WWF Royal Rumble 1990 1/21/1990

WWF Royal Rumble 1990 1/21/1990

Vince runs downs the names of the people in The Rumble and runs down the card.

We're at The Orlando Arena in Orlando, Florida. Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura are our hosts. Jesse says it's a hot ticket and says Mickey Mouse and Goofy were caught trying to sneak into the front door here. Jesse is wearing a Mickey hat and gives Tony a Goofy hat.

The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers vs The Bushwhackers

Jesse calls The BW's "The Marching Moron's". The Rougeau's leave the ring as The BW's march. Jacques has a beard here.

Raymond tries to shake Butch's hand then hits shots on him. Luke breaks up a double team then RR sleepers Butch. Raymond is pulled into the buckles then Butch bites Raymond's butt and the ref's butt. Jacques takes a double lariat then avoids a battering ram. Jacques hits punches on Luke then Luke fires back.

Luke bites Jacques on the nose. Luke tries to lariat Jacques, but Jacques ducks and Raymond gets the lariat instead. Butch lariats Jacques from behind. Luke gets distracted and is hit from behind. Raymond chokes Luke with the tag rope. Raymond superkicks Luke then throws him hard into the buckles. Luke is thrown into the apron edge. Butch goes after Jimmy Hart outside.

Luke bites Raymond then Raymond stomps Luke. Luke goes for the tag and Butch is nailed. Luke then is hit from Jacques in the other corner. Jacques does a kip-up then Luke is dropped throat first on the top rope. Luke bites Raymond and has his tag attempt stopped again. Jacques abdominal stretches Raymond. Luke is held for a punch to the gut from Raymond. Raymond camel clutches Luke.

Luke gets his knees up on a Jacques splash and tags out. Butch hits a hard shot to the gut sending JR flying over. Butch running knees Jacques then The Rougeau's are thrown into each other. Jimmy Hart grabs Luke on the battering ram attempt. Hart gets in the ring and is grabbed by The BW's. The Rougeau's dropkick The BW's from behind to get them off Hart.

Butch is in the boston crab and RR lets go of it. The BW's battering ram Jacques into Raymond then pin Jacques.

Thoughts: The beatdown section on The BW's went a little long and brought this down. I thought the ref should have done something about Hart being in the ring too. The BW's didn't expect have the best babyface offense here which hurt some of this. It wasn't bad but it would have been a lot better with 3-5 minutes cut off. 

Mean Gene interviews Ted Dibiase and Virgil. Ted gets mad at Gene implying he didn't draw #30 legally last year. They argue about how Ted got his number for this year and it's revealed that Ted got #1. He said it means he'll be the first and last man in the ring and will show he's the greatest wrestling talent in the world. He said he will be in there and win it.

The Genius does a poem ripping Brutus Beefcake, saying Brutus wants to give him a haircut. He says  he is the world's smartest man and Beefcake's double dumb.

Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake vs The Genius

They tease a handshake then Genius goes to stretch. Genius goes out to stall and does a cartwheel on the floor. Genius prances around and does a cartwheel and Brutus mocks him. Genius eye rakes him then hits shots to the gut. Genius eye rakes him and Brutus atomic drops him.

Genius goes out again. Genius hits uppercuts and bangs Brutus' head off the buckles. Genius misses a corner dropkick and Brutus stomps his fingers. Genius is somewhat crotched on the top rope.

Genius hits corner spears and headbutts. Genius boots him and takes a kick. Genius elbows him in the back of the head then dropkicks him. Genius stomps and eye rakes him. Genius hits a slam and is caught coming off the ropes.

Brutus flips him with a shot to the gut and Brutus gets the sleeper on. Genius gets out and is pushed into the ref. The ref goes out to the floor. Brutus puts him in the sleeper then grabs his scissors. Brutus cuts Genius' hair in the ring then Mr. Perfect comes out. Perfect knees Brutus in the gut and hits shots. Perfect hits a perfectplex then Brutus takes a chair to the gut. Officials then come out to stop it.

Thoughts: It was hard to take Genius as a serious threat to Brutus due to their size differences. I thought Brutus was a real jerk to cut Genius' hair here and I think Genius is dumb for losing his hair in a match that didn't mean much like this. The work was okay but it just wasn't exciting.

Bobby Heenan, Haku, Andre The Giant and Rick Rude are interviewed by Sean Mooney. Heenan says it's not every man for himself, it's every family for himself. Sean asks what happens if it comes down to Rick and Haku. Rick, Heenan and Haku argue. Andre is then asked and The Heenan Family argues and leaves.

