WWF Royal Rumble 1995
Sunday, January 22
USF Sun Dome
Tampa, FL

Announcers: Vince McMahon & Jerry “The King” Lawler

Pamela Anderson arrives at the arena in a white limousine. She’s greeted by a chorus of catcalls by a plethora of WWF SuperStars only to quickly tuck herself away inside her dressing room. Vinnie Mac & Jerry Lawler welcome the pay-per-view audience to the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL and set the stage for the event focusing their introductory time to hype the WWF Championship match between challenger Bret “The Hitman” Hart, a two-time titleholder, and current champion “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, the I.R.S. versus Undertaker battle, and of course, the 30-man Royal Rumble match with the winner of that earning himself a WWF Title match at WrestleMania. First up is a title match, too …

WWF Intercontinental Championship:
“Double J” Jeff Jarrett (w/ The Roadie) -VS- “The Bad Guy” Razor Ramon (c)

Result/Analysis: Jarrett via pin (18:07 combined) with a small package to become the NEW Intercontinental Champion.

The match has two parts to it with the first ending with Jarrett victorious via a count-out (11:46) after Ramon “injures” his left knee landing on the mat outside the ring and The Roadie clipping him from behind unbeknownst to referee Tim White. Jarrett refuses to accept the victory, however, realizing that a count-out doesn’t bag him the title. Instead, Jarrett successfully goads Ramon into re-starting the match by claiming he didn’t come to Tampa just to get his hand raised nor did the crowd or pay-per-view audience wish to see that. Funny. Jarrett calls Ramon a big yellow-bellied coward and chants chicken, chicken, chicken before Razor hobbles his way back to the ring to inform White he’ll continue on with the match. The pacing of the initial two-thirds is slow with each one gaining the upper hand and/or psychological advantage on the other as both McMahon and Lawler opine. Ramon is the more aggressive at the onset with Jarrett flustered on a number of occasions and taking a powder more than once to collect himself. Both announcers point out how instrumental The Roadie is likely to be referencing his shenanigans in the weeks leading into the match. Vince, of course, has to tell us all yet again how Jarrett wants to use the WWF as a stepping stone into country music stardom. He loved doing that. The sell job to put Jarrett “over” was a never-ending mission by every announcer and it had largely succeeded by this point. A seesaw match unfolds as near pins by each are recorded. Jarrett lands a flurry of dropkicks, clotheslines and a swinging neckbreaker while Ramon succeeds with counters mostly to come close to a pin as Vince points out that he appears off his game. Lawler concurs and notes that Jarrett’s quickness has frustrated Ramon. It’s after a jumping clothesline by Ramon that nearly wins him the match when the first portion concludes as Jarrett side steps another clothesline attempt and Ramon winds up outside the ring “injuring” his knee leading to the blindside clip by The Roadie and the subsequent count-out.

The final third of the match upon the resumption goes a duration of 6:21 as Ramon wrestles with grit and guile despite being compromised by his bum knee. Jarrett hones in his attack on the knee to soften up Ramon for his figure-four leg lock. Ramon manages yet more counters for near pins but he can’t mount any sustained attack. Lawler says Ramon is his own worst enemy for letting these people convince him to continue the match. Vince asks if the match should just be stopped by the official? Jarrett eventually slaps the figure-four on, and despite writhing in pain and nearly having his shoulders pinned to the mat, also unable to reverse the hold, Ramon refuses to submit and he punches himself free after a solid two minutes in the hold. Ramon finds machismo from within and he lands a top rope belly-to-back suplex for a near pin. A clothesline follows to set up the Razor’s Edge. Jarrett is lifted up into the Razor’s Edge but Ramon’s knee buckles and it finally just gives out. Uh oh. Jarrett immediately cradles Ramon for a three count to win the Intercontinental title.

The result was/is unsurprising given how earnest the Jarrett push had been between his wrestling at EVERY TV taping in the lead up to the PPV, his interview time, and even his being Diesel’s opponent on the recently concluded “Holiday Wish Tour.” Ramon had been IC Champion since SummerSlam ‘94 and he had a 5 1/2-month second title reign with nothing notable within. The booking of this match I liked as The Roadie interjected himself and Jarrett was able to bait Ramon with name calling as he had been doing to question his gumption. The match length of 18+ minutes, plus the intros and the in-between led to a somewhat fatiguing first half-hour but the crowd was super into this. Not missed on commentary, and unrelated here, is Vince letting it be known that NFL icon Lawrence Taylor is in attendance. Remember that for later on once LT’s presence becomes meaningful.

