In The Arena: Howard Finkel introduces Caesar & Cleopatra, making their way to the ring to deliver a royal decree about WrestleMania IX at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Glory and a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania await the Royal Rumble winner.

Match #5 is the Royal Rumble – Winner Receives WWF Championship Match At WrestleMania IX

• Entry #1 is Ric Flair. Entry #2 is Bob Backlund. The bell rings and Backlund offers Flair a handshake, Nature Boy doesn’t take it and let’s out a “Woo!” instead. They lock-up, Backlund with a side headlock, gets pushed away to the ropes and knocks Flair down with a shoulder. Tie-up again and Backlund goes to the side headlock again, pushed back to the ropes for another shoulder, The Nature Boy charges right in and gets his legs swept multiple times. Naitch regroups, goes to the eyes to take control, backs Backlund to the corner and fires away with his trademark chops. Irish whip across is reversed, Backlund elevates Flair with a back body drop, follows with an atomic drop and works to throw him over as the countdown ticks down…
• Entry #3 is Papa Shango. Papa Shango hits the ring goes right after Backlund, hammering him with right hands and choking him across the top. He looks to dump him over, Flair comes up from behind, picks the leg and Shango falls over the top rope. Papa Shango has been eliminated. Naitch turns his attention to Backlund again, getting him over to the apron, but Backlund rolls back in under the bottom rope. Flair in total control now, puts the boots to him and unloads with rights and chops in the corner, Backlund battles back, sends Nature Boy hard into the corner and our next entrant heads to the ring…
• Entry #4 is WWF Tag Team Champion ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase. MDM sprints to the squared circle and joins The Nature Boy in pummeling Backlund, hitting a barrage of fists, then sending him to the ropes for a double back elbow as the clocks winds down…
• Entry #5 is Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs. Knobbs evens the odds for Backlund, slides in and immediately gets whipped to the ropes by Flair & DiBiase for a double clothesline, Knobbs countering with one of his own and going crazy with haymakers for both. He cracks them with a double noggin knocker, nearly throws The Nature Boy out, then unleases agan on DiBiase before Backlund can get back to his feet. They pair-off in opposite corners, Knobbs takes The MDM to Pity City as the 10 count begins…
• Entry #6 is Virgil. DiBiase meets Virgil as he enters the ring, shoots him to the ropes, Virgil slides between the legs and splits him with an inverted atomic drop. Backlund gets back involved, Knobbs & Virgil with a double back body drop to DiBiase, Knobbs builds a head of steam for a clothesline to send MDM over, but DiBiase ducks down and pulls the ropes, Knobbs’ momentum sending him spilling to the floor. Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs has been eliminated. It’s back to two-on-two, Backlund & Flair duking it out while DiBiase pounds on Virgil until the timer hits zero…
• Entry #7 is Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler. The King goes right after Virgil, Nature Boy comes up from behind and pays for it by Lawler right hands, Flair rolling under the bottom rope outside to get away. He slides back in and works with The King again on Virgil, the alliance with Lawler breaking down quick as #8 heads down the aisle…
• Entry #8 is Max Moon. The ring continues to fill up as Moon slides in and swings away at anybody in striking distance, clobbers King with a dropkick, but takes a poke to the eyes from Flair. Nature Boy looks to throw him out, Moon hangs onto the top rope, skins the cat back in and the brawl continues. Moon is able to get The King staggered near the ropes, rushes at him and gets elevated to the outside. Max Moon has been eliminated…
• Entry #9 is Tenryu. The Japanese star comes in after Nature Boy, they trade off chops and Flair flops onto his face…
• Entry #10 is Mr. Perfect. The Perfect One sprints to the ring and immediately turns his attention to Flair, unleashing a furious flurry of chops and right hands. Nature Boy goes to the eyes, heads up top, Perfect grabs him and slams him to the canvas…
• Entry #11 is Skinner. The Gator Man enters the ring and briefly helps Flair out, Nature Boy sends Perfect to the ropes, it’s reversed, Flair missing a knife-edge chop and The Perfect One clotheslines him over the top to end his night. Ric Flair has been eliminated…
• Entry #12 is Koko B. Ware. The Birdman joins the fray as Perfect attempts to send Skinner out, The Gator Man hangs onto the rope and skins the cat back inside, The Perfect One connecting with a dropkick to finish the job. Skinner has been eliminated…
• Entry #13 is Headshrinker Samu…
• Entry #14 is The Berzerker. The ring continues to fill up as The Berzerker goes after any and everybody, Perfect elevating Lawler near the ropes on the other side and sending him packing. Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler has been eliminated. DiBiase is quick to clobber The Perfect One from behind and send him to the apron, Mr. Perfect desperately hanging onto the ropes to avoid elimination, The King helping out from the floor and ending Perfect’s bid to win, Virgil being dumped out on the other side at the same time. Mr. Perfect & Virgil have been eliminated. Lawler & Perfect brawl on the outside as the match continues on, here comes the countdown…
• Entry #15 is The Undertaker. Samu cuts The Deadman off sliding in, Berzerker knocks Backlund outside through the ropes, follows him out and hammers him with a steel chair, meanwhile Undertaker forces Samu over the top with one hand. Headshrinker Samu has been eliminated. Back outside, Berzerker lifts up the padding to expose the concrete floor, slamming Backlund. In the ring, Tenryu clocks Taker with an enzuigiri, hits the ropes to build momentum and charges in, The Deadman ducking his head and tossing him outside. Tenryu has been eliminated. We’re down to 4 in the ring with Backlund laid out on the outside, the clock striking zero…