Submission Match - Greg "The Hammer" Valentine vs "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin

Both guys are wearing shinguards on their shin. Ron chops Greg in the aisle then throws him into the ring. Ron knocks him down with chops and headbutts. Ron goes for the pin but there are no pins. Greg's head is banged off the buckles.

They trade shots and Greg goes down. They box and Greg elbow drops him. Greg misses an elbow drop then knees him hard in the gut. Greg has him dazed with punches and they trade shots. Ron jumping headbutts him and both go down.

Ron goes for the sunset flip even though he can't pin him. Greg then tries to pin him. Greg hits chops then they run into each other. Both go down. Ron rolls up Greg after pushing him into the buckles then Greg chops him down. 

Greg figure fours him and Ron no sells it as he has the shinguard on. Ron cradles him then Greg racks him over the shoulder. Greg elbow drops him. Ron hits chops and punches. Ron hooks Greg's leg like an indian deathlock and drops back.

They trade chops outside and Ron is back body dropped on the floor. Greg hits corner spears. Ron puts himself in tree of woe then Greg tries to take off Ron's shinguard. They run into each other and both go down. Jimmy Hart takes off Ron's shinguard. 

Greg backbreakers Ron then figure fours him. Ron is now in pain without the shin guard. Ron turns the figure four over and Greg ropebreaks. Greg goes for the figure four and is cradled again to no pin. Greg drops him with a shot then Ron throws him off the top. Ron takes off Greg's shinguard and stupidly goes for the pin.

Greg clubs on Ron. Ron punches him and gets him stuck in the ropes. Ron throws Jimmy Hart from the apron into the ring. Ron goes after Jimmy and nails Greg as Greg comes up from behind him. Ron sharpshooters him and Greg taps out.

Thoughts: The gimmick really hampered the match here. These two just kept going for pins even though they weren't allowed. It's okay if it happens once but it happened four times a piece with these guys. It made them look like complete idiots and made it come across like a comedy. It's a shame too because these guys really beat the crap out of each other. They pounded on each other and hit some nice shots, but then they'd go for pins. This would have been great under normal rules. You'd expect a lot of limb work and holds here but there was very little of it. The logic of the hammer jammer also hurt this as it's just hard to see how a shinguard can take all the pain away from the figure four. Jimmy Hart came in at the end here to turn this into even more of a circus than it was.

Mean Gene interviews Mr. Perfect. He asks him about why he interfered in Genius' match earlier. He said he's sick and tired of Brutus taking advantage of people. He said Brutus not know what happens when you mess with friends of his. He says Brutus is another excuse of why he's going to the top of the WWF. He says Brutus' ribs will grow back but maybe not the right way. Perfect said he drew the perfect number at The Rumble and it's #30. He says The Rumble will perfect, just like everything else he does in life.

The Brother Love Show

Love puts over Sherri as a woman of class and beauty and brings her out. Sherri has a super sparkly dress on. Sherri puts over Love as a symbol of masculinity and someone who understands the meaning of Love. He said he came across the word peasant in The Book of Love. He says it's a woman with no class. Sherri says we know a lot of people like that. They talk about Sapphire, saying there was a picture of her next to the word peasant. They then bring Sapphire out.

Sherri asks her where she gets her clothes from so she doesn't make the mistake of looking like her. Love asks if Dusty is a common man then what does it make her? Love takes the mic away and says it makes her a peasant. Sherri says she didn't bow to her when she got here. Sherri asks her why she thinks she can breathe the same air that she breathes. They ask what she sees in Dusty and Love says probably a whole lot as there's a lot of Dusty Rhodes to see. Sherri says we got Dusty everywhere and says there's a lot of him to go around.

Love stops her from answering a question again and Sherri says Dusty probably drives a semi-truck. Sherri says he has to use a forklift to put her in it. Sapphire says she has had enough and slaps Sherri. Macho King Randy Savage comes down and grabs her. Macho knocks Dusty off the apron when he comes down. Sapphire jumps on Macho's back then Love pulls Sapphire off. Officials come down to stop it including Pat Patterson and Shane McMahon.

Love has words for Dusty. Dusty grabs him and slams him.  Love is thrown out and takes a hard fall to the floor.

Thoughts: It went a few minutes too long but Love and Sherri made you hate them here. Sapphire felt justified for hitting them. I don't know if they made the most of the fight between them all that they could have but it was something at least. Sapphire and Dusty dance after.

