel in a corner, A Nasty Boy remains with Repo Man and the Mr. Endurance-Bob Backlund. Action eveywhere and there was only one guy left!

It`s The Macho Man Randy Savage at Number 30 to the pop of the night, a standing ovation even as he was clearly the biggest star on the show and the camera even shook a bit. I obviously am a huge fan of Savage so it`d be good if I was making this up, but I`m not.

Tito Santana thrown over the rope, then owen dropkicks Saggs of the Nasty Boys to the outside. Heenan said if Owen won he could meet his brother at Wrestlemania as a prize. The next year they would and it would only be the best match ever.

Yokozuna then clotheslines Owen dangerously over the top and I say that because he looks as if he twisted his knee upon leaving and Helen and Stu kept looking at that over the Rumble match (Owen leaving) and its easy to understand why.

The ring began to clear out as it just came down to the last few wrestlers now and Backlund who had been in there the ENTIRE match eliminated Martel. Backlund looked shock and his facial expression was hillarious.

Backlund went to try and eliminate Yokozuna but he gets thrown over the top by Yokozuna and the fans boo since Backlund had just broke the record and this gained good heat for Yokozuna. Yokozuna grabs Savage and gives him a big headbutt!

They were the final two in the match. Yokozuna then plants Savage down on the canvas with a slam!

The air completely gone from The Macho Man and the once enthusiastic crowd now became worried that Yokozuna may take the match. Yokozuna choked Savage out in the corner but he fought back with some right hands. Savage clotheslined Yokozuna to the side ropes but Yoko got back in control and slammed Savage in the middle of the ring before dropping a leg down on him. The Japanese flag was waved on the outside by Fuji and Savage had something left as he fought back! Savage nailed him the top rope with his elbow drop and then went for a pinfall (like so many have in Rumble matches for whatever reason, could be that Savage is a little Insaaane) and Yokozuna from his back was able to elevate Savage over the top rope in one of the most unqiue Rumble finishes ever. So in the end Yokozuna eliminated Randy Savage, and I use the term “eliminated“ lightly (no pun intended) at 1:06:35 to win the 1993 Royal Rumble Match. Yokozuna is going to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas Nevada! Sweet, I was there this summer.

Not the best Rumble match but as a show it was good however the ending was definately a bad note. (Still, Backlund’s performance among a few other things like saving Randy Savage for last after dull spots worked nicely in the match’s favor)

** 1/4

 

 

 

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Final Rating for WWF Royal Rumble 1993 = 6.5/10

 

This show is judged mostly on The Rumble match which is a shame due to this one being rather poor. (Compared to most)

If it was judged just on the ratings it would probably be over a seven as this one had a GOOD CARD and was a fun event overall but instead it`s just a 6.5 out of ten. This is a very good event though and has match quality, so I`d suggest picking it up if you could if you’re not expecting a lot from the Rumble match itself.