The History of WWE Royal Rumble (2004)

In 2004 we got one of the greatest Rumble matches ever, which now no longer exists.....

Royal Rumble 2004 - Wachovia Center - 1/25/04

This here's another one-match Rumble card.  Well maybe one-and-a-half.  But that one match was one of the best Rumbles in the entire series and told an amazing story, even if its legacy is forever tarnished.

The show opened with a hastily-thrown-together Tables match for the World Tag belts, as Ric Flair and Batista got a forgettable four-minute win over The Dudleyz.  Not sure why this last-minute inclusion was necessary given how rushed some of the other matches were.

Next was a criminally-abbreviated Cruiserweight Title match, as Rey Mysterio defended against Jamie Noble.  What could've been a strong undercard bout was given three minutes and change.

In the third slot was a match meant to settle a pretty major feud, as the estranged Guerrero cousins locked up for the first time in WWE.  This had been building for about two months, as Los Guerreros fell into a slump and Chavo had teased turning on Eddie several times.  Finally in early January he turned heel and this match was signed.  Unfortunately it was only given eight minutes and was not at all remarkable, and the feud was basically scrapped right after.  So why book the match in the first place?  Why not put Eddie and Chavo in the Rumble instead?

Alright, remember how in 1998 and 2002 the company opted to have the World Champ defend against an established main eventer rather than a slight underdog challenger, and how that pissed me off?  Well in 2004 they took it to the other extreme, as Brock Lesnar defended the WWE Title against, wait for it......Bob Holly.  Yeah that's right, ol' Thurman "Sparky" Plugg himself.  This non-feud stemmed from an incident in Sept. 2002 when Lesnar and Holly faced off on an episode of Smackdown.  Holly, notorious for giving the younger talent a hard time in the ring, sandbagged Lesnar during a powerbomb attempt, and Lesnar dropped him on his head, sidelining Holly with a neck injury.  A year later Holly returned to attack Lesnar, and this half-assed rivalry was born.  Nevermind that Holly was in no way a credible threat to the WWE Champion, nor was he even a popular babyface.  The company was by God gonna treat us all to this horribly unworthy PPV Title match.  Six or so minutes later Lesnar was still the Champ.  What in the name of all things holy, THE FUCK, were they thinking giving Bob Holly a Title match at the Royal Rumble??  Chrissakes.

If ever a match should've just been one-move-and-done, it's this one.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (2003)

I attended this show live, and was treated to a damn good Rumble match, plus maybe the greatest match I've ever seen in person....

Royal Rumble 2003 - FleetCenter - 1.19.03

What a perfect illustration of how much better Paul Heyman's Smackdown was than RAW in 2003.  The '03 Rumble holds a special place for me because I was in attendance.  The WWE product at this point had spectacular highs coupled with absolutely dreadful lows, and this PPV showcased both.

The big story of this Rumble was the mega-face push of Brock Lesnar, who had been betrayed by Paul Heyman two months earlier (in one of the most nonsensical angles of the era), and who was now returning from a brief injury.  The opening match was a Rumble qualifier between Lesnar and The Big Show which, while better than their Survivor Series '02 encounter was still only about six minutes.  But it accomplished what it needed to and provided a decisive win for Lesnar on his way to the Rumble.

Next was a Tag Title throwaway - The Dudley Boyz defeated William Regal and Lance Storm for the straps.  This was inoffensive but pretty dull.

Third was the culmination of probably the worst storyline of 2002 - Torrie Wilson vs. Dawn Marie.  Weeks earlier it was revealed that Dawn had been banging Torrie's father Al, and there was a storyline wedding complete with Al Wilson stripping down to his skivvies (Just what we all wanted to see!).  A week or so later Al "died" while he and Dawn were on their honeymoon, specifically during the physical act of love.  Torrie blamed Dawn for killing her father and thus we were subjected to this matchup.  Three and a half minutes of pointless.

But at least Torrie vs. Dawn was bad and short, unlike our next bout.

The World Championship would be decided between Triple H and the latest WCW import, Scott Steiner.  Steiner had debuted awkwardly at Survivor Series and after a pretend bidding war between the WWE brands, showed up on RAW and announced that he was contracted to get a Title shot.  Now I could be wrong about this but I'm pretty sure he didn't wrestle a single solitary match leading up to this one.  And it's clear no one in WWE bothered to watch any of his late WCW bouts, because I can't imagine he'd have been in line for a main event push based on any of those "classics."  The RAW team must've been desperate for someone to feud with Hunter, since they'd buried all the top babyfaces over the previous four months.  I guess maybe they should've presented Booker, Kane or RVD as worthy challengers at Survivor Series, hmm?  It was also baffling that they took this Big Poppa Pump character, a 'roided-up freak who used uncomfortable sexual humor to get crowd heat, and tried to make him a likable babyface.  There was nothing heroic about Scott Steiner in this incarnation, and therefore no reason to want to see him beat up Triple H.  Plus the horrific buildup to this match consisted of posedowns, arm wrestling challenges and gibberish Steiner promos, resembling a late 80s Ultimate Warrior feud, and not in a good way.

How much did these two spend on PEDs that year?

During the match intros the live crowd gave Steiner a lukewarm reception and popped pretty big for Hunter despite him being the heel.  But their reaction changed within the first few minutes of the match, when it became clear what a shit-show we were all watching.  By the end of this clumsy, repetitive crapfest the entire FleetCenter audience was booing both guys, and after botching some suplexes and being clearly winded for much of the bout, Steiner's days as a main event babyface were numbered. 

Look it's Kurt Angle slapping the Anklelock on some dude.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (2002)

This show could've been pretty great with a few major changes....

Royal Rumble 2002 - Philips Arena - 1.20.02

Like a lot of what WWF/E presented in 2002, this show pissed me off on a number of levels.  Certain people were not used correctly at all, despite having been on a major roll only a month or two earlier.  The return of certain talent sorta cast a gloom over the whole product, and this was the beginning of a pretty infuriating era in the company where common sense took a backseat to ego and politics.

Match #1 was an uninspired throwaway, as WWF Tag Champs Spike Dudley and Tazz (I liked this combination) faced The Dudley Boyz.  On paper this looked pretty good, but it was only given about five minutes.

Second was the I-C Title match, as Edge defended against William Regal.  I felt zero chemistry between these two, but they faced each other ad nauseum during this stretch.  Terribly boring stuff that ended with Regal capturing the Title.

Another bit of filler was next as Women's Champion Trish Stratus knocked off Jazz in less than four minutes.

The first marquee match was fourth, as WWF "co-owners" Vince McMahon and Ric Flair squared off in a Street Fight.  This match got pretty decent feedback but I felt no excitement from it at all.  Maybe it was their combined age of 110, maybe it was Flair's ring rust, maybe it was just me being sick of seeing Vince try to wrestle.  I didn't care about the match and found it a drag to sit through.

