Rebooking The WWF: WWF Royal Rumble 1994

Featuring WWF World Champion Lex Luger defending against Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart, Ron Simmons vs. Crush and a 30-man Royal Rumble match to determine the number one contender at WrestleMania X. Oh, and Hulk Hogan returns!

World Wrestling Federation presents Royal Rumble
Date: 1/23/1994
From: Providence, RI
Arena: Providence Civic Center
Attendance: 14,500
Announcers: Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan

The show opens up with several wrestlers sharing pre-tape comments regarding the Royal Rumble match. Bret Hart shared his thoughts believing that tonight he will beat Shawn Michaels, win the Royal Rumble, head to WrestleMania X where he will beat Ted DiBiase and reclaim the WWF World Championship. Bam-Bam Bigelow said that the fire inside him continues to burn and it will not stop until he is the last man standing tonight! Jim Cornette talked on behalf of Yokozuna saying that no one will toss the mighty Yokozuna over the top rope! Lastly, Paul Bearer finishes off the opening saying that the Undertaker will put twenty nine other souls to rest as the Undertaker will main event WrestleMania and recapture the WWF World Championship!

Vince McMahon welcomes everyone to Providence, Rhode Island before introducing Bobby Heenan, his broadcast partner, for the 1994 Royal Rumble. McMahon promises this to be the best Royal Rumble to date and believes that we are in store for some major surprises. McMahon hypes up the title matches which will see WWF World Tag Team Champion Steiner Brothers defend against the Heavenly Bodies, WWF Intercontinental Champion Rick Martel square off against Razor Ramon and the WWF World Champion Lex Luger defends against Mr. Perfect under no disqualification rules! Heenan tells McMahon that tonight Ramon will be discredited as a Bad Guy when he is tapping like a little baby in the middle of the ring. The muscle head Steiner’s will be deflated when the Heavenly Bodies capture gold and that he can’t wait for Mr. Perfect’s dream become a nightmare when he fails to beat Lex Luger for the WWF World Championship. McMahon also heavily promotes the highly anticipated confrontation between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair scheduled to take place later tonight! With that he sends it over to Howard Finkel for the ring introductions for the first match!

Opening Contest: WWF Intercontinental Champion Rick Martel w/Tamara vs. Razor Ramon for the title: Ramon tried to get after Martel but the champ bailed to the floor where Tamara gave him a shoulder massage until Ramon chased after Martel around ringside. Martel got the early advantage after rolling back into the ring and stomped away on Ramon. Martel sends Ramon into the ropes but is greeted with a right hand and Ramon knocks Martel off his feet with several clotheslines. Ramon works on Martel in the corner with several punches before ducking a wild right hand and connects with a back suplex for a two count. Martel comes off the ropes and blocks a backdrop with a boot to Ramon’s chest and drops Ramon with a quick clothesline but that isn’t good enough for a three count. Martel continues with a scoop slam and leaps off the middle rope connecting with a fist drop but Ramon still has plenty left in the tank as he powers out at two causing Martel to roll to the floor. Ramon follows Martel to the floor where he scares Tamara away. Ramon looks to send Martel into the ring steps but Martel puts the breaks on and sends Ramon shoulder first into the ring post! Martel grabs Ramon and rams him back first into the ring post two more times as Tamara cheers on the champion! Martel rolls Ramon into the ring and puts a camel clutch on Ramon for a few moments but the Bad Guy will not give up. Ramon gets to his feet with Martel on his back and rams Martel back first into a corner. Martel gets on the middle rope and leaps off looking for a cross body when Ramon turns around but Ramon catches Martel and hit’s a fall away slam! Ramon gets up and signals for the Razors Edge and grabs Martel until Tamara gets on the apron. Ramon shoves Martel down to the mat and goes towards Tamara who has the Intercontinental Championship with her. Ramon grabs her and kisses her causing Tamara to drop to the apron where she slides the championship to Martel while the referee tries to pull Ramon away. Tamara distracts the referee acting as if she somehow got emotionally injured. Ramon turns around and is nailed right in the face with the Intercontinental Championship. Tamara walks away from the referee and grabs the championship that was tossed away by Martel. Martel covers Ramon and picks up the win! (Rick Martel over Razor Ramon, 12:26, ***¼)
After the match, Martel rolls to the floor where Tamara hands him the championship and kisses Martel on the cheek and wipes sweat off his forehead. Martel holds the championship up in the air while McMahon notes that Martel cheated his way to victory, which Heenan is happy to see.

