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WWE Network: Royal Rumble 1993 Review

By Mike Smith

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WWE.com

Today, we’re reviewing the 1993 edition of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on the WWE Network. So far, we have covered the first episode of Raw two weeks ago, and the second episode this past week, now it’s Royal Rumble time. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan are on commentary.

The Beverly Brothers vs. The Steiner Brothers

The Steiner Brothers picked up the win when Scott hit a Frankensteiner on Beau Beverly. This was a pretty good match. The Steiners were super over as babyfaces. The Frankensteiner is a sick move when Scott just drops his opponent on the top of his head.

Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty for the Intercontinental Championship

Sensational Sherri was at ringside and stayed neutral most of the match, until she slapped Michaels at ringside. Towards the end, with the referee knocked out, Jannetty held Michaels’ arms back allowing Sherri to come in and hit Michaels again. Sherri swung her heel at Michaels, but Michaels ducked under and Sherri took out Jannetty. Michaels followed up and retained his title with Sweet Chin Music. Michaels is the king of overselling. Bobby Heenan called Gorilla Monsoon “Marella” during this match, Monsoon’s real-life last name, for those who were confused by that.

Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Big Boss Man

Bigelow picks up the victory with a flying headbutt. This battle of the big men was largely dominated by the heel Bigelow. Boss Man never got any solid offense in and lost. Pretty oddly put together match.

Bret Hart w/ Mean Gena Okerlund/Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon for the WWF Championship

Before the match, Hart was interviewed by Mean Gene. They stressed that this match wasn’t just about the belt, it was about Ramon’s attack on Owen, his threat to Hart’s father, Stu, and Hart took all that extremely personally.

Ramon submits to the Sharpshooter and Hart retains after a solid back-and-forth match. Ramon is an awesome performer. As he traditionally does, Hart gives his glasses to a young fan at ringside, and Ramon follows up by throwing his toothpick at the same kid.

Bobby Heenan promo/”Proclamation” from Cesar/30-man Royal Rumble

Heenan comes to the floor from the announce table to unveil his new star, “Narcissist” Lex Luger. A curtain rises and Luger is standing in front of three mirrors, he removes his robe and Heenan goes on and on about his physique. Luger then spoke about his physique some more,

Cesar spoke about WrestleMania IX being at Cesar’s Palace, and that the Royal Rumble winner would be challenging for the WWF Championship, all previously known knowledge. Thanks, Cesar.

Orders of Entry and Elimination are below, but here are some quick facts: Yokozuna wins the Royal Rumble by last eliminating “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Jerry “The King” Lawler messed up his exit from the arena, accidentally getting involved in The Undertaker’s entrance, but he played it off well by getting really freaked out when Paul Bearer came through the curtain. The Undertaker was eliminated by the debuting Giant Gonzales, who was not in the match, but came down to the ring to battle with The Undertaker. For some reason, there was no countdown for Owen Hart, the horn sounded out of nowhere and Hart just slid in the ring and started fighting. Truly impressive work from 43-year-old Bob Backlund, who started in the #2 spot and was one of the final three members of this match. Of all the entrants in this match, Savage got the biggest pop, by far. That being said, the crowd really started to back Backlund throughout his performance.

Order of Entry:

  1. Ric Flair
  2. Bob Backlund
  3. Papa Shango
  4. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
  5. Brian Knobbs of The Nasty Boys
  6. Virgil
  7. Jerry “The King” Lawler
  8. Max Moon
  9. Tenryu
  10. Mr. Perfect
  11. Skinner
  12. Koko B. Ware
  13. Samu of The Headshrinkers
  14. The Berzerker
  15. The Undertaker
  16. “Terrific” Terry Taylor
  17. Damien Demento
  18. Irwin R. Schyster
  19. Tatanka
  20. Jerry Sags of The Nasty Boys
  21. Typhoon
  22. Fatu of The Headshrinkers
  23. Earthquake
  24. Carlos Colon
  25. “El Matador” Tito Santana
  26. Rick Martel
  27. Yokozuna
  28. Owen Hart
  29. Repo Man
  30. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Order of Elimination:

  1. Papa Shango
  2. Brian Knobbs
  3. Max Moon
  4. Ric Flair
  5. Skinner
  6. Jerry “The King” Lawler
  7. Virgil
  8. Mr. Perfect
  9. Samu
  10. Tenryu
  11. Koko B. Ware
  12. “Terrific” Terry Taylor
  13. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
  14. The Berzerker
  15. The Undertaker
  16. Typhoon
  17. Damien Demento
  18. Fatu
  19. Irwin R. Schyster
  20. Tatanka
  21. Carlos Colon
  22. Earthquake
  23. “El Matador” Tito Santana
  24. Jerry Sags
  25. Owen Hart
  26. Repo Man
  27. Rick Martel
  28. Bob Backlund
  29. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Overall Impression

Good show. Really followed up on the buildup from the first two episodes of Raw. The Michaels/Jannetty and Hart/Ramon matches both delivered. The Royal Rumble match was okay, but really put Yokozuna over heading into his title shot at WrestleMania IX.

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