Royal Rumble

This is the show that set the stage for one of the best Wrestlemanias ever, Wrestlemania X. Going into the Rumble, Lex Luger was considered the favorite to win. Luger had defeated Yokozuna via countout at Summerslam '93 but was never granted a rematch because of a clause in the contract that Jim Cornette had weaseled in on behalf of Yokozuna. But the winner of the Royal Rumble Match automatically gets a shot at the WWF Champion at Wrestlemania whomever he may be, and that would override Cornette's stipulation. As a result, this is Luger's only chance at earning a shot at Yokozuna's WWF Title.

The Royal Rumble Match ends at : 55:32. **** One official thinks Luger has won it, another things Bret has. The announcers are split as well. Nobody knows who the winner is. After announcing Luger as the sole winner, then Bret (who got a much bigger pop), Howard Finkel announces that Lex Luger and Bret Hart are co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble. Both are disappointed, but shake hands. The Wrestlemania theme plays, and the Royal Rumble ends without a clearcut #1 contender for Yokozuna's WWF Title for Wrestlemania X.

One of the best WWF Royal Rumbles ever and a great lead in to Wrestlemania X another great EVENT!

An event full of twists and turns. Owen Hart turns on his brother during their attempt to capture the tag team titles. The Hitman fights off a bad knee to limp to the ring and win the 30 match Royal Rumble. Great event - with the Undertaker involved in a casket match with Yokozuna and the Bad Guy Razor Ramon defending the Intercontinental Title against IRS.

Vince McMahon opening the show with million dollar man on mics does not start well and what's happening on the throw together commentary should have been a warning for the night. Tatanka v bam bam First match of the night . WWF feels like a lot of time as passed since 1991 star filled royal rumble worthy of putting all the stars on the poster. A very different looking roster today. All Canada tag team title match Hart's bros v Quebecers building the brothers split more than the title shot. Seeing Earl and Dave hebner together the best part of this match for me Nothing special in the opening two matches. Razor wakes fans for the first time tonight for the intercontinental title Razor v IRS strange referee decision here, Which continues for the night. Weird undertaker promo followed by the match with yokozuna If you can call it a match followed by a lot of theatre which could have worked better if a match had taken place first. Royal rumble followed in an era with so many changes strange ref decisions and president stepping in didn't seem the right way to go seemed like amateur hour. With so many greats gone the wrestling looked very average. Adding unprofessional looking officials was a mistake. The bestest pops from the crowd did not come from wrestling but the theatre. This one will not live long in the memory for wrestling.

In 1994, coming off one of the worst Royal Rumble's to that point in WWF history, the quality of the broadcast improved significantly and was actually fun to watch again for two main reasons:

First, all the matches before the main Rumble event (Harts/Quebecs, Razor/IRS, Undertaker/Yokozuna) were quite interesting/exciting in their own right. They each advanced a storyline and featured some quality athletic feats, not just a bunch of fat guys rolling around that had been the standard for the past few years for the WWF.

Also, many of the participants of those matches actually compete in the Rumble itself this year, solving the problem of having all the interesting characters wiped out before the big brawl even began. Plus, the frequency of the "jobbers" was a bit more few-and-far-between. The depth of big names might still have been lacking, but most of the characters at least had interesting personas that one could either root for or despise.

Finally, the ending of the Rumble is one that ranks right up their in the history of the event. I won't give it away here, but suffice it to say that you will be shocked when the final bell rings.

Overall, this was a nice edition to the pantheon of RR events, especially considering the failure of the '93 edition.

People usually say things like the 1992, 1995, or 1997 Rumbles are the best, but Royal Rumble 1994 always comes to mind as the best Royal Rumble ever. It serves at the starting point for one of the most bitter feuds in World Wrestling Federation history; Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart. The incident with the Undertaker is cheesy and supernatural, but this is sports entertainment dammit! The events leading up to his "death" (10 superstars interfering in the match) is pretty cool which is revisted in 1998, and the most controversial finish of the Royal Rumble takes place here when Bret hart and Lex Luger and eliminated simultaneously thus having co-winners of the Rumble (which means double main event at WrestleMania X)!

10/10