wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WWF Royal Rumble ’95
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-Written: 06.27.26
-Source: Netflix
-Run Time: 2:42:25
-If you enjoy these Retro Reviews, please consider picking up my book covering 1996 WCW/WWF on Amazon. Available in paperback and Kindle.
-Welcome to 1995! This is the bridge year that will finish the 1989-1997 block of shows for me. For many this is a low point for both companies before things start to turn. I am up for it and a lot of these shows I’ve never seen. Away we go as we start with The Rumble.
-Announce Team: Vince McMahon and Jerry “The King” Lawler
-Jan. 22, 1995
-USF Sun Dome, Tampa, FL
-Attendance: 10,000
-PPV Buys: 225,000
-A white limo arrives and it’s Pamela Anderson. The roster is waiting backstage and try to make a move on her. Appropriate that Mabel is front and center. I loved the stuff they had him and Trish do.
WWF Intercontinental Championship: Razor Ramon (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/ Roadie)
-Jerry Lawler makes a Phantom of the Opera joke about the Grand Ole Opry. I appreciated it. Jarrett charges and misses a clothesline. Razor rocks him with a series of punches. Jarrett floats over in the corner and gets his own right hand. Razor catches JJ and hits the SOS Slam. Chokeslam follows and JJ rolls to the floor. JJ slows this one down and ends up getting an arm-drag and celebrates with a strut. We get some mat wrestling and JJ gets another takedown, so he struts some more. They trade hammerlocks and JJ ends up getting a trip and slaps Razor on the back of the head. Mind games from JJ. We got some stalling until Razor lands a right hand and clothesline sends JJ to the floor. That will kill a little more time as he gets some water from The Roadie. JJ complains about a closed fist and takes another drink of water. JJ flaps his arms like a chicken as he challenges Razor to a test of strength. Razor wins that easily and hooks an arm-bar. JJ misses a clothesline and hits a trio of dropkicks. Jarrett gets a two count and starts sending Razor from corner to corner. Jarrett goes for an enziguiri, but misses and Razor gets a two count. Jarrett regains control and hooks a side headlock for two. Backslide by Ramon gets two. They trade pin attempts and then Jarrett gets a dropkick for two. Neckbreaker gets two. Another two and another two and another one as JJ has his feet on the bottom ropes. The ref finally catches him. Razor avoids a whip to the corner and slides out. He trips Jarrett and runs his Chosen Ones into the ring post. Razor off the middle ropes with a cross-body for two. Jarrett side steps a clothesline and sends Razor to the floor. The Roadie clips the knee while the ref is with JJ. The ref starts a count as Jarrett gets water from Roadie. Razor gets counted out at 11:47.
Winner: Jeff Jarrett via count-out at 11:47
-JJ tells us to cut the music as he didn’t come here to just get his hand raised. He says the people didn’t pay money to see him get his hand raised. Well, I agree that nobody ever paid to see JJ. He talks trash to Razor until he says the most dangerous word: CHICKEN! Razor hobbles back into the ring and wants to go.
-We have a bell, so away we go again. Razor runs JJ into the corner and gets a roll-up for two. JJ goes right after the leg, but Razor gets a small package. Knee-breaker from JJ slams Razor down by the knee. He continues on the knee, but Razor is able to kick Jarrett to the floor. Razor can’t stand though and JJ is able to get back in and lock the figure-four. The crowd is rumbling as they try to get Razor back into this one. Razor fights to turn the hold and nearly gets there, but JJ yanks him back to the middle. The ref counts two, but Razor sits up and starts slapping JJ in the face. The hold is broken, but he is still screwed! Razor starts firing off right hands on one leg. He sends JJ up top and brings him back with a belly-to-back, but Jarrett rolls over and then Razor rolls over off that for a two count. Razor preps for the Razor’s Edge, but the knee gives out and Jarrett gets a small package for the title at 6:18.