Rating: ***

Stephanie Wiand, the flakiest backstage announcer EVER employed, awaits backstage to talk with Jarrett. In the meantime, though, she tosses it over to colleague Todd Pettengill, with him, in Pamela Anderson’s dressing room seeking an interview. Pamela has to endure Pettengill discussing the gifts and merchandise bestowed upon her by various SuperStars while also putting up with his flirtations as The Toddster comes off as a creep as he tries to hit on her. Comfortably looking for this segment Ms. Anderson is NOT!!! Meanwhile, a much more celebratory Jarrett has at last arrived backstage but he’s in too good of a mood for giving interviews only saying this is his greatest stop yet on his “Ain’t I Great ‘95 Tour” and that he’s off to see Pamela Sue as he promised her. Wiand notes Jarrett is raging victorious.

Vince asks Lawler what he thinks will happen in the next match? I.R.S. versus The Undertaker. Lawler can’t get past his joy over Jarrett defeating Ramon for the Intercontinental Title, however, as he gives a gleeful congratulatory clap. Vince credits Lawler for him being correct with that royal prediction.

I.R.S. is introduced first and he gives a pre-match promo stating that no one can rest in peace until they pay their fair share of taxes. It’s amazing the WWF and Mike Rotunda got so much mileage out of the taxman gimmick. This was year four in 1995. As for the feud with The Undertaker, yeah, no one cared. Everyone wanted the feud to end and quickly.

Irwin R. Schyster “I.R.S.” (w/ “The Million-Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase) -VS- The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer)

Result/Analysis: The Undertaker via pin (12:22) following a choke-slam.

I choose to assume I.R.S. refused to take the tombstone piledriver, otherwise, I can’t come up a reason why the choke-slam was the finishing move here. The Druids are absent at the start but they soon get summoned by DiBiase as “Plan B” once I.R.S. fails at the psych-out game he first tries with quick strike attacks and a duck-and-run strategy. The Druids do prove to be a distraction once they’re around leading to a three-against-one as Irwin finally settles into the match and works ‘Taker over slowly and methodically. The crowd is naturally DEAD as they react to very little. The urn, however, and its mythological powers, help ‘Taker come back time and again. The Druids interfere successfully to prevent the tombstone piledriver, but ‘Taker again, through the power of the urn, overcomes even that to win the match with the aforementioned choke-slam. Afterward, the Druids get beat up by ‘Taker only for King Kong Bundy to come out as DiBiase’s “Plan C.” Bundy’s near 450-pound distraction allows I.R.S. to repossess the urn from Bearer as he lays out ‘Taker with the avalanche, an elbow drop and a weak splash. DiBiase gets the last laugh despite I.R.S. failing to make The Undertaker rest in peace as both had promised. Bearer is left empty-handed without the urn so he implores the crowd to raise The Undertaker up. They do so but The Undertaker staggers in his gate. Who, at this point, wasn’t over The Million-Dollar Corporation’s feud with The Undertaker? The matches were such poor quality. It’s a testament to The Undertaker and his portrayal of the character to get such mileage from these feuds. Could anyone else have pulled this off?

Rating: *1/2

Earlier in the day, Pettengill tries to interview Diesel only to be shut down by “Big Daddy Cool” who’s not in a talking mood. As for his challenger, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, well he at least offers up some pre-game thoughts. Pettengill probes Bret about having the chance to regain the WWF Championship to which Hart confirms that’s all he’s thought about since losing the title at Survivor Series. Bret says he doesn’t care what anyone thinks but tonight’s match is business, it’s war and he wants the title back despite liking Diesel. Next, Pettengill asks Bret about the jackknife but this time Bret cuts off the discussion not wanting to answer “what if” questions.

Prior to the introductions, Vince asks Lawler for his thoughts. In a rare instance of calling it straight, King says the feelings that both men are going through, the emotions they must be having, are indescribable given the anticipation which accompanies competing in such a big match. What a cool sound bite from the decorated Lawler considering he had competed in many big matches himself over his long and legendary career.

WWF Championship:
Bret “The Hitman” Hart -VS- “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel (c)

Result/Analysis: Draw (27:20) due to continued outside interference and referee Earl Hebner ruling he couldn’t maintain control of the match. Diesel, as a result, retains the WWF Championship.

