Shining a Spotlight 1.11.07: A Royal Retrospective (part II)
Posted by Michael Weyer on 01.11.2007
Finishing my look at the history of the Royal Rumble as we get set for the 20th card.
Well, it seems once again fate has a twisted sense of humor as HHH has torn a quad five years after coming back from his first injury. While I'm sure many of his bashers (coughScottKeithcough) are happy, Hunter was really doing a good job putting guys over and losing him does throw a wrench on things. So speedy recovery but hopefully HHH could use some time off with his new kid.
For now, we continue this history lesson on the Royal Rumble. As we open with 1998, the WWF was facing possibly the most important Rumble ever. After being dominated in the ratings by WCW for the last year and a half and losing Bret Hart in the most controversial match in memory, WWF needed to bounce back big. They did have an opening as WCW finally made a big mistake by completely dropping the ball with the Hogan-Sting Starrcade match. So WWF had a chance to take the momentum and they did.
The Rumble card was unique as several participants in the undercard bouts would go on to participate in the Rumble as well. The Rock, who was still a hated heel, not quite the mega star yet, appeared to lose the Intercontinental title to Ken Shamrock but Rock showed some nice heel smarts by slipping a bare of brass knuckles into Shamrock's tights during the match, telling the ref and the ref DQing Shamrock. The New Age Outlaws, who had shocked everyone by beating the Legion of Doom for the tag team titles a few weeks earlier, lost to LOD by DQ.
Once again, the Rumble was the second-to-last match of the night and once again, the entry times were cut down to 90 second intervals. In a hint of the talent that would make him an eventual singles star, JBL (then Blackjack Bradshaw) drew number eight and lasted 35 minutes. He came second to the Rock, who drew number four and went an amazing 51 minutes. Mick Foley pulled off a unique move; drawing number one as Cactus Jack, he was the second man eliminated but came back at 16 as Mankind, dumping out Terry Funk, who had eliminated Jack. After being eliminated by Goldust, Foley returned at number 28 as Dude Love.
One bit of the Rumble that's overlooked is one of those little missing bits of wrestling history. Back in early 1998, Jim Cornette talked Vince McMahon into setting up a feud with the NWA, which needed some cash to survive. This led to NWA North American champion Jeff Jarrett attacking some WWF stars during their entrances and wound up being eliminated by Owen Hart. The feud would fall apart thanks to Vince's inability to see the NWA as anything close to equal (although one can argue he had a point there).
Of course, the big entry for the Rumble was Steve Austin. When number 24 came up and the glass shattered, everyone in the ring immediately stopped fighting each other and turned to the entrance, recognizing Austin as the big threat. Naturally, the ever-cagy Austin came in through the crowd, tossing out Marc Mero before the rest of the ring even knew he was there. Austin would end up eliminating seven men, hitting the Rock with a Stunner that pretty much sent him flying out of the ring to get the win.
The main event was Shawn Michaels defending the WWF title against the Undertaker in a casket match. The match ended somewhat similar to the infamous Taker-Yokozuna match four years earlier as a horde of heels rushed in to attack Undertaker. Kane came out, seemingly to help Undertaker fight them off but ended up attacking his brother, chokeslamming him into the casket and then, for the finale, set it on fire. The match would have some major long-range consequences as Michaels took a fall on the ring apron that crushed one disc and injured two others which would end up putting him on the shelf for four years and allow the rise of Austin and DX a few months later.
The 1999 Rumble was….well, it was a bit of a mess. Vince Russo was starting to show the same over the top tendencies at booking that would carry over to WCW (and, in a lesser degree, to TNA today). One somewhat unique match was Sable beating Luna Vachon to retain the Women's title in a strap match with interference by a fan who later became known as Torrie. There was also the Rock beating Mick Foley in an "I Quit" match made famous by the scene of the Rock smashing a chair over a handcuffed Foley's head ten times while Foley's wife and kids watched with horror. The Rock held a microphone to Foley's mouth and his voice came on the speakers saying "I quit!" As the fans expected, it was later revealed that the words had been piped in from an earlier interview with Mankind.
The Rumble returned to the main event although once again there were 90 second intervals. Vince had set it up so Austin drew number one but Shawn Michaels (then the face Commissioner of WWF) made McMahon number two. Austin chased Vince under the ropes and back to a bathroom where the Corporation ganged up on him and sent Austin to the hospital. Vince then spent the rest of the Rumble commentating until Austin returned. As a sign of the good Russo did do in that period, the Rumble had about a dozen different storylines coming together as the wrestlers battled. Austin eliminated eight people, including Chyna, who made history as the only woman to participate in a Rumble. When Austin dragged Vince in, the Rock interfered to help Vince throw him out and win. Needless to say this didn't go well with the fans but the next night, they did fix it. When Vince said he was giving up the title shot and would pick a new challenger for the Rock, Austin and Michaels came on via Titan Tron and informed McMahon that "according to the rulebook" if the winner of the Rumble was unable or unwilling to take the title shot, it would go to the last man eliminated which of course was Austin. Austin would put it on the line against McMahon at their steel cage match at St. Valentine's Massacre with Vince being beaten to within an inch of his life. Yeah, pretty convoluted and should have been a sign to many how Russo's writing could go over the top.