Backstage, Todd Pettengill is with Shawn Michaels and Diesel. Pettengill asks Michaels about tonight’s match against Bret Hart. Before he can answer, Ted DiBiase comes into the picture and says that he has invested a lot money into Shawn Michaels and Diesel to take Hart out once and for all so that there will not be a match at WrestleMania and he can keep the Million Dollar Mansion to himself. DiBiase digs into his pocket and gives Michaels and Diesel $5,000 dollars in 100’s. DiBiase leaves while Michaels puts the money in his tights. Michaels simply says that tonight HE will be prove that he is the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be!

Backstage, Mean Gene is with Bret Hart who is very focus tonight. Hart tells Gene that tonight he will shut Michaels up and not only prove that he is still the best wrestler to ever step in the ring but he will assure himself a match against Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania X. Also, he will win the Royal Rumble and challenge for the WWF World Champion at WrestleMania X so that he can provide for his family. “It all starts tonight, and I won’t be denied.”

Second Contest: Shawn Michaels w/Diesel vs. Bret Hart: Michaels stalls by avoiding Hart until he is chased around the ringside area. On the floor, Hart ducks under a big boot attempt by Diesel and delivers a flurry of right hands on him. This allows Michaels to leap off the apron and double axe handle Hart from behind to gain the upper hand. Michaels tosses Hart into the guard railing back first before they enter the ring. Michaels puts Hart in a hammerlock and sends Hart shoulder first into a corner. As Hart stumbles out of the corner Michaels drops him with a neck breaker but only gets a two count. Michaels continues his offense with a snap suplex and stomps Hart right on the nose, causing a bloody nose. Michaels pulls Hart up to hit a dropkick but only gets a two count. Michaels works on Hart with right hands and several shoulder rams. Hart is able to counter a Irish whip and sends Michaels into a corner where Michaels tries to hit a springboard cross body but Hart drops down and Michaels hits the mat. Hart comes off the ropes and decides to surprisingly take Diesel out with a suicide dive on the floor! Hart quickly gets back into the ring and ducks a clothesline to deliver a side Russian leg sweep on Michaels. Hart pulls Michaels up by the hair and connects with a running bulldog for a two count. Hart goes for the Sharpshooter but Michaels is able to kick Hart away into the ropes where Diesel grabs Hart’s foot. Hart tries to kick Diesel away but Michaels gets up and knee lifts Hart to the floor where Diesel drops Hart throat first across the guard railing, which the referee sees and ejects Diesel from ringside! Michaels and Diesel both flip out over the ejection and we see backstage that Ted DiBiase is tossing chairs around in disgust of the ejection as he is clearly worried! Back to the match, Michaels rolls Hart back into the ring and heads to the top rope looking for an elbow drop and connects! Michaels goes for the cover but Hart manages to just get his shoulder up in time at two! Michaels argues with the referee before deciding to set up for the super kick. Hart gets up and blocks the attempted super kick and leg trips Michaels down to the mat! Hart locks in the Sharpshooter even though Michaels tries to wiggle away and after a few moments Michaels taps out! (Bret Hart over Shawn Michaels, 15:53, ***½)
After the match, Bret Hart celebrates the win while we see backstage Ted DiBiase has trashed his locker room out of anger of the outcome. McMahon is happy for Hart while Heenan doesn’t think much of the win as Hart still has a lot of work to do.

Backstage, Mean Gene is with Jim Cornette and the Heavenly Bodies. Cornette talks about the Steiner Brothers and how they have beaten every tag team in their path to retain the championships they won back in June. However, Cornette notes that they haven’t defeated the Heavenly Bodies, who have won tag team championships in every company they have ever been a part of and tonight they will continue that trend when they beat the Michigan Morons!

Third Contest: WWF World Tag Team Champions Steiner Brothers vs. The Heavenly Bodies w/Jim Cornette for the titles: The champs clean house early on easily taking Del Ray and Pritchard down with over head suplexs and they taunt Cornette who is freaking out on the floor for his team to quickly recover. Del Ray and Rick start off the bout with Rick taking Del Ray down to the mat with a fireman’s carry and controls Del Ray with several mat wrestling holds. Del Ray is able to get a eye poke in and kicks Rick in the ribs to gain the cheap upper hand. Del Ray delivered several elbow strikes and along with Pritchard connected with a side slam forearm drop off the middle rope. Pritchard continued the offense with a back breaker and a pancake suplex for a near fall. Pritchard came off the ropes but was caught by Rick who slammed Pritchard. Rick followed up with an overhead belly to belly suplex and clotheslined Del Ray off the apron. Rick charged at Pritchard with a clothesline and tagged in Scott. Scott looked unstoppable as he drove Pritchard down to the mat with a tilt a whirl side slam and stopped an interfering Del Ray with a double under hook power bomb. Scott put Pritchard on his shoulders and Rick came off the top rope to hit a top rope bulldog. Scott covered Pritchard and earned the win. (Steiner Brothers over the Heavenly Bodies, 7:43, **)
After the match, Jim Cornette slams his tennis racket on the apron in disgust of how his team performed and marches his way to he backstage area while the Steiner Brothers celebrate their win.