This is the type of “great” match the WWF would give when they wanted neither guy to do “the job” for the other. While Bret putting Diesel over and doing a clean job would have had a great effect upon Diesel, especially as the new babyface champion, it would have also weakened him in his comeback after being gone for two months since his loss at Survivor Series to Bob Backlund when Owen Hart cost him the WWF Championship. In contrast, had Bret gone over clean here and regained the title then that’s an admission by the WWF (by Vince) so early on that Diesel isn’t a viable Champion, or even more, a draw at the box office. The early returns on Diesel as the main event draw weren’t too good but the right decision was to give him a sustained run against top tier opponents before ever pulling the plug considering he was only in matches with Backlund or Jarrett in his first two months with the belt. The continual interference does somewhat mar one’s overall analysis of this PPV WWF Championship match but to involve both Michaels and Jarrett, interfering by going after Diesel, with Owen and Backlund, both adversaries of Bret, and attacking him, was an even distribution of chaos for the convoluted booking herein. Most importantly, both Diesel and Bret come out looking stronger as the two top babyface guys in the company because they battle each other intensely for a near 30 minutes in a match neither was dominant over the other in and both exhaust themselves by trying to win. They accomplished the number one goal of any match, for sure a PPV title match, with the effort, psychology and storytelling.

Bret naturally focuses his offensive attack by going after Diesel’s legs to weaken them with an aim toward using the sharpshooter at some point. Bret uses the figure-four a lot as a submission hold to plant the thought that maybe he doubts it within himself if the long legs of Diesel may prevent him from using the sharpshooter at all. He’s also the aggressor, which makes sense as the challenger, and bends the rules at times to suit the pre-match narrative that he’s become a changed man when in fact he’s simply following through on his promise to do whatever it takes to win back the title. Diesel, meanwhile, takes advantage of Bret’s hyper aggressiveness by using his guile to stay one step of Bret, indicating he’s been studying up on Hart’s match tendencies. Diesel naturally overpowers Bret and punishes him with hard right hand blows and forearm smashes. His evolving move set comes in, too, with the use of the side slam, a modified torture rack and several big boot attempts. Bret’s ring savvy and speed offsets Diesel’s power edge and being such an excellent ring tactician that he is it lends itself to him telling the story with each and every move. Both guys get the upper hand at a solid 50/50 split with near falls also even throughout. Good stuff. Diesel softens up Bret’s lower back and rib cage long before he attempts the jackknife powerbomb. When he does land it the match could have ended in a clean victory for him if not for Shawn Michaels’ timely outside run-in for interference. Referee Earl Hebner had let all else slide up until HBK’s run-in and he doesn’t rule Bret as disqualified over this. The match continues.

Lawler on commentary keeps changing his royal prediction from Bret to Diesel and back again for whichever is about to win so that’s funny. The match continues to be back-and-forth after the re-start but Diesel is the punishing force initially when he rams Bret sternum first into the turnbuckle and executes a gutwrench suplex for a near three count. Bret outfoxes Diesel time and again though by tripping him up with the precursor to his getting the sharpshooter locked in from one of those trip ups as he uses a steel chair to hit Diesel’s leg with as Bret had it wrapped around the ring post. Hebner lets that go without a mere warning or outright disqualification. I like! Bret locks the sharpshooter on Diesel to dispel any thought he wouldn’t try it and the crowd cheers for Bret possibly winning the match and the title back with far more fervor than they had when Diesel earlier had Bret pinned following the jackknife. Vince take note. Owen does his run-in here to prevent Bret from victory and he adds to Bret’s injuries by ramming him sternum first into the exposed turnbuckle without a pad as he had taken it off. Owen departs the ring to a chorus of boos which again tells how awesome of a heel he was. Owen makes sure, too, to speak into the camera to tell us that Bret is a loser and that he’s now the King of the (Hart) family. I Love it Owen.

For the second time, Hebner orders the match to continue though Vince wonders if that’s wise given the total exhaustion of both men. From there, the match does slow but Bret nearly wins it with a small package cradle when he successfully plays possum by feigning a knee injury. Bret often used the possum strategy in big matches. In this case, the possum strategy only comes close to Bret winning but it leads to the end sequence. Hebner gets caught up in a collision and he becomes momentarily incapacitated. Michaels uses this to return again for a second attack on Diesel. Owen is back, too, but this time he’s joined by Backlund to attack Bret. Jarrett and The Roadie also come down to assist Michaels. Just because I guess. Hebner calls for the bell when he’s alert and the match is ended. Ugh. But it’s sensical. After a slew of referees and WWF officials try but fail to break things up Diesel himself clears the ring, including Backlund,who has Bret locked in the crossface chickenwing. This assistance results in Bret and Diesel shaking hands and embracing with a hug as a sign of their mutual respect for one another for a hard fought match recognizing the interference prevented both from knowing who’d have won. Diesel retains the WWF Championship with the match ruled by Hebner as a draw and he’s left in the ring last with his music playing which makes sense.

