WWE Royal Rumble 1995 (1995)

From my favorite movies..

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At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

1st Match: Jeff Jarrett vs Razor Ramone, WWF Intercontinental Championship. A pretty good match to start with. The match originally ends in a countout, but Jarrett has the match continue. Didn't know wrestlers were allowed to do that, but whatever. The final ending is pretty weak, and I still can't stomach Jarrett winning very well, but the match is entertaining. Rating: 3.5/5 2nd Match: Undertaker vs IRS. Undertaker wins, nothing really special. Apparently this is the last PPV appearance of IRS, which is fine with me because his gimmick got old real fast. But I guess the match was good at setting up Taker and Bundy's match at Wrestlemania XI. Rating: 3/5 3rd Match: Diesel vs Bret Hart, WWF Championship. The best match of the night, and much better title match than the one at Survivor Series the previous year. Then again, almost any other match would be better than that one. The match is pretty overbooked, but it still has some great moments. If there wasn't so much interference, and the match didn't end in a draw as a result, this could've been a serious Match of the Year contender. Rating: 4.5/5 4th Match: Bob Holly & 1-2-3 Kid vs Tatanka & Bam Bam Bigelow, WWF Tag Team Championships. There are some great moments in this, some great spots and the good guys winning is always nice. The match I guess serves more as setting up the Bigelow/Lawrence Taylor match for Wrestlemania. Rating: 4/5 5th Match: Royal Rumble match. Time for the highlights! Shawn Michaels wins despite entering at Number 1, becoming only one of two men to do that, the other being Chris Benoit. There are a lot of jobbers/nobodies in this match. The only big names you have are Michaels, Davey Boy, Luger, and Owen, the rest are either tag team wrestlers, or people that couldn't win this match in a million years. That being said, Backlund and Owen getting eliminated almost immediately is nice, and Michaels hanging on for dear life at the end is a pretty famous scene. It's a better Rumble match compared to last years, but it needed bigger names like Bret, Taker, or Razor Ramone to make it have some suspense. Rating: 3.5/5 Final Rating: 7 out of 10. A much better start to the year than last time. Hopefully, the rest of WWF's shows are better as well.