The WWF Title was next as Undisputed Champion Chris Jericho defended against The Rock.  Echoing the WWF Title situation at Rumble '98, the new heel Champion was feuding with someone else on TV and by all rights should've been booked against that guy at the PPV.  In this case "that guy" was Rob Van Dam.  White-hot off his stint as part of The Alliance, Van Dam had become the most popular star on the roster and seemed primed to break the ol' glass ceiling as a top-tier babyface.  On TV he and Jericho were very clearly on a collision course, and then.......they had a free TV match and the feud was over.  So instead of facing RVD here, Jericho faced The Rock.  For the third time in four months.  Ya know, I can't help but notice the sudden and significant depushing of Rob Van Dam coinciding with with in-ring return of a former heel who was now himself being positioned as a top-tier babyface.  Why d'you suppose that would be?  Anyway, this Jericho-Rock match was nowhere near the level of their two 2001 PPV bouts, and on TV Jericho was portrayed as just about the weakest Champion of all time (Seriously, the guy beat Austin and The Rock on the same night but weeks later had trouble beating Tazz and Maven, and was featured mostly in opening RAW segments.  A more systematic burial of a World Champion I cannot recall.).

Jericho looks more dominant here than he would during his feud with HHH.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (2001)

Stone Cold Steve Austin is back, and he's about to achieve the unthinkable......

Royal Rumble 2001 - New Orleans Arena - 1.21.01

Much of the awesomeness of the WWF circa 2000 continued in the first half of 2001, as exemplified by the 2001 Royal Rumble.  Here was a damn near perfect Rumble card.  A Match of the Year candidate, a solid WWF Title match, and a pretty excellent Rumble.

To kick things off we were treated to a solid Tag Team Title match, as Edge & Christian defended against The Dudley Boyz.  This was pretty basic stuff but it worked well and ended with The Dudleyz winning back the Championships.

The Match of the Night was next, as I-C Champ Chris Benoit defended the strap in a Ladder Match against one of his greatest rivals, Chris Jericho.  These two delivered one of their best-ever bouts, creating inventive spots and establishing a gritty, realistic tone throughout.  Aside from a slightly anticlimactic finish, this was probably the best singles Ladder Match since HBK-Razor, and easily one of the best matches of 2001.

Jericho dropkicking a ladder.  Oh and some other guy.

The only bad match of the night was up third, as Women's Champion Ivory defended against Chyna.  After three minutes of forgettable action, Chyna suffered a kayfabe neck injury and lost via pinfall.  A rather tasteless stretcher angle followed which included Jerry Lawler going into the ring to check on her, echoing the real-life events surrounding the death of Owen Hart.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (2000)

The WWF kicks off the new millennium with a BANG BANG!

Royal Rumble 2000 - Madison Square Garden - 1.23.00

Night and day.  That's how I'd compare the WWF product from 1999 to 2000.  After Vince Russo left, overly contrived angles, abbreviated matches, and a lack of focus on in-ring all went out the window.  In their place were excellent matches, a blossoming talent pool, and storylines that made sense.  The 2000 Royal Rumble was the perfect way to kick off what was probably the best single year in the company's history.

The first match saw new WWF star Kurt Angle against a mystery opponent.  The roof came off MSG as the surprise was revealed to be former ECW Champion Tazz.  While I hated, HATED the extra "z" in his name, Tazz made short work of Angle with a dominant three-minute win.  Sadly this was the last time Tazz was used correctly as a WWF wrestler.  He faded into the midcard almost immediately after this and transitioned into an announcer role.

An unlikely Match of the Year candidate was next as The Hardy Boyz faced The Dudley Boyz in the first-ever Tables Match.  These two teams cut the most blistering pace I'd ever seen, assembling a dizzying array of death-defying high spots which climaxed with Jeff Hardy performing a Swanton off the loge entranceway onto Bubba Ray, and through two tables.  This match would be the prototype for the TLC series.

Shit's about to get real.

An ill-conceived bikini contest took up ten minutes of valuable airtime and culminated in Mae Young taking her top off, to the delight of no one.

The I-C Title was next, as co-Champions Chris Jericho and Chyna (such a dumb angle, don't ask) faced Bob Holly in a Triple Threat to determine the Undisputed I-C Champ.  Not sure why Holly was included - surely the co-Champs should've settled their feud one-on-one.  Anyway, Jericho prevailed.

A throwaway Tag Title match was next, as The New Age Outlaws had a quick two-minute win against the Acolytes.

The semi-main went to the WWF Title match.  New heel Champion Triple H, whose main event run had thus far been shaky at best, set out to prove that he did indeed belong at the top of the roster by taking on Cactus Jack in a Street Fight.  Much as he had done to establish The Rock as a main event heel in 1999, Mick Foley went above and beyond to cement Triple H as a new headliner worthy of carrying the company into the next decade.  Triple H himself proved he was more than just a cowardly heel Champion by taking vast sums of punishment over the course of this 27-minute bout.  This match featured one of the more grotesque endings I've seen, as Foley took a Pedigree face-first onto a pile of thumbtacks.  This was the match where I became a full-on Triple H fan (until mid-2002 that is).  Also a Match of the Year candidate (though I think their Hell in a Cell match at No Way Out was even better).

Dude.  Thumbtacks in face.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1999)

The Vince Russo-iest of all Vince Russo Royal Rumbles....

 Royal Rumble 1999 - Arrowhead Pond - 1/24/99

You can take just about any WWF PPV from January through September 1999 and point to it as highly indicative of how awful Vince Russo's booking had become.  After a record-shattering 1998 that featured some of the freshest WWF programming ever, 1999 was the year their product went creatively off the rails and exposed Russo as someone who clearly needed a guiding hand for his ideas to be effective.  This Rumble card (and several other shows that year) felt very disorganized and at times nonsensical.

The show opened with Hardcore Champion The Road Dogg vs. The Big Bossman....in a regular match.  Ummm, why would you book the HC Champ against a hated rival on PPV, without the HC Title on the line?  This was one of the more boring 12-minute matches I can remember.

Next up was I-C Champion Ken Shamrock, in the midst of a monster Title run, against Billy Gunn.  Early '99 was a period where the company really tried to push Billy as a future main eventer, and he repeatedly proved he was better as a tag teamer.  This was mediocre.

The one good midcard match on this show saw European Champ X-Pac defend against Gangrel.  An enjoyable, fast-paced bout that sadly only got six minutes.

A Women's Title Strap Match was next as Sable defended against Luna Vachon.  Luna had attacked Sable on the preshow, so the big story was "can Sable still compete?"  The suspense was short-lived though, as Sable won the bout in under five minutes.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1998)

Stone Cold joins the back-to-back Rumbles club....

