Video: Multiple participants in tonight’s Royal Rumble Match discuss their odds of winning including, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, Jeff Jarrett, Tatanka, Diesel, Doink The Clown, Shawn Michaels and Lex Luger.

Match #5 – Royal Rumble, Winner Gets A WWF Championship Match At WrestleMania

• Entry #1 is Scott Steiner. Entry #2 is Headshrinker Samu w/Afa. Afa throws Samu into the ring by the hair and we’re underway, Scott meets him coming in with clubbing blows, Samu returning fire, Scotty gets the better of it and backs him to the corner. Irish whip across is reversed, Samu squashes him in the corner with a clothesline, stomps away, shoots him back to the other corner and Scotty rebounds out with a clothesline of his own. He plants The Samoan with a double underhook powerbomb, gets him teetering on the top rope and can’t quite get him over. Irish whip to the ropes is reversed, Samu ducks for a back body drop, Scott leapfrogs over and puts on the brakes, turns around and gets flattened by a clothesline as the countdown begins…
• Entry #3 is Rick Steiner. The Dog-Face Gremlin slides into the squared circle and saves his brother, pounds Samu with heavy rights and The Steiners take control of the ring, Rick planting him with a belly-to-belly suplex. Scott hits Samu with a snap suplex, Rick shoots him to the ropes for a clothesline, The Steiners throw him back in for a double clothesline now, Samu ducks it, flies over the top and gets his head hung up in the top and middle rope…
• Entry #4 is Kwang. Scott pulls Samu free and he spills to the floor as Kwang hits the ring. Headshrinker Samu has been eliminated. Kwang spits green mist in Rick’s face, Scott goes on the attack with heavy shots, checks on his brother and The Ninja takes advantage with an ambush from behind. He sends Scotty to the ropes for a back body drop, Scott sees it coming and counters with a kick, levels Kwang with a clothesline and goes back to check on Rick. Kwang drops him with karate shots, Scotty battles back and tosses him with a belly-to-belly suplex, tries to help The Dog-Face Gremlin back up, but here comes The Ninja again from behind…
• Entry #5 is ‘The Rocket’ Owen Hart. Owen comes in and goes right at the visually impaired Rick, powers him up and over the top rope, delivers a fist to the gut and The Dog-Face Gremlin falls to the floor. Rick Steiner has been eliminated. The Rocket turns his attention to Scott, double teaming him with punches as the timer hits zero…
• Entry #6 is Bart Gunn. Bart evens the odds for Scotty and puts the boots to Owen in the corner, Scott splits Kwang with an inverted atomic drop and the brawl rages on as the buzzer sounds…
• Entry #7 is Diesel. The big man steps in over the top rope and pummels anybody in sight, lifts Bart up by the legs and dumps him to the outside, then does the same to Scott. Bart Gunn has been eliminated. Scott Steiner has been eliminated. Diesel is not picky about who he goes after, clobbering Owen from behind, grabs him by the back of the tights and ends his evening as well. ‘The Rocket’ Owen Hart has been eliminated. Kwang doesn’t hesitate and goes on the attack, whips Diesel to the ropes for a spinning heel kick, the big man hangs on to avoid it, delivers a clothesline near the ropes and sends him packing. Kwang has been eliminated…
• Entry #8 is Bob Backlund. Backlund hits the ring in a hurry and tries to go to the legs of the big man, picks him up and nearly gets him over, but Diesel goes to the eyes to stay in, drops him with right hands and elbows, then pushes him over the top and waits for the next entrant. Bob Backlund has been eliminated…
• Entry #9 is Billy Gunn. Billy comes in and quickly gets in a couple of shots, shoots Diesel to the corner and follows him in, the big man getting the boot up and easily disposes of him. Billy Gunn has been eliminated. A quick clip of some action backstage happening earlier is shown, Tenryu & Kabuki ambushing Lex Luger backstage as number 10 makes his way down the aisle…
• Entry #10 is Virgil. Virgil slides inside and looks to be more cautious, tries to avoid Diesel’s grasp and gets caught in the corner, the big man whips him across and charges in, but misses the mark. Virgil with a series of left-handed jabs, Diesel gets ahold of him and uses brute strength to throw him to the outside. Virgil has been eliminated…
• Entry #11 is ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. Macho sprints to the ring, ducks a shot and fires away with right hands, drives Diesel head-first into the top turnbuckle and tries to lift the big man over to no avail, dominating the action until our next entrant comes to the squared circle…
• Entry #12 is Jeff Jarrett. Double J goes right after Savage, plants him with a body slam and comes off the 2nd rope with a knee drop. He shoots Macho to the ropes, scores with a dropkick and struts, climbs to the top rope, then levels him with a right hand. Jarrett throws Macho over the top rope, turns to strut, Savage hangs on unknowingly to Double J, pulls himself back in and sends Jarrett into Diesel with a knee from behind before sending him packing. Jeff Jarrett has been eliminated…
• Entry #13 is Crush. The big Hawaiian quickly runs to the ring, Savage notices who it is and he meets him sliding in with big punches, hangs him throat-first on the top rope, then drops him with a running elbow. Macho goes up top and scores with a double axe handle, delivers a body slam, goes back upstairs and connects with another double axe before turning his attention back to Diesel. Crush ambushes him from behind, cracks Savage with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and the clock ticks to zero…
• Entry #14 is Doink The Clown w/Dink. Doink makes his way down the aisle, Crush picks Savage up, simply dumping him over the top after a 2-on-1 beating. ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage has been eliminated. Diesel & Crush go at it now, Doink stands in the corner and watches, laughing at them before they finally notice and start to stalk him. The Clown sprays water in their faces out of the flower on his coat, stomps their toes and pokes them in the eyes, attempts a slam to Diesel and that doesn’t work at all. Diesel & Crush working together now, they shoot Doink to the ropes, flatten him with a double clothesline and the buzzer goes off…
• Entry #15 is Bam Bam Bigelow w/Luna Vachon. The Beast from the East accepts an invitation from Diesel & Crush to pummel The Clown, he presses Doink over his head and drops him all the way to the floor. Doink The Clown has been eliminated. Diesel & Crush turn their sights to Bigelow, trying to get him over the top, but the alliance doesn’t last as the countdown ticks away…
