1.22.2009

Royal Rumble / HCM Anthology Part 5: The Finale


(Coolest pic I could find of Michaels... I was pretty close to putting one of his Playgirl photos on here, but ultimately decided that was a little too... well, gay I guess)

Finn:

Ok... that brings us to your #2 (and rightful #1) and my #1...

1995

Winner: Shawn Michaels
Final 4: Michaels, Bulldog, Crush and Luger
1&2: Shawn Michaels and British Bulldog
30: Crush

This was highlighted by a couple of indivdual spots like the quick elimination of Luke, and the even quicker elimination of Moe, which was dubbed a record (later corrected by WWE.com. The Warlord was dumped quicker). Pam Anderson ringside. The most fast and furious Rumble ever (60 second intervals)... actually could have been longer. Shawn Michaels is body pressed like a dozen times in the match, on the verge of elimination over 75% of the Rumble, culminating in one of the most memorable Rumble moments of all time. There also the Adam Bomb entrance where he is WAY to amped. He looks like a fool. And of course... the Billy Gunn slide.

But the real story of this Rumble is the #1 and 2 entrants going the distance and being the last two men in the Rumble. Michaels obviously is the highlight, but Davey Boy deserves a lot of credit here too. After Bulldog clothelines Crush out over the ropes and the crowd almost instantly realizes that we're left with the same two men who started the Rumble... the place goes ballistic! The camera is shaking like crazy!! The Sinclairs and Andersen or going ape shit!!! Just a great, great Rumble. Probably one of the greatest pro-wrestling moments of all time.

Michaels ultimately gets Bulldog... sort of cheaply... but hey, Bulldog should have been sure he was out before celebrating.


HBK went on to bigger and better things. He was basically a mid-carder until this point, so it was great to think that anyone could win the Rumble. Well... almost anyone.

So that's that. Let's hear your top ten list in order again, and any final thoughts?

Erik:

Everything you mentioned was good. I agree with it all. A couple of things I can't believe you forgot though:

-Mabel tickling King Kong Bundy to eliminate him.
-Bob Holly apparently being told by someone that if Michaels accidentally got tossed, then he was in line for the win. This led to Holly frantically trying to eliminate Michaels on about 5 different occasions, and getting dangerously close every time.

The reasons I did not put this # 1 are because of the time and the roster. The whole 1 minute interval thing makes it feel a little cheap to me. As for the roster, have you ever looked at it? This has to be the worst collection of Rumble talent ever. After the first 2 here are the best entrants in terms of notoriety:

11. Owen Hart (barely makes it to the ring after being attacked by Hitman, then gets eliminated instantly when he finally does get down there)
15. King Kong Bundy (Gets tickled out of the match)
19. Lex Luger (Uggh)
25. Bob Backlund (Same thing as Owen)
30. Crush (I guess)

As you can see, the talent was lacking. And I think anyone who's still reading this post would agree with me on that.

Anyway, here's my final top ten:
10. 1989
9. 2002
8. 2008
7. 1990
6. 2001
5. 2004
4. 1998
3. 1997
2. 1995
1. 1992

Finn:

Yeah, you're right, it's nothing but Jobbers. The only one's even close were Luger, Owen, and Backlund. I wont even count Bundy or Crush.

So I took your list and my list:

10. 1994
9. 2004
8. 1997
7. 2008
6. 2002
5. 2007
4. 2000
3. 1992
2. 1998
1. 1995

And I gave a reversed point scale to come up with combined list (10pts. for #1 finsih, 1 pt for #10, etc.

And here is the final result:

10. 2001 (5pts)
9. 2007 (6pts)
8. 2000 (7pts, but only on one ballot)
6t. 2008 (7pts)
6t. 2002 (7pts)
5. 2004 (8pts)
4. 1997 (11pts)
3. 1998 (16pts)
2. 1992 (18pts)
1. 1995 (19pts)

So there it is Mustacheers! The official list of the greatest Royal Rumble's of all time!

Thanks Erik, this was fun... although I wonder how many people will lose what little respect they had for us after even seeing this post's lenght. And no one will read this. For the record.

COMMENT AWAY GANG!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

6 comments:

Erik said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pete said...

I would definitely say that 1995 is the most watchable of all Rumbles. The 1 minute interval makes it fly by. While it did have a bad roster, that also kind of made it interesting. There wasn't an obvious winner going in and there weren't so many big names that they had to worry about everyone getting a spot off.

My major disagreements with your guys' lists would be with Erik's ranking of 1989 and Finn's ranking of 2000. The Taka and Pete Gas things are hilarious, but they weren't even entrants in the Rumble. If we're judging based on funny Rumble injuries then the one where Vince wrecks his knee has to be up there. The thing I disliked most about the 2000 Rumble is that they debated the winner for about a month. It really cheapened the whole match and then it led to a 4-way Mania event instead of a solid HHH vs. Rock match.
And 1989 wouldn't make my list because I think it's stupid that Big John Studd won. The other parts of the match you mentioned are cool, but the winner stinks.

My least favorite Rumbles would be as follows:
1991 (nothing very memborable)
1993 (worst ending of all time)
1999 (worst overall; terrible flow, terrible winner and the stupid ass Viscera stuff)
I hate to admit it, but I can't tell a lot of the more recent ones apart.

Mr. F said...

All good points Pete.I sort of addressed the Rock winning controversy, since it didn't happen at the Rumble, it didn't factor in. And I'm sure the entire card impacted my ranking it that high. Plus the Too Cool stuff was really good. Sorry, it was. The only way it could have been cooler is if Clive Owen and Daniel Craig had replaced Scott 2 Hotty and Grand MAsta Sexay.

And you're right, the later Rumbles (ReyRey, Batista, Lesnar, etc) those all kind of run together for me.

You up for the running Diary on Sunday?

Erik said...

When do we turn the picks in, and do we have a full roster yet?

Mr. F said...

I think we'll continue this conversation via email... anyone interested please let us know. Not all at once.

wanamaker said...

I would definitely say that 1995 is the most watchable of all Rumbles. The 1 minute interval makes it fly by. While it did have a bad roster, that also kind of made it interesting. There wasn't an obvious winner going in and there weren't so many big names that they had to worry about everyone getting a spot off.

My major disagreements with your guys' lists would be with Erik's ranking of 1989 and Finn's ranking of 2000. The Taka and Pete Gas things are hilarious, but they weren't even entrants in the Rumble. If we're judging based on funny Rumble injuries then the one where Vince wrecks his knee has to be up there. The thing I disliked most about the 2000 Rumble is that they debated the winner for about a month. It really cheapened the whole match and then it led to a 4-way Mania event instead of a solid HHH vs. Rock match.
And 1989 wouldn't make my list because I think it's stupid that Big John Studd won. The other parts of the match you mentioned are cool, but the winner stinks.

My least favorite Rumbles would be as follows:
1991 (nothing very memborable)
1993 (worst ending of all time)
1999 (worst overall; terrible flow, terrible winner and the stupid ass Viscera stuff)
I hate to admit it, but I can't tell a lot of the more recent ones apart.