Royal Rumble 1998 - San Jose Arena - 1/18/98

1998 was of course the year the WWF, on the back of Steve Austin, reascended to the top of the North American wrestling market, after two years of being dominated by WCW.  Austin's popularity had grown steadily over the previous year, and by January '98 he was the clear choice for the next face of the company.  This Rumble card was built almost exclusively around this premise.

The company's roster was quite thin at this point after losing Bret Hart and Davey Boy Smith in the wake of Montreal.  Also Triple H sustained a knee injury which kept him off the card and removed a potential Rumble dark horse from the field.  Still the WWF's momentum was building and everyone seemed eager to make their mark.

The first match was an odd little affair, as new babyface Vader took on The Artist Formerly Known as Goldust.  This was easily Dustin Runnels' most bizarre persona.  Heavily influenced by S&M, Runnels would wear a different and increasingly more ostentatious outfit every night.  I actually found this persona much more entertaining than plain ol' Goldust, but it was pretty short-lived.  This match was fine for its spot on the card.

What a cozy place to take a piledriver.

Next was a throwaway minis match - Max Mini, Mosaic and Nova vs. Battalion, El Torito and Tarantula.  More less presented like a poor man's lucha bout, this was eight minutes of fluff.

Things picked up though with the I-C Title match between The Rock and Ken Shamrock.  These two would face each other numerous times in 1997-98, and they developed pretty excellent chemistry.  Shamrock played the dominant but somewhat easily outmaneuvered hothead, while The Rock was the cowardly but clever heel Champion who expertly exploited every situation.  This match was no masterpiece but it helped solidify both guys as rising stars.

The Tag Championship was next, as hot new heels The New Age Outlaws faced The Legion of Doom.  Another decent undercard match, though two DQ endings in a row was a bit excessive.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1997)

Welcome back to Enuffa.com's History of the Royal Rumble!  And welcome to the Stone Cold Era!

Royal Rumble 1997 - AlamoDome - 1/19/97

The 1997 Rumble has unfortunately not aged all that well, but at the time I absolutely loved this show.  The card was pretty stacked and sprinkled with several Mexican Lucha stars (Nevermind that WCW had already scooped up all the GOOD Lucha stars - I didn't yet know any better.), the Rumble match had a strong field of contenders (largely due to most of the undercard participants pulling double duty), and the huge venue added to its splendor, making this show feel more like a WrestleMania card than 'Mania 13 did.

The opener was an I-C Title match - Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Goldust.  At this point the company was struggling to find a sidekick for Hunter after Mr. Perfect left the company, and they saddled him with perennial midcarder Curtis Hughes.  Fortunately a month later Hunter would bring in Chyna, and his career would never be the same.  As for this match, it was passable but nowhere near as good as their 'Mania rematch would be.

Why wasn't WrestleMania 13 held here?

The next match featured the in-ring return of Ahmed Johnson, out for revenge against Faarooq, who had injured him the previous summer.  I was excited to see this, and while it was brief and inconclusive, it was a fun brawl.

Third was a dream match of sorts between The Undertaker and Vader.  There wasn't much going on in this feud but the pair worked pretty well together.  Underwhelming but decent.

Next was a showcase of B-grade Lucha stars, as Hector Garza, Perro Aguayo and Canek took on Jerry Estrada, Heavy Metal and Fuerza Guerrera.  As Lucha six-man tags go I now know this was a pretty shabby representation, but at the time some of this stuff blew my mind (I didn't watch Nitro enough to take in much of the real Lucha action.).  I was particularly impressed with Hector Garza, as was WCW apparently (He debuted there later that year).

The Rumble match was once again in the semi-main slot, and featured a star-making performance by Steve Austin.  Austin entered the match fifth and cleared the ring multiple times, eventually eliminating a record-shattering ten people.  One of the match highlights occurred while Austin was alone in the ring waiting for the next entrant, and Bret Hart's music hit.  The crowd erupted to see Austin and Bret resume their landmark feud, and the two of them engaged in a blistering 90-second slugfest.  This Rumble match has one of the best closing stretches of any Rumble - ten men left in the ring after number 30, five of them potential winners.  It boiled down to Austin, Bret, Vader, Taker, and Fake Diesel.  Suddenly Bret dumped Austin out, but since the officials were distracted by Mankind and Terry Funk brawling at ringside the elimination went unnoticed and Austin slid back in, eliminating Vader, Taker and Bret.  Bret flew into a rage at Austin's tainted victory, furthering his gradual heel turn.  This match is another one of my all-time favorite Rumbles.

Man, evil Austin was great.

Participants: Crush, Ahmed Johnson, Fake Razor Ramon, Phineas Godwinn, Steve Austin, Bart Gunn, Jake Roberts, British Bulldog, Pierroth, The Sultan, Mil Mascaras, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Owen Hart, Goldust, Cibernetico, Marc Mero, Latin Lover, Faarooq, Savio Vega, Jesse James, Bret Hart, Jerry Lawler, Fake Diesel, Terry Funk, Rocky Maivia, Mankind, Flash Funk, Vader, Henry Godwinn, Undertaker
Final Four: Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Undertaker, Vader
Long Man: Steve Austin (45:07)

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1996)

The Heartbreak Kid returns from a concussion and pulls off a stunning repeat from '95....

Royal Rumble 1996 - Selland Arena - 1/21/96

And we're back to the good Rumble/bad undercard format.  The '96 Rumble was basically a one-match show.  There were a couple okay undercard matches but nothing must-see.  This was also the first time the Rumble match didn't close the show, which was a little ridiculous but I understand why they did it.

First up was a throwaway, as Ahmed Johnson faced Jeff Jarrett.  This feud started a few weeks earlier and would not have a resolution due to Jarrett's defection to WCW shortly after this match.  Ahmed won by DQ after a guitar shot.

Second was the Tag Title match as The Smokin' Gunns defended against The Bodydonnas.  Skip and Zip, as they were known, were a fine tandem (Chris Candido and Tom Prichard) saddled with a horrible gimmick and even worse ring names.  The only person in their group who got over was Sunny, who later dumped the Bodydonnas and ended up managing the Gunns.  This match was pretty forgettable.

Next Razor Ramon once again defended the I-C Title, this time against newcomer Goldust.  Their feud centered around Goldust's apparent romantic attraction to Razor, and Razor's homophobic, disgusted reaction.  Clearly the WWF was not yet part of any sort of Be a Star campaign.  This match marked the debut of Goldust's manager Marlena (played by his real-life wife Terri).  It was decent but not great, and it always bothered me a little that the WWF exploited the intolerance of its audience to get Goldust over as a sexually ambigious heel.  Still it could be argued that the inception of the Attitude Era occurred with the introduction of the Goldust character.

