What the World Was Watching: WWF Royal Rumble 1994

Vince McMahon and Ted DiBiase are commentating, live from Providence, Rhode Island. This was DiBiase’s return to the WWF after leaving following SummerSlam ’93 and suffering a career-ending neck injury in All Japan Pro Wrestling. According to thehistoryofwwe.com, a sellout crowd of 14,500 fans attended the event. It drew a buyrate of 0.90 (200,000 buys), a massive decline from the 1.25 buyrate (300,000 buys) of the previous year’s event. This was the lowest number of purchases for a Royal Rumble card since 1989 when that show drew 165,000 buys in a less accessible pay-per-view environment.

Opening Contest: Tatanka (3-0) beats Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Luna Vachon) (2-0) with a flying body press at 8:12:

Bigelow was the substitute for Ludvig Borga. It is a suitable replacement because of the feud that these two had the year prior that never received a proper, televised blowoff. Tatanka shows off a new look, coming to the ring with a big headdress, wearing paint on his face, and no longer having a red streak through his hair. The latter was done because Tatanka said coloring his hair was starting to thin it. For his part, Bigelow is clean shaven, looking younger but less fierce than usual. The crowd is hot and both men oblige in the beginning, doing some high-impact sequences like Tatanka trying to do a flying sunset flip and Bigelow blocking it with a sit-out splash. Like the year prior against the Big Bossman, though, Bigelow sucks some of the momentum out of the match with a long bearhug. Tatanka fights out to score a near-fall from a powerslam and there is a nice simultaneous body press sequence off the ropes that causes a double knockout. The Providence crowd likes Bigelow, popping for him stopping Tatanka’s warpath dance with a kick to the back of the head. However, he misses a moonsault and Tatanka musters the strength to win with a flying body press. Due to the replacement, the WWF reverted to putting the babyface over but it seems likely Tatanka would have beaten Borga anyway. The match had some fun spots and the crowd’s atmosphere added something to it. Rating: **¾

A video package gives background for the Quebecers-Harts Tag Team title match. Footage from Madison Square Garden shows that the Quebecers regained the titles when Pierre pinned the 1-2-3 Kid after the assisted top rope senton bomb.

Todd Pettengill interviews Bret Hart & Owen Hart. Bret says that he and his brother are confident they will win the belts tonight and later give title shots to the Steiner Brothers and Marty Jannetty & the 1-2-3 Kid. Owen tells Bret he is going to make him proud and is excited to get a big match for the titles. The rewriting of history of Owen never getting a Tag Team title shot before is jarring because he got a few with High Energy. But none of those were on pay-per-view.

WWF Tag Team Championship Match: The Quebecers (Champions w/Johnny Polo) (0-1) defeat Bret Hart & Owen Hart via referee stoppage because of an injury to Bret at 16:46:

Bret Hart and Jacques Rougeau come full circle after not facing each other at The Royal Rumble two years ago because Bret dropped the Intercontinental Championship shortly before and was kept off the card with a “104-degree fever.” Bret goes back to more of his traditional look, sporting some new black tights with pink as a secondary color and the white seemingly splashed on by Jackson Pollock. Bret and Owen have some cool moves, incorporating a Demolition Decapitation variation that uses Bret’s second rope elbow drop on Jacques for a near-fall. Owen is too overanxious about winning, getting Bret beat up in the Quebecers corner by trying to interject when he is in peril. When he does get tagged he becomes a one-man army and has the titles won with a Sharpshooter on Jacques before Pierre intervenes. When it looks like the champions are on the verge of defeat after another hot tag to Bret, Polo opens the middle rope during a Hart double team and Bret crashes to the arena floor, injuring his left knee. The Quebecers are merciless in targeting the body part, double teaming Bret on the floor, using a chair, and Polo’s putter. The crowd is incensed by this, although a flaw of doing that on the hard camera side of the ring is that half of the audience cannot see what is going on. Owen intervenes to prevent Bret submitting to a Boston Crab by Jacques and Bret avoids an attempt by the Quebecers to do their assisted top rope senton bomb to his knee. However, instead of crawling over to tag Owen, he attempts to put Pierre in the Shapshooter. He applies it on the canvas but when he turns it his knee buckles and referee Tim White calls for the bell, awarding the Quebecers the match due to injury. The storytelling in this match was amazing. Owen’s physical mannerisms were what one would expect in a big, life altering situation and the knee injury was a great way to get heat on the Quebecers and create a divisive issue between Bret and Owen going forward. Rating: ***½

