Royal Rumble (1994 TV Special) User Reviews

A Nice Bounce-Back

[zkonedog · 7/10 · 12 March 2017]

In 1994, coming off one of the worst Royal Rumble's to that point in WWF history, the quality of the broadcast improved significantly and was actually fun to watch again for two main reasons:

First, all the matches before the main Rumble event (Harts/Quebecs, Razor/IRS, Undertaker/Yokozuna) were quite interesting/exciting in their own right. They each advanced a storyline and featured some quality athletic feats, not just a bunch of fat guys rolling around that had been the standard for the past few years for the WWF.

Also, many of the participants of those matches actually compete in the Rumble itself this year, solving the problem of having all the interesting characters wiped out before the big brawl even began. Plus, the frequency of the "jobbers" was a bit more few-and-far-between. The depth of big names might still have been lacking, but most of the characters at least had interesting personas that one could either root for or despise.

Finally, the ending of the Rumble is one that ranks right up their in the history of the event. I won't give it away here, but suffice it to say that you will be shocked when the final bell rings.

Overall, this was a nice edition to the pantheon of RR events, especially considering the failure of the '93 edition.

Very good

[bh_tafe3 · 8/10 · 6 March 2009]

The 1994 Royal Rumble can be split into two parts: the first three matches which were dedicated to existing rivalries; and the last two matches which were all about Jim Cornette and Mr Fuji's attempts to keep the WWE Title on Yokozuna.

The night started off with the only once defeated Tatanka defeating Bam Bam Bigelow in a slow, but fun opener. Tatank had originally been scheduled to face Ludvig Borga, the man who'd ended his two year winning streak, but Borga had suffered an injury and so Bigelow, who had feuded with Tatanka in 1993, got the spot instead.

The big story going into the next match was the sibling rivalry going on between Bret and Owen Hart. Owen had been unhappy with Bret after a miscommunication between the two had led to Owen being the only Hart eliminated in their match against Shawn Michaels and the knights at Survivor Series. Owen requested a match to find out who was the better man, but Bret refused and instead formed a tag team with Owen. On this night they would face the Quebecers trying to win the tag team championship. Things didn't go as planned though with Bret suffering a knee injury in the match and then passing up an opportunity to tag Owen in before getting pinned. Owen then started beating on Bret's knee, blaming Bret for the loss and walking out on his brother, leaving him on the ground writhing in pain and apparently little prospect of competing in the Royal Rumble match later.

The next match on the card saw Razor Ramon defeating Irwin R Shyster to retain the Intercontinental Championship in a decent match. IRS was a reliable worker in the early to mid 90s, but never enjoyed singles success in his career.

This brings us to the big title match with Yokozuna putting the WWE Title on the line in a casket match against the Undertaker. The Undertaker had put Yokozuna on notice after sitting up following a banzai drop and then eliminating Yokozuna and himself from the match by count out. Yokozuna's manager Mr Fuji made sure that this would be the Undertaker's only title opportunity. Undertaker took total control of the match until a series of run ins from Fuji and Jim Cornette's cronies felled Undertaker. Eventually it took a 13 on 1 beat down to subdue the Undertaker long enough for Yokozuna to roll him into the casket and claim the victory. The Undertaker was then locked in the casket and wheeled out of the arena, only for him to appear on the titantron and threaten revenge before floating up into the rafters. At the time this was pretty cool stuff, but would come across as lame today.

The Royal Rumble was a match of two halves. The First half was all about Shawn Michael's bodyguard Diesel, who dominated the match, clearing the ring several times before finally getting eliminated after knocking out seven people. The rest of the match was about Fuji and his hired guns trying to ensure that any serious threat to Yokozuna's title didn't win the Royal Rumble. With Bret Hart injured and by no means sure of competing, Lex Luger looked the most significant threat to Yokozuna. And when no one came out at No.25 it was thought that Hart had been too injured to compete. Another number came and so that was it. It was Luger vs Fuji's lackeys, who surely couldn't beat all of them on his own. No.27 came around and out of the archway came...Bret Hart!! The crowd went nuts. Hart on one leg, stood with Luger and they eliminated all of Fuji's men until it was only them left. One of these two men, who'd been so close to beating Yokozuna in the past, would be facing him at Wrestlemania. They went back and forth and suddenly both guys went over the top rope together and their feet landed simultaneously on the ground. It was a draw. The result being that Yokozuna would be facing both Hart and Luger, the two biggest threats to his WWE Championship, at Wrestlemania X.

This was a really good night. Almost every match on the card had repercussions for Wrestlemania X. The storyline in the Rumble was unique and the matches were all fine. An entertaining event worth revisiting and it set up arguably the best WWE PPV ever: Wrestlemania X.

Royal Rumble '94

[reigunyu · 8 January 2004]

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!

The best Royal Rumble ever!

[dawsonbot · 10/10 · 20 December 2001]

People usually say things like the 1992, 1995, or 1997 Rumbles are the best, but Royal Rumble 1994 always comes to mind as the best Royal Rumble ever. It serves at the starting point for one of the most bitter feuds in World Wrestling Federation history; Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. The incident with the Undertaker is cheesy and supernatural, but this is sports entertainment dammit! The events leading up to his "death" (10 superstars interfering in the match) is pretty cool which is revisted in 1998, and the most controversial finish of the Royal Rumble takes place here when Bret hart and Lex Luger and eliminated simultaneously thus having co-winners of the Rumble (which means double main event at WrestleMania X)!