The semi-main event of the 1996 Royal Rumble......was the 1996 Royal Rumble.  The big story here was the return of Shawn Michaels, who had suffered a storyline concussion stemming from a real-life assault outside a bar in Syracuse.  A month later Shawn collapsed in the ring on RAW, and the angle was so realistic and so well-executed I actually though his career was in jeopardy.  The '96 field was full of newcomers and future stars - Steve Austin, Triple H, Kane and The Godfather all made their Rumble debuts as pre-Attitude characters.  But the match was carried by Michaels' superhuman performance.  Shawn tied the record for most eliminations with 8, and outlasted all of the company's big men to win his second consecutive Rumble.  Predictable but satisfying, this match ended up being one of the best Rumbles to date and is still one of my favorites.

Dammit Leon, I told ya to throw me out UNDER the top rope!

Participants: Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Henry Godwinn, Bob Backlund, Jerry Lawler, Bob Holly, King Mabel, Jake Roberts, Dory Funk Jr., Yokozuna, 1-2-3 Kid, Takao Omori, Savio Vega, Vader, Doug Gilbert, Squat Team #1, Squat Team #2, Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, Hakushi, Tatanka, Aldo Montoya, Diesel, Kama, The Ringmaster, Barry Horowitz, Fatu, Isaac Yankem, Marty Jannetty, British Bulldog, Duke Droese
Final Four: Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Kama, British Bulldog
Long Man: Hunter Hearst Helmsley (48:01)

As I said before, I get why this Rumble match didn't go on last.  The main event of this show was the WWF Title match between Bret Hart and The Undertaker.  This was historic for being the first Bret-Taker clash, and had it gone on before the Rumble, the result of this match would've telegraphed which of the two Rumble favorites - Shawn and Diesel - would win that match.  So for those two reasons I understand putting Bret-Taker on last.  Unfortunately though, this didn't earn its main event spot.  It was slow, plodding, overly long, and ended with a disqualification to set up Taker vs. Diesel at WrestleMania.  I was certainly excited at the prospect of seeing the company's two best big men face off for the first time, but Bret-Taker left me cold.

Bret's making short work of Skeletor.

The '96 Rumble is really only memorable for Shawn Michaels' characteristic show-stealing work.  Had he not been on the card there'd be virtually nothing here to be excited about.  This card did however set the table for a pretty strong WrestleMania.

Best Match: The Rumble
Worst Match: Ahmed vs. Jarrett
What I'd Change: Shorten the WWF Title match and quicken its pace.
Most Disappointing Match: Bret vs. Undertaker
Most Pleasant Surprise: I don't know that I was surprised by anything.
Overall Rating: 6/10
Better than WrestleMania XII, SummerSlam '96, and/or Survivor Series 1996? - No, Probably not, No.


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1995

1997

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1995)

Get ready for the year they ran the Rumble match on fast-forward....

Royal Rumble 1995 - USF Sun Dome - 1/22/95

1995 was one of the more unusual installments in the Rumble series, featuring a pretty stacked undercard followed by a very underwhelming Rumble match.  The WWF unfortunately sacrificed the length and scope of the most epic match of the year to make room for multiple strong undercard bouts.

Kicking things off was an I-C Title match between Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett.  I was never a huge fan of this feud or Jarrett, but this match was fairly decent.  The booking was kinda clunky though, with Razor getting counted out and Jarrett challenging him to continue the match.  Since when does a wrestler have the ability to restart a match?  Shouldn't an authority figure of some kind have to make that call?  Anyway, this would be a classic case of "more guts than brains," as Razor's gallantry cost him the Title.

The one stinker of the night was next, as The Undertaker faced IRS.  At no time did IRS seem remotely like a threat to the nigh-invincible Dead Man, but this match got eleven-plus minutes anyway.

The WWF Championship was next as new Champ Diesel (I must reluctantly confess I was a big fan of his at the time) faced the former Champ Bret Hart.  This was an epic (if overbooked) face vs. face match where Bret played the de facto heel trying to take advantage of his less experienced opponent.  Much like the opening bout, this featured a restart.  Diesel had Bret pinned after a Jacknife Powerbomb but was attacked by his former friend Shawn Michaels.  The referee ordered the match to continue (Hey at least this time a person with jurisdiction made the decision.), and then several minutes later Owen attacked Bret.  The referee again ordered a restart, and after several more minutes and a ref bump, Shawn, Jeff Jarrett, The Roadie (why were JJ and Roadie there?), Owen and Bob Backlund all interfered, drawing a double DQ.  So yeah it was an overbooked mess, but the match was still pretty damn strong.  Bret and Diesel always worked well together and their 1994-95 trilogy contained some of Nash's best work.

Kev, all you gotta do is roll over.  Didn't anyone teach you that?

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1994)

The 1994 Rumble ends in controversy as we have dual winners for the first time....

Royal Rumble 1994 - Providence Civic Center - 1/22/94

This here is your classic one-match show.  After one of the worst-ever Rumble undercards, we were treated to a damn fine Rumble match which at the time was probably the second-best edition.  The company was rebuilding after the roster losses of '92 and '93, and the New Generation was in full-swing.

The show opened with Tatanka vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (subbing for an injured Ludvig Borga).  Since there was no feud here the match meant nothing, and wasn't very good anyway.  Next?

Match #2 is one of the more overrated I can remember, but it was important in setting up one of the biggest feuds of the year.  World Tag Champs The Quebecers defended against Bret and Owen Hart.  At the time I found this an oddly contrived setup.  Bret was rather above the Tag belts at this point and it seemed clear this would just be leading to the Bret vs. Owen feud.  Sure enough that's exactly what happened.  Bret took several minutes of Quebecer offense but opted not to tag in a fresh Owen.  Finally Bret's knee was so injured the referee stopped the match (also very contrived - why not just have the Quebecers pin Bret with a rollup or something?), and Owen went ballistic, attacking his brother and turning heel.  The match worked alright as an angle but really wasn't much of a wrestling match.

We returned to Throwaway City next, as I-C Champ Razor Ramon defended against IRS (one of the weaker perennial I-C contenders).  I never saw much chemistry between these two, so this was two-star fare at best.

The World Title match was next, as Yokozuna faced The Undertaker in a Casket Match.  Going into this I was very excited to see Taker finally get another Title shot after over two years, and I actually thought he might take it down.  As it turned out I'd be disappointed with the result, and nauseated by the match itself.  This was one of the worst-ever World Title matches, featuring slow-motion brawling, cartoonishly excessive overbooking (Ten, count them, TEN midcard heels would interfere on Yokozuna's behalf), and a laughably bad aftermath.  Taker was shut into the casket and his "ghost" would rise from the arena floor and ascend to the ceiling.  Said "ghost" was of course Marty Janetty (who incidentally is about 9 inches shorter and a hundred pounds lighter than Mark Callaway), and said "ascension" was accomplished through the use of clearly visible harness wires.  Good lord this was campy and idiotic.

