Welcome to the first
With the ease of access to pretty much all of WWE’s back catalogue on the WWE Network I thought it would be cool to change it up a bit and do some classic reviews (with a twist). As some of you may know I have already done this with WWE in 2002 and 2003, but this time I’m doing it a little different.
In the past, I have reviewed all the PPV (from the year) but watched all Raw and Smackdown episodes too. This time as it’s 1995 I’m watching all PPV but in between, I’m watching WWE Raw, ECW’s Hardcore TV and WCW Nitro (when it starts in September)… Wish me luck!
The show opens with a stretched white limonene in the parking lot with a load of mid-card wrestlers hanging around. Pamela Anderson exits to a great reaction from the wrestlers and the crowd, why wouldn’t she. Anderson looked amazing in ’95, in fact, she still looks pretty great now!
Intercontinental Championship
Razor Ramon (C) vs Jeff Jarrett (w/ Roadie)
This is a solid opening bout for the PPV. Although, the first thing I notice is that everything seems far more colourful than I ever remember it being when I was a kid.
Jarrett was on fire around this time, he was looking to capture his first Intercontinental Championship, but was always on Raw in a dominant role. He was still teasing his newest song, which he was always about to perform but something stopped him. So, Roadie (who was the actual singer) was still a big part of Jarrett’s gimmick.
Although Ramon is ‘the bad guy’ the crowd love him, this could be because this year’s Royal Rumble is close to Razor’s home town. After a lot of feeling out and (too much) showboating the slow start to the match picks up. I had forgotten just how much of a huge powerhouse Ramon was back in the ’90s.
In a funny blooper, the match looks over when Razor injures his ankle, but Jarrett gets on the mic and says ‘No one wants to see JJ win’, Jeff then wants the match restarted. Jarrett locks in a figure-four for what seems like a long time, and the crowd are waiting for the Razor comeback. There is a huge pop for Razor attempting the Razor’s Edge, but it’s too much for his ankle. After a quick small package, Jeff Jarrett is the new Intercontinental Champion.
This was a great opening match to set the pace of the show.
Backstage: Steph Wiand is waiting for Jeff Jarrett to get post-match comments. Crosses over to Todd Pettengill in Pamela Anderson’s dressing room where she is getting gifts, cards and flowers from an endless stream of wrestlers. They finally go back to Jarret and he is an absolute whirlwind, shouting ‘Ain’t I Great!’
IRS (w/ The Million Dollar Man) vs The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer)
FunFact: IRS is not only the son-in-law of Blackjack Mulligan, brother-in-law of Barry Windham but he is also the father of the former Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas.
Even back in 1995, the Undertaker’s gong had the crowd on their feet. This was before all the gimmick swaps, and dilution, before he was posting selfies on Twitter, so The Undertaker was still genuinely eerie and the man was a mystery.
There is an old saying ‘There are only two things guaranteed in life, you die and you pay taxes.
Although The Undertaker is slow and methodical he is completely smooth in everything he does, it’s crazy to think how much ‘Takers style has changed over the years and he somehow became faster the older he got.
I wonder, what The Undertaker called ‘Old-School’ in 1995 when it was actually old school?
The match itself is great, ‘Taker no-sells 90% for IRS’s moves, is beatdown by Schyster druids and hit with everything IRS has, Undertaker still sits up. There needs to be a mention for Bearer who is working hard on the outside. Undertaker hits a chokeslam seemingly out of nowhere.
Overall a great match, I had forgotten how mesmerising The Undertaker was when he was originally around.
After the match ‘King Kong Bundy’ comes out and stands nose to nose with Undertaker, and IRS steals (or should that be repossessed) the urn.
Backstage: They show pre-recorded interviews with Diesel and Bret Hart. Diesel just says “Not now”, and Hart isn’t very talkative either. Although neither gives any insight into the match, it shows they are ultra-focused on their upcoming WWF Championship match.
WWF Championship
Diesel (C) vs Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart
FunFact: Diesel became a Grand Slam Champion in one single year winning all three major titles of that era (Tag Team, Intercontinental, World Championship)
Diesel’s entrance in this match, although simple (smashing glass) was cool to watch. He actually won the WWE Championship in record time at a Madison Square Garden house show beating Bob Buckland in less than a minute. There is still (as far as I know) no definitive answer to why he was beaten in 8 seconds. I understand why WWF had Buckland drop the title to Diesel, even why it was at a house show, but no reason why it was one move and done?
This match was going to be all about ‘power vs technique’, it’s all Hart in the early going. Bret Hart is in a different realm to Diesel, his moves are so crisp and precise it’s a pleasure to watch him work. This is highlighted even more when Diesel is on the comeback and seems to fumble a lot.
I personally don’t think there is a true heel in this match, but it looks like Hart is working more heel tactics, using the five count, and even using his wrist tape to tie up Diesel. There is a lot of back and forward in this one, and it looks to be the makings of a great match.
Unfortunately, it all falls apart, first Shawn Michaels comes out to attack Diesel, this you would think would cause a disqualification but this doesn’t happen. Michaels is taken out and the match continues. It’s not long before Own Hart comes out to attack Bret, and there is still no disqualification. Earl Hebner (referee) wants this one to continue.
Eventually, Hebner is knocked out and the flood gates open for everyone to come down and attack everyone else. It’s only when Bret Hart, Diesel, Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Jarrett, Roadie and Bob Buckland are in the ring brawling before the bell rings and the match is declared a draw.
This felt like a bit of an anti-climax to a solid match but it did make both guys look strong, and it kept the title on Diesel without him trying to outwrestle Bert. After they both clear the ring Hart and Diesel shake hands and hug in the ring, in a good showing of respect.