Following Howard Finkel’s announcement of White’s decision, Owen starts kicking the ropes in frustration. When White leaves the ring, Owen yells at Bret as Bret struggles to get to his feet. Bret finally gets up and all Owen has to do to make his heel turn official is to kick Bret’s injured knee, causing Bret to go down on the canvas to a chorus of boos. On his way to the locker room, Owen tells the camera that Bret was “too damn selfish” and should have tagged him. WWF officials pour into the ring to help Bret, who looks like he will be in no condition to compete in the Royal Rumble later. Ray Rougeau tries to get in the ring for an interview but Pat Patterson tells him to get lost. Bret is carried off on a stretcher.

Pettengill does a locker room interview with Owen, who repeats that Bret is selfish. It is a good promo, featuring a botch where he screams about “Kicking Bret’s leg out of his leg.” Owen talks about how he is going to win the Royal Rumble.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Razor Ramon (Champion) (2-0) pins Irwin R. Schyster (2-1) after the Razor’s Edge at 11:46:

IRS does a funny promo on the way to ring about how all the tax cheats in Rhode Island are in the Providence Civic Center tonight. Jim Ross and Gorilla Monsoon do the commentary as McMahon and DiBiase switch over to the Radio WWF broadcast. Ramon continues the flashy attire trend with babyfaces, wearing aqua gear. IRS stalls early and takes control after tossing Ramon over the top rope. He even adds a nuance to the “boot in the face spot when an opponent tries a top rope move” by landing on his feet and dropping an elbow onto Ramon. After Ramon fights out of a chinlock, referee Joey Marella is taken out by a Ramon Irish whip. IRS tries to use his briefcase but Ramon gets a hold of it and blasts his adversary, only to have no referee available to count. Ramon does not miss a beat by delivering a super backdrop suplex but Shawn Michaels runs in and hits him in the back of the head with his version of the Intercontinental Championship. IRS crawls over and covers, appearing to win the title. But before the tax auditors in Washington, D.C. can celebrate, referee Earl Hebner comes in and educates Marella about what happened, using the actual Intercontinental Championship Belt at ringside as evidence because IRS is holding up Michaels’ version of the title. Before any announcement of a restart is made, Ramon hits IRS with the Razor’s Edge and Marella counts that fall. The ending was convoluted but Hebner using some evidence to prove his argument to Marella was a nice touch. IRS has had his working boots on this week, not letting his matches devolve too much into rest hold fests. Rating: **½

After winning, Ramon poses with both Intercontinental title belts. What about his gold chains, though?

A video package recaps the Undertaker-Yokozuna feud over the WWF Championship.

Casket Match for the WWF Championship: Yokozuna (Champion w/Jim Cornette & Mr. Fuji) (2-0) beats the Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) (3-0) at 14:18:

This is the first time that the WWF Championship is being contested in a casket match. The combatants sell its no disqualification nature by braining each other with chairs and fighting for several minutes unimpeded on the arena floor. A title change seems imminent at the 7-minute mark after the Undertaker hits a DDT off the ropes and shoves Yokozuna in the casket. However, before he can shut the lid he is attacked by Crush, the Great Kabuki, Genichiro Tenryu, and Bam Bam Bigelow. Fuji grabs the urn as well but Bearer gets it back and it revives the Undertaker, who fights off everyone. Adam Bomb, Jeff Jarrett, Diesel, and the Headshrinkers hit the ring and it seems like no babyfaces in the locker room want to fight with the Undertaker, not even his All-American teammates from Survivor Series. When the Undertaker makes one last comeback, Yokozuna steals the urn from Bearer and clocks the Undertaker over the head with it, opening the urn and causing green smoke to pour out. McMahon explains that the smoke is the power of the urn. As that power dissipates, Bigelow and the Headshrinkers deliver their finishers from the top rope and the Undertaker is finally rolled into the casket, giving Yokozuna a victory on par with Sergeant Slaughter beating the Ultimate Warrior at The Royal Rumble in 1991. It was smart to have the heels gang up on the Undertaker but a lack of babyfaces fighting them off was unrealistic. The action before the heels poured into the ring was decent, though. Rating: *