• Entry #16 is Terry Taylor. Koko & Taylor trade shots as Taylor hits the ring, they jostle for position near the ropes, DiBiase comes from behind and flips them both over simultaneously. Koko B. Ware & Terry Taylor has been eliminated. The MDM turns around and Taker grabs him by the throat, plants him with a Chokeslam and delivers a clothesline to clear him out. ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase has been eliminated. The Berzerker ambushes Undertaker from behind, forces him to the corner and drives headbutts to the midsection. Harvey Whippleman leads a huge man to the ring, Giant Gonzalez as Undertaker dumps Berzerker over the top. The Berzerker has been eliminated. Gonzalez steps into the center of the ring in a staredown with The Deadman as the buzzer sounds…
• Entry #17 is Damien Demento. Damien hangs out in the aisle and watches the ring, Gonzalez decking Undertaker with a massive knife-edge chop that sends him backwards to the outside. The Undertaker has been eliminated. Giant Gonzalez continues to do a number on Undertaker on the outside, driving him into the ring steps, then rolling him back inside. He plants The Deadman with a Chokeslam and here comes the next entry…
• Entry #18 is WWF Tag Team Champion Irwin R. Schyster. The onslaught on Taker continues, Gonzalez pulling him towards the corner under the bottom rope and proceeding to ram both knees into the steel post, a group of referees and officials coming to ringside to finally stop it. IRS & Demento toss Backlund back in the ring and put the boots to him, the alliance quickly dissolves as Undertaker lay lifeless in the corner…
• Entry #19 is Tatanka. The Native American comes in and evens the odds for Backlund, Paul Bearer finally able to get Taker to his feet with the power of the urn and he limps to the back. The focus is back on the match now with the 4 remaining participants pairing off as the clock ticks away…
• Entry #20 is Nasty Boy Jerry Sags…
• Entry #21 is Typhoon…
• Entry #22 is Headshrinker Fatu…
• Entry #23 is Earthquake. Quake surprisingly goes right at his partner Typhoon, the behemoths putting a number on one another, Typhoon hitting a corner splash, lines up for another and Earthquake ducks under it, sending his partner spilling to the floor. Typhoon has been eliminated…
• Entry #24 is Carlos Colon. More brawling all over the ring, Demento staggers Colon near the ropes, runs in and gets back body dropped over the top and sent packing. Damien Demento has been eliminated…
• Entry #25 is ‘El Matador’ Tito Santana. Tito slides in as Backlund’s marathon run continues, throwing Fatu over the top rope. Headshrinker Fatu has been eliminated…
• Entry #26 is ‘The Model’ Rick Martel. The Model quickly tries to attack his former partner Santana, attempts to drive him head-first into the top turnbuckle, El Matador blocks it and sends Martel in instead. On the other side, Schyster attempts a running crossbody to Earthquake, the big man ducks it, IRS gets caught in the ropes and spills down to the floor. Irwin R. Schyster has been eliminated…
• Entry #27 is Yokozuna. The former sumo champion casually disrobes and steps into the squared circle, clobbering anybody in sight. Tatanka trades shots with him and winds up on the losing end, Yoko grabbing him and ending his WrestleMania bid. Tatanka has been eliminated. Carlos tries his hand at the big man, Yokozuna gets ahold of him by the hair, then introduces him to the same fate as Tatanka. Carlos Colon has been eliminated. Earthquake eyes Yoko and the crowd comes to their feet as they meet face-to-face, Quake hitting the ropes for a shoulder block that has no affect while the next entry slides into the ring…
• Entry #28 is ‘The Rocket’ Owen Hart. Earthquake goes back to the ropes, ducks under a clothesline and staggers Yokozuna with one of his own, more clotheslines in the corner, then follows with a splash. Quake goes back to the well again and Yoko side-steps out, lifts him up with a belly-to-belly suplex and dumps him outside. Earthquake has been eliminated…
• Entry #29 is Repo Man. Everybody gangs up on Yokozuna in an effort to get him over, Yoko one-by-one fights them off with headbutts and right hands, staving off elimination as the final man comes out…
• Entry #30 is ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. Macho hits the ring like a house of fire grounds Repo Man with a choke, then puts him in the corner and fires away with left-handed jabs as Yoko tosses Tito out by the hair. ‘El Matador’ Tito Santana has been eliminated. Sags & The Rocket with a double team on Martel, Sags holds The Model up, Owen hits the ropes for a running dropkick, Martel slips out of the way and Sags is knocked to the outside. Nasty Boy Jerry Sags has been eliminated. The Model tries to take the opening to send Owen out, he hangs onto the top rope, skins the cat back inside, turns his attention to Yokozuna, hits the ropes for a head of steam and flies over the top after a hip toss. ‘The Rocket’ Owen Hart has been eliminated. Savage battles Repo on the other side, getting ahold of him by the back of the neck and sends him on his way. Repo Man has been eliminated. We’re down to 4, Martel working over Backlund while Yoko clobbers Macho Man. The Model looks to suplex Backlund over the top, Backlund blocks it, props him on the top turnbuckle and drops him down with a right hand. ‘The Model’ Rick Martel has been eliminated. Backlund goes to Yokozuna with a clubbing blow to the back, it has no affect and Yoko turns around, looking confused. Backlund tries a couple of dropkicks that don’t amount to anything, charges at the big man and Yokozuna uses his own momentum to finally send him packing. Bob Backlund has been eliminated. Two men remain, Yokozuna in complete control of Savage, pummeling him with heavy rights and choking him in the corner. Macho Man still has some fight left and battles back with kicks and fists, staggers Yoko with clotheslines, heads upstairs and scores with a double axe handle. Yoko doesn’t go down, Savage goes back up for another double axe to the back, bringing the big man to a knee. He hits the ropes, Yoko clocks him with a superkick out of nowhere, then squashes Macho into the canvas with a belly-to-belly suplex, following with a massive leg drop. He continues to have his way with heavy shots, irish whip to the corner, Yoko charging in for a big back splash. Yokozuna tries another, Savage side-steps out of the way, the big man finally falls to the mat and Macho climbs to the top rope. He connects with the Elbow Drop, makes a cover, Yokozuna kicks out with authority and Savage is sent over the top rope.