Backstage, Todd Pettengill is standing with Ron Simmons. Simmons tells Pettengill that he has been waiting for this night since October when Crush turned his back on himself and everyone else that put so much into Crush. He says “Tonight Crush, you meet your maker.”

Backstage, Mean Gene is with Crush and a fuming Jim Cornette. Cornette is flipping out as we join Gene. Cornette doesn’t want to talk about the previous match and demands that Crush doesn’t let him down like the Heavenly Bodies just did. Crush says that he will get the job done!

Fourth Contest: Crush w/Jim Cornette vs. Ron Simmons: They start off trading a series of right hands until Crush kicks Simmons in the midsection and delivers a head butt to back Simmons into a corner. Crush continues to deliver right hands and chokes Simmons. Crush looks to send Simmons across the ring but Simmons counters and tosses Crush into a corner and splashes Crush! Crush staggers out of the corner and Simmons comes off the ropes to shoulder block Crush to the floor. Simmons leaps off the apron and shoulder blocks Crush on the floor. Simmons blocks a tennis racket shot from Cornette and begins to stalk towards him. Simmons turns around and is met with a bicycle kick from Crush! Crush rolls Simmons back into the ring and works on Simmons with a nerve hold. Simmons gets up but Crush is able to press slam Simmons back to the mat for a near fall. Crush continues to control Simmons with a few back breakers but is still unable to keep Simmons down for a three count. Crush locks in a bear hug and Simmons nearly passes out but as the fans rally behind him he breaks free from the hold. Simmons comes off the ropes and ducks a clothesline attempt. Crush spins around and is driven down to the mat with an enormous spine buster! Simmons covers Crush hooking the leg and picks up the win! (Ron Simmons over Crush, 8:11, **¼)
After the match, Cornette has had enough and enters the ring and hits Simmons with his tennis racket but that has zero effect on Simmons. Simmons grabs Cornette and scoop slams Cornette much to the delight of the fans! Crush pulls Cornette out of the ring while Simmons celebrates his victory!

A video promoting WrestleMania X, which takes place on March 19th, is aired. The event will be taking place live from Madison Square Garden in New York!

Vince McMahon is standing in the ring and he asks if the fans are ready for the Hulkster! They make it very clear they are and McMahon introduces Hulk Hogan! Hogan makes his way out from the backstage are and the crowd is going crazy for him. Hogan cups his ear several times on the aisle way while slapping fans hands as he gets on the apron where flashes go off from the thousands in attendance. Hogan enters the ring and rips off his shirt as the fans continue to make some serious noise for him. Vince McMahon welcomes Hulk Hogan back to a World Wrestling Federation ring and says that everyone has missed him a great deal. Hogan appreciates the kind words and says that it is great to be here tonight. McMahon talks about how the WWF has changed since Hogan has left noting that it is a New Generation. Hogan believes that no matter what generation it may be, there will always be a place for Hulk Hogan in the WWF! Before Hogan can talk any longer, Ric Flair’s music hits and the fans greet Flair with incredible amount of boos almost equal to the cheers that Hogan had received. Flair struts his way down to the ring with a grin on his face. Flair puts his hand out to shake hands with Hogan, who moves to shake, but Flair pulls his hand back and woos right in Hogan’s face! McMahon has to put his hand on Hogan’s chest for prevent him from doing anything. Flair grabs a microphone and says “Ohhhh boy. It’s the almighty Hulkster. The savior for WWF. The greatest wrestler to ever step in the ring. The immortal Hulk Hogan. Haha, give me a break.” Flair notes that he isn’t impressed by Hogan and believes that for the past ten years he has been feeding the fans lies. Flair believes that Hogan is a coward and is afraid of him. Flair recalls when he first came into the WWF back in 1991 and Hogan always sidestepping any encounter against him. “We both know why you never wanted to step in the ring with me, it’s because your yellow trunks turn brown at the thought!” Flair remembers that Hogan could have wrestled him at WrestleMania VIII for the WWF World Championship, but instead of coming for the gold, he ran away scared to wrestle a turncoat. “I’ve known for years that you are a coward, but these fans will never believe it until I beat you. And, big man, I want to do just that. I am sick and tired of hearing you are the greatest wrestler, the greatest champion. I will give you one thing. You are the greatest coward!” Flair continues saying “I want you in this ring. I want to beat you right in the middle of the ring on the biggest stage of them all, WrestleMania X live on pay per view March 19th! Stop being a coward, stop making your dumb movies, and fight me!” Hogan looks around the stadium as the fans want him to accept the challenge and shut Flair up. Hogan grabs McMahon’s microphone and says the following in dead seriously “Brother, March 19th, Hulkamania will run wild on YOU!” Hogan drops the microphone and gets right in Flair’s face as they have a heated stare down while McMahon is close by to prevent anything physical.

