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[1991-01-19-WWF-Royal Rumble] Royal Rumble


Loss

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  • 4 weeks later...

We join just before Tugboat's entrance. Hogan eliminating Tugboat is a big thing, and it was also hyped in a big way in the pre-show hype. Martel is the marathon man, and his elimination gets a big pop. Hogan is left with Brian Knobs and John Tenta, with Jimmy Hart at ringside. To be surrounded by friends at such an exciting time. Wow, the Nastys left WCW and showed up here quickly. Hogan's first Hulk-up is really shitty, and the second one is even worse. Earthquake is great in feeding him spots, though. Hogan wins the Rumble.

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An interesting thing I read in the original Observer review of this show is according to Meltzer one way Vince at this time punished guys who were in his dog house for whatever reason was to book them to work a lengthy stretch in the Rumble match and force them into a marathon physical performance. So I guess Martel, Valentine, and Hercules were on Vince's shit list in Jan 91.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This Rumble was always one of my favorites. Piper cheers Hogan as he eliminates Tugboat. I also liked Earthquake walking over Perfect at one point. Model was really protected from Summer 1990 on as he was also never pinned in the Survivor Series finale. Him vs. Hogan in a post Mania program would have been nice instead of the rehash of the Slaughter stuff. Hogan picks up the win and the crowd pops like it did all night.

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"The Macho King wasn't hurt!" Well...okay, whatever. Right after Tugboat's entrance we get Monsoon & Piper gushing over Shane Douglas, which is pretty funny now. I'm glad we got a snapshot of his forgotten run at this time. When I got the Rumble Anthology I remember distinctly liking this the least of the pre-'00s Rumbles. Martel and Valentine turned in great performances but you also had guys like Tito and Herc lasting forever too, and the problem was none of those four guys had a prayer of actually winning it, so it all seemed for naught. Tugboat gets big boos for going after Hogan and there's a big pop when Hogan eliminates him. Heenan's epic towel toss when Perfect gets eliminated is another highlight. Davey Boy tosses Martel and that gets a big reaction. The fact that Gorilla apparently never, ever bothered to learn the names of the Nasty Boys is on full display here. Decent enough closing stretch, with a false finish of sorts, that functions as the blowoff to the Hogan/Earthquake feud. 'Quake attempting a pin is still ridiculous. Why not have Hogan dodge an Earthquake splash or something? The eliminating clothesline is pretty weak, too.

 

Still, this all did its job. Hogan winning was the only realistic result, at least once the title changed hands. Piper and Gorilla gush about the troops in the Middle East making Slaughter & Saddam surrender, just to sour everything.

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  • 3 weeks later...

So Savage never entered Rumble. Hogan and Tugboat go at it and Hogan eliminates Tugboat from behind. So that would be three Rumbles in a row where he eliminated a friend from behind. Makes his 1992 tantrum continue to look worse. Did Hogan really need to survive the Earthquake Splash when he was already in a 2-1 handicap situation? Hogan was the obvious choice to win anyways. I'll have to go back and watch this Rumble in full. I think I preferred it more the the 90 version.

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  • 1 year later...

The Royal Rumble usually has peaks and troughs. This year on the other hand was notable for its consistent watchability. There were hardly any jobbers amongst the participants. It's not that there were loads of headliners, but nearly everyone either had been or would be somebody. Midcarders who actually felt like they mattered.

 

The match had a very organic structure. There were no set pieces or mass eliminations that felt contrived. I much prefer the early Rumbles for this reason. The ring remained full with an even flow of eliminations. The Hammer and the Model both put in notable shifts. The Hogan victory was obvious yet was the right way to go at the time. This was good Hogan all the way and I liked the final matchup opposing Earthquake. The highlight was the Bushwhacker Luke elimination, which was comedy gold. He marched in one side and marched straight out the other!

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  • 1 month later...

As some others have said, there was really only one possible ending for this match after Sarge's title win, and Vince had sense enough to book it. I know some of the "smart" internet fans complain about Hogan winning two Rumbles in a row, but he either won this one or there was going to be a legit full-scale riot in Miami.

 

That said, he could have gotten there a little smarter. We get the same problem with Quake that we got at SummerSlam, where two splashes and a powerslam aren't enough to even faze Hogan, let alone hurt him. Plus, we have two spots where Quake's made to look blatantly stupid by going for pinfalls instead of tossing Hogan over the top. Ricky talked earlier about guys who could have been in Vince's doghouse based on how long they were made to stay in the Rumble; for my money, being made to look like a brainless warthog (to borrow Piper's phrase) certainly qualifies Quake for that distinction as well.

 

I would have laughed if Savage had come out after the match and blindsided Hogan just because. Actually, that might not have been a bad finish if Randy hadn't been too hurt to work. Does anyone know what exactly his injury was?

 

I'm wondering if they weren't at least contemplating a Tugboat heel turn at this point, based on the way he went after Hogan before Hogan tossed him. I'm not sure how good a Hogan/Tugboat series would have been, but if they had to extend the Hogan/Slaughter stuff to SummerSlam (which they definitely didn't, in my view), Tugboat might have made a good mercenary partner for Sarge. At least he'd have been better than an out-of-shape Sheik and a completely useless Adnan.

 

Great idea for Hogan to forecast the Mania VII main event early. As much as certain people still wanted to see Hogan/Warrior II, they'd built up Sarge as too big a threat to America not to have Hogan be the one to take him down.

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  • 9 months later...

This Rumble is actually one of my favorite Rumbles. (I also really like 1992 and 1990.) I enjoyed Valentine and Martel both going long. The LOD eliminating the Undertaker was a cool spot. Bret looked good in this Rumble as well. Earthquake proved to be a force, that would be hard to eliminate. Piper and Gorilla are great on commentary in my opinion. And of course, after Slaughter wins the title (apparently not only because of the war, but he was picked by Hogan because Hogan wanted to work with him), there was only one option to win this, and that was the Hulkster. Davey Boy looked good in this Rumble as well, and lasted for a good while.

 

I just wish that Warrior would've dispatched Slaughter earlier in the night, and Hogan vs Warrior II could've headlined Mania VII. (With Hogan getting his win back), although that booking would've eliminated Savage vs Warrior from ever happening, which is Warrior's best ever match.

 

Anyways, it's one of my favorite Rumbles of all time, and I enjoyed it as much the other day watching it as I did the hundred or so times I watched it as a kid. ****

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  • GSR changed the title to [1991-01-19-WWF-Royal Rumble] Royal Rumble

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