Winner and New WWF Intercontinental Championship: Jeff Jarrett via pin at 6:18
-This was okay with a shocking upset at the time. Well, it was shocking to my friends at LaFayette Junior High. I have never been a JJ fan as he is kind of BLAH. The fake ending was silly, but I guess they need to give Razor an out. **3/4 for the whole deal.
-Todd is backstage being awkward with Pamela Anderson.
-Stephanie Wiand is backstage with JJ, who says he doesn’t have time for interviews and then cuts a promo about needing to go see Pamela.
The Undertaker vs. IRS (w/ Ted Dibiase)
-This is another edition of Taker running through The Million Dollar Corporation after the whole Taker vs Taker thing at SummerSlam. Kind of interesting to look back on this knowing IRS’ son ended up being picked as the guy to take over Taker’s spooky guy role. I miss Bray! Very slow start as IRS wants no parts of this and even Ted looks freaked. After 90 seconds IRS hits a dropkick from behind and it does nothing, so he runs away and regroups on the floor. The crowd gets on him with Irwin chants and it takes another minute before he is back in the ring. He keeps ducking away from Taker and then bails to the floor again. So, we are 3 minutes into this one and have only had a dropkick. I understand the story as IRS is trying to fluster Taker, but not exciting to watch. Finally, Taker lands a big boot and sends IRS into the top buckle and again. Whip to the corner as Vince notes Lex Luger and Diesel were at the NFL 75 Anniversary Dinner. Oh yeah, this is Jan of 1995! We are are a week away from my 49ers beating the fire out of the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. I nearly got my dream Super Bowl of Steelers vs. 49ers, but the Steelers choked at home against San Diego. Steeler fans around me like to say the game would have been different if they were there, but who are they kidding? Steelers were getting smoked too as nobody was beating SF that year. Oh the match! Taker hits old school and then IRS and Ted accidentally hit each other. IRS shoves Ted, but cooler heads prevail as Ted calls some druids down to stand by him. Taker goes for Old School again, but Ted takes the ref and a druid shakes the ropes, knocking Taker off balance. No matter as Taker just shakes it off and goes back to beating on Irwin. He sets too early on a backdrop and IRS lands a boot. Clothesline sends Taker to the floor, but he lands on his feet and starts choking the druids to pop the crowd. IRS saves with a double ax from the apron and then sends Taker into the stairs. The druids get their kicks in as IRS has the ref now. Back in the ring IRS gets an abdominal stretch and makes sure to use the ropes for added leverage which angers the kids sitting in the front row. Classic! The ref catches IRS on the third try and that lets Taker break. He misses an elbow, but sits right back up again. IRS with a clothesline and he drops a series of elbows and a leg drop as Vince is going on about seeing another upset. The crowd starts rallying Taker as Vince notes the crowd is starting to rumble. “A Royal Rumble.” Roll credits! Both men collide in the ring and man, does Irwin sweat a lot. A druid puts IRS on top, but it only gets two and we get another zombie sit up. IRS gets shoved into a druid and it’s Tombstone time, but the druids stop that. IRS uses that to hit The Write Off, but Taker sits up once again. Taker with a choke slam for the pin at 12:20. No Tombstone?
Winner: The Undertaker via pin at 12:20
-This was okay once it started going, but IRS was never a threat here and it took Dibiase and two druids to even make it somewhat fair. The crowd was into it though. No Tombstone is a bummer. *
-The druids attack and Taker disposes of them, but here’s King Kong Bundy and he’s at least more of a threat physically. IRS decks Bearer and walks off with the urn. Bundy with a corner splash and starts dropping elbows and then hits the Avalanche Splash.
-Earlier today, Kevin Nash doesn’t want to talk to Todd.
-Earlier today, Bret Hart says he likes Diesel but this is business and war. Bret doesn’t worry about “ifs” and wants Todd to leave as he has to think.
