zkonedog
For perhaps the first time in WWF history, the 1993 edition of the Royal Rumble managed to create individual matches in the event (in this case Michaels/Janetty and Hart/Ramon) that overshadowed the Rumble itself. Unfortunately, this was only because the Rumble was so weak in and of itself.Basically, besides a few guys (Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage, Undertaker) that were still likable (although most of those were even past their respective primes), the entire "main event" consisted of nothing but "jobbers" (wrestle-speak for placeholders in between stars) and big fat guys (always go over better than shrimps). It wasn't anything like years past, where every other guy would elicit a huge reaction (one way or another) from the crowd.Plus, although commentator Gorilla Monsoon is always excellent, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan again will make you want to watch the whole tape on "mute", which really takes away a lot of the fun (at least it would have in the Jesse "The Body" Ventura years).Overall, this is a very "skippable" event in your quest through the RR series. It serves its purpose to advance the story lines into Wrestlemania and even puts together a few good stand-alone matches, but the main event is utterly boring.
amanwhorocks
1. Beverly Brothers Vs.Steiner Brothers - Nice match. Nice was Scotty's roll from opponent's shoulders. Steiners left old WCW boat for attractive WWF:/ 8/102. Intercontinetal Championship: Marty Jannetty Vs. Champ-Shawn Michaels - Now that's PPV! In this moment no idiots and ridiculous wrestlers. Michaels Vs. Jannetty was so exciting I really don't know, who will win. 8/103. Bam Bam Bigelow Vs. (Oh no, I said too much before) Big Stiff Man - Yes! Clotheslines and punches.. I've waited all the time to watch that lazy bastard Bossman. These two potbellies match was nothing special. BUt Bam Bam is at least able to do a slam. 6/104. WWF Championship: Razor Ramon Vs. Champ-Bret Hart - "Better than average" match 6.5/105. Royal Rumble Match: Ric Flair, Bob Backlund, Papa Shango, Ted Dibiase, Brian Knobs, Virgil, Jerry Lawler, Max Moon, Tenryu, Mr. Perfect, Skinner, Koko B.Ware, Samu, The Berzerker, The Undertaker, Terry Taylor, Gonzáles, I.R.S., Damien Demento, Tatanka, Jerry Sags, Typhoon, Fatu, Earthquake, Carlos Colón, El Matador, Rick Martel, Yokozuna, Owen Hart, Repo Man, Macho Man - Good Direction of the Rumble, that has more than 2 tops. 7/10
andy4u2call
*possible spoilers*This was a very good and solid pay-per-view event. I really like it. Around this time (1993) we're starting to move out of the golden years of the Royal Rumble (Hogan's departure from the WWF being one of the key factors, obviously), but that doesn't mean it's not exciting anymore. It definitely is.The opener of the night is the Steiners (in their pay-per-view debut) vs. the Beverly Brothers, it's a decent match, lots of agility and great techniques by both teams, and the crowd really got into it.There's also the Big Boss Man against the "Beast from the East," Bam Bam Bigelow, in a battle of the big boys. Bossman gets some good offense in throughout the match, but Bam Bam prevails in the end with a flying headbutt off the top. Not a really good match, but it was ok.One of the best regular matches on the night, Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty, his former tag-team partner, really got things going. Some spectacular and high flying moves make this really something to watch. Jannetty controls the first few minutes, then Michaels manages to bang up Marty's shoulder a bit, but could not pin him. Jannetty at one point comes tantalizingly close to pinning Michaels, but in the end, it is Shawn who stands victorious. Great match.There's also a segment in which we get our first look at "the Narcissist" Lex Luger in the WWF, who is unveiled by Bobby "the Brain" Heenan. Heenan is so excited and anxious to show him off to everyone, silly stuff.Then the main event, Razor Ramon against Bret "Hitman" Hart. Another great match, for the Intercontinental Championship. Typical good guy/bad guy match. Bret gets control fairly early (after the taunts and toothpick flinging), then Razor really owns him from the middle on up towards the end, where Bret clamps on his infamous Sharpshooter finishing move and makes Ramon submit. Second best match of the night.Now the rumble match. Winner gets a title shot at Wrestlemania IX. Guess who has the #1 spot this year? Yep, Wooooo! Ric Flair. Everyone knows what happened in '92 but this year, Flair was expected to jump to WCW, and on Monday Night Raw, the day after the rumble, he and Mr. Perfect squared off in a "loser leaves the wwf" match. He lost. Flair didn't last as long in this one as he did in '92, but he was in for a good 18 minutes, when Mr. Perfect eliminated him. The man who drew #2, Bob Backlund, started with Flair, and hung on in the match for an incredible 61 minutes. He was the 28th overall man eliminated (by the 27th entrant, Yokozuna).About halfway into the match, Giant Gonzalez strolls down to ringside, and steps over the ropes and confronts the Undertaker, who had just cleared the entire ring. This guy was billed 8 feet tall but was actually 7'8". He chops the Dead Man over the top rope, and continues to beat on him outside the ring. This set up their match at Wrestlemania IX, which was a dud. The rumble match slows down dramatically here. The first half was excellent.When Yokozuna entered the match, he simply dominated. No one wanted anything with him, except for Earthquake. They collided, but Yoko tossed him out. And it was clear who was the winner was going to be. At one point, everyone in the ring all ganged up on Yoko, trying to eliminate him, but he fought them all off. Near the end it was Yokozuna, Bob Backlund, who was still there, Rick Martel, and Randy Savage. Backlund knocked Martel over the ropes, the crowd is going insane for him now, he already has the longevity record. But he made a mistake and charged at Yokozuna and was thrown out right at 61 minutes. WOW. So it's down to the sumo wrestler and Savage, they fight for a long time, Savage gets the crowd riled up, I mean REALLY riled up. But Yokozuna got the last laugh, as he tossed Savage out from lying on his back, AFTER being hit by a Flying Elbow Drop. This was the 2nd longest rumble ever at 66+ minutes, and it was excellent from the start, but it died down the 2nd half.
