The theme building up to this Royal Rumble was that Steve Austin would have 'no chance in hell' of winning the match, due to Vince McMahon putting a multi-thousand dollar bounty on his head. The theme song for this PPV became the entrance music that Vince McMahon uses to this day.
The "I Quit" match between Mankind and the Rock got so brutal that Mick Foley's wife and kids, who were sitting in the front row, had to leave after the first five chair shots. Documented in Au-delà du ring (1999), Foley wouldn't see the effect the match had on them until five months later, and admitted in "Foley is Good", volume 2 of his memoirs, that the film footage hit him harder than the chair shots had.
Twelve wrestlers made their first appearance in the Royal Rumble match: Vince McMahon, Droz, Edge, Gillberg, Dan Severn, Tiger Ali Singh, Blue Meanie, Gangrel, Al Snow, Test, Val Venis, and Chyna.
First WWF PPV appearance for Nelson Frazier Jr. since Royal Rumble 1996, and his final one as Mabel of Men on a Mission.