Wait, how'd he end up on the TV screens? 
They couldn't possibly have prerecorded this bit, could they?

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1993)

The WWF roster in 1993 may have been razor-thin (Razor, get it?), but I'll be damned if this show wasn't a lot of fun....

Royal Rumble 1993 - Arco Arena - 1/24/93

The 1993 edition had no right to be as good a show as it was.  I watched this show live on PPV, mostly for the Shawn Michaels-Marty Janetty clash, and was pretty captivated start to finish.  Despite a very depleted roster the WWF managed a fun Rumble PPV.

The opener was another fast-paced tag match pitting WWF newcomers The Steiners vs. The Beverly Brothers.  While nothing amazing, this was a highly entertaining way to open the show and showcase what the Steiners could do.  The match-ending Frankensteiner was brutal-looking.

Next up was the aforementioned, eagerly-anticipated I-C Title match between the former Rockers, as Marty Janetty returned to the ring to avenge his betrayal a year earlier at the hands of Shawn Michaels.  Adding to the intrigue was an angle taped a few weeks prior, where Marty attacked Shawn in the ring and swung Shawn's mirror at him.  Shawn threw his manager Sherri Martel in the way and Marty accidentally smashed the mirror over her head.  Sherri was at ringside for this match in a neutral corner, and by the end of the bout would turn on Shawn and attempt to help Marty win.  Her interference backfired however and Shawn retained the belt.  This match featured less high-flying than I expected but it made sense given the nature of the feud.  A very solid I-C Title match.

Third was a big-man match between the Big Bossman and the returning Bam Bam Bigelow.  Both of these behemoths could move fantastically well for their size, and this match is very much worth a watch.  Bam Bam won a hard-fought match on his way to a mini-push.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1992)

1992, the year in which arguably the greatest Rumble match of all time took place....

Royal Rumble 1992 - Knickerbocker Arena - 1/19/92

Now we're talkin'.  The '92 edition of the Rumble was primarily a one-match show, but what a match!  Late '91 saw some major additions to the WWF roster in Ric Flair and Sid Justice, and both guys were immediately thrust into the WWF Title picture, along with The Undertaker and the returning Randy Savage.  Taker had won the belt from Hogan at Survivor Series and lost it right back.  Since both title changes occurred amid controversy the Championship was held up and President Jack Tunney announced that a new Champion would be crowned by winning the '92 Royal Rumble.  The field was easily the most stacked in history at that time (and for many years since).  But before we get to this extraordinary main event...

The show opened similarly to the '91 Rumble, with an undercard tag match.  This time the Orient Express faced The New Foundation of Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart.  The New Foundation won a decently worked match with a Rocket Launcher after 17 minutes.  I had pretty high hopes for this new team but unfortunately they were saddled with terrible ring gear and the company never got behind them.  Then Neidhart disappeared from TV and Owen was left to team with Koko B. Ware while still wearing Neidhart's puffy pants.  Anyway, this was a decent opener but nowhere near the level of the OX-Rockers match from 1991.

Up next was the Intercontinental Championship - new Champion The Mountie had just defeated Bret Hart for the belt two days earlier at a house show.  Roddy Piper was then subbed in for the infirm Hart to challenge for the belt at the Rumble, and he soundly took down The Mountie with a sleeper hold to capture his first WWF belt.  Piper would also appear in the Rumble match itself, making him eligible to win both singles Championships on the same night.  This was a pretty one-sided throwaway match but it was nice to see Piper finally win some WWF gold.

Dead Man vs. Immortal

A bafflingly long stinker was next, as The Beverly Brothers (formerly the Minnesota Wrecking Crew II in the AWA) defeated The Bushwhackers.  Why this got fifteen minutes I don't know.  Just like two years earlier Luke and Butch stunk the place up in an ungodly long match.

The Tag belts were up for grabs in the semi-main slot, as Hawk and Animal defended against The Natural Disasters.  This was standard big-man brawling and led to the Disasters winning by countout.  The LOD would drop the belts at a house show only a few weeks later before disappearing from WWF TV for a little while.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1991)

Oh good, Hogan wins again....

Royal Rumble 1991 - Miami Arena - 1/19/91

The '91 Rumble was the first WWF PPV I ever ordered.  Why I chose that particular event to jump in the water I'm not sure.  It wasn't good though. 

The show opened amazingly, with an absolutely killer tag match - The Rockers vs. The Orient Express.  I know on paper that doesn't sound mindblowing, but trust me.  This was nineteen minutes of just spectacular action, and I think this was the moment when I really started to appreciate The Rockers, Shawn in particular.  I'd go so far as to call this the 1991 Match of the Year.  I shit you not.

It was kinda all downhill from there though.  Next was The Big Bossman vs. The Barbarian.  This wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good either.  Passable.  Bossman was still feuding with Bobby Heenan and his henchman after Rick Rude's sudden departure from the company.  This was something to keep him busy until his mini-feud with Mr. Perfect.  Bossman won after 14 just okay minutes.

Third was one of the sloppiest brawls I can remember, as WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior defended against Sgt. Slaughter, in the first WWF Title defense on a Rumble card.  I figured Warrior would mow over Slaughter and resume feuding with Randy Savage for the belt, being that they hadn't yet wrestled since the start of their rivalry (Savage was obviously not cleared to wrestle but I didn't know that).  What happened instead was that Savage smashed Warrior across the skull with his sceptre (a pretty brutal-looking spot I must admit), allowing Slaughter to win the WWF Title and become one of the worst Champions ever (Even in 1991 I recognized on some level the concept of devaluing a championship.), and setting up probably the weakest WrestleMania main event in history.  This was pretty awful stuff.

How pissed was Warrior at losing the belt?  THIS pissed.

It was followed by two throwaway matches - The Mountie vs. Tito Santana in a quick squash that didn't belong on a PPV, and Ted Dibiase & Virgil vs. Dusty & Dustin Rhodes.  This would be Dusty's last televised WWF match, and I believe it was Dustin's only match in the company until he returned in 1995 as Goldust.  Despite Team Dibiase's win, Ted was upset with Virgil's performance and berated him after the match.  Virgil had taken all the abuse he could stand, and blasted Dibiase with the Million Dollar belt, turning babyface.

The 1991 Rumble match was easily my least favorite to date.  I had four wrestlers I was rooting for (The stip about the Rumble winner earning a WWF Title match was not yet introduced so it was anyone's ballgame.): Randy Savage, Undertaker, Hawk and Animal, none of whom lasted more than 14 minutes.  After all four of them were out of contention (Randy Savage actually no-showed the match after costing Warrior the belt) I more or less tuned out, as it was clear Hulk Hogan would be winning his second-straight Rumble match.  Yawn.  Hogan eliminated Brian Knobbs (gee I wonder why Knobbs got to be in the final four) and Earthquake to once again reign dominant over the entire WWF roster.  This match was notable however for two men exceeding the 44-minute longevity mark: Greg Valentine and Rick Martel.