A video promoting the WWF World Championship match is aired. The video is rather lengthy as it promotes Lex Luger’s debut in January, his victory over Mr. Perfect at WrestleMania IX, his victory of Mr. Perfect at King of the Ring, Mr. Perfect winning the steel cage showdown over Ric Flair, Lex Luger winning the WWF World Championship at SummerSlam, Lex Luger running away from Perfect’s challenge at SNME and lastly Perfect pinning Luger at the Survivor Series leading to this highly anticipated match.

Backstage, we see both Mr. Perfect and WWF World Champion Lex Luger making their way to the ring while McMahon and Heenan promote the importance of this match.

Fifth Contest: WWF World Champion Lex Luger vs. Mr. Perfect in a no disqualification match for the title: Perfect doesn’t wait for the bell as he hammers away on Luger in the corner until Luger bails to the floor but Perfect quickly follows. Luger tries to get over the railing into the crowd but Perfect grabs Luger by the hair and prevents that from happening. Perfect drops Luger chest first across the guard railing and atomic drops Luger causing the champ to hit the ring post face first! Luger rolls back into the ring but Perfect quickly follows and begins to kick Luger in the leg several times. Perfect snap mares Luger and deliver a rolling neck snap and quickly connects with a knee drop for a two count. Perfect works on Luger’s leg with a spinning toe hold but Luger kicks Perfect away sending him chest first into a corner. Luger drives Perfect to the mat with a back suplex followed by a scoop slam and comes running off the ropes to clothesline Perfect to the floor. Perfect grabs a chair as Luger drops down to the floor. Perfect jabs Luger in the gut with the chair and whacks him over the back! Perfect slides the chair into the ring and then goes into his boots to get a chain. Perfect chokes Luger with the chain and he looks like a man possessed to win the title. Perfect wraps the chain around his knuckles and starts to pummel Luger on the floor! Perfect rolls Luger back into the ring and stands him up in the corner. Perfect puts Luger on the top turnbuckle and slaps Luger in the face! Luger is slightly cut up from the chain shots. Perfect sets up for a superplex and connects! Perfect goes for the cover but Luger is able to kick out at two! Perfect tries for the Perfect Plex but Luger is able to counter with a backdrop. Luger quickly hit Perfect with a running knee lift and attempted a running clothesline but Perfect side stepped him and sent Luger back first into a corner. Perfect has his back turned before charging the corner for a splash but Luger puts a chair in front of him and Perfect splashes the chair! Luger grabs the chain that Perfect had used earlier in the match and wraps the chain around his forearm. Luger charges towards Perfect and nails Perfect on the back of the head with a running forearm smash! Perfect is knocked out cold as Perfect covers Perfect and gets the three count. (Lex Luger over Mr. Perfect, 10:22, **½)
After the match, Lex Luger rolls to the floor and grabs the WWF World Championship while Mr. Perfect is out cold in the ring. Eventually, several officials come down to the ring and help Perfect to the backstage area while the fans give him a round of applause for his efforts against the dominate Lex Luger.

A video of several wrestlers sharing their Royal Rumble thoughts is aired. The wrestlers included, Ted DiBiase, Jeff Jarrett, Bret Hart, Randy Savage, Marty Jannetty, the Undertaker, Crush, Tatanka and Yokozuna.