Sean Mooney interviews "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan. He says he does things his way. He says this is the land of the free and the home of the brave and it was just a matter until he faced his path. He says he will stand eye to eye with him and give him 110%. He says Boss isn't talking to some young punk at the convenience store, he's talking to Jim Duggan.

The Big Boss Man vs "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan

They trade punches to start. Boss knees him in the gut then Jim hits a stiff lariat. Jim hits a nice shoulderblock knocking him out of the ring. Jim hits punches outside then is sent into the post. Boss charges at him and goes into the post.

Jim throws Boss into the buckles then Boss corner splashes him. Boss step up enzugiri's him then hits some punches. Boss leg lariats Jim on the ropes.

Jim's head is banged off the buckles and he hits punches. Jim bends over and takes a hard double axe handle shot. Slick chokes Jim then Boss butt drops Jim's stomach. Boss smothers and chinlocks Jim. Jim hits punches then Jim runs into Boss' knee. Boss chokes him. Jim hits punches then is eye raked.

Boss is soaked with sweat and chinlocks Jim. Jim ear claps Boss while in the bearhug. Jim headbutts Boss and they both fall over. Boss hits shots in the corner then Jim fires back. Jim running lariats him over the top rope and Boss takes a hard ride to the floor. Boss headbutts Jim then misses an elbow drop.

Jim hits shots to the gut then hits corner punches. Jim misses a corner charge and is lariated by Boss. Boss misses a splash off the top. Jim shoulders him and both go down. Slick gets on the apron and Boss shoulders him over by accident. Boss gets his night stick and hits Jim with it. The ref catches it and Boss is disqualified.

Jim grabs his 2x4 on the outside then hits Boss in the back with it. Boss takes a nice bump outside then Slick gets nailed with the 2x3 too. Boss throws chairs in the ring and Jim sits on one and poses.

Thoughts: They had some great punches and great bumps in this one. It felt like a real fight at times and it was a real heavyweight slugfest. I don't know if they put all the pieces together correctly though and the DQ finish didn't help it. I did like this one overall but the potential was there for this to be great.

We get an ad for Wrestlemania VI.

Jimmy Hart, Earthquake and Dino Bravo talk about The Royal Rumble. Dino says he wants to be the only one to lay a hand on Warrior and wants to take care of him. Quake says no one is safe from him.

Demolition said Lady Luck is already on their side as they had #1 and #2 last year and don't this year. They say they know how hard each one of them can hit. The ysay they know what their numbers are and they can beat up on everyone else. Smash says he might kick Ax's teeth in if it comes down to them.

Bad News Brown says there will be wet eyes out there when 29 cockroaches go down to him. He said it's every man for himself and he's always a winner.

Dusty said Macho proved himself today. He said he will be there until he proves himself. He says The Rumble will see Macho get his dues.

The Rockers talk. Shawn says they won't have to face each other and says to get ready. Marty says they want their hands on The Powers of Pain and take care of business.

Hercules says he's ready to rumble. He says there's no friendships and says he will win this "rumble royal" today. He said he has the strength and power and is ready for anything.

Rick Martel is super sweaty and says no one will touch his beautiful face. He says he looks good and is the best looking wrestler there is.

Tito Santana says friendship is over. He says he's coming to win and says he will come out a winner.

Jimmy Snuka says it's everyone for themselves. He says "woop woop woop" and not much else.

Slick says Akeem is the best and baddest in The Rumble.

The Ultimate Warrior says the power of The Warrior is spread like a virus in the WWF. He says he sees today as another day of combat and another battle. He says Hulk Hogan walks with a different force field. He said he fights for what he feels in himself and says he will fulfill another destiny.

Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura talk. Tony says everyone sounds confidence. Jesse says it's not just confident but luck of the draw.

Macho King Randy Savage says he knows Dusty wants to get at him but it can't be possible. He says he's #1 and says The Rumble is a great place to prove it. He says he's the one person not to bet against. He tells everyone to watch him and says the WWF is one man, him.

Mr. Fuji and The Powers of Pain talk. Fuji says you don't know what he's thinking and says anything goes.

Jake Roberts says it never ceases to amaze him what the human mind can come up with. He says the last number is the best but it doesn't mean anything. He says the man that wins this match won't be the best wrestler or athlete, it's the man that will do anything. He says it's the man who will sacrifice more than anyone else and says it sounds like him.

The Hart Foundation talk. Anvil says it's bodies everywhere and a nasty affair. Hart says the pink and black attack is back and they are ready to go the distance.