WWF Championship: Diesel (c) vs. Bret “Hitman” Hart
-These two met at King of the Ring seven months ago when Bret was Champion and we didn’t get a clear winner. Much like a lot of Bret’s reign last year, Diesel isn’t in the Main Event of his first PPV defense. To be fair, the Rumble is always the draw for this show except in rare cases. Diesel shakes hands with Lawrence Taylor. Poor Diesel, shaking hands with the non-wrestler about to take his WrestleMania Main Event. I bet he takes out his anger by ending the undefeated streak of a former football player many years later. Both men show good aggression to start so we know this isn’t friend vs. friend. Diesel with a clothesline that sends Bret to the floor. He goes to pull Bret back, but Bret gets a trip and starts ramming Diesel’s leg off the post. Go after those knees! Back inside the ring, Bret continues to work the leg. He yanks back to do damage to the hamstrings. Lawler notes that all Bret is thinking is sharpshooter. First though he hooks a figure-four and Diesel has to get his shoulder up to keep from getting pinned. I just realized five of the first six people to compete ended up in the nWo. Diesel gets to the ropes to break, but Bret stays on him and just reapplies the hold. Diesel uses all his reach to get to the ropes, but Bret keeps the hold until the ref forces a break. That was more than five. I bet Hebnar is on Bret’s side! Lawler mentions Deion Sanders, and again, he was seven days away from blowing the doors off the Chargers with my 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX. Diesel rolls to the floor, but Bret follows with a suicide dive. Cool! He tries to throw Diesel into the stairs, but Diesel reveres and Bret goes crashing into them. Back in the ring Diesel takes over with elbows in the corner. Sidewalk Slam gets two! He buries a knee in the back and chokes Bret on the ropes. I appreciate both guys are doing whatever they can to win. Backbreaker and Diesel holds it to apply pressure. Bret just slides off, so Diesel goes to a cover for two. Bret fires out of the corner with right hands. Diesel goes to the eyes to shut that down and sends Bret back first into the corner. Jackknife, but apparently not as he just holds Bret up in a backbreaker. I mean, he could easily hit him there with the Jackknife. Bret slides off and gets a brief sleeper, but Diesel breaks. Bret tries to pick up the pace, but runs into a big boot. Elbow drop follows, but Bret is out at two. Whip to the corner and a charge, but Bret gets a boot up to block. He comes off the middle ropes with a clothesline and heads up top. Diesel catches him with a Gorilla Press, but no slam as Bret falls back for a two count. Diesel kicks out with ease and Bret ends up on the floor. He suckers Diesel the same way he did earlier in the match and gets a trip. This time he ties Diesel’s legs around the post in a great spot. He pounds away on a helpless Diesel until Hebnar unties his legs. Bret starts rolling through his patented offense. Backbreaker followed by a middle rope elbow for two. Bret goes right back to the leg, but Diesel grabs the ropes to force a break. Clothesline sends Diesel to the floor, but he lands on his feet. Bret tries a sling shot dive, but gets caught and run into the ring post. Jackknife hits this time, but Shawn Michaels SPRINTS into the ring and attacks Diesel at 15:45. No bell, but just keeping track of the time. The ref forces Shawn out and another ref is out to make sure he leaves. Hebnar tells The Fink the match must continue, so it does. Bret starts stomping away on the bad knee and drops an elbow. Back to the figure-four as it’s Nature Boy Bret Hart tonight. Diesel has enough of a reach that he can just punch Bret repeatedly in the chest until he breaks the hold. Cool! Bret goes right back to the knee and wraps it around the middle rope for leverage. He won’t release at five, so Hebnar pulls him away. Bret misses a charge and goes chest first into the corner. Diesel with knees to the ribs followed by a gut wrench suplex for two. This is a strong match, but the crowd has been out of it since Shawn’s run in. Diesel misses a big boot in the corner and Bret slams the knee against the post again. He grabs a chair and hits more post than knee, but that clearly should be a DQ. Vince covers by saying the chair missed. The crowd boos the crap out of Bret. I hope he doesn’t hold that against them. Sharpshooter and here’s Owen at 22:06 to attack Bret. He takes the buckle cover off and runs Bret chest first into the corner. Owen: “He’s a loser and I am the only King of the family.” Tell ‘em Owen! The ref has Fink announce the match will continue. Man, Diesel is getting screwed here as Bret should have been disqualified and the match could have been called due to interference on two separate occasions. Diesel drags himself across the ring and gets a cover for two. Now the crowd is into this one! Diesel tries to run Bret head first into the exposed buckle, but Bret blocks and sends Diesel head first into it. Bret starts pounding away and it takes nearly a dozen punches, but Diesel finally drops. Diesel back up and he responds with a series of forearms and Bret falls through the ropes and gets hung upside down. Diesel with a chair and that gets more cheers than boos. He can’t use it and Bret starts gold bricking behind the ref’s back. Small package gets two. Man, that would make for a great ending. The ref gets bumped next and here comes Shawn, Owen, Backlund, JJ, and The Roadie. Now it’s a DQ at 27:21.
