WWE Royal Rumble 1994 (1994)

Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

1st Match: Tatanka vs Bam Bam Bigelow. Wow, was that really Tatanka's gimmick? I'm not offended or anything, it just surprises me that's all. I'm gonna have to get used to these older wrestlers, but whatever, the match is pretty good. There's some good back and forth action, and the crowd's super into it. Rating: 3/5 2nd Match: Bret & Owen Hart vs The Quebecers, WWF Tag Team Championships. So this is the moment when Owen turned on Bret, huh? Kind of a shame the match drags on a lot. The story of the match is that Bret won't tag in Owen because he's too selfish. That's fine, but Bret getting his leg almost ripped off for 10 minutes was too long, the ending is also pretty lame. I've heard of refs stopping matches before, but this isn't handled all that well. Rating: 3/5 3rd Match: Razor Ramon vs I.R.S., WWF Intercontinental Championship. A good bounce back from the first two OK matches. I'll give this PPV something, the crowd is white hot throughout the whole thing. Rating: 3.5/5 4th Match: Yokozuna vs The Undertaker, Casket match for the WWF Championship. The first half of this match is good, the second half of this match drags on forever. I've heard the joke of Taker needing the interference of 100 guys to lose a match a million times, this goes too far. And don't even get me started on his spirit rising out of the casket, it goes beyond ridiculous to just stupid. Rating: 1.5/5 5th Match: Royal Rumble match. So I've never reviewed a Royal Rumble match before, so I'm not sure how to talk about this match. I guess I'll just cover the highlights. Scott Steiner apparently wasn't always on steroids. Diesel is a force to be reckoned with. Doink is really creepy. Lex Luger and Bret Hart both win the match, which is so drawn out it's not even funny. This is one of the weaker Rumble mates I've seen, but I don't think I can judge it like that, because this came out before the others. Rating: 3/5 Final Rating: 6 out of 10. Probably not the best PPV to start off my return to wrestling, but I tried. I wouldn't watch this again, but there were some good moments. The good thing is that Wrestlemania X is coming up, which I hear is great.

1. Tatanka Vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - Nice moonsault from BBB, rest was nothing special. 5/10 2. WWF Tag Team Championship: Champs (went first)-Quebeckers Vs. Bret & Owen Hart - Raven aka Johnny Polo at ringside :) Hart loses and Owen Turns on Bret. But the match was great, mostly because of Owen. 7/10 3. WWF Intercontinental Championship: I.R.S. Vs. Champ-Razor Ramon 6.5/10 4. WWF Heavyweight Championship: Champ-Yokozuna (went first) Vs. The Undertaker - No DQ, so 1 against 10 match and Taker lost, hmm not so much wrestling. 5/10 5. Royal Rumble: Scott Steiner, Samu, Rick Steiner, Owen Hart, Kwang, Bart Gunn, Diesel, Billy Gunn, Double J, Randy Savage, Virgil, Crush, Doink, Bam Bam Bigelow, Mable, Bob Backlund, Sparky Plugg, Shawn Michaels, Mo, Greg Valentine, Tatanka, The Great Kabuki, Lex Luger, Tenryu, Bastion Booger, Rick Martel, Bret Hart, Fatu, Marty Jannetty, Adam Bomb, Notes: Steiners aren't so much popular like in WCW, push for Diesel... 6/10

This is the show that set the stage for one of the best Wrestlemanias ever, Wrestlemania X. Going into the Rumble, Lex Luger was considered the favorite to win. Luger had defeated Yokozuna via countout at Summerslam '93 but was never granted a rematch because of a clause in the contract that Jim Cornette had weaseled in on behalf of Yokozuna. But the winner of the Royal Rumble Match automatically gets a shot at the WWF Champion at Wrestlemania whomever he may be, and that would override Cornette's stipulation. As a result, this is Luger's only chance at earning a shot at Yokozuna's WWF Title.The Royal Rumble Match ends at : 55:32. **** One official thinks Luger has won it, another things Bret has. The announcers are split as well. Nobody knows who the winner is. After announcing Luger as the sole winner, then Bret (who got a much bigger pop), Howard Finkel announces that Lex Luger and Bret Hart are co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble. Both are disappointed, but shake hands. The Wrestlemania theme plays, and the Royal Rumble ends without a clearcut #1 contender for Yokozuna's WWF Title for Wrestlemania X.One of the best WWF Royal Rumbles ever and a great lead in to Wrestlemania X another great EVENT!

An event full of twists and turns. Owen Hart turns on his brother during their attempt to capture the tag team titles. The Hitman fights off a bad knee to limp to the ring and win the 30 match Royal Rumble. Great event - with the Undertaker involved in a casket match with Yokozuna and the Bad Guy Razor Ramon defending the Intercontinental Title against IRS.