10/10

No wrestling here ok theatre but not good

[paudieconnolly · 5/10 · 17 April 2021]

Vince McMahon opening the show with million dollar man on mics does not start well and what's happening on the throw together commentary should have been a warning for the night. Tatanka v bam bam First match of the night . WWF feels like a lot of time as passed since 1991 star filled royal rumble worthy of putting all the stars on the poster. A very different looking roster today. All Canada tag team title match Hart's bros v Quebecers building the brothers split more than the title shot. Seeing Earl and Dave hebner together the best part of this match for me Nothing special in the opening two matches. Razor wakes fans for the first time tonight for the intercontinental title Razor v IRS strange referee decision here, Which continues for the night. Weird undertaker promo followed by the match with yokozuna If you can call it a match followed by a lot of theatre which could have worked better if a match had taken place first. Royal rumble followed in an era with so many changes strange ref decisions and president stepping in didn't seem the right way to go seemed like amateur hour. With so many greats gone the wrestling looked very average. Adding unprofessional looking officials was a mistake. The bestest pops from the crowd did not come from wrestling but the theatre. This one will not live long in the memory for wrestling.

Barely Average. Somewhat Watchable Show.

[morantjavonte · 5/10 · 3 October 2022]

Royal Rumble 1994 Thoughts

Royal Rumble 1994 was the 7th annual Royal Rumble event produced by the WWF. It took place on January 22, 1994 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Attendence was at 14,500 with a PPV buyrate of 200,000. This Rumble PPV was the first rumble post the departure of Hulk Hogan with the Hogan-Era officially in the past and it's recognized as the second Royal Rumble of the New Generation Era which kicked off a year prior to this event.

As I mentioned the New Generation, years 1993-1996 were not the kind years for the WWF. 5 matches took place including the Royal Rumble and the casket match for the WWF Championship. Like the previous Rumble, winner would receive a WWF championship title shot at the upcoming WrestleMania.

The Good - Not much to praise. But the tag match between the Quebecers and Hart Brothers was really good. Obviously the main focus was to build up the feud of Owen and Bret which was getting real good. Owen's heel turn to Bret post match was unique. Bret Hart was also tremendous at selling his injury through out this entire night. He also quite put up a performance twice this night. 1 in the tag match and the other in the rumble. Opening was also a pretty good way to kick off the night.

The Meh - The Royal Rumble was somewhat okay. It slightly better than the previous year's Rumble of 93. It's hard though to judge which lacked star power more and that unfortunately was the issue in the period. The ending is a head scratcher with Luger and Hart being a tie but it worked at the end heading to WrestleMania. I also would love to mention Diesel looked pretty sharp through the rumble.

The Bad - The WWF Casket match was way Overbooked and was some of the most ridiculous crap I've ever seen. Match was a disaster and having 15 guys to use to write Undertaker off TV was stupid. One of the worst Rumble matches ever. The IC title match was Lackluster and logic ending made no sense. I. R. S was unfortunately never an interesting star in singles action.

Overall - A part of me feels like I'm being too soft or too negative so I say it's Mediocre. I wouldn't recommend this event for anyone but I will credit the show for having a few big highlights.

Score - 5 out of 10: Mediocre

0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time

1. Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow - 3/5

2. The Quebecers vs. The Hart Brothers: WWF Tag Team Championship - 3.5/5

3. Razor Ramon vs. Irwin R. Schyster: WWF Intercontinental Championship - 1.5/5

4. Yokozuna vs. Undertaker: WWF Championship (Casket Match) - 0/5

5. 30-Man Royal Rumble - 2/5

Best Match - The Quebecers vs. The Hart Brothers

Worst Match - Yokozuna vs. Undertaker

Most Memorable Moment - Hart and Luger ending. It was wake up to Vince to push Hart again at the top.

Top 5 Performers

1. Bret Hart - No doubt. Great Performance

2. Owen Hart - Great Performance and Heel Turn

3. The Quebecers - Did their roles fine

4. Diesel - Great Performance. Over with crowd depite being big heel.

5. Lex Luger - Good Performance.

Average PPV

[amanwhorocks · 5/10 · 18 August 2013]

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

Memorable In More Ways Than One

[Big Movie Fan · 2 December 2002]

After the mediocre 1993 Royal Rumble, it was great to see a return to form for what has long been one of the WWF's favourite events.

The undercard was pretty spectacular. Tatanka had a reasonable match with Bam Bam Bigelow. Razor Ramon also had a decent match with the taxman Irwin R. Schyster.

Also on the undercard was The Undertaker VS the late Yokosuna in a WWF Title Casket Match (get your opponent in the casket to win). This was a good match memorable for about a dozen wrestlers interfering at the end.

The most memorable undercard match pitted Bret Hart and his late brother Owen Hart against WWF Tag Team Champions The Quebecers. This wasn't the greatest match ever but it set the ball rolling for the Bret Hart/Owen Hart feud which I still rate as one of the best feuds ever (Bret VS Owen at WrestleMania X was awesome).

Then we had the Rumble where for the second year in a row, the winner would receive a title shot at the following WrestleMania. It was quite a memorable Rumble in many ways; rising superstar Diesel eliminated the competition, heel Shawn Michaels acted like a coward for most of the match and the competition really got hot towards the end. As for the ending itself, it was bizarre because two wrestlers won the Rumble (they were Bret Hart and Lex Luger).

Classic WWF shows like this have been deleted on video/DVD due to the 2002 court ruling brought by the World Wildlife Fund against what is now World Wrestling Entertainment. However, if you can, do try and track this cracking event down.

Royal Surprise!

[BimmerDude · 7 January 2001]

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.