Draw at 27:21
-Very good match with a crappy ending. The probably should have given Diesel someone to beat in his first PPV defense and had Bret in The Rumble to add some intrigue. It was cool seeing things in this match that would mean even more in the later rematch. This still might be Nash’s longest match of his career. He put in work here and I appreciated both men trying to do whatever to win. ***3/4
-Backlund gets the chicken wing and everyone gangs up on Diesel. He fights them off and clears the ring. Diesel helps Bret up and they shake hands and hug to a rather strong response.
WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Final: The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly vs. Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow (w/ Ted Dibiase)
-Winners will defend their newly won Tag Titles against The Smoking Guns, who were pulled from the Tournament due to injury. Kid and Holly actually took their place. This Tournament was due to Shawn Michaels forfeiting the Tag Titles after the split with Diesel at Survivor Series. Bigelow runs down both Holly and Kid with a double clothesline. Bigelow tosses Kid across the ring and somewhere Spike Dudley was watching and thinking he could top that. Kid with a rana out of mid air, but Bigelow catches him with an enziguiri for two. Tatanka in and he fires away with chops and a hard whip to the corner. Bigelow back in and The Kid snaps off a dropkick, but Bigelow slugs him back down. Suplex and Kid gets tossed around the ring some more. Bigelow charges and gets sent over the top off a backdrop. Kid goes to fly, but Tatanka stops that. Kid flips out of a suplex and sends Tatanka into Bigelow. Tag made to Holly and they both try to come off the top, but get caught. They slide out and send Tatanka into Bigelow. Holly runs wild with clotheslines, but misses one and Bigelow low bridges him. Lawler is making sure to work in as many car puns as possible for Ol Spark Plug. Back in the ring Tatanka gets a powerslam for two as the Kid is in to save, but elbows his partner. That’s usually a heel spot. Speaking of which, Tatanka comes off the top with a chop and accidentally hits Bigelow. Kid gets pulled away from his corner and that hurts as Holly gets there, but only ends up getting a splash from Bigelow. Holly gets dumped to the floor. He tries a sunset flip back in, but Bigelow just sits down on him. Standing dropkick gets two. Holly gets suckered into tagging Tatanka as he doesn’t know where he is. Shouldn’t the ref stop the match if someone is that out of it? Gut wrench suplex from Tatanka as this has been a rather boring match. Whip to the corner and Tatanka follows with a clothesline. Holly gets a brief comeback, but Tatanka rakes the eyes to break. The story is clearly that Kid and Holly are underdogs and have no chance, but still boring. Each man hits a cross-body, so it’s a race to the corner. Bigelow in first, but here’s the Kid and things pick up. Missile dropkick to Bigelow and then a dropkick to Tatanka. Sling shot plancha to the floor on Tatanka. Everyone in the ring and Dibiase on the apron. Bigelow with a Gorilla Press Slam and drops Kid on the floor. Again, somewhere Spike is watching and learning! Bigelow up for the moonsault, but Tatanka hits the ropes and knocks him down. Holly sends Tatanka to the floor and the crowd is into this one as they want to see the upset. Kid crawls over and gets the pin at 15:47.
