-RIP Gran Hamada and big things are coming.
-Today we look at the 1995 Royal Rumble from the WWF.
-The 1995 Royal Rumble was shown on PPV on January 22, 1995 from the USF Sun Dome in Tampa, FL. There were 10,000 in attendance and the show did 225,000 PPV buys.
-A limo arrives and Pamela Anderson gets out. She is greeted warmly by the WWF Superstars whistling at her and other things. Eye roll.
-Intro.
-Vince McMahon welcomes us to the Royal Rumble. He and Jerry Lawler are the announcers for the event and run down some of what we are going to see.
-WWF Intercontinental Championship Match. Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett with The Roadie. My Roadie story. Jarrett and Roadie out first. Ramon with a fantastic ovation when he comes out. It takes a while to get started. Jarrett tries to attack Ramon, but Ramon takes Jarrett down. Back and forth. Ramon with a choke slam, but Jarrett bails out to regroup. Jarrett with an arm drag. They trade moves. Jarrett with a drop toe hold. Jarrett clotheslined to the outside. Jarrett stalls when he comes back in. Ramon with an arm bar on Jarrett. Jarrett gets loose and hits a series of dropkicks and a leapfrog body guillotine to Ramon. He gets a two count. They duck each other's moves. Jarrett with a rear chin lock. Ramon gets out, and they trade clotheslines. This is an even-paced match. Jarrett with a series of covers, but can't get the pin. Jarrett with a sleeper. He hits a neck breaker. Jarrett puts his feet on the ropes, but gets caught. Ramon crotches Jarrett on a ring post. Ramon gets a two count. Ramon thrown outside. His knee is hurt, and the Roadie clips Ramon's injured knee. Ramon gets counted out. Jarrett gets on the mic and says Ramon is a coward and goads Ramon back into the ring. Ramon gets in, and Jarrett attacks the weakened leg. Ramon falls in pain. Jarrett with several pin attempts before going back to attacking the leg. Ramon kicks Jarrett away. Jarrett put the figure four on Ramon. Ramon is fighting the pain. He starts punching Jarrett to break the hold. Ramon with a comeback. Ramon puts Jarrett on the top rope. He does a belly to back suplex and both men roll through pin attempts. Ramon goes for the Razor's edge, but his leg gives out. Jarrett with a small package to pin Ramon and become the new IC champion.
-Stephanie Wiand waits to interview Jarrett. Todd Pettengill interviews Pamela Anderson, who is in a room filled with gifts from the wrestlers. Pettengill tries to flirt with Anderson. Wiand finally gets to interview Jarrett. He tells her he is on his Ain't I Great Tour.
-IRS with Ted DiBiase vs. The Undertaker with Paul Bearer: IRS and DiBiase out first. Undertaker and Bearer out to a great ovation. It takes a while to get started. IRS stalling. He attacks Undertaker from behind with a dropkick. Undertaker no sells. IRS bails to the outside. He gets back in and avoids the Undertaker. He then rolls out again. He goes after Bearer. Undertaker gets IRS in the ring. Undertaker attacks IRS. Undertaker with several corner whips. He pulls IRS down by his tie. Undertaker does Old School. DiBiase gets up on the apron. Undertaker goes after him and clotheslines IRS out. DiBiase signals for the Druids to come out. Undertaker goes for Old School again, but one of the Druids shakes the ropes. Undertaker clotheslined to the outside and the Druids are there. He grabs the Druids by the throat. IRS attacks Undertaker from behind. He throws Undertaker into the rings steps. The Druids attack Undertaker and throw him back in. IRS continues the attack. IRS with an abdominal stretch. Undertaker hip tosses his way out. Back and forth. IRS with a back elbow and a clothesline. He follows it up with a leg drop. He misses a splash when Undertaker moves. They collide in the ring, and both men are down. DiBiase distracts the referee so a Druid can put IRS on Undertaker, but Undertaker kicks out at two. Undertaker grabs the Druid. IRS grabs the Undertaker. Undertaker gets IRS up for the Tombstone. Both Druids interfere, and the wrestlers both go down. IRS attacks Undertaker, but Undertaker hits a choke slam and gets the pin. The Druids were Jimmy Del Ray and Ron Harris. They attack the Undertaker after the match. He takes them out. King Kong Bundy comes in and attacks Undertaker as IRS grabs Paul Bearer's urn. He leaves with the urn as Bundy continues the attack on the Undertaker. He leaves Undertaker prone in the ring. Bearer encourages the crowd to cheer, and the Undertaker rises.
-Todd Pettengill interviews Diesel. Diesel says he's too busy to talk. Pettengill then tries to talk to Bret Hart. He says that the title is all he can think about. McMahon and Lawler then talk about what we just saw.