Oh super, two of my picks just eliminated another one of my picks.
Thanks a lot, Legion of Dicks!

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1990)

The 1990 Rumble offered a chance to elevate a new top heel, but they didn't take it....

Royal Rumble 1990 - Orlando Arena - 1/21/90

Here's where they started to solidify the format of the Rumble PPVs.  The 1990 edition was the first show that felt like a full PPV lineup at least.  The roster was deep enough for four undercard matches plus a pretty stacked Rumble bout.  Nothing on this show was exactly good and the ending pissed me off to no end, but at least they were ironing out the format kinks.

The opening match was a rematch from 'Mania V which wasn't any good the first time - The Bushwhackers vs. The Rougeaus.  The difference here was these two teams were given over thirteen minutes.  Yikes.  I don't think Butch and Luke ever had a good WWF match, which was a shame given their pre-WWF body of work as sadistic heels.  The Rougeaus had this match in hand as Raymond put Butch in a Boston Crab to set up Jacques' knee drop, but Luke tripped Jacques and the Bushwhackers hit their battering ram finish for the win.

Next was Brutus Beefcake vs. "The Genius" Lanny Poffo, eleven minutes of nondescript brawling ending in a wacky double disqualification after a ref bump.  Beefcake had the match won but Mr. Perfect came out to help Poffo, hitting Beefcake with a Perfect-Plex (which doesn't make sense unless you're trying to pin someone with it).  The ref woke up and threw the match out amid the chaos.  Not much to write home about here either.

The one strong undercard match was third, as Greg Valentine and Ronnie Garvin faced off in a Submission match.  This was better than it really had any right to be.  About sixteen minutes of solid work, featuring a lot of submission moves and counters, with Garvin eventually getting the win after hitting Valentine with his own shin guard and submitting him with the Scorpion Deathlock.  Strangely Garvin was gone from the company not long after.

Ah, the ol' Figure Four Rollover.

Fourth was another forgettable encounter - Jim Duggan vs. The Big Bossman.  Ten minutes of tedious brawling ending in a DQ when Slick tossed Bossman his nightstick and the referee saw him use it on Duggan.  Duggan was long since irrelevant by this point.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1989)

The first proper Rumble show as we know it today - 30 men instead of 20, and on PPV....

Royal Rumble 1989 - The Summit - 1/15/89

Given the positive reception for the '88 TV special, the WWF expanded the event in 1989 and put it on PPV.  The Rumble field was increased to 30 participants and featured all the company's top stars.  The '89 show on paper looks like a one-match card, which was kind of a trend early on.  The Rumble itself was so stacked there wasn't much talent left over for the rest of the show.

The opening match ended up sort of stealing the show though, as The Hart Foundation and Jim Duggan took on The Rougeau Brothers and Dino Bravo in a 2/3 Falls match.  This was fast-paced and very well-worked.  A strong opener.

Wait, was this a 4-on-3 handicap match?
What's the camera guy doing in their corner?

The big non-wrestling segment of this show was a posedown between The Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude, designed to start their long feud.  As with all posedowns this was silly, but business picked up when Rude whacked Warrior with a workout bar.

Next was a throwaway Women's Title match, as Rockin' Robin defended against Judy Martin.  This would be the last high-profile Women's Title bout for several years.

An odd heel vs. heel match was next as King Harley Race, recently disowned by Bobby Heenan, defended his crown against Haku.  Pretty nondescript stuff, as the aging Race was phased out of active competition.

The History of WWE Royal Rumble (1988)

From the wrestling-addicted putz who brought you The History of WWE WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series comes the Enuffa.com History of WWE Royal Rumble!

The annual tradition that generally garners one of WWE's best buyrates of the year, the Royal Rumble is considered the official kickoff to WrestleMania season.  Angles and feuds are set up at the January PPV that lead directly to WWE's biggest show.  It all centers around the 30-man (or occasionally 40-man) Rumble match, where the participants draw numbers to determine their order of entry.  Two men start the match and the rest are added at regular intervals (usually either 90 seconds or two minutes).  The object is to eliminate your opponents by throwing them over the top rope.  The last man standing is guaranteed a WWE Title match at WrestleMania.

The Rumble is usually one of the most fun matches of the year, as it's heavy on surprises and twists, and superstars are created or solidified.  This match type more than any other lends itself to group viewing and betting pools (For example my friends and I each draw numbers and whichever wrestlers correspond to our numbers, that's who we bet on).

Initially the Rumble match was simply a novelty, and the first edition was offered on free cable as counterprogramming to the NWA's Bunkhouse Stampede PPV.  Once again Vince tried to put the kibosh on Jim Crockett's PPV hopes, and once again Crockett's show flopped (In retaliation Crockett ran the free Clash of the Champions event opposite WrestleMania IV).  The inaugural Rumble match only featured 20 wrestlers, and no main event stars.  The following year it was expanded to 30 men and broadcast on PPV, and a few years later the stakes were raised by making the Royal Rumble winner the automatic top contender for WrestleMania.

The best Rumble matches tend to be the ones heaviest on star power, as the field of realistic winners is larger and less predictable.  But there have certainly been exceptions to that rule. 

Here now is the History of WWE Royal Rumble!

Royal Rumble 1988 - Copps Coliseum - 1/24/88

As I said before, the first Rumble was a free TV special and mostly featured midcard bouts.  It was the brainchild of Pat Patterson, who test-ran the concept a few times on house shows with enough positive feedback to make the match a televised event.

The show opened with a singles bout between Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat.  This was fine but ran a bit long, especially given the DQ ending.  It was the first instance I ever saw of the fans chanting "Rudy Rudy RUUU-DAAAY", which I found amusing.  Nothing too memorable, but it was an okay match.

The 2025 Enuffa.com Year-End Pro Wrestling Awards

Welcome to the 12th Annual Pro Wrestling Year-End Awards, here at Enuffa.com!  It is insane to me that I've been doin' this thing for TWELVE YEARS now.

2025 was a pretty crazy, tumultuous year for the wrestling biz.  WWE RAW found a new home on Netflix, Smackdown is back on USA, WWE PPVs are now on ESPN's streaming service which costs $30 a month instead of Peacock's $5, WWE began a parasitic symbiotic relationship with TNA and annexed purchased AAA, and AEW started their new TV deal worth $185 million a year ($100 more than their old deal), making them the second-most profitable wrestling company of all time and ensuring their solvency until at least the end of 2027 (Though grifters and fraudcasters are still pretending otherwise).  Their programming was also added to a whole new platform, HBO Max, vastly increasing their availability in the US and globally.

