Royal Rumble 1991 Thoughts
Royal Rumble 1991 was the 4th annual Royal Rumble event produced by the WWF. It took place on January 19, 1991 at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. This PPV was held on a Saturday which is a rare thing for WWE. The NFL postseason was going on and the WWF was unable to schedule on Sunday before the Superbowl. The buyrate at the end was 440,000 which was even better than WrestleMania VII (400,000).
For the fourth year, the WWF buildup to the Royal Rumble. This would also be the last Rumble to be held as just a typical traditional match every year before next year the Rumble winner starting to mean something (though Hogan did get a championship match post-victory). We also saw Sgt. Slaughter battle the Ultimate Warrior. The feud here was to capitalize on the Gulf War by making Slaughter a heel representing Iraq and have all the faces support the USA. Sounds like a cheap way from Vince, huh? World was at an interesting period with the Gulf War taking place.
The Good - The most outstanding match of the night was the opening tag match. The Rockers vs. Orient Express was no doubt an instant classic. Lots of people praise the Rockers as the greatest team to never win the tag team championships in the WWE/F. It's honestly something you can't deny when you look back at them. I feel HBK also stole the show the most in the match. Big Boss Man vs. The Barbadian was actually better than expected. Big Boss Man was never known for having excellent matches but this match really delivered. I also enjoyed the WWF Championship match for it's moment of Warrior hyping up the crowd and supporting the US. The storyline of Sherri and Savage messing him up was hot and I am so happy we got the match at WrestleMania.
The Meh - Dusty Rhodes and his son battling Ted DiBiase was pretty forgettable as a match especially with the awkward fast finish but the aftermath of Virgil hitting Ted was a highlight. The Royal Rumble match was just okay and didn't have any memorable Eliminations or hot entrances to make a moment. Closes was Hogan as usual but it didn't seem so classic as it was just like any other Hogan in spotlight moment by this time. Of course Hogan winning is also another negative of it.
The Bad - Koko B. Ware vs. The Mountie was absolutely horrible. No action and crowd was completely dead. The Mountie was a boring character and Koko B. Ware majority of his career was on the lower card.
Overall - Rumble seemed to lack star power to the previous and the succeeding year. I think that affected the main event. Not a bad show at the end and was overall fun to watch.
Score - 6 out of 10: Decent
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Rockers vs. Orient Express - 4.5/5
2. Big Boss Man vs. The Barbadian - 3.5/5
3. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Ultimate Warrior: WWF Championship - 2.5/5
4. Koko B. Ware vs. The Mountie - 0/5
5. Dusty & Dustin Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase & Virgil - 2/5
6. 30-Man Royal Rumble - 2/5
Best Match - The Rockers vs. Orient Express
Worst Match - The Mountie vs. Koko B. Ware
Most Memorable Moment - Warrior rejecting Sherri
Top 5 Performers
1. Shawn Michaels - Outstanding Performance
2. Marty Jannetty - Great Performance
3. Orient Express - Great Performance
4. Rick Martel - Why wasn't he ever pushed?
5. Big Boss Man - Great Performance.
Royal Rumble 1991 was the 4th annual Royal Rumble event produced by the WWF. It took place on January 19, 1991 at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. This PPV was held on a Saturday which is a rare thing for WWE. The NFL postseason was going on and the WWF was unable to schedule on Sunday before the Superbowl. The buyrate at the end was 440,000 which was even better than WrestleMania VII (400,000).
For the fourth year, the WWF buildup to the Royal Rumble. This would also be the last Rumble to be held as just a typical traditional match every year before next year the Rumble winner starting to mean something (though Hogan did get a championship match post-victory). We also saw Sgt. Slaughter battle the Ultimate Warrior. The feud here was to capitalize on the Gulf War by making Slaughter a heel representing Iraq and have all the faces support the USA. Sounds like a cheap way from Vince, huh? World was at an interesting period with the Gulf War taking place.
The Good - The most outstanding match of the night was the opening tag match. The Rockers vs. Orient Express was no doubt an instant classic. Lots of people praise the Rockers as the greatest team to never win the tag team championships in the WWE/F. It's honestly something you can't deny when you look back at them. I feel HBK also stole the show the most in the match. Big Boss Man vs. The Barbadian was actually better than expected. Big Boss Man was never known for having excellent matches but this match really delivered. I also enjoyed the WWF Championship match for it's moment of Warrior hyping up the crowd and supporting the US. The storyline of Sherri and Savage messing him up was hot and I am so happy we got the match at WrestleMania.
The Meh - Dusty Rhodes and his son battling Ted DiBiase was pretty forgettable as a match especially with the awkward fast finish but the aftermath of Virgil hitting Ted was a highlight. The Royal Rumble match was just okay and didn't have any memorable Eliminations or hot entrances to make a moment. Closes was Hogan as usual but it didn't seem so classic as it was just like any other Hogan in spotlight moment by this time. Of course Hogan winning is also another negative of it.
The Bad - Koko B. Ware vs. The Mountie was absolutely horrible. No action and crowd was completely dead. The Mountie was a boring character and Koko B. Ware majority of his career was on the lower card.
Overall - Rumble seemed to lack star power to the previous and the succeeding year. I think that affected the main event. Not a bad show at the end and was overall fun to watch.
Score - 6 out of 10: Decent
0 = Terrible : 1 = Bad/Lackluster : 2 = Decent : 3 = Good : 4 = Awesome : 5 = One of the Best of all Time :
1. The Rockers vs. Orient Express - 4.5/5
2. Big Boss Man vs. The Barbadian - 3.5/5
3. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Ultimate Warrior: WWF Championship - 2.5/5
4. Koko B. Ware vs. The Mountie - 0/5
5. Dusty & Dustin Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase & Virgil - 2/5
6. 30-Man Royal Rumble - 2/5
Best Match - The Rockers vs. Orient Express
Worst Match - The Mountie vs. Koko B. Ware
Most Memorable Moment - Warrior rejecting Sherri
Top 5 Performers
1. Shawn Michaels - Outstanding Performance
2. Marty Jannetty - Great Performance
3. Orient Express - Great Performance
4. Rick Martel - Why wasn't he ever pushed?
5. Big Boss Man - Great Performance.