Main Event: 30 Man Royal Rumble to determine the number one contender for the WWF World Championship at WrestleMania X:

Entrants:
1. Marty Jannetty
2. Quebecer Pierre
3. Billy Gunn
4. Ron Simmons
5. Mo
6. Scott Norton
7. Mabel
8. Ludvig Borga
9. The Kamikaze Kid
10. Jim Neidhart
11. Quebecer Jacques
12. Diesel
13. Crush
14. Owen Hart
15. Shawn Michaels
16. Tatanka
17. Chris Benoit
18. The Undertaker
19. Jeff Jarrett
20. Randy Savage
21. Jerry Lawler
22. Roddy Piper (surprise)
23. Bam-Bam Bigelow
24. Bart Gunn
25. Bret Hart
26. Doink the Clown
27. IRS
28. Yokozuna
29. Ted DiBiase
30. British Bulldog (surprise)

Eliminations:
1. Quebecer Pierre by Ron Simmons
2. Billy Gunn by Scott Norton
3. Mo by Scott Norton
4. Quebecer Jacques by Marty Jannetty
5. Jim Neidhart by Ludvig Borga
6. The Kamikaze Kid by Ludvig Borga
7. Ron Simmons by Diesel
8. Ludvig Borga by Mabel
9. Mabel by Scott Norton
10. Marty Jannetty by Scott Norton
11. Scott Norton by Diesel
12. Crush by the Undertaker
13. Owen Hart by Chris Benoit
14. Tatanka by Jeff Jarrett & Diesel
15. Jeff Jarrett by Diesel
16. Jerry Lawler by Roddy Piper
17. Bart Gunn by Diesel
18. Diesel by the Undertaker
19. Roddy Piper by Bam-Bam Bigelow w/ help from Jerry Lawler
20. Doink the Clown by Chris Benoit
21. Chris Benoit by Shawn Michaels
22. Randy Savage by Bam-Bam Bigelow
23. Shawn Michaels by Bret Hart
24. Bam-Bam Bigelow by Bret Hart and the Undertaker
25. British Bulldog by Ted DiBiase and IRS
26. IRS by Bret Hart

The final four entrants came down to the Undertaker, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase and Yokozuna. DiBiase went over to Yokozuna offering him some large amount of money to go after Bret Hart, which appeared to take Yokozuna a few moments to catch onto. Yokozuna backs Hart into a corner delivering several throat thrusts while DiBiase tries to avoid the Undertaker. DiBiase ducks under a right hand attempt and begins to jab Taker in the midsection figuring that he has the advantage but Taker isn’t bothered. Taker turns the tables and chokes DiBiase in the corner until Yokozuna comes over and clubs away on Taker. Hart comes over and tries to get his hands on DiBiase but Yokozuna quickly makes the save by tossing Hart over the top rope to the floor from behind!

27. Bret Hart by Yokozuna

DiBiase stares at Bret Hart and laughs at him for losing! Behind DiBiase, Taker has knocked Yokozuna off his feet with a leaping clothesline and is now standing right behind DiBiase. DiBiase turns around right into Taker chest and quickly begs off but Taker grabs DiBiase by the throat and dumps DiBiase over the top rope right in front of Hart’s feet! DiBiase tries to get away from Hart but Hart gets a few shots in until officials hold Hart away.

28. Ted DiBiase by the Undertaker

Yokozuna is up and charges towards Taker looking for a clothesline but Taker senses him coming and manages to backdrop Yoko over the top to the floor!

29. Yokozuna by the Undertaker

Winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble: the Undertaker (1:05:29, ***¼)
After the match, Paul Bearer comes down to the ring with his urn and celebrates the win with the Undertaker while Vince McMahon hypes up the fact that the Undertaker will now be going to WrestleMania X to challenge WWF World Champion Lex Luger! Bobby Heenan is heard muttering to himself in disbelief that Yokozuna lost. McMahon thanks everyone for ordering the show and the show closes out with a three minute replay video of what happened on the show.

Notable Moments for the Royal Rumble match:

Diesel, Ludvig Borga and Scott Norton were responsible for most of the first ten eliminations. Norton displayed his strength yet again when he eliminated Mabel. Diesel was pretty dominate until the Undertaker put the brakes on Diesel’s dream to main event WrestleMania X.

Chris Benoit was responsible for the elimination of Owen Hart, a friend but enemy as of late.

Jerry Lawler took his time getting to the ring until the surprise entrant, Roddy Piper, ran down from behind tossed Lawler into the ring and quickly eliminated Lawler from the match. Lawler didn’t leave quietly as he helped Bigelow eliminate Piper from the match by pulling on Piper’s trunks. Lawler ran away like the true coward he is when Piper got to his feet.

The second surprise entrant, the British Bulldog was the last entrant and made a huge return as he saved Hart from being eliminated by DiBiase and IRS. However, Bulldog’s own intensity got the better of him as he lost focus and was eliminated by IRS and DiBiase.