The Honky Tonk Man says he will play 29 hits and play a new tune every 2 minutes. He says he will be the winner of The Rumble.

Hulk Hogan says he got ready here early. He says you gotta expect the unexpected. He says no matter how prepared you, you can't compensate the power of the pythons. He says there's no friends or enemies. He says the goal is to prove what is the strongest force in the WWF. He says one by one he will pull the reserve energy out and show the whole WWF that nobody is more powerful than Hulkamania. He says whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania rumbles all over you.

Royal Rumble Match

Ted Dibiase and Koko B. Ware are in at #1 and #2. Ted stomps Koko when he tries to get in. Ted hits shots and tries to bang Koko's head off the buckles but Koko isn't affected by it. Koko hits a dropkick, headbutts and punches. Ted back body drops Koko over the top and Koko is gone.

Marty Jannetty gets in. Ted clubs him then Marty hits dropkicks. Ted boots him out of the corner then flips him with a lariat. Ted comes off the top and is hit in the gut. Marty flying back elbows him. Marty goes for the crossbody, Ted drops down and Marty goes out.

Jake Roberts gets in. Ted nails him before he gets in and slams him on the floor. Ted is pulled into the post. Jake back body drops him in the ring then short arm lariats him. Ted hits corner spears. Randy Savage gets in and Jake knocks him down. Jake misses a knee lift on Ted and gets choked. Savage has awesome hippy style gear on and 2nd rope knee drops Jake.

Jake is double teamed and Macho 2nd rope elbow drops Jake. Macho 2nd rope double axe handles Jake and footchokes him. Piper gets in. Piper flurries on the heels then hits a double lariat. Piper unties Jake from the ropes and the faces take over with stereo punches. Piper bites Macho and they try to eliminate each other.

Warlord gets in. War pounds on Piper then Piper fights back. Jake has 2 people trying to get him out. Bret Hart gets in. Ted nails Macho on a filed double team on Hart. War takes a double lariat from Piper and Bret. Everyone fights and Bad News Brown gets in.

Brown hits shots on Bret and Jake short arm lariats Ted. Macho then lariats Jake over the top to the floor while he's got Ted. Ted shakes Macho's hand for it. Ted gets on the ropes and Macho saves him. Tony questions if Ted paid Macho off. Dusty gets in. Dusty elbows Macho then Macho eye rakes him. Macho runs at Dusty and Macho takes an awesome back body drop to the floor. 

Dusty hits corner punches on Ted then Andre the Giant gets in. War hits shots on Andre then Andre hiptosses him over the top. Mr. Fuji gets on the apron to complain. Bobby Heenan pulls down Fuji and pushes him then Fuji takes a swing at him with the cane. Andre bangs Piper's and Dusty's heads together. Andre corner spears Piper and Dusty in the corner.

The Red Rooster gets in. Red hits shots on Dusty. Brown headbutts Piper then Piper back body drops Brown over the top. Brown then grabs Piper by the hair and pulls him out. Piper and Brown fight their way to the back. Brown chokes Piper on the floor. 

Ax is next in. Andre eliminates The Red Rooster. Ax double axe handles Andre then chokes him like Andre had done to him. Dusty and Ax tie Andre up in the ropes and double team him. Haku gets in. Haku beats up on Ax, stopping the Andre double team. Haku lariats Ax then headbutts Dusty down.

Andre butt drops Ax and stands on him. Haku double chops Dusty then Dusty hits jabs. Ax chokes Andre. Smash comes in at #15. Demolition double club on Andre then beat up on Haku (The Colossal Connection just won the tag titles a few weeks earlier from Demolition). Andre bangs Demolition's heads together. Ted is held on the ropes by Smash and Ax double axe handles him.

#16 is Akeem. Akeem hits shots on Andre. Demolition double clothesline Andre and Haku. Demolition ram Andre from behind and eliminate him. The Dems go for Haku but Andre punches Ax right in the face. Bret Hart also got eliminated during this but I didn't see it.

Ted shoulders over Smash then atomic drops him. Jimmy Snuka gets in. He trades with Akeem and Haku is double teamed by Demolition. Snuka flying headbutts Akeem and eliminates him. Smash takes a double headbutt from Haku and Snuka. Haku and Snuka then trade shots. Dusty elbows Ted then Ted 2nd rope double axe handles him. Smash tries to get Ted to double team Haku but Ted punches Smash.