Rating: ****

Todd Pettengill is still hanging out like excess baggage in Pamela Anderson’s dressing room as he updates us that she’s in the process of getting changed into her evening gown for tonight’s Royal Rumble match. Ooh La La. Pam asks creeper Todd to hand her the dress after she’s taken off her previous clothing. Todd nearly catches a glimpse of Pam in the flesh.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Wiand is standing by with The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly for a pre-match interview with the underdog Cinderella duo as the final match in the WWF Tag-Team Championship Tournament is up next. The Kid echoes Wiand’s comment that this title match is a big opportunity and he and Bob are excited. Holly compares their Cinderella run to that of the San Diego Chargers in the NFL who made the Super Bowl against the heavily favored San Francisco 49ers. Like the Chargers, The Kid and Holly are heavy underdogs.

Final Match in the WWF Tag-Team Championship Tournament:
Bam Bam Bigelow & “The Native American” Tatanka (w/ “The Million-Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase)
-VS-
Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly & The 1-2-3 Kid

Result/Analysis: Bob “Spark Plugg” Holly & The 1-2-3 Kid via pinfall (15:48) when The 1-2-3 Kid pins Bigelow.

At the time, to a lot of people, the result here was a sizable upset in the annals of WWF history. The Cinderella tag-team originally not one of the eight teams slated for the tag-team championship tournament winds up as the team to win the vacant tag-team titles. The booking was fantastic because until Bam Bam gets pinned, for the entire 15 minutes plus, there’s no feeling the brat pack duo of Holly and The Kid would have enough in their tanks to overcome the mere experience of DiBiase’s Million-Dollar Team nor the size advantage they had.

The match starts off with Holly and Tatanka. Vince makes note that Tatanka and Bam Bam, as good as they are, have not, individually or collectively, won any WWF gold. By the end of the night, they still hadn’t. Holly holds his own with Tatanka in the early going before both swap out for their respective partners. Holly showcases his dropkick which was always a signature move of his. Bigelow and The Kid showcase their agility in a comparison between a heavyweight and a light-heavyweight. The Kid counters a Bigelow aerial toss into a hurricanrana before Bam Bam counters back with an enziguri kick to the head. Nice exchange. From there, Tatanka and Bam Bam take turns battling the scrappy Kid, who gave back to them as good as he got. Holly tags in and he and The Kid both squirm free from a double slam to force a collision between Bam Bam and Tatanka which leads to Holly nearly pinning Tatanka with a roll-up. Holly becomes the babyface in peril from there with The Kid screwing up trying to play hero as he accidentally elbow drops Holly. Tatanka is the next to screw up, though, as he tomahawk chops Bigelow from the top rope on a double team of Holly. The Kid is unable to tag in off of the error, however, so Holly takes more punishment over several minutes as the gas tank is running on empty for the two-sport star. Holly and Tatanka crossbody each other off a rope exchange and that breathes new life into the chances of the underdog duo. The Kid finally tags in and he’s a house on fire for a bit with dropkicks and dives before Bam Bam catches him with a gorilla press slam onto the mats outside the ring. Bigelow adds a slam after Tatanka rolls The Kid back into the ring to set up for the moonsault from the top rope. Unaware Bigelow was on the top rope, though, Tatanka crashes into the ropes while going for his own move and Bam Bam falls off and hits his head on the mat to be rendered unconscious. Uh oh. Holly clears Tatanka from the ring after that to leave The Kid, groggy himself, but alert, the chance to to crawl over to Bam Bam and cover him for the pin to win the tag-team titles. The crowd pops for the win which must have made Vince smile. The new champions celebrate their unlikely conquest while Tatanka and DiBiase just desert Bam Bam in their disgust over him losing the match. They literally just leave without even the cameras showing it. Bam Bam is left alone to ponder the loss but more on that in a minute …