Both WWE and NJPW propped up ticket sales on the backs of retiring legends.  The latter treated their Ace with reverence and appreciation, while the former tried to shake things up with an ill-conceived heel turn no one really wanted, the catalyst for said heel turn disappeared from TV immediately afterward, and the whole storyline was so poorly received they reversed course less than six months later.

WWE attempted to cockblock multiple AEW PPVs, first by counterprogramming them with NXT specials that died a death in the ratings, and then with actual main roster shows like Saturday Night's Main Event which also did the worst number since the show's revival, and their ESPN Unlimited debut Wrestlepalooza, which garnered mixed reviews at best.  WWE dropped this strategy after that.

WWE also continued to jack up ticket prices to make up for the fact that overall sales have begun to slump, claiming record profits despite numerous sharp attendance drops in various markets.  AEW continued to struggle with weekly ticket sales, making slight improvements over 2024 but booking mostly smaller venues for Dynamite and Collision.  However their PPV attendance and buyrates remained strong, mostly up from last year.  TNA saw some of their best-ever attendance figures, mostly due to the PPV appearances of WWE and ex-WWE legends, and signed a new TV deal with AMC for 2026.  CMLL had a great year in terms of business, racking up numerous sellouts with Mistico continuing to prove himself the company MVP.  NJPW drew some of the weakest crowds in decades as they struggled to connect their audience to the latest crop of stars, but there is still hope after a sold-out WrestleKingdom 20 attendance.

WWE began openly aligning itself with the MAGA administration (inviting racist "comedian" Tony Hinchcliffe to a WrestleMania weekend event that went so poorly all recordings of it were pulled down) and brought accused sex trafficking accessory Brock Lesnar back into the company, alienating much of its fanbase and pissing away a lot of the goodwill they'd built up after Triple H took over Creative.  Even WWE Legend Mick Foley cut ties with the company.  AEW restored much of the goodwill they'd lost in the aftermath of the CM Punk fiasco by focusing on stars like Hangman Adam Page and Will Ospreay, and not trying to sign every free agent WWE let go.  Instead AEW additions included former independent talents like Megan Bayne, Kevin Knight, Thekla, and former TNA talents Speedball Mike Bailey and Josh Alexander.  WWE on the other hand snapped up every ex-AEW talent they could, signing Penta, Rey Fenix, Ricky Starks, Mariah May, Rusev and Aleister Black, none of which have been pushed very hard (Starks and May are still in NXT under new names). 

In-ring quality was night and day between the Big Two.  WWE personalities and podcasters now openly poo-poo the idea of good wrestling being important (though they still complain about the existence of star ratings when someone else gets high marks), while AEW delivered some of the best matches and PPV events in company history.

I'll get into more detail as we go through the awards, so let's get to it....

 

Oscar Film Journal: The Front Page (1931)

Welcome to another Oscar Film Journal entry, here at Enuffa.com!  Just getting back into the swing of things and chipping away at the list, and we're still in the early talkies era, with an adaptation of the hit Broadway comedy The Front Page.  

Directed by Lewis Milestone and produced by Howard Hughes, The Front Page takes place almost entirely in a Chicago press room, where reporters from different newspapers await the impending hanging of a convicted murderer whose death sentence may or may not be valid.  The city's sheriff and mayor are up for re-election in a few days and have clearly used this public execution as political capital.  When the convict escapes thanks to the sheriff's incompetence, one of the reporters hides him in the press room in the hopes of scoring an exclusive interview.  Meanwhile that same reporter is on his way out of the business, having gotten engaged to his sweetheart, with plans to move to New York to become an advertising rep.  His unscrupulous boss however will go to great lengths to convince/force him to stay, not wanting to lose his ace reporter.

Oscar Film Journal: The Love Parade (1929)

Welcome to the first Oscar Film Journal entry of 2026!  I did forty of these things in 2025 and hope to beat that record this year.  Let's get started....

Today's subject is one of the earliest Best Picture nominees, from the third annual Oscars (1929/1930).  Premiering in November 1929 and directed by Ernst Lubitsch in his first attempt at a talkie, the film is The Love Parade, a pre-Code musical starring Maurice Chevalier and a debuting Jeanette McDonald.  

The Love Parade is about a military attaché to a foreign embassy stationed in Paris, who gets sent back to his own country of Sylvania (Wait, you mean the same fictional country later featured in Duck Soup??) as punishment for a slew of scandalous affairs, ordered to report to Queen Louise, herself a confirmed bachelorette.  The pair of course hit it off right away; she is intrigued by his serial philandering and he in turn is fascinated by her disinterest in marriage.  They have a torrid affair and agree to wed, with the understanding that he will become a Prince Consort, a figurehead with no real power or responsibilities.  But almost immediately he's unable to come to grips with his newfound lack of purpose, and the relationship quickly falls apart.

NJPW WrestleKingdom 20 Review: Hiroshi Tanahashi's Final Match

The 20th annual NJPW WrestleKingdom show is in the books, and it ran the gamut, going from dismal to fantastic over the course of four hours.  It will be most remembered for the retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi, but also for the long-awaited crowning of Yota Tsuji as the company's new face.  It was your textbook two-match show, like so many old WWE PPVs where the undercard was mostly skippable but the big matches delivered.  Let's examine the Tokyo Dome show that was....

So yeah, thinking about this show frustrates me in a way because if Gedo had just booked a few noteworthy undercard bouts we'd be talking about WK20 as a slam dunk.  As I said in my preview, if any card should've been assembled to hook new and lapsed fans alike who tuned in for Tanahashi's final match, this was the card.  But instead Gedo shoved everyone outside the top three matches into clusterfuck bouts and as a result no one really got time to shine.  If I'm a former NJPW viewer who bought a ticket to see Tanahashi retire, no one on this undercard is catching my attention other than Tsuji and Takeshita.  I will go to my grave not understanding the thought process behind this lineup.

NJPW WrestleKingdom 20 Preview & Predictions

This Sunday is the 20th annual NJPW WrestleKingdom show, and this year it's built around the retirement of one of the all-time greats, the man who almost singlehandedly saved New Japan Pro Wrestling, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Yes, the company's greatest Ace is hanging up his boots and focusing solely on being NJPW President.  To mark the occasion he'll be wrestling his greatest rival, Kazuchika Okada, and the Tokyo Dome will be completely sold out at nearly 50,000 fans.  Seems like a great opportunity to hook a lot of new viewers by showcasing the full-time roster in a slew of killer matches.  Which begs the question: Why in the hell didn't they do that??