Thankfully, the 2000 Rumble was much better. The undercard was good as Tazz made his WWF debut and became the first man to beat Kurt Angle. The Hardyz defeated the Dudleyz in a tables match that set the stage for the TLC series while Chris Jericho beat Chyna and Hardcore Holly to be sole Intercontinental champion. The biggest undercard match was HHH beating Cactus Jack in a wild and bloody street fight that pretty much made HHH a star.
In the Rumble, the longest time went to Test who went 26 minutes while Rikishi got his first shot at stardom, drawing number five and making the first seven eliminations before everyone in the ring ganged up to drop him out. Chyna repeated her historic entry in the Rumble as she and Jericho eliminated each other. Road Dogg showed some smarts by simply grabbing onto the bottom rope and holding on when he entered. In the end, it came down to the Rock and the Big Show, the Rock seeming to pull Show over the ropes and it was declared Show had hit first. However, Show argued Rock had hit both feet as well and so the title shot was shifted to the four-way match at Wrestlemania which HHH won.
In 2001, WWF was coming off what may be their best year ever and that momentum pushed the Rumble on. In the undercard, the Dudleyz beat Edge and Christian for the tag team titles while HHH beat Angle in a wild brawl highlighted by Stephanie and Trish Stratus getting into a fight outside the ring. The real highlight was Chris Jericho beating Chris Benoit in a terrific ladder match for the IC title. As for the Rumble itself, it finally returned to the two minute intervals. A bizarre feature early on was Drew Carey somehow becoming a participant, entering at number five just in time to see the Hardys eliminate each other. Thankfully, number six was Kane and after failing with a bribe attempt, Carey smartly threw himself over the top rope. Kane set the all-time elimination record, tossing out eleven guys and lasted an astonishing 53 minutes. For the second year in a row, the Rock eliminated the Big Show and for the second year in a row, Big Show attacked him afterward, chokeslamming the Rock through the announcer's table. A surprise came when Haku, who had been wrestling in WCW for several years as Meng, made a surprise late entrant. In the end, Austin (bloodied after being attacked by HHH while coming down the aisle) eliminated Kane to win an unprecedented third Rumble.
The 2002 Rumble was interesting as WWF was coming off the failed Invasion angle and, although they didn't know, was about to enter a rough year. The undercard had William Regal beating Edge for the IC belt and Chris Jericho beating the Rock to retain the "Undisputed" WWF title in a match that had so many ref bumps and refs failing to make the count that the Rock laid one official out. There was also a street fight between Vince and Ric Flair that turned into a wild and bloody affair with Flair's family at ringside getting a few shots at Vince. For the Rumble itself, Maven (who had won the first season of Tough Enough and was thus getting an actual push) shocked everyone by dropkicking the Undertaker out although Taker would then pull him out of the ring. In an odd thing, the intervals actually seemed to stretch longer than two minutes at some points for reasons never explained. A fun moment came when Curt Henning entered, was ganged up by the ropes, but still managed to spit out his gum and swat it in mid-air. What a trooper. The longest time was by Steve Austin although, in another surprise, he was eliminated by Angle. In the end HHH dumped Angle out to win the Rumble.
2003 was more interesting as WWF had begun the brand expansion and thus the question was whether the Rumble would decide the RAW or SmackDown title match at Wrestlemania. The opening match had Brock Lesner and the Big Show battling for a Rumble spot with Lesner winning. The Dudley Boyz beat William Regal and Lance Storm to win the tag titles although it was clear their heat with WWF fans was fading. Torrie Wilson faced Dawn Marie in the blow-off to the Al Wilson saga that really should not be recapped again. HHH then faced Scott Steiner for the World title and the match immediately went downhill once it became clear that Steiner was woefully out of shape, blowing up easy and hit HHH with about six overhead suplexes, the crowd booing as they realized this was pretty much the only move Steiner could do. HHH hit Steiner with a sledgehammer and got DQ'ed to end the horror. Thankfully, the next match was Angle defending the WWE title against Chris Benoit in a technical classic with Angle making Benoit tap out. The Rumble, as I noted, had an added edge thanks to the brand extension. Chris Jericho drew number two and lasted nearly 40 minutes. The Rumble had unique matchups like Rey Mysterio and Chavo doing lucha moves while Tommy Dreamer brought weapons into the fray. John Cena actually did a rap as he headed to the ring and there was a nice continuity note as Maven tried to dropkick Taker out again but this time Taker threw him out. Brock Lesner became the latest number to win the Rumble, coming in at 29 and throwing out the last entrant, the Undertaker, to win the match.