Rating: ***

As for Bam Bam, well, he comes to as the music of The 1-2-3 Kid is playing. He’s got a nasty looking cut on his lip with some noticeable blood coming from. The fans jeer Bigelow for getting pinned by someone that’s 75-percent his size. Bam Bam exits the ring despondent and he walks around jawing with the fans at ringside who are laughing at him for having lost the match. When Bigelow gets to where Lawrence Taylor and his entourage are sitting – – – remember, L.T. is an invited guest of Diesel at the event – – – Bam Bam stops and stares when he sees L.T. smiling back at him. Bam Bam admonishes Taylor for looking gleeful telling Taylor that he doesn’t see him in there (the ring) competing. Taylor stands up and offers his hand to Bam Bam to make peace and to recognize him as a competitor. Instead of accepting Taylor’s handshake, however, Bigelow launches at L.T. and shoves him onto his entourage. Woah!!! That was so hugely unexpected! Bigelow walks off as Taylor collects himself as the fans chant L.T. Vince sells the angle on commentary with total surprise in his voice. No one knew it at the time but the Main Event for WrestleMania XI just became official on this night. Vince knew full well that he had a limited roster in 1995 in terms of star power first and foremost so for him to coax a mega ex-NFL superstar like Taylor into the WWF for a one-off angle against one of his upper echelon heels was just pure genius for the mere fact it put the company into mainstream media and that was so badly needed. The confrontation at the Rumble triggers a two-month media firestorm of the good kind.

With a voice over Todd Pettengill shows highlights from the 1994 Royal Rumble match where “Big Daddy Cool” dominated until his then-friend “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels helped to eliminate him.

In pre-recorded comments from earlier in the day Michaels boasts about his elimination of Diesel from the Rumble the year prior and promises he’ll one up that performance tonight as only “The Heartbreak Kid” can by eliminating any or all of the big man SuperStars before he wins the Rumble and leaves arm-in-arm with Pamela Anderson. Michaels promises that 1995 will be the year of “The Heartbreak Kid.”

Back to The Toddster for more ‘94 Rumble highlights as he discusses the tie finish that occurred between Bret “The Hitman” Hart and “Made in the U.S.A.” Lex Luger.

Luger, in his pre-recorded comments, shies away from discussing 1994 calling it yesterday’s news, i.e., something that’s over and done with. Luger says 1995, however, will be the year that he finally fulfills his destiny in the WWF and no longer is only a “contender.” Luger adds that his 1995 starts with winning the Royal Rumble tonight.

Back live at the arena now, Vince issues a public apology to Lawrence Taylor for the incident that occurred earlier on. Vince’s tone was all business and just taken at face value you’d almost think Bam Bam shoving Taylor was an unplanned action. This was pure brilliance by Vince here. He sold it. Heck, even Lawler to his credit, comes off as stoic and stunned by what happened.

30-Man Royal Rumble Match:
* The winner earns a WWF Championship Match at WrestleMania XI and will be escorted by Pamela Anderson. *

Result/Analysis: “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels (38:45) last eliminating “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith. The first two entrants were the final two as well. The false finish to this Royal Rumble match is fondly remembered with Michaels clinging to the ropes, dangling in fact, while trying to prevent both of his feet from touching the mats below. One foot does touch but never both. Meanwhile, amidst the confusion, though not announced as the winner, The Bulldog celebrates in the ring as his music plays. The cameras focus on him as Vince lauds Davey Boy as the winner. Michaels manages to avoid elimination, however, and he gets back into the ring to knock The Bulldog off the second turnbuckle and out of the ring to be declared the winner. Howard Finkel confirms that only one of Michaels’ feet touched down so his elimination of The Bulldog is valid and thus HBK is the winner. Terrific ending for an overall lackluster Rumble bereft with mid card talent, tag-team combinations, terrible gimmicks and a serious lack of star power. Bret Hart interfered when both his brother Owen Hart and Bob Backlund made their respective entrances leading to their immediate Rumble eliminations. I understood the booking given the interference those heels had in Bret’s match with Diesel earlier in the event but Owen, at least, needed to have an impact in the Rumble so that was highly disappointing. Bundy and Mabel had an interaction as alluded to in the weeks build up to the PPV but it was brief and both behemoths were also quickly in and out of the match. Lex Luger had a strong showing as the 19th entrant and he lasted until the final four with Bulldog, Crush (#30) and Michaels. The 60-second intervals between entrants was necessary given the mediocre field and the condensed format worked here. The normal version would have been a killer to sit through over the one-hour mark. Michaels’ brilliance was on full display here and his awesome performance is what people remember. He wasn’t talked about as the favorite coming in but that was just Vince and everyone directed to talk up anyone else when Michaels was the only logical winner given his feud with Diesel, who retained the WWF Championship earlier in the night. Michaels truly became “The Showstopper” on this night.