-WWF Championship Match. Diesel vs. Bret Hart: Hart out first to a tremendous ovation. He does his sunglasses presentation. Diesel comes out and greets Lawrence Taylor at ringside. That's called foreshadowing kids. He gets a good reception as well. Hart's was probably bigger. The bell rings. They lock up and Diesel pushes off. Hart goes for the leg, but Diesel gets to the ropes. They trade blows. They both avoid strikes. Hart clotheslined to the outside. Diesel then stops Hart from getting in. Hart grabs Diesel by the leg and runs it into the corner post. He goes to work on the leg. Diesel is trying to fight to get out. He gets up, but Hart knocks him back down and puts the figure four on. Diesel gets to the bottom rope. Bret breaks, but goes back to attacking the leg and then puts the figure four on again. Diesel fighting the pain. He gets back to the ropes, but Hart is slow to break the hold. He then attacks Diesel again. He kicks Diesel out and then hits a tope to Diesel. Diesel reverses an Irish whip and runs Hart into the ring steps. Back in the ring, Diesel hits a corner whip. Diesel hits Hart with elbows in the corner. A side slam gives Diesel a two count. He hits Hart with a leapfrog body guillotine. Diesel hits a delayed backbreaker. Diesel gets a two count. Back and forth in the corner. Diesel with an over the shoulder backbreaker. Hart fights out. Diesel with a big boot. Diesel with a corner charge. Hart gets his foot up on the charge. Hart goes up top, but gets caught. Diesel goes to slam Hart, but Hart punches Diesel and falls on him for a two count. Hart thrown to the outside. Hart grabs Diesel by the legs and ties them together around the ring post with his wrist tape. Hart attacks Diesel while the referee frees Diesel. Hart hits a bulldog for a two count. Hart with a side Russian leg sweep and a backbreaker. He hits a second rope elbow drop for a two count. Hart goes for the Sharpshooter, but Diesel gets to the ropes. Diesel clotheslined to the outside, but lands on his feet and catches Hart when Hart goes for another tope. Diesel drives Hart into the ring steps. He throws Hart back in. Diesel hits the Jackknife. He covers Hart, but Shawn Michaels comes in and attacks Diesel. Referee Earl Hebner throws Michaels out. Howard Finkel announces the match must continue. Hart attacks Diesel's injured leg. He goes back to the figure four. Diesel gets out. They attack each other. Diesel goes after Hart's ribs. He hits a gut wrench suplex. Hart moves on a big boot attempt. He runs Diesel's leg into the post and hits it with a chair. He goes and applies the Sharpshooter. Owen Hart comes in and attacks Bret. He takes off a turnbuckle pad and runs Bret into the exposed buckle. Hebner orders the match to continue again. Diesel gets back to his feet. He covers Bret for a two count. Bret runs Diesel into the exposed buckle. Back and forth. Diesel knocks Bret out of the ring, and he gets caught upside down on the ropes. Diesel grabs a chair to hit Bret, but he gets out before Diesel can. Bret back in the ring, but collapses to the ground. Diesel comes over, and Bret gets a small package for a two count. Bret goes for a roll up, but Hebner gets taken out and all three men are down. Shawn Michaels, Bob Backlund, and Owen Hart all come in and start beating on Bret and Diesel. Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie also come in. Officials out to break it up. The match is declared a draw. Backlund puts the chicken wing on Bret. Diesel fights off the other heels and saves Bret. The crowd gives Diesel and Bret a standing ovation as they embrace after the match.
-Todd Pettengill is in Pamela Anderson's dressing room as she changes behind a screen. Stephanie Wiand interviews the 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly. They say they are the Cinderella team and will get their chance tonight.
-WWF World Tag Team Championship Tournament Final. Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow with Ted DiBiase vs. The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly: The Kid and Holly get a good reaction when they come out. Holly and Tatanka start. Holly with a side headlock. Tatanka comes back with chops. Tatanka with a side slam. Holly with a dropkick. Bigelow tagged in and Holly with a drop toe hold. Kid tagged in, and Bigelow throws him around. Kid comes back with a hurricanrana. Bigelow slams Kid down for a two count. Tatanka tagged in. Tatanka hits a corner whip. Bigelow tagged in. Kid with a dropkick. Bigelow with a suplex. He knocks Kid down. Bigelow falls outside. All four in. Bigelow and Tatanka were thrown into each other. Holly gets a two count on Tatanka. Bigelow pulls the ropes down, and Holly spills to the outside. He gets back in, and Tatanka drops an elbow. Tatanka with clotheslines. He follows it up with a power slam. The Kid breaks up the tag, but hits Holly. Bigelow comes in and accidentally hits Tatanka. Both teams inadvertently hit each other. Tatanka lures Kid away from the corner so Holly can't tag out. Holly gets splashed by Bigelow. Holly was thrown out of the ring. He comes back with a sunset flip attempt, but Bigelow splashes down. Bigelow gets several two counts. Tatanka tagged in. He hits a clothesline. Back and forth. Double crossbody and both men are down. A double count is going. Bigelow and the Kid both tagged in. Kid hits a series of dropkicks and hits Tatanka with a suicide dive on the outside. Bigelow throws Kid out of the ring. Tatanka throws Kid in and Bigelow goes up top for a moonsault. Tatanka inadvertently hits the ropes, and Bigelow falls down. Holly takes out Tatanka. A double count is going. The Kid turns over and covers, and we have New Tag Champions. They celebrate in the ring and then leave. Bigelow gets back to his feet. DiBiase and Tatanka have left. Fans are taunting him, and he is yelling at them. He goes over to Lawrence Taylor, who was laughing at him. LT gets up and offers his hand. Bigelow pushes LT down and leaves. Security and his entourage restrain LT as an LT chant goes out.