• Entry #16 is Mabel. Diesel locks up with Mabel as he climbs into the ring, Mabel reverses an irish whip to the corner, squashes Diesel with multiple splashes, then hits Crush & Bam Bam with one respectively before number seventeen comes out…
• Entry #17 is Sparky Plugg. Sparky is replacing 1-2-3 Kid who’s out with an injury, joining the fray, but being severely out-sized by Diesel. All five guys get caught on the ropes trying to tip each other over, but everyone staves off elimination as the clock hits zero…
• Entry #18 is Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid slides into the ring, Diesel stands in front of him feigning an attack, but they shake hands instead. Everyone minus Michaels turns their attention to Diesel now, they get him teetering on the top, Shawn giving the final push to send his friend to the outside. Diesel has been eliminated…
• Entry #19 is Mo…
• Entry #20 is Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine. The squared circle continues to fill-up with the arrival of The Hammer, action all over the ring with everyone holding their own…
• Entry #21 is Tatanka. The Native American is cut-off by Michaels coming in, they trade shots initially, Tatanka getting the better of it as the brawl wages on…
• Entry #22 is Kabuki. Everybody in the ring decides it’s time to turn their attention to the biggest man, teaming up to lift the massive Mabel up and he spills down to the floor. Mabel has been eliminated…
• Entry #23 is Lex Luger. Lex comes in and goes right for the man that attacked him earlier, pounds Kabuki with heavy right hands and easily disposes of him over the top. Kabuki has been eliminated. Lex continues to have momentum on his side, drills everybody in sight, shoots Bigelow to the ropes for a clothesline, Crush nails him from behind as splits Luger with an inverted atomic drop as the timer runs out…
• Entry #24 is Tenryu. Tenryu immediately goes at the man he was paid to eliminate in Luger, rakes his eyes, drives him head-first into the top turnbuckle and delivers stinging knife-edge chops…
• Entry #25 does not come out, but is supposed to be Bastion Booger and the action continues…
• Entry #26 is ‘The Model’ Rick Martel…
• Entry #27 is Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart. The Hitman slowly limps to join the fracas, Crush & Tenryu targeting the injured leg and Bret can’t get any offense in…
• Entry #28 is Headshrinker Fatu w/Afa. Afa hurls him into the ring like he did Samu earlier, with now a dozen Superstars still in the match, a number of men team up to push Crush to the ropes, Bret finally getting into the fight to give a final push over. Crush has been eliminated…
• Entry #29 is Marty Jannetty. Marty slides in and instantly trades shots with The Heartbreak Kid, gets him in the corner, climbs to the 2nd rope for right hands, Shawn powers him out and splits him with an inverted atomic drop. He measures Jannetty for a superkick, Marty ducks under it, connects with one of his own and nearly eliminates Michaels after a haymaker, the final entrant coming to the squared circle…
• Entry #30 is Adam Bomb w/Harvey Wippleman. Sparky has Michaels teetering on the brink of elimination, The Hitman comes up from behind him, goes low, lifts him up and Plugg spills down to the floor. Sparky Plugg has been eliminated. Nobody can seem to get an upper hand on anyone else, The Model works over Valentine in the corner, ducks under and picks him up on his shoulders, then forces him to the outside. Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine has been eliminated. Martel turns his attention to Tatanka and chokes him near the ropes, gets a running start and charges, The Native American drops down, pulls the top rope and The Model goes flying to the floor. ‘The Model’ Rick Martel has been eliminated. Adam Bomb has Luger reeling against the ropes, rushes in for a clothesline, Lex ducks down into a back body drop and elevated him over the top. Adam Bomb has been eliminated. Bomb is incensed and reaches for Luger from the floor, Fatu clocks Mo with a superkick on the other side of the ring, Mo staggering backwards and he flips to the outside. Mo has been eliminated. Tatanka & Bam Bam continue their war from earlier in the night and exchange fists, The Beast from the East grabs The Native American by the hair and sends him packing. Tatanka has been eliminated. Bigelow and Luger trade shots now, Bam Bam gets the better of it, lines him up for a splash in the corner, Lex side-steps it, The Beast from the East flips to the apron and then gets dropped to the floor. Bam Bam Bigelow has been eliminated. Jannetty works to eliminate Michaels near the ropes, powers him up and has him leaning, The Heartbreak Kid uses his legs to grab Marty in a headscissors and pulls him over the top while hanging on. Marty Jannetty has been eliminated. Shawn & Fatu form an alliance and shoot Tenryu to the ropes for a double back body drop, Tenryu puts on the brakes, introduces them with a double noggin knocker, but it has no affect on Fatu. Michaels & Fatu set their sights on Luger & Bret now, hammering them in opposite corners with right hands, look to irish whip them into each other, it’s reversed and Shawn collides with Fatu instead. Tenryu catches Lex in the corner with big chops, The Hitman grabs him from behind and lifts him up, Luger lends a hand and they dump him to the outside. Tenryu has been eliminated. We’re down to our final four now, everyone getting to their feet in opposite corners and then pairing off. The Heartbreak Kid & Bret trade-off attempting to toss one another over to no avail, Luger plants Fatu head-first into the canvas, Fatu pops right back to his feet and drops him with a superkick. He comes off the 2nd rope with a diving headbutt, calls Shawn over for a double suplex, they drop Luger to the apron, he lands on his feet and battles them both off. He hops back inside, turns Fatu inside-out with a clothesline, The Hitman is back to his feet, Lex & Bret pummeling Michaels & Fatu in opposite corners, then whip them towards each other. The Heartbreak Kid leaps over Fatu to avoid him, both guys charge Bret & Luger, simultaneously getting elevated over the top and we are down to two. Fatu & Shawn Michaels have been eliminated. Luger & Bret come face-to-face in the center of the ring and slug it out, Lex picks Bret up for a body slam, stumbles backwards towards the ropes, both guys fall out to the floor and appear to hit at the exact same time. The referees gather at ringside to discuss it, can’t seem to come to an agreement and Lex is announced as the winner. Earl Hebner argues with Howard Finkel, Bret now being announced as the victor, but the officials go into the ring and still can’t make their minds up. WWF President Jack Tunney comes to the squared circle, inconclusive replays are shown, Tunney calls Finkel into the ring and informs him of the decision.

