Rolling Through Royal Rumbles

[Jacob Fox]

That one and 2022 mens are the toughest still I think. 99 is God awful but in an entertaining way, absolutely atrocious booking tho lmao

Ah yes, the Vince win. It really could have been more fun if Vince was in the ring more.

 

[Chris]

Ah yes, the Vince win. It really could have been more fun if Vince was in the ring more.

Austin too, both of them fucked off for almost the whole match. The only meaningful thing that happened in between was Kane being abducted by the orderlies, everything else was garbage filler

 

[Jacob Fox]

Austin too, both of them fucked off for almost the whole match. The only meaningful thing that happened in between was Kane being abducted by the orderlies, everything else was garbage filler

It is not one I have watched many times. For example, I have 1992 memorized. I know everything Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon are going to say before they do.

But 1999 I have only watched a couple of times. I guess that confirms what you said about it lol

 

[King Kota]

The fact Kane never won a Rumble to me is sort of shocking. I wonder if Gunther ends up in that role elimination Machine but never wins

 

[Jacob Fox]

What is getting me about watching the 1988 Rumble right now is having Vince and Jesse calling Don "The Rock." It is a little weird but of course he was the original Rock

 

[Chris]

92 is definitely my most watched bc it's the only rumble I had on a DVD (Ric Flair collection)

Outside of that maybe 2008

 

[Jacob Fox]

The fact Kane never won a Rumble to me is sort of shocking. I wonder if Gunther ends up in that role elimination Machine but never wins

I wouldn't be surprised. Although I would like to see him win one. He deserves it but I doubt he ever will.

 

[Jacob Fox]

92 is definitely my most watched bc it's the only rumble I had on a DVD (Ric Flair collection)

Outside of that maybe 2008

Yeah I have that too. lol that is why I watched it.

Even though it wasn't great, I like 93 too. I mean, it was kinda crappy but it was the first PPV I ever actually bought.

 

[Jacob Fox]

Okay, I totally forgot this is the Rumble with the Junk Yard Dog. LOL That alone makes it worth watching. I loved the Dog.

 

[Chris]

Yeah I didn't rate 93 too high from what I remember, probably the worst until 99 tbh lol

 

[Jacob Fox]

All right I just finished 1988. The winner, of course, was Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Given his popularity at the time, I think this was a good choice.

The biggest problem is that the match was completely overshadowed by Andre and Hogan. Doing the contract signing right before the Rumble really took something away from it.

But here are my thoughts.

Winner: I will give this an 8/10. Winning the Rumble didn't really mean much of anything yet. Hacksaw actually put on a good performance and this is probably one of the best moments of his career.

Match: 7/10. It was still a novelty at the time. But it is enjoyable on the rewatch to see a lot of the old guys out there.

Surprises: 0/10 This was before they started doing that. I will have to go through a lot of Rumbles before I get to those.

But it is worth a watch. I enjoyed it.

Now on to 1989. One of my all time favorites, Big John Studd makes his only Rumble appear ever.

 

[Jacob Fox]

 

[Jacob Fox]

Yeah I didn't rate 93 too high from what I remember, probably the worst until 99 tbh lol

Oh yeah, it is terrible. I mean the Giant Gonzales showing up was really bad. Savage trying to pin Yoko in the Rumble... Bob Backlund going the distance but he seemed like he was stuck in the 70s.

If I remember correctly, I liked Earthquake'swork in it but I have a few to watch before I get to it.


The 1989 one is focused on the Mega Powers. Still waiting for Big John though.

 

[Jacob Fox]

I always loved Rick Martel. When I was a kid and only like faces, Martel was the first heel that I really liked. So, with him, I began liking heels and faces alike.

I don't know if I was young and attracted to him before I knew I was gay... looking back at him, he's really not that attractive to me. I probably just liked him as a wrestler.

Martel is one of the most underrated of all time in my opinion. He was such a good wrestler and deserved better than he got.

 

[Jacob Fox]

So 1989 was a decent Rumble. Nothing really bad happened. It served two purposes. It set up the break up of the Mega Powers. It also gave Big John Studd his best moment ever in pro wrestling. Winning the second Rumble was the big achievement of his career.

Winner: 10/10.

Big John wasn't really getting a push at the time. I think having him win was a reward to a man who had a great career. Big John was the Undertaker before there was an Undertaker. He didn't sell against a lot of guys and appeared invincible. It was nice to see him get his moment.

Match: 7/10.

Honestly, a lot of it was dull and I found myself drifting away. But it had some good moments, such as the Mega Powers Spot and BIg John destroyed Dibiase and Virgil.

Surprises: 5/10

The Mega Powers were starting their break up and this was a good moment for the Rumble. Also, Ted Dibiase BOUGHT number 30. I recall this when it happened and WWFmade a big deal out of it.