WWE Royal Rumble 1996 (1996)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Admirable film.

1st Match: Jeff Jarrett vs Ahmed Johnson. An OK match to start, until Jarrett gets DQ'd, making the match virtually pointless. I honestly would've preferred just a squash match to this. Rating: 3/5 2nd Match: The Bodydonnas vs The Smokin' Gunns, WWF Tag Team Championships. An alright match, a lot longer than I thought it would be, but both teams get some good offense, and there are some good spots as well. Rating: 3.5/5 3rd Match: Razor Ramon vs Goldust, WWF Intercontinental Championship. This match feels way longer than it actually is. I guess Goldust was still getting used to his character and trying to get over, but some actual wrestling would be nice too. There are some good points, but it's mostly just Goldust acting all hot and bothered for Ramon. Even the ending is lackluster, because Waltman runs in and screws Ramon out of the win. The match felt more like a push for Waltman instead of the guy who actually won. Rating: 2/5 4th Match: Royal Rumble match. Highlight time! There are some better names in this Rumble compared to last year. Rumble debuts for guys like Vader, Hunter, and future-Kane. Michaels wins for the second year in a row, but it's more impressive because of guys like Nash, Owen Hart, Yokozuna, and Vader being in the match instead of countless jobbers. The biggest problem with this match is that it's not last. I've always been of the opinion that the Royal Rumble should end a PPV, if not, it's like starting a PPV with an Iron Man match, it feels out of place. Rating: 3.5/5 5th Match: Undertaker vs Bret Hart, WWF Championship. The match is good, both guys get their signature moves in, and there's even some good brawling on the outside. The problem comes with the ending of the match, where Nash runs down and gets Bret DQ'd, thus making the thirty minute match kind of a waste. The match mostly served as a way to build up Nash vs Taker at Wrestlemania XII, but throwing a good title match away like this is pretty disappointing. Rating: 3/5 Final Rating: 6 out of 10. The show as a whole just existed to think up some matches for Wrestlemania. I know that's normally the point of the show, but it did so by sacrificing match quality, with 2 of the 5 matches ending in a DQ. Hopefully it pays off in a couple of months.

(01.21.96)Live from Fresno, CAAttendance: 9,600Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Mr. PerfectJeff Jarrett Vs Ahmed JohnsonAhmed wins by DQ when Jarrett nails Ahmed with a guitar. This wasn't the best choice to open the show. Jarrett being Ahmed's first high- profile feud is smart because Jarrett is a solid wrestler and a pro. Jarrett guiding him along nicely with Ahmed showing off his green, but impressive agility at times.*1/2Tag Team ChampionshipThe Smoking Gunns (C) Vs The Bodydonnas (W/Sunny)The Gunns retain when Bart pins Zip with a small package. This tag match was OK, if a little inconsistent at times. In my opinion, Sunny was the most interesting thing here.**Intercontinental ChampionshipRazor Ramon (C) Vs Goldust (W/Marlena)Goldust wins the title after The 1-2-3 Kid interferes and costs Razor the title. This one was all about mind games and psychology. They told a good story, it's just the match quality isn't that great because of Goldust's methodical style. This would lead to Razor facing The Kid in a crybaby match.*3/4It's time for the Royal Rumble! #1 is Hunter Hearst Helmsley. #2 is Hunter's old foe, Henry Godwin. #3 is Bob Backlund. He saves Hunter from being eliminated. #4 is Jerry Lawler. He helps devise a plan to triple team Henry Godwin with Hunter and Backlund. Henry ends up throwing slop on Lawler. #5 is Bob Holly. #6 is King Mabel. I'm shocked that Mabel didn't eliminate anyone. #7 is Jake "The Snake" Roberts to a huge pop. He clears everyone out of the ring (through the ropes) with his snake except for Lawler, who gets the snake draped over him. #8 is Dory Funk Jr. The crowd wants Jake to deliver a DDT. Lawler is NOT eliminated, just hiding underneath the ring. #9 is Yokozuna. Yokozuna tosses Backlund and eliminates him. #10 is the 1-2-3 Kid with Razor trailing right behind him. Razor chases The Kid all over ringside until he's restrained by officials. #11 is Takao Omari from Japan. #12 is Savio Vega to no reaction. Yokozuna eliminates Mabel, then Jake Roberts gets rid of Omari as well. Uh- oh! #13 is Vader. Savio eliminates Dory Funk Jr. #14 is Doug Gilbert from the USWA. Jake DDT's Savio to a pop, but gets eliminated by a punch from Vader immediately after. #15 is a Squat Team member. I'm not too familiar with The Squat Team. Vader eliminates Doug Gilbert with ease by press-slamming him over the top rope. Soon after that, he gets rid of the Squat Team member. #16 is Squat Team member #2. Since they're twins, they decide to enter the ring together, but Yokozuna and Vader quickly put a stop to that. #17 is Owen Hart. #18 is Shawn Michaels! Vince is WAY too excited about Shawn (Here he comes! Here he comes!!) Vader gets rid of Savio Vega to end his night. Shawn dumps BOTH Yokozuna and Vader to a huge pop. The 1-2-3 Kid's night ends when Shawn tosses him. #19 is Hakushi. Vader is P****sed about being eliminated and clears the entire ring, but none of the eliminations count because Vader had already been thrown out. #20 is Tatanka. Owen Hart tosses Hakushi out as Aldo Montoya comes in at #21. Shawn finds Lawler under the ring, pulls him out, then officially eliminates him. #22 is Diesel. Diesel gets rid of Tatanka. #23 is Kama. #24 is STONE COLD....err, The Ringmaster. The Ringmaster ends Bob Holly's lengthy run and eliminates him. #25 is Barry Horrowitz. Diesel eliminates Triple H after Hunter was in there for almost 50 minutes. #26 is Fatu. #27 is Issac Yankem (Kane). Owen Hart tosses Horrowitz. Shawn eliminates Owen Hart. Austin hilariously mocks HBK's pose after drilling him with a clothesline. #28 is Marty Janetty. Shawn and Marty go at it, of course. #29 is The British Bulldog. The Bulldog gets rid of Janetty. Fatu eliminates The Ringmaster, then Yankem tosses Fatu. #30 is Duke "The Dumpster" Droese. Owen Hart runs out and attacks HBK to get some revenge for the elimination. Shawn eliminates Issac Yankem. Diesel and Kama get rid of Droese. The final four are HBK, Diesel, Kama, and The British Bulldog. HBK clotheslines Bulldog out. Diesel eliminates Kama, but Shawn superkicks Diesel from behind to eliminate Diesel. Diesel makes his way back to the ring and confronts Shawn Michaels. After some brief tension is teased, Diesel ends up high-fiving Shawn. Royal Rumble winner: Shawn MichaelsThoughts: This was a pretty solid Rumble for the most part. I wouldn't say it's filled with outstanding moments, but it does have some memorable ones. Vader made as good of an impact as he possibly could have without winning the rumble. Triple H made an impression by lasting almost 50 minutes. Also, Shawn winning was the right choice at this juncture. My favorite moment of the rumble is Jake Robert's return. I always pop for it each time I see it. WWF ChampionshipBret Hart (C) Vs The Undertaker (W/Paul Bearer)Diesel brawls with Undertaker in the aisle while Diesel's on his way back to the dressing room. The Undertaker has the match won after hitting Bret with a tombstone, but Diesel pulls the referee out and causes the DQ. I have mixed emotions about this match. On one hand, I enjoyed it. The psychology was great and it really became exciting after a while. Even though both were faces, I liked the aggression from both. On the other hand, there are far too many rest holds at times and it really dragged the match down. The crowd was split 50/50.***1/2