Winner and New WWF Tag Team Champions: The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly via pin at 15:47
-This was kind of dull until the last three minutes and the crowd was way into seeing the underdogs get the win. **1/4
-Vince actually has the balls to say this shows The Chargers have a chance against San Francisco on Sunday! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. No!
-Bigelow is left alone and is annoyed by the people in the crowd laughing at him. He sees LT and yells at home for laughing, LT offers a handshake and Bigelow shoves him on his ass. LT does a great job of looking pissed off. The dude in his entourage saying, “he’s crazy, that guy,” not so much. Obviously, they had big plans for this and we will get there.
-We go back to last year’s Rumble when Diesel got over huge by dominating the early part of The Rumble. It’s why we ask every year who is going to get the Diesel push.
30 Man Royal Rumble Match
-Pamela Anderson is out to watch and the deal is she will escort the winner at WrestleMania. I wonder how much they paid her? Shawn Michaels is out at #1 and Vince is already writing off any chance he has off winning. Well, they tried to add drama. Still say, Bret should have been in this match. This is also the first and only time they did 60 second intervals. Two minute is best, but 90 seconds is fine. Sixty is just way too quick as we will see. Bulldog is #2 and Shawn attacks in the corner before the bell. Bulldog reverses a whip and sends Shawn flying with a backdrop. Gorilla Press and I mean, you could just dump Shawn, but nope. Shawn continues to bounce around the ring as he knows this is his match. The timer is on the money as Eli Blu is our third entrant. He stomps Bulldog down in the corner, but Shawns rakes the eyes. Bulldog goes to throw Eli over and we have all three laying on the ropes as Duke The Dumpster is in at #4. Yeah, sixty seconds is too fast! Duke with a slam on Shawn and then hooks a bear-hug. Eli stomps away on Bulldog as the countdown starts. Jimmy Del Ray is #5 and I am still not over learning earlier in the year that he was Jimmy Graffiti in WCW. Shawn and Jimmy have a go and Shawn teases being eliminated. Barbarian (as a Headshrinker) is number six. Jimmy is the first sent packing by a Bulldog clothesline. Dr. Tom is our seventh entrant. Barbarian has Shawn up for a Gorilla Press and at least attempts to send him to the floor, but Shawn goes to the eyes and slides off. Doink The Clown is eight and gets a big pop. Lawler starts with the clown jokes. Nothing of note happens, so Kwang is number nine. Doink with a heavy right hand to drop Shawn. Kwang is nearly gone as Rick Martel is our 10th entrant. To show how weak the field is, Martel counts as our only former World Champion in the match and that was the dying days of the AWA. Owen Hart is 11 and the crowd is PISSSED at him. Bret is out and starts beating on his younger brother. Bitter Bret man! Again, Owen and Bret tormenting each other in this match would have been great. Timothy Well is 12 as apparently Owen made it into the ring and was tossed. BOOO! Duke gets dumped and out goes Well and then Martel as we are ryhming like Seuss. Doink is gone and Luke enters at 13, but gets tossed and we end up back with Shawn and Bulldog as the only two men in the ring. That run of eliminations was kind of cool actually. Bulldog with a suplex and here comes Jacob Blu as #14. He runs Shawn down with a clothesline but Shawn backdrops him to the floor and back to where we started. King Kong Bundy is 15 and the crowd doesn’t like him either for what he did to Taker. We get a replay and see that Bulldog eliminated Owen as soon as he got in the ring. Bulldog and Shawn double Bundy, but that doesn’t do anything. Mo in at 16 and gone immediately by Bundy. Lawler: “Mo was on a mission.” Funny! Bulldog goes for a slam, but nope. Mabel is 17 and reminder, this man will be in the Main Event of SummerSlam in seven months. Mabel and Bundy have a big man stare down and we get MEAT SLAPPING! Butch enters at 18 and Lawler has his stopwatch ready. Bundy gets eliminated by Mabel and you would