Backstage: Todd Pettingill is in Pamela Anderson’s dressing room as she is trying on outfits, Todd’s face is exactly what you would expect it to be.
(Vacant ) Tag Team Championship
Bam Bam Bigalow & Tatanka (Money Team) vs 123 Kid & Bob ‘Sparky Plug’ Holly
This was the finals of the Tag Team Championship Tournament, The titles were vacated by ‘Two Dudes with Attitudes’ (Shawn Michaels & Diesel) because they couldn’t function as a team.
Kid and Holly are the Cinderella story of the tournament, as they were not in the tournament, but The Smoking Gunn’s (Billy & Bart Gunn) were removed and replaced.
The first thing you notice about this match is just how agile Bigalow is, I know it’s said a lot, but he is easily one of the best big men this era, maybe ever? This is probably amplified because he is working with Kid, who is so rapid but looks good working with the far larger Bigalow.
FunFact: Bob Holly ended up with the ‘Sparky Plug’ gimmick because he was a big NASCAR fan when Vince McMahon was getting shut of the stock car he bought for the gimmick he persuaded Holly to buy it. In true McMahon style, he never took a penny out of Holly’s paycheck for the car.
Bigalow and Tatanka work together like a machine, and Kid and Holly look out of their depth but refuse to quit. This is truly a great tag team match, and all four guys really tell a great story. The match psychology is something that’s rarely seen these days, and everyone knew their role and played it perfectly.
After a miscue from Bigalow and Tatanka, against all odds Kid gets the pin, and the underdogs prevail… This is a great moment and a great crowd reaction, seeing the Cinderella story come full circle.
Post-match: Bigalow notices NFL Player Laurence ‘LT’ Taylor in the front row laughing, they argue and Bigalow pushes LT. This is the beginning of what would turn out to be the main event of Wrestlemania XI, but that’s for Tybo Talks: Wrestlemania XI.
30-Man Royal Rumble Match
The Winner Gets a WWF Championship Match at Wrestlemania
The Fink is in the ring, explaining the rules, and he introduces the ‘Special Guest Hostess’
(obviously, there is a lot going on in the Royal Rumble Match, so I will be doing this as interesting facts, stats, and noteworthy happenings)
- Shawn Michaels was entrant number one, and British Bulldog was entrant number two.
- This was one of the fastest Royal Rumbles, as each entrant came to the ring every 60 seconds
- Six participants had entered before anyone the first was eliminated, this was Jimmy Del-Ray or the Heavenly Bodies.
- After the first ten have entered, there are no notable stars outside of Bulldog and Michaels, and Michaels teases elimination a lot.
- Owen Hart is in one side of the ring and out the other after being attacked by Bret Hart (who wasn’t in the match)
- It’s not long before the whole ring is cleared except for Bulldog and Michaels.
- Lex Lugar comes out to a huge crowd pop, eliminates the 500lb Mable alone, to another huge crowd pop.
FunFact: Mable and King Kong Bundy had a ‘Two Man Royal Rumble’ the next night on Raw (Raw 0097)
- Bob Backlund enters and Bret is back out to eliminate him
like he did with Owen. Bret and Backlund brawl outside the ring. - The ring begins to fill up, with the last few entrants, but none of them last long.
FunFact: seven of the 30 entrants lasted 25 seconds or less in the ring, and only six lasted 10 minutes or more
- Crush has the converted number 30 spot.
- The Final Four: Shawn Michaels, British Bulldog, Lex Luger and Crush
- After Luger and Crush
get eliminated the match is set to end how it began, with Michaels andBulldog alone in the ring. - A lot of teasing from both
guys that they are goingout, before we see the iconic images of Michaelswith one foot on the floor.
FunFact: Vince McMahon asked Shawn Michaels not to milk the ‘one-foot’ finish, for fears that it would go wrong or he slips. Clearly, Michaels didn’t listen.
- Bulldog thinks he has won, but Michaels comes back in to eliminate him, winning the 1995 Royal Rumble.
After the win Michaels celebrates in the ring with Pamela Anderson, Anderson actually looks like she enjoyed the match, and is a little flirty with Michaels.
Although the Royal Rumble match was an enjoyable watch, there was some star power missing. Outside of Michaels, Bulldog and Luger there was no real big stars or shocks. I did enjoy that the match was quicker, which added a lot of pace to the match.
Overall Review
This was a much better PPV than I was expecting, although I have seen it before when I was a kid (9 years old to be exact) so I clearly wasn’t watching it looking for the athletic prowess. I obviously remember the ending of the Royal Rumble match as it is still talked about today, but the rest felt fairly new to me.
The undercard of the event was great, and although it would make sense to name ‘Match of the Night’ the Royal Rumble match because of Michaels and Bulldogs performances, every match on the card deserves a nod. This is probably because all the matches had the time to tell a story.
Match of the Night: I honestly think this would have to go to the WWE Champion Diesel vs Bret Hart. The phycology of power vs technique, and Hart willingness to do moves and tactics that could garner some heat was great to see. Although there was interference, it made sense and the match not being thrown out till the last moment was a great touch by the referee. Even the ‘draw’ finish didn’t take away from the match, and who doesn’t love a show of respect at the end.
Tybometre 95′
Royal Rumble 1995 – 4.0
Look out for the next Tybo Talks 1995, when I review Wrestlemania XI
SLTD Wrestling brings you all the greatest wrestling content. from blogs, to podcasts to exclusive Predictions and Fantasy Leagues.
Recent Comments