The heels lock the casket after it is closed as the crowd watches in stunned silence. Before the casket can be wheeled backstage, green smoke comes out of it and the arena goes dark. The video board shows the Undertaker in the casket, giving a speech like he is Jesus Christ and how he will be born again. If left at that it would be fine enough but then there are electrical sounds and the Undertaker’s body is shown levitating from the video board to the ceiling (played by a local enhancement talent). All of this makes the heels high tail it out of town and Bearer is shown, urn in hand, by the casket raising the urn to the sky. He then wheels the casket to the locker room, which is now seemingly an empty vessel. One wonders how many illicit drugs it took to come up with this segment. It was poorly received then and now in some circles but whatever one’s view it was in keeping with the Undertaker’s mystical character and was memorable.

There is a montage of Royal Rumble promos. Randy Savage talks about crushing Crush on the way to a Rumble win, Jeff Jarrett says he is winning all the marbles, Tatanka discusses being the last one standing, Diesel is excited about facing the WWF champion at WrestleMania, Doink the Clown and Dink give a carbon copy promo from Pettengill’s Rumble reports about being excited, Shawn Michaels tosses his Intercontinental Championship belt aside and says tonight will be out with the old and in with the new, and Lex Luger says the winner will be him. These promos were not as exciting as previous years and this would be the last year a montage like this was done.

Bret Hart and Lex Luger win the Royal Rumble after eliminating each other at 55:08:

McMahon announces that WWF President Jack Tunney has ruled that entrants will be coming in every 90 seconds instead of two minutes because of time constraints. The Undertaker segment killed the crowd as they do not react much to the match starting between Scott Steiner, who draws #1, and Samu, who draws #2. Rick Steiner draws #3 but despite McMahon hyping a clash of the brothers, they do not fight. There were reports later that they were booked to do so but refused, angering WWF management. What saves the first third of the match from being a waste is Diesel receiving a monster push. He comes in at #7 and throws out Bart Gunn, Scott, Owen Hart, Kwang, Bob Backlund, Billy Gunn, and Virgil (substituting for Kamala) before Randy Savage shows up at #11. Virgil’s quick elimination is humorous as DiBiase calls back to their feud in 1991 and laughs at his old bodyguard’s misfortune. In the second third of the match it takes the collective efforts to Bam Bam Bigelow, Mabel, Crush, and Thurman Plugg to toss Diesel out. Shawn Michaels, who enters just before Diesel’s elimination, also lends a push at the end to help toss him. This booking gets Diesel over as the crowd chants his name on his way to the dressing room.

Kwang was one of the new stars that appeared due to injuries. His look leaves a lot to be desired as he wears a black mask, not in keeping with his vignettes. Replacing Ludvig Borga he does make an impact as he blinds Rick Steiner with green mist and contributes to Rick’s later elimination by Owen Hart. Plugg is another newcomer, replacing the 1-2-3 Kid after the Kid suffered a leg injury in a Royal Rumble match at Madison Square Garden earlier in the week. Plugg has neon tights with some checkered flags on them but does not make much of an impression. He lasts more than 20 minutes, though.

Like last year, this Rumble has a pacing issue as it starts to drag in the middle and last thirds. There are too many stars that are not over enough to carry it. After Diesel’s elimination in the middle the ring fills up and the crowd anxiously waits for someone to come in and do something, especially because heels have been having their way for most of the bout. The feuds that unfold in it are brief and quickly eliminate acts that are over. For example, Crush comes in at #13 and tosses Savage like a sack of garbage. Doink comes in at #14 and is beaten up by Diesel and Crush so that Bam Bam Bigelow can arrive at #15 and launch him down the aisle from a gorilla press position.