Dino Bravo gets in. Haku and Dino trade. Snuka stupidly stops Dino from eliminating Haku then bangs their heads together. Demolition double back elbow Ted. Dino hits Ax to stop a Ted elimination. Earthquake gets in. Quake goes after Dusty and lariats him in the back of the head to eliminate him. Demolition double team Quake. Quake slams Ax over the top for the elimination.

6 men are in the ring currently as Quake works Haku. Smash beats up on Dino then Jim Neidhart gets in. Jim hits shots on Quake and 5 wrestlers eliminate Quake as Dino is late to make the save. The Ultimate Warrior gets in. He hits shots on Dino then Dino atomic drops him. Warrior then throws Dino out.

Snuka, Haku and Smash team up on Warrior. Warrior trades with Smash then Neidhart. Rick Martel gets in. Rick beats up on Smash. Haku superkicks Smash off the apron and eliminates him. Tito Santana gets in and of course goes after Rick Martel. Rick's head is banged off the buckles. Warrior running clotheslines Haku. Rick comes off the 2nd rope and is hit in the gut by Tito. 

The Honky Tonk Man gets in. Warrior pounds on Honky then Ted holds Warrior for shots from Honky. Jim Neidhart is thrown out by 3 people including Warrior. Warrior lariats Ted over the top and eliminates him. Tito continues to work on Rick. Hulk Hogan gets in and throws out Snuka. Hulk bit boots Haku out of the ring. 

Hulk hits shots on Honky and Tito atomic drops Rick. Hulk back elbows Honky then Tito is thrown out by Martel and Warrior. Shawn Michaels gets in. Hulk throws out Honky. Warrior hits shots on Shawn then throws him right out. Warrior then throws out Rick Martel.

Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior are the only two in the ring and stare down. They shove each other and shoulder battle. They criss-cross each other then double clothesline each other down. The Barbarian gets in. Barb elbow drops both. Rick Rude gets in (before he was supposed to). Warrior gets pounded on by Rude.

Rude dropkicks Warrior. Warrior saves Hulk from a double team elimination attempt. Warrior is double teamed by Barb and Rude. Hulk double lariats Barb and Rude and eliminates Warrior off of it. Warrior comes back in and nails Barb and Rude in bad babyface form. Hercules hits shots on Rude then sends Barb and Rude into Hulk's boot.

Hulk slams and elbow drops Barb. Hulk clotheslines Barb then rakes Rude's back. Mr. Perfect is in at #30 then pounds on Hulk. Barb facekicks Rude then is back body dropped over the top by Herc. Rude lariats Herc over the top and eliminates him.

Hulk, Rude and Perfect are the last three in The Rumble. Hulk is double teamed. Rude forearms Perfect on accident sending him to the apron. Perfect is grabbing onto the ropes to get in and Rude is sent over the top and eliminated. Hulk flips Perfect in then hits punches. Perfect boots and lariats Hulk.

Perfect hits a perfectplex and Hulk no sells it. Hulk catapults Perfect into the post then hits punches and lariats. Hulk then throws Perfect out and wins The 1990 Royal Rumble.

Thoughts: It was a good Rumble. They had a really good crew in early with Ted, Macho, Jake and Piper who got things off to a good start. Warrior got in and added some more excitement then we got down towards the end stretch. Hulk as usual was a poor face here as Warrior helped him out while Warrior help eliminated Hulk. Demolition had a good Rumble here and they followed up on the Colossal Connection vs Demolition feud well here. I don't really understand why they had Hulk win and not Warrior since they were going to eventually do Hulk vs Warrior. It would have immediately set up their Mania match. I would have also kept Macho in there longer, I wouldn't have Warlord look dumb by getting tossed out so easy and I would have done better countdown clocks so people knew when people were coming in and out. I would have also tried to get more going with The Heenan Family since they had teased it.

Overall thoughts: The opener went too long though the work was mostly fine. I didn't care for Genius vs Beefcake. Valentine vs Garvin would have been great under normal rules but neither guy seemed to know  they were in a submission match and both looked like complete morons as they endlessly went for pins. Duggan and Boss Man was good overall but they really had potential to do something great if it was cleaned up a bit. I liked The Rumble though I would have had Warrior win it over Hulk. As usual with WWF PPV's, what we got on TV was often different than what we got on the show as Warrior/Dino was teased but didn't happen here, Boss Man/Dusty wasn't brought up at all and Brutus vs Martel didn't happen here either. Zeus was also nowhere to be found after being defeated at No Holds Barred: The Movie/The Match. The Rumble kind of saved this one but I would just call this show average.