The 2004 Rumble was a big one as WWF began to improve after a few years of shaky storylines. Ric Flair and Batista beat the Dudleyz in a tables match to retain the tag team titles. Brock Lesner had a six-minute match against Hardcore Holly to retain the WWE title while HHH and Shawn Michaels went at it in a wild Last Man Standing match that, somehow, ended up in a draw. As the card was in Philadelphia, Eric Bischoff came out to run down Paul Heyman and ECW. Heyman came out to attack Bischoff and Steve Austin then entered, stunned Bischoff, gave Heyman a beer and then stunned him, which actually seemed to set up the whole ECW revival a year earlier. But the Rumble was one of the best ever. Chris Benoit drew number one and went all the way, battling everyone else in the match. Some highlights included Kane cutting a swath through the wrestlers until entrant 13 came up. The lights went out and the Undertaker's gong sounded, distracting Kane so Booker T eliminated him. Upset, Kane beat up the real number 13, Spike Dudley, so he couldn't make it to the ring. Number 21 was going to be Test but the cameras showed him beaten up and Steve Austin (then RAW Commissioner) ordering in someone else. That someone turned out to be Mick Foley, who went right after Randy Orton, both men going over the top with a clothesline. In the end, Benoit managed to pull the Big Show over the ropes and became the first man to go all the way in an hour-long Rumble. Everyone assumed Benoit would go for the WWE title but he instead jumped to RAW, revealing that the rules simply said the Rumble winner would get a shot at one title, not which one.
The 2005 Rumble had some interesting developments. The Undertaker beat Heindrich in a casket match while JBL once again escaped seemingly certain doom by beating Big Show and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match to retain the WWE title. Edge managed to pin Shawn Michaels in a very good match. HHH also beat Randy Orton to retain the World title in what is now one of the last times he'd stick to that top slot. A funny bit before the Rumble had Eddie Guerrero switching his number with Ric Flair's. The Rumble kicked off with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. Number three was Daniel Puder (remember him?) who got a rough initiation into the WWE by getting the absolute crap kicked out of him by Benoit, Guererro and Hardcore Holly. Edge went about 40 minutes while Scott 2 Hotty didn't even make it to the ring before being attacked by Muhammad Hassan. Also, the inevitable happened as the RAW and Smackdown entrants teamed up on brand lines to go at each other for a bit. There was also the awesome brief reunion of Haas and Shelton teaming up. But the ending is what everyone remembers. Batista and John Cena were the last two men, Batista clothes lining Cena out so both went over and hit the floor together. While some thought it was a recreation of the '94 Rumble, the truth is that Batista was supposed to eliminate Cena but went too far with the hit. Vince himself came out to argue with the refs and while crawling under the ropes, managed to tear both quads. But he wouldn't let that stop him, sitting in the corner and still directing orders despite his massive pain, which deserves props. The match was restarted with Batista eliminating Cena fairly to win.
So we come around to last year. The opening match had Gregory Helms winning a six-way match for the Crusierweight title, which he still holds today. JBL, in a move many thought was payback for his over-long title reign, lost to the Bogeyman in less than two minutes. The Rumble returned to being an undercard match with 90 second intervals. In the Rumble, Rey Mysterio set the new longevity record at one hour and two minutes. HHH also won raves by lasting almost to the end after drawing number one. Lashley got his first shot at being over by getting a decent pop and throwing out Sylvan before Kane and Big Show teamed up to get him out. RVD got a good pop too although some of his stuff looked a bit weak before HHH got him out by throwing Rey into the corner RVD was climbing up on. Shawn Michaels was eliminated by Shane McMahon, who wasn't even a participant. Meanwhile, Glen Jacobs tied the record for the most appearances in a Rumble (ten) with Rikishi. In the end, Mysterio eliminated the last entrant, Randy Orton, to win the Rumble. In the last matches, John Cena beat Edge to regain the WWE title, a surprise to many as Edge had only won the belt a few weeks earlier. That was followed by Kurt Angle beating Mark Henry to retain the World title and then the Undertaker coming out on a chariot to challenge Angle for the belt.
So we go into the 20th Rumble and again, the match itself is pretty hard to mess up, despite the mess WWE might be in at the time. This year may prove far more interesting thanks to the formation of ECW, which means there'll be three brands going at it for the title shot. Whatever the undercard is like, the Rumble is the true reason everyone tunes in. It's just something about waiting, counting down every two minutes until the next entry, the excitement at seeing who it'll be, the various matchups that take place. Someone may prove themselves the next big star, someone may pull of an upset elimination and the winner will get the big push for the biggest show of the year. The Rumble remains the one PPV you can always bank on and hopefully this will continue the grand tradition.
Around 411 this week:
As you might have noticed, I pull double duty this week as Nick Masico and I get Fact or Fiction, taking about the number of PPVs, Great Khali and CM Punk among others. And be sure to check out Nick's "News to Start your Weekend."
Evolution Schematic also talks about the Rumble in a good recap.
That Was Then takes a look at the IC title, a great review of one of my favorite belts.
Quick Talkdown talks about competition firing up wrestling in the new year.
WWE vs TNA does year-end awards.
Welcome the Sunday Morning Hangover talking about favorite PPVS.
Getting Over does the Overies (oh, is that a punchline waiting to happen).
Andy Clark…is on vacation.
The Goodness has O'Dog making a case for cutting down the number of PPVs and I have to go along with that.
Julian talks about the 10 Worst Gimmicks.
Meehan becomes the first to talk on HHH's injury and what it means.
Don't forget Triple Threat, 3 R's, Ask 411, Column of Honor and the rest.