Backstage, Lex Luger is attacked by Genichiro Tenryu and the Great Kabuki but comes out later at #22 looking no worse for wear. That lack of adversity has been an issue with Luger’s push since SummerSlam and is why the crowd has not taken to him. This matters because no one comes out at #25, the first time that has happened since 1991, and the crowd assumes it is Bret Hart. That means when Bret limps to the ring at #27 he gets a monster pop. It is later revealed that Bastion Booger was the missing competitor because he ate too much. Bret gets the crowd’s sympathy by working on one leg. All Luger can counter that with is tossing Kabuki. Tenryu is a terrible mercenary for Yokozuna as well, barely going after Luger even when Luger tosses Crush later and working babyface at the end against Shawn Michaels and Fatu. Lasting until the final five, Tenryu is tossed by the collective efforts of Luger and Bret.

The best thing about the final stage of the match is Marty Jannetty hitting the ring at #29 and going after Michaels, nearly eliminating him. After Adam Bomb arrives at #30 there are 11 wrestlers in the ring. It takes more than five minutes for anyone to get eliminated. Bigelow gets attention for his elimination by doing a Flair flip in the corner and eating a Luger forearm on the apron. The final four ends up as Michaels, Fatu, Luger, and Bret. One wonders why Kabuki and Tenryu did not make the final four because of the mercenary storyline. Michaels getting the shine of that spot shows he is back in the WWF’s good graces. A short, fun final four tag match sees Bret and Luger dump Fatu and Michaels with backdrops. After a short slugfest, Bret leans against Luger on the ropes after escaping a body slam and they both fall out together. That was a risky spot because it would have been easy to mess up the timing but somehow both men pulled it off to look like they hit the floor simultaneously. And each credits the other for doing it. It is one the miracles of professional wrestling that is rarely discussed and warrants a small upgrade for the match. While this Rumble had good spots they were spaced out too far from each other. Once everyone started to get tossed at the end the match got into a good grove but it was too late. And like 1993 this match was an indictment of the WWF’s weakening roster, which would be even more pronounced in 1995. Rating: **¾

The WWF uses a referee debate between Earl Hebner and Joey Marella, the second that they have had tonight, to test whether Lex Luger or Bret Hart is more over with the crowd. Bret’s pop is enormous compared to Luger’s as fans rain down boos after the initial announcement of Luger as the winner After more than eight minutes of debate, co-winners are declared. Viewers are left uncertain over what will happen to name a number one contender to Yokozuna’s WWF title at WrestleMania. Before leaving the ring, Luger and Bret shake hands and when they exit, Bret looks like the better babyface by signing a fan’s poster on his way out.

The Last Word: After the Undertaker got screwed in the WWF Championship bout the WWF needed to hit a home run with the Royal Rumble but hit a double at best. Declaring Lex Luger and Bret Hart created a lot of debate on the schoolyards the following Monday but made fans who attended disappointed that there was not a clear winner. As of 2025 this was the last time that co-winners were declared in the Rumble, testimony to how poorly the idea was thought of in retrospect. In fact, when John Cena and Batista would accidentally eliminate each other in 2005 Vince McMahon would angrily march to the ring and demand it be restarted, blowing out both of his quads in the process. Despite the Rumble lacking much of a coherent story, the show was good from top to bottom. Everyone on the card was working hard in some way and the crowd was into everything until the WWF botched it by making the Undertaker’s beating at the end of the casket match too long. The pay-per-view showed that Bret Hart was back as a top babyface, and it got Diesel over as a monster, made Shawn Michaels look like a prick for interfering in the Intercontinental Championship match, and put a lot of heat on Owen Hart. Creatively the WWF is doing well but the bigger question is if that can get business turned around because sadly, the buyrate for this show was terrible.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for January 23!

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