-Flashback to Diesel's huge 1994 Royal Rumble and him getting eliminated by Shawn Michaels. Michaels then says he is going to win this year's Royal Rumble. They then show the ending of the previous Rumble when Bret Hart and Lex Luger both won. Luger then says 1995 is his year. Vince McMahon then apologizes to Lawrence Taylor from the WWF.
-Howard Finkel introduces Pamela Anderson.
-1995 Royal Rumble: 1. Shawn Michaels. 2. The British Bulldog. He comes out looking determined. Michaels attacks Bulldog right away. Bulldog press slams Michaels. He corner whips Michaels, but he doesn't go out. Michaels tied up in the ropes. 3. Eli Blu. He attacks Bulldog and Michaels. 4. Duke Drose. The heels immediately attack him. Drose with a bear hug on Michaels. 5. Jimmy Del Ray. He attacks Drose. He almost eliminates Michaels. 6. Sione. He tries to eliminate Michaels. Del Ray eliminated. 7. Tom Prichard. Michaels almost eliminated by Sione. 8. Doink. The crowd loves him. Wrestlers pairing off again. 9. Kwang. A group tries to eliminate Bulldog. 10. Rick Martel. Michaels was almost eliminated by Kwang. 11. Owen Hart and the crowd really hates him. Bret Hart comes out and attacks Owen in the aisle. Officials get Bret off. 12. Timothy Well. Owen and Drose eliminated. Well, Martel, and Prichard all eliminated. Kwang eliminates Doink. 13. Bushwhacker Luke. Eli Blu clotheslines Sione and they both go out. Kwang eliminated. Luke eliminated. Bulldog and Michaels are the only two left in the ring. Bulldog suplexes Michaels. 14. Jacob Blu. He attacks both Michaels and Bulldog. He rushes Michaels, who backdrops Blu out. Bulldog tries to get Michaels out. 15. King Kong Bundy. The crowd boos. He tries to eliminate Bulldog. Michaels tries to get Bundy out. 16. Mo. Bundy immediately eliminates Mo. Bulldog tries to eliminate Bundy. 17. Mabel. He and Bundy get face to face. They trade blows. 18. Bushwhacker Butch. Mabel and Bundy try to get Michaels out. 19. Lex Luger. He attacks everyone and eliminates Mabel. He tries to get Michaels out. 20. Mantaur. He attacks Bulldog, and everyone pairs off. 21. Aldo Montoya. He tries to eliminate Michaels. Luger and Bulldog double team Mantaur. 22. Henry Godwin. He goes after Montoya. Pam Anderson is shown looking on. 23. Billy Gunn. Forearms are flying. 24. Bart Gunn. He attacks Mantaur. 25. Bob Backlund. He gets up on the apron, and Bret Hart comes back out and attacks Backlund. Officials out to break it up. 26. Steven Dunn. Luger eliminates Backlund. Bret attacks Backlund again as he is leaving. 27. Dick Murdoch. He attacks everyone. 28. Adam Bomb. He comes out to a huge ovation. 29. Fatu. Luger eliminates Mantaur. 30. Crush. Both Gunn's are eliminated. Dunn eliminated. Crush eliminates Adam Bomb. Montoya eliminated. Fatu eliminated by Crush. Dick Murdoch goes out trying to eliminate Godwin. Godwin was eliminated by Luger. Michaels and Luger fighting. Luger is then eliminated by Michaels. Michaels and Crush team up on Bulldog. They double team Bulldog, who then comes back and eliminates Crush. The crowd is on their feet for the finish. Back and forth. Michaels almost eliminated several times. He goes over, but both feet do not hit the floor. Bulldog celebrates and gets on the second rope as his music plays. Michaels comes from behind to eliminate Bulldog and win the Rumble. They show Michaels hanging on. Pamela Anderson comes in the ring with Michaels as he celebrates and they sign off from Tampa.
-Final Thoughts: This was an okay show that starts the set up for WrestleMania.