Winners: Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart & Lex Luger

• EA’s Take: Brilliant booking in my opinion with the finish here, the WWF is really starting to get it right when it comes to the Rumble match and this was a cool way for it to end at a time when a lot of finishes were predictable. Impeccable timing by Luger & Bret to both seemingly hit the floor at the same time as well. Lots of storylines would come from this on the way to WrestleMania and beyond. Diesel’s big showing led to him getting cheered after he was eliminated and even some pretty loud “Diesel” chants, really springboarding him into a big push through the rest of 1994. The Crush/Savage feud would remain to be a focal point heading into WrestleMania X and Bam Bam’s issues with Doink would continue as well. The situation regard Lex & The Hitman was a tricky one having co-winners of the Rumble, WWF President Jack Tunney would go on to give them both shots at Yokozuna’s WWF Title at WrestleMania, however would decree that both had to wrestle twice. Luger would win a coin toss to get the first shot at Yoko, which had he lost he would have taken on Crush first, but Bret ended up pulling double duty instead and would meet his brother Owen beforehand.

EA’s Finisher: The company is still reeling from their transition from stars of the 1980’s, but there are a lot of bright spots and Superstars that would give us hope for the future. The undercard left a little bit to be desired and was not as great as years past, but did advance storylines which is always a plus as opposed to meaningless, thrown together matches. Also, the WWF had guys on the undercard in the Rumble for the first time, seemingly aware that they no longer had the roster depth to shut performers out from pulling double duty. Still strange to me that they wouldn’t utilize Razor’s star power and IRS was not involved, but certainly the best booked Royal Rumble to date with solid action and theatrics, especially in the Undertaker/Yokozuna match.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Royal Rumble
2 – Razor Ramon vs. IRS
3 – Bret & Owen Hart vs. The Quebecers

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