Winner: Yokozuna

• After The Bell: Caesar & Cleopatra come back out and bow to the winner, Yokozuna following them out of the arena. Yokozuna runs into WWF Champion Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart in the back, they exchange words and Bret holds the title in his face.
• EA’s Take: If you ask me, this is without question the worst Royal Rumble match in history. It’s significant because it was the start of putting a WWF Championship shot at WrestleMania on the line, however the lack of star power is likely the reason for such a stipulation to be added in the beginning. There were too many tag team competitors, too many lulls in the action, not enough exciting spots, not enough legitimate contenders and the finish was horrible. Savage going for a cover and getting powered over the top made him look like a total moron, especially considering he’s been in multiple Rumbles and would certainly know the rules. You made Macho Man look like an absolute fool. Yoko was the right guy to win it, but the entire booking of the match was just plain bad.

EA’s Finisher: The first half of this show is definitely worth watching and although it was all obviously centered around the Rumble match, the undercard was the only thing of any value. If you’re depleted of big names, then it makes no sense to me at all why guys on the undercard were not involved in the Rumble match. It certainly could only add to it to have Boss Man, Bam Bam, Michaels, Jannetty and even Razor (just give him a later number!). The transition to a younger group of Superstars would really take a toll on the product over the next couple of years, WWF being unable to transition the nature of their characters at the same time really being the main problem. Ric Flair was on his way out the door the following night after being beaten by Mr. Perfect on RAW in a ‘Loser Leaves Town’ match, heading back to WCW. Savage’s role would lessen, a WWF mainstay would return to the company, but the next year would really be a struggle to provide even great in-ring action, let alone solid storylines.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon
2 – Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty
3 – The Steiners vs. The Beverlys

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