Order of Entry:

1. “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels
2. “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith (eliminated by Shawn Michaels)
3. Eli Blu (eliminated by Headshrinker Sione)
4. Duke “The Dumpster” Droese (eliminated by “The British Bulldog”)
5. “The Gigolo” Jimmy Del Ray (eliminated by “The British Bulldog”)
6. Headshrinker Sione (eliminated by Eli Blu)
7. “The Doctor of Desire” Tom Prichard (eliminated by Shawn Michaels)
8. Doink The Clown (eliminated by Kwang)
9. Kwang (eliminated by Headshrinker Sione)
10. “The Model” Rick Martel (eliminated by Headshrinker Sione)
11. “The King of Hart’s” Owen Hart (eliminated by “The British Bulldog”)
12. Timothy Well (eliminated by “The British Bulldog”)
13. Bushwhacker Luke (eliminated by Shawn Michaels)
14. Jacob Blu (eliminated by Shawn Michaels)
15. King Kong Bundy (eliminated by Mabel)
16. Mo (eliminated by King Kong Bundy)
17. Mabel (eliminated by Lex Luger)
18. Bushwhacker Butch (eliminated by Shawn Michaels)
19. “Made in the U.S.A.” Lex Luger (eliminated by Shawn Michaels)
20. Mantaur (eliminated by Lex Luger)
21. “The Portuguese Man O’ War” Aldo Montoya (eliminated by Shawn Michaels)
22. Henry Godwinn (eliminated by Lex Luger)
23. Billy Gunn (eliminated by Crush)
24. Bart Gunn (eliminated by Crush)
25. Mr. Bob Backlund (eliminated by Lex Luger)
26. Steven Dunn (eliminated by Aldo Montoya)
27. Dick Murdoch (eliminated by Henry Godwinn & Shawn Michaels)
28. Adam Bomb (eliminated by Crush)
29. Headshrinker Fatu (eliminated by Crush)
30. Crush (eliminated by “The British Bulldog”)

Rating: **1/2

The Verdict: Shawn Michaels earned a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania XI against Diesel by joining the list of famed Royal Rumble winners. He was a stud throughout to elevate an otherwise blah, though fast-paced, Rumble. Perhaps the most noteworthy moment of the night, however, was the shove heard round the world when Bam Bam Bigelow stunningly pushed Lawrence Taylor onto his entourage as he sat at ringside as a special guest of Diesel following his losing to The 1-2-3 Kid in the tag-team championship tournament finals. No one saw that coming and it led to the WrestleMania “Main Event” which created a lot of mass publicity and extra attention for the WWF at a time when they definitely needed the eyeballs. Bret Hart and Diesel wrestled a near classic for the time period even for a title match completely marred by outside interference. Sure, the I.R.S. and The Undertaker match mostly stunk but at least the ball was moved forward creatively there with Bundy leaving his mark. It was also smart booking to have Razor Ramon drop the IC Title to “Double J” Jeff Jarrett as their feud was only getting started and more money is made in professional wrestling when the babyface chases the heel champion. All-in-all, the 1995 Royal Rumble was surprisingly good. In a serious down period for the WWF the stars they still had or were creating delivered and the booking was very good save for a few missteps. Owen needed to play a big part in the Rumble. I’d have also had The Bulldog eliminate Luger and not Crush which could have made Lex hot tempered to thereby turn heel again in the weeks that followed, perhaps even joining DiBiase’s Million-Dollar Corporation as a sell-out once and for all just to have a match against The Bulldog at WrestleMania. Instead, Lex was kept as a babyface and he and The Bulldog continued their tag-team partnership to only appear at WrestleMania in the opening match versus Eli & Jacob Blu. Stupid. I’ll get into how flawed and screwed up the WrestleMania XI card was as I continue on with my 1995 reviews in mass but this PPV, given the expectations coming in, I’ll go two thumbs up. Oh, and just how smoking hot was Pamela Anderson?!? Just damn. Whatever Vince paid her to “host” was worth every penny. She was at her height of celebrity and a huge name.