Aside from the legendary main event, there will be an IWGP World/Global Title match pitting Konosuke Takeshita against the company's presumed new Ace, Yota Tsuji.  But aside from that there's nary a big match on this show, and I'm beyond baffled by it.  No Jr. Title match, no Tag Team Title match, no big singles bouts for Finlay, Umino, Uemura, Shingo, Hiromu, Kidd, ZSJ, Newman, Oleg or numerous other young stars who could really use the opportunity in front of the largest audience NJPW's had in years.  Instead everyone is crammed into multi-man bouts with the exception of newcomer Aaron Wolf, an Olympic judoka who's become a mainstream star in Japan.  Unfortunately from the sounds of it he's a charisma vacuum thus far.  Maybe he'll step up in the NEVER Openweight Title match against his mentor Evil, but as of now it sounds like another Gable Steveson scenario.  Why this guy gets a big singles match but the other names I mentioned do not, I'm sure as fuck I dunno.  You have the chance to deliver one of the great Tokyo Dome shows and instead it's mostly a WrestleMania 27-type clusterfuck.

Anyway let's look at this card....

The History of NJPW WrestleKingdom (WK19)

January 4th weekend 2025 gave us a pair of Tokyo Dome shows, one traditional WrestleKingdom PPV, the other a special cross-promotional show featuring not only NJPW stars but guests from AEW, CMLL, ROH and Stardom.  The former drew a robust 24,000 fans and felt a bit more like the WK shows of a decade ago....

While not quite recapturing the magic of NJPW's recent golden age, WK19 did feel like a step in the right direction, with a big focus on the younger generation of stars and a feeling of commitment to the future.  There wasn't a bona fide Match of the Year on this show but there were a few matches just below that level and plenty of drama in the main event.

The show kicked off with a 4-way tag team ladder match for the Jr. Tag belts, with Intergalactic Jet Setters defending against Catch 2/2, Bullet Club War Dogs and Ichiban Street Boys.  This was a pretty standard ladder match with lots of action and big spots, some of which didn't land.  I think I'd have preferred a straight 4-way like the openers of WrestleKingdoms past.  As I expected, the one team who hadn't held these titles came out on top, with Kosei Fujita grabbing the belts for his team.  Solid opener.  

AEW Worlds End 2025 Review: MJF Regains the Triple B

The final AEW PPV of 2025 is in the books, and it was another very good show with some historic happenings and some excellent wrestling.  Two new champions were crowned on the men's side and a few ongoing angles were furthered.  Let's get into it....

The main card opened with the long-anticipated first-time match of Kazuchika Okada vs. Konosuke Takeshita.  This ended up feeling very much like a first-time match, where they were saving some stuff for later.  But it was an excellent back-and-forth match for most of its 17 minutes, and then it suffered from a very bad finish.  They started off methodically but built to an exciting exchange of signature moves.  After a nearfall off a Poison Rana, Takeshita sent Okada into the corner, where he retrieved a screwdriver from the turnbuckle.  Referee Paul Turner had to make himself look ridiculous to pretend he didn't see Okada hit Takeshita with it, turning around for no reason at all.  Okada scored the pin and hid the screwdriver to advance to the finals.  This just looked bad, and if they were going to have a screwy finish to a Continental Classic match it should've been something more surreptitious.  Helluva match till the ending.  ****

The History of NJPW WrestleKingdom (WK18)

WrestleKingdom 18  was a very good show but I have to consider it a mild disappointment overall.  Too many matches didn't get as much time as they should, even one of the main events, and it was missing that top Match of the Year candidate almost every Tokyo Dome show has had since 2013. That's not to say there wasn't a lot to enjoy here though.

The main card kicked off with the Jr. Tag championship, as Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney faced Catch 2/2 in another rematch from last summer.  TJP, who had been stuffed into a casket in the last bout between these teams, came out dressed as a mythical Filipino creature called Aswang, or a cannabalistic shapeshifter, which was a little hokey but looked kinda cool.  These teams had a crisp back-and-forth bout lasting close to ten minutes before TJP sprayed Moloney with red mist and Catch 2/2 hit double knees to regain the titles.  Solid match to start things off.  

Next was the first of multiple bouts that got shortchanged, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi.  The technician and the new NJPW President exchanged a ton of grappling, reversals, submissions, etc. and packed a lot into their nine minutes, but five more would've taken this match to the next level.  The two men went back and forth with rollups until Tana finally held Zack down for the three.  Very good but could've been so much more.  

AEW Worlds End 2025 Preview & Predictions

2025 has been yet another banner year of AEW PPVs, featuring once again some of the best top-to-bottom wrestling shows these old eyes have ever seen.  And it sure feels like Tony Khan and company plan to close the year with a bang by the looks of this Worlds End lineup.  

Side note: How fuckin' cool is this poster?  Looks like an Avengers movie. 

The third annual Continental Classic is drawing to a close and it was another fantastic tournament, featuring a slew of bangers and one legit Match of the Year contender in Kyle Fletcher vs. Speedball Mike Bailey.  Despite the absence of the injured Will Ospreay and the substitution of Jack Perry in place of Darby Allin, they pulled off a helluva tourney.  And the semis and finals are still to come on Saturday, including one of the more anticipated first-time matchups in recent memory.  But we're also getting a HUGE four-way for the AEW Men's Title, the first defense of the new Women's Tag belts, and a slobberknocker of a Women's World Title match.  Let's take a look!

Mixed Nuts Mayhem: Toni Storm/Mark Briscoe/Orange Cassidy/Roderick Strong vs. Marina Shafir/Claudio Castagnoli/Daniel Garcia/Wheeler Yuta

This one was just added.  You have to respect the super deep cut reference to a mid-90s Christmas movie that flopped hard at the box office.  Anyway, this will be a fun clusterfuck.  They set up a Toni Storm-Marina Shafir feud on Wednesday in a Marina vs. Mina match where Marina looked more comfortable on her own than she ever has before.  She seems to have finally turned the corner as someone who can hold her own rather than just be Moxley's heater.  I'll be interested to see this as a one-on-one match.  But for now we have a party match full of weapons I imagine.  I think the heels take this one to help set up the aforementioned singles match between the two women.

Pick: Death Riders

Continental Classic Semi: Konosuke Takeshita vs. Kazuchika Okada

I'm kinda baffled they didn't engineer this to be the tournament final, but the important thing is, we're getting it, it's gonna be fuckin' sick, and it won't be the last time.  I'm actually not sure who to pick for this tournament.  I think Okada winning again would be kinda pointless, we've already seen that and I'd rather see someone else elevated by this tournament.  My preference for a final would be Takeshita vs. Fletcher, and that could happen, but I could also see Okada beating Takeshita in their first meeting to set up a rematch.  Fletcher already beat Okada in the tournament block, so if Okada-Fletcher ends up as the final it seems like Okada probably wins there.  Maybe Okada wins the tourney but Takeshita takes the Unified Title off him in March or something.  Or, maybe Takeshita wins this whole thing and becomes the new Continental Champion (Okada would remain International Champion) so they can have a unification match later.

Pick: Okada