Well, the strange year of 1995 was behind us, Diesel's title reign was no more, he'd lost his WWE Championship to Bret Hart in November. Not only that but the Undertaker was getting a title shot tonight rather than Diesel. The big man was none too pleased that he had yet to be granted a rematch.Of equal concern coming in was the health of fan favourite Shawn Michaels, who had collapsed in the ring during a live RAW broadcast in December (entirely fictional but effective stunt taking advantage of the old adage "You can do anything on a live show"). The Royal Rumble would be his first meaningful match since.The night kicked off with Duke Droese defeating rich snob Hunter Hearst Helmsley (who would later be better known as Triple H) by disqualification in a throwaway match that I think was actually part of the free for all, but found its way onto both the VHS and DVD releases.At least I hope that's the case because the next match followed in another disappointing DQ with the recently returned Jeff Jarrett trying to take out powerhouse Ahmed Johnson with his guitar. Johnson was not the best worker in the WWE on his best day, and didn't have a great night here either. Bad match.Todd Pettengil got a rather diplomatic interview from Diesel about not having a title match tonight and his chances of winning the Royal Rumble, drawing special attention to former WCW Champion Vader, who would be competing in this match in an early WWE PPV appearance. An exceptionally mobile big man in his prime, Vader never really caught on in the WWE.The next match saw the Smoking Gunns (Bart and Billy) successfully defend their Tag Team Championships against the Body Donnas (Skip and Zip) despite the managerial skills of Sunny. This again was not really a great match. Well at least it's a step up from losing to Barry Horowitz, hey Skip? Ted DiBiase now gives us a look at his wrestling war room. Not one of his more memorable segments.Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon had a big problem going into the next match, the man he'd be putting the title on the line against, Goldust, supposedly had a crush on him and had been sending him love letters and beguiling him with poetry. It was all a sham though, I mean who needs Razor when you've got Terri Runnels. Goldust and Terri worked well in tandem, and amidst much suggested hanky panky and other shenanigans Goldust got the pin and became new IC Champion. Decent match, but weird as well. Goldust certainly was a sight to behold.We had the typical video montage going into the Rumble, with various wrestlers saying they were going to win it. In the end Triple H came in at one and lasted the longest, Shawn Micheals had the most eliminations and was also the winner. This was not really a great rumble, the ending came with Shawn Michaels super kicking Diesel just as he was eliminating a hapless opponent. Diesel was furious, his Wrestlemania dream in tatters, but Shawn Michaels would be there. It was only a question of who he would face.Bret Hart and Undertaker worked a neat little match in the main event, not either's best work but perfectly fine, before Diesel ran in and hit Hart, giving the Undertaker victory by disqualification. It was all part of Diesel's plan to keep himself in the Wrestlemania picture and it worked. Gorilla Monsoon announced at the end of the PPV that Bret Hart Diesel would get his title match at In Your House 6 in a month, so Michaels would need to wait a few weeks longer to find out who he would be facing at Wrestlemania in March.

World Wrestling Federation Champion Bret The Hitman Hart defends his WWF Title against Big Daddy Cool Diesel in the main event. This was one of WWF Chammpion Bret"The Hitman"Hart's first title defences since regaining the title at the survivor series and one of Diesel's last matches for the WWF. Besides the WWF Championship match, the over the top rope Royal Rumble was action packed as usual with stand out performances by the Slammy Award Winning Owen Hart, Vader and a returning Shawn Michaaels.