Rumble 1995

Commentary Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler (first time for Jerry)
The Royal Rumble 1995 kicks off with Jeff Jarrett along with the Roadie AKA Road Dogg in his first WWF debut against the Intercontinental champion Razor Ramon.
Jarrett is desperate to win the title which his first title shot with the WWF. Unfortunately, Razor is counted out when the Roadie attacks him outside and thus his effort to help backfires. However, Jarrett grabs the microphone and calls Razor a coward enticing him to return. The match is restarted but this time not only does Jarrett get the win again, but this time it is by pinfall and he takes the Intercontinental title.
The next match is between the Undertaker against IRS with the Million Dollar Man by his side. During the match, the Million Dollar Man calls a couple of druids to ringside who continue to distract the Undertaker. IRS takes control of most of the match whereas Undertaker simply delivers his finish and wins the match with a chokeslam. After the match, the druids did attack the Undertaker again, and King Kong Bundy from the Million Dollar Cooperation then finally came out to confront him as well.
Diesel defends his WWE Championship against Bret Hart. The second half of this match picks up as Shawn Michaels interferes and attacks Diesel and despite a technical disqualification, the referee restarts the match. Owen Hart then takes his opportunity to attack Bret Hart, yet again the referee restarts the match despite the disqualification. However, when the referee is accidentally knocked out, Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, Bob Backlund, Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie all appear to attack Bret and Diesel. The referee then perhaps for the first time in WWE PPV declares the match a draw due to him unable to maintain control. At the end, Diesel manages to throw everyone out and save Bret with them both also shaking hands despite the outcome. The purpose of this match was to allow Diesel to gain further momentum towards Wrestlemania 11.
The next match is Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow (managed by the Million Dollar Man) against the newly formed team of 123 Kid and Bob Holly (after changing his name from Thurman Sparky Plugg). This was the final match of the tournament for the tag team titles. Tatanka accidentally knocks Bam Bam in the match causing them to lose when 123 Kid scores the pinfall. However, as Tatanka and Ted Dibiase leave the ring, Bam Bam is left alone and arguing with the fans before he confronts NFL star Lawerence Taylor and pushes him. The set up for this is sold well, as Vince McMahon on commentary then publicly apologises to the audience. One reason for why this match went on after the WWE Championship event is due to Shawn Michaels having to interfere in the match and then also begin the Royal Rumble.
The Royal Rumble 1995 match is the first where the rules not only changed but were also solidified. THe 1995 Royal Rumble is the only rumble where contenders come out every one minute. Shawn Michaels and the British Bulldog are the first two to begin the match, and the reason for this is simply their stamina in Royal Rumbles. Favourites to enter include Lex Luger, Owen Hart, and Crush. Owen Hart and Bob Backlund are bother attacked by Bret Hart on the entrance ramp causing them to be easily thrown out by the British Bulldog and Lex Luger respectively. Mid-match British Bulldog and Shawn Michaels are left alone with the first half of competitors eliminated and then they also remain at the end too. British Bulldog does throw Shawn Michaels over the top, however, only one of Shawn’s feet touches the floor allowing him to roll back in and throw the Bulldog out who is celebrating on the second ring rope during his music. This is also the first Royal Rumble that has a host of new superstars as WWF promotes their New Generation.
The show ends with Shawn Michaels in the ring with celebrity Pamela Anderson who is the host of Wrestlemania 11.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *