WWF Royal Rumble 1992 Review

January 19^th, 1992

Knickerbocker Arena- Albany, New York

Announcers: Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan

The following is Harry and Patrick’s written review for the WWF Royal Rumble 1992

The Opening Match!

Match #1: Orient Express (Pat Tanaka and Kato (Paul Diamond)) vs. The New Foundation (Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart)

Result: The New Foundation defeats Orient Express when Owen pins Tanaka @ 17:17

Harry: While, in my opinion, not as good as the Rockers match from the year previous, this is still one hell of a way to kick of the show and maybe the best match Jim Neidhart was ever involved in outside of the ten man tag at IYH: Canadian Stampede. All four parties hold up their end of the bargain in this one and the result is a very good opening match in front of a hot crowd. (***½)

Patrick: This match is a total trial by fire for Owen Hart, on both sides. Deals out a lot on offense and takes a lot on defense. Neidhart is really in the match just to be Owen’s partner. Aside from that, a great opener that shows the kind of performer Owen Hart was and would become. He picks up the win to start the show with a happy crowd (***)

A Feel Good Moment!

Match #2: WWF Intercontinental Title: The Mountie © vs. Roddy Piper

Result: Roddy Piper defeats The Mountie by KO to win the IC title @ 5:19

Harry: Means to an end here is all this is. The WWF wanted to do Bret Hart and Roddy Piper for the IC title at WrestleMania but didn’t want to do it before. Bret drops the belt to Mountie a couple days prior to the Rumble and then Piper gets the feel good moment of his only singles title victory here on pay-per-view. (*)

Patrick: This one is weird… it’s a squash for the 2nd biggest title in the company. Of course, you had the story of Bret losing the title being sick 2 nights prior. The match has nothing of note aside from Roddy winning a total one-sided match. (*)

A Tag Team Match For The Ages!

Match #3: Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake Beverly (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom)) vs. Bushwhackers (Butch Miller and Luke Williams)

Result: Beverly Brothers defeat Bushwhackers when Blake pins Butch @ 13:55

Harry: I get what the appeal of the Bushwhackers was to a younger fan base. Watching their shtick back as an adult now a days is rough though and this match suffered for the lack of rose colored glasses. A black eye on what was otherwise a pretty good card. And way too much focus on Jameson while I’m at it. (DUD)

Patrick: No…just no. Go to hell. (-***)

Big Guys Doing Big Guy Things!

Match #4: WWF Tag Team titles: Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) vs. Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal)

Result: The Legion of Doom defeat the Natural Disasters by count-out @ 9:22. Natural Disasters retain Tag Titles.

Harry: Given the four men in the ring, actually not nearly as bad as it could have been. This match had been building up since the prior SummerSlam and while not completely blown off here due to the count-out finish, the action during the contest was perfectly acceptable given the four people involved. (**)

Patrick: This felt weird, considering LOD is known for their power. So what happens when you have a team that can match power? MORE POWER, DAMN IT!! Not a bad match considering the guys in it, and felt needed for the finish at Mania… we never got. Good match, otherwise. (**½)

The Greatest Royal Rumble Ever?

Match #5: The 1992 Royal Rumble (For the WWF Heavyweight Championship)

Result: Ric Flair wins the 1992 Royal Rumble and the WWF Heavyweight Championship @ 61:59, last elimination Psycho Sid Vicious

Harry: Many consider it to be the greatest Royal Rumble of all-time. I am one of those many. Top to bottom, it’s story after story after story…the perfect example of when the Royal Rumble used to be used to tell longer stories in short intervals while still setting the tone for what was to come. Ric Flair puts on arguably the greatest performance of his career (outside of maybe the Steamboat matches or the final WrestleMania go-round against Shawn) and Bobby Heenan only adds exponentially to it. An all-time classic, and frankly, a match that every wrestling fan owns it to themselves to see at least once (****½)

Patrick: The hour of power. The most star-studded rumble match of all time. What happens when you put the title on the line in an already high-stakes match? You get one of the best ever. From Ric Flair being #3 and going 59 minutes to win the title, to Savage going after Jake (and eliminating himself) looking for blood, to the crowd cheering when Hogan gets eliminated, the entire match is crazy. The star power is insane. Hogan, Flair, Savage, Taker, Roberts, Piper, DiBiase, Von Erich, the list goes on. Hogan bitching at the end (surprise, surprise…asshole) aside, this is a must watch for a wrestling fan. Ric Flair winning was a serious surprise, going almost an hour to do it… too bad he couldn’t celebrate in the ring. But, he did get one amazing promo at the PUT THAT CIGARETTE OUT! (****½)

The Show & More!

Harry Average Star: 2.20

Patrick Average Star: 1.60

For the ‘Big Finish’ to find out what we gave best and worst match, our “Cash and our Trash” and the overall rating for the show as well to hear us go into more detail about the matches you see listed above, be sure you check out episode 3 of Wrestling Unwrapped the W2M Network.

OVERALL TOP 25 THROUGH FIVE SHOWS

Harry

1: Royal Rumble 1992- WWF Heavyweight Title- WWF Royal Rumble 1992- ****½

2: Bret Hart © vs. Owen Hart- WWF Heavyweight Title: cage- WWF SummerSlam 1994- ****½

3: Kevin Steen © vs. Michael Elgin- ROH Heavyweight Title- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- ****

4: Jay Lethal vs. Davey Richards- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- ****

5: Jazz vs. Sara Del Rey- SHINE Volume I 2012- ****

6: Rain vs. Nikki Roxx- SHINE Volume I 2012- ***½

7: New Foundation vs. Orient Express- WWF Royal Rumble 1992- ***½

8: Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander vs. Harlem/Lancelot Bravado- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- ***½

9: Alundra Blayze © vs. Bull Nakano- WWF Women’s Title- WWF SummerSlam 1994- ***

10: Reby Sky vs. Jayme Jameson- SHINE Volume I 2012- ***

11: MnM vs. Hardy Boyz- WWECW December to Dismember 2006- ***

12: Diesel © vs. Razor Ramon- WWF Intercontinental Title- WWF SummerSlam 1994- **½

13: Jimmy Jacobs/Steve Corino © vs. Jay/Mark Briscoe- ROH Tag Team title- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- **½

14: Allysin Kay/Taylor Made vs. Su Yung/Tracey Taylor- SHINE Volume I 2012- **½

15: Adam Cole © vs. Eddie Edwards- ROH Television title- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- **½

16: Big Show © vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Test vs. CM Punk vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly- WWECW December to Dismember 2006- **½

17: Mercedes Martinez vs. Leva Bates- SHINE Volume I 2012- **½

18: Bigelow/I.R.S. vs. Headshrinkers- WWF SummerSlam 1994- **

19: Natural Disasters © vs. Legion of Doom- WWF Tag Team Titles- WWF Royal Rumble 1992- **

20: Ballz Mahoney vs. Matt Striker- WWECW December to Dismember 2006- **

21: Veda Scott vs. Kimberly- SHINE Volume I 2012- **

22: Christina Von Eerie vs. Cherry Bomb- **

23: Mike Bennett vs. Mike Mondo- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- **

24: Santana Garrett vs. Tina San Antonio- SHINE Volume I 2012- **

25: Daivari vs. Tommy Dreamer- WWECW December to Dismember 2006- **

Patrick

1: Royal Rumble 1992- WWF Heavyweight Title- WWF Royal Rumble 1992- ****½

3: Jay Lethal vs. Davey Richards- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- ****

5: Jazz vs. Sara Del Rey- SHINE Volume I 2012- ***½

6: Rain vs. Nikki Roxx- – SHINE Volume I 2012- ***½

7: Reby Sky vs. Jayme Jameson- – SHINE Volume I 2012- ***

8: New Foundation vs. Orient Express- WWF Royal Rumble 1992- ***

12: MnM vs. Hardy Boyz- WWECW December to Dismember 2006- ***

13: Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander vs. Harlem/Lancelot Bravado- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- ***

14: Mercedes Martinez vs. Leva- – SHINE Volume I 2012- **½

17: Mike Bennett vs. Mike Mondo- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- **½

18: Bigelow/I.R.S. vs. Headshrinkers- WWF SummerSlam 1994- **

19: Big Show © vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Test vs. CM Punk vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly- WWECW December to Dismember 2006- **

20: Santana Garrett vs. Tina San Antonio- SHINE Volume I 2012- **

21: Tadarius Thomas vs. Rhino- ROH Glory by Honor XI 2012- **

22: Tatanka vs. Lex Luger- WWF SummerSlam 1994- **

23: Allysin Kay/Taylor Made vs. Su Yung/Tracey Taylor- SHINE Volume I 2012- **

24: Veda Scott vs. Kimberly- SHINE Volume I 2012- **

25: Ballz Mahoney vs. Matt Striker- WWECW December to Dismember 2006- **

ELIMINATION NOTES:

Harry took out Haas/Benjamin vs. Whitmer/Titus, Tatanka vs. Luger and Burke/Terkay vs. Guido/Mamaluke from last review’s Top 25

Patrick took out Haas/Benjamin vs. Whitmer/Titus, Burke/Terkay vs. Guido/Mamaluke and Undertaker vs. Underfaker from last review’s Top 25

About The Author: Harry Broadhurst