(01.22.95)Live from Tampa, FLAttendance: 10,000Your hosts are Vince McMahon & Jerry LawlerPamela Anderson receives a bunch of gifts from the superstars. It's pretty corny.Intercontinental ChampionshipRazor Ramon (C) Vs Jeff Jarrett (W/The Roadie)Jarrett tosses Razor over the top rope, causing Razor to fall awkwardly on his knee. The Roadie chopblocks Razor from behind on the outside behind the ref's back. Jarrett wins by countout. HOWEVER, Jarrett goads Razor into restarting the match. Razor tries the Razor's Edge but his leg buckles. Jarrett gets him in an inside cradle to win the title. This is one of those matches that goes unnoticed because of the terrible overbooking. This is a pretty good match with both men on top of their game. If it wasn't for the terrible booking, it would be considered a great opener.***1/2The Undertaker (W/Paul Bearer) Vs I.R.S (W/Ted Dibiase)The Undertaker wins with a chokeslam. This match isn't bad as I remembered. That's kinda a backhanded compliment, though. It's still a pretty mediocre match with nothing special about it what so ever. Nobody bought I.R.S as a threat to The Undertaker.*1/2WWF ChampionshipDiesel (C) Vs Bret HartDiesel has it won with a jackknife powerbomb until Shawn Michaels runs in and prevents Diesel from winning. In lieu of a DQ, the referee elects to continue the match. Bret has the match won with the Sharpshooter, but Owen Hart runs in to prevent a submission. The referee declares that the match MUST continue AGAIN. Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, Jeff Jarrett, The Roadie, and Bob Backlund run in to Finally make this a no-contest. Diesel and Bret embrace after the match in a show of respect. Thoughts: Bret Hart gives Diesel his best matches. This is an excellent match that's loaded with creativity and suspense. I liked how both men acted heelish in this match, especially Bret. The psychology is also excellent with Bret doing a great job of going after Diesel's leg. It's overbooked a little bit but it doesn't detract from the match too much. It's the perfect example of finesse Vs power.****Tag Team ChampionshipBam Bam Bigelow & Tatanka (W/Ted Dibiase) Vs The 1-2-3 Kid & Bob HollyThe Kid & Holly win the titles after a heel miscommunication. This was a fun little match with a great Cinderella story. The Kid & Holly played the perfect underdogs and managed to make you care about them. ***Lawrence Taylor starts laughing at Bam Bam Bigelow. Bigelow shoves him. This would lead to a match at Wrestlemania 11.The Royal Rumble1. is Shawn Michaels. 2. is The British Bulldog. Like an idiot, The Bulldog picks up Shawn for a military press slam, but he slams on the mat instead of the floor. 3. is Eli Blu. 4 is Duke "The Dumpster" Droese. 5. is Jimmy Del Ray. 6. is Sione (The Barbarian) of The Headshrinkers. Bulldog eliminates Del Ray. 7. is Tom Pritchard. 8. is Doink, and the crowd pops huge for some odd reason. 9 is Savio Veg...I mean, Kwang. 10. is Rick Martel, who has outlived his usefulness at this point. 11. is Owen Hart. Bret attacks Owen in the aisle way to get revenge. 12. is Timothy Well. Owen Hart gets eliminated off camera. Shawn Michaels eliminates Droese. The Bulldog follows that by tossing Timothy Well. Sione ends Martel's night, and Michaels gets rid of Pritchard. Kwang eliminates Doink as 13. is Bushwhacker Luke. Eli Blu and Sione eliminate each other. So many quick eliminations! Michaels quickly ends Luke's night by throwing him out. 14. is Jacob Blu. He goes out almost as quickly as he came in. 15. is King Kong Bundy. 16. is Mo from Men on a Mission. He lasts a few seconds before getting thrown out by Bundy. Mo breaks Bushwhacker Luke's quickest elimination record. 17. is Mabel. He goes after Bundy, of course. 18. is Bushwhacker Butch. Mabel eliminates Bundy. Michaels gets rid of Butch. 19. is Lex Luger. He starts off with a bang by eliminating Mabel. 20. is Mantaur. 21. is Aldo Montoya. (Justin Credible) 22. is Henry Godwin. 23. is Billy Gunn. 24. is his brother Bart Gunn. 25. is Bob Backlund. to thunderous boos. He's greeted by an attack from Bret Hart as well. 26. is Steven Dunn. Luger tosses Backlund to a big pop. 27. is Dick Murdoch. 28. is Adam Bomb. 29. is Fatu. Luger eliminates Mantaur. 30. is Crush. Crush gets rid of the Smoking Gunns simultaneously. Montoya eliminates Steven Dunn. Crush gets rid of Adam Bomb. Montoya is eliminated by Crush. He follows that up by getting rid of Fatu. Murdoch eliminates himself after the effects of an airplane spin. Luger eliminates Henry Godwin. Murdoch gets a standing ovation on his way out. The final four are Luger, Michaels, Crush, and The British Bulldog. Michaels eliminates Luger. The Bulldog clotheslines Crush out, leaving Michaels and Bulldog as the final two. The British Bulldog clotheslines Michaels out to WIN the Royal Rumble...WAIT! Michaels dangled his feet above the ground, and only one foot hit the floor. He comes back in while Bulldog is celebrating on the top rope, and knocks him to the floor to eliminate The Bulldog. Shawn Michaels has won the Royal Rumble.Thoughts: Shawn winning the rumble after drawing number one was unheard of back then. It's one of the most memorable rumble performances of all time. Despite Michael's heroics, this one suffers greatly from a lack of star power. I did enjoy Shawn teasing elimination, and the ending to the Rumble was cool as well. I just wish the rumble itself was more exciting and had more star power. ** 7/10 overall.

This was a major event for the WWF, with the setup for Wrestlemania. First of all the appearance by Pamela Anderson was great and definitely was attractive. The Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett match was great right up until the end and a great way to start the show. The Undertaker Vs. IRS match was not quite as good as the other matches, but still entertaining. Bret Hart and Diesel worked their butts off for the crowd, and would have been better if there wasn't all of the interferences. The Tag Team Match had a surprising outcome, and set up the big Bam Bam Bigelow/Lawrence Taylor match. But the Royal Rumble match itself was what stole the show. Shawn Michaels and The British Bulldog were the first two in and the last two in the Rumble, with Shawn being the only man to come in at the number one spot and win. Great show 5 out of 5 all the way!!!

In a lot of ways, the Royal Rumble match is all about luck. As good as you are, drawing an early number can always come back to haunt you. Entering the match early on ensures you at least half an hour to an hour of work before you even have a chance to capture the Rumble title. So entering the Rumble match at No. 1 is a recipe for disaster, right? Not if your name is Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid entered the Rumble match at No. 1, with the British Bulldog following at No. 2. After all 30 men had entered, there were just two superstars remaining -- HBK and the Bulldog! Bulldog then tossed Shawn over the top, and went to go celebrate his win. But the crafty Shawn held onto the rope, pulled himself back into the ring, and knocked the unknowing Bulldog out to become the first man ever to win the Rumble match after entering at No. 1! Also at the 1995 Royal Rumble, the 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly won the finals of a tournament, defeating Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka to win the vacant Tag Team Championship. After the bout, football great Lawrence Taylor -- who was a guest of WWE Champion Diesel at the Rumble event -- poked some fun at Bigelow, who then shoved L.T. to the ground! This confrontation would ultimately lead to a one-on-one match between Taylor and Bigelow at WrestleMania XI!Jeff Jarrett pinned Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship Undertaker defeated Irwin R. Schyster via pinfall WWE Champion Diesel and Bret Hart wrestled to a draw 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka in a tournament final for the vacant Tag Team Championship Shawn Michaels won the Royal RumbleOverall Mark: B+