think Taker would have shown up to cost him. Butch gets tossed by Shawn and here’s Lex Luger as entrant 19. Good reaction for Lex and some much needed star power. He eliminates Mabel rather easily and runs wild with forearms. He makes the same mistake as Bulldog with a Press Slam on Shawn. Mantaur is 20 and Vince calls him a beast. Should probably save that nickname for down the line. He runs wild on Bulldog and then Aldo Montoya is in at 21. Well, he counts as a future World Champion alongside Shawn. Lex was already a former World Champion at this point. Henry Godwin is 22 and Vince calls him a favorite. Yeah, he said San Diego has a chance to beat SF. Again, not much happening, so here’s Billy Gunn at 23. He goes after Mantuar and really that’s all. Lots of people laying on the ropes. Bart Gunn is 24 as we’ve had partners come out back to back on two different occasions. Stomping and punching and here’s Bob Backlund at 25 to give us our first and only former WWF Champion in the match. Here’s bitter Bret again to attack Bob. He beats on Bob so long, that Steven Dunn can enter as 26. Too many people in the ring at this point. Bob in and immediately out from a Lex clothesline. Backlund and Bret start fighting in the aisle again to set up their return match at Mania. Dick Murdoch is 27 and I kind of wanted to see him and Backlund go at it. The timer is running behind now and I assume it’ due to the Backlund stuff. Adam Bomb is 28 and Vince is declaring him the winner. Punching and resting on the ropes. Shawn continues to tease being eliminated. Fatu is 29 and we finally get someone tossed as Luger gets rid of Mantaur. The last man is Crush and Vince is now calling him the winner. He rushes in and eliminates both Gunns. Dunn is gone as we are down to nine. Future Kronik beat on each other in the corner. Shawn is so clearly the only one with a chance of winning this one and you could put Luger as a long distant second. This is dragging which is kind of crazy to say about a Rumble. Murdoch and Fatu have a head-butt contest and Fatu wins. Crush sends Bomb packing as we are down to eight. Fatu pounds away on Crush and hits a superkick. Aldo is gone by Shawn. Murdoch nearly tosses him, but he skins the cat and gets an assist from Luger. Vince: “Lex Luger does not make deals.” That’s too funny! Remember those words come September Vince! Murdoch breaks out an airplane spin on Hank and Shawn makes sure to walk over and take a bump from it. Funny! Murdoch is so dizzy he spills out and we are down to five. Luger tosses Godwin and our Final Four is set: Crush, Luger, Bulldog, and Shawn. Luger fights off Shawn and Crush while Bulldog is down. Lex makes the mistake of mounting Crush in the corner and Shawn knocks him out to the shock of the crowd. Shawn and Crush decide to make a deal to get rid of Bulldog. Crush’s gear looks like something the Colorado Rockies would wear. Crush turns on Shawn and ends up getting eliminated by a Bulldog clothesline. We are back to where we started as we pass 37:40. Shawn bounces all over the ring and nearly gets tossed off a Gorilla Press, but lands on his balls on the top rope. Bulldog with the clothesline and Shawn is out at 38:27. Bulldog’s music plays, but Shawn is back in and knocks the celebrating Bulldog over the top and really wins the match at 38:45.
Winner: Shawn Michaels at 38:45
-It was shorter with the one minute entries, but it didn’t feel shorter than a regular Rumble. Shawn and Bulldog carried this one and the only other memorable part was Bret interfering and costing Owen and Backlund. This gets history points for Shawn being the first man to win from the #1 spot, but loses some due to the one minute timer. The man didn’t even get to put in forty minutes to get the win. It’s a Rumble, so it’s always worth a watch and is hard to mess up, but this was on the lower end of Rumbles for me. ***
-Fink informs us that only one of Shawn’s feet hit the floor, so he was not eliminated. The replay shows that Shawn nailed that one as he dangled that one foot and kept it from touching. This famous spot here inspired a generation of Rumble participants.
