Bobby Heenan's best performance ever. There were times when he was funnier of course (accusing Stu and Helen Hart of sneaking into Summerslam 91 for instance) but for the entire hour he was on fire with everything he said and did.
I think the Undertaker set the world record for choking people in this match. Think about it, that's the same guy who comes back every year to wrestle great matches as an old broken down man, and all he's doing here in his prime is choking people for 20 minutes.
You know it's a great match because I just dropped what I was doing and watched the whole damn thing, even though I've seen it a dozen times.
Also weird seeing Flair have exchanges in his prime with Taker and Shawn before theirs, because their more recent feuds , where Flair was on his way out, Taker was hitting his stride as a worker, and Shawn was king among men, are so much fresher in the memory.
The doctored footage was only ever shown in clip packages (SNME, WM8, one of the Hulkamania tapes) and on some of the TV shows. The commercial releases always had the original audio intact, including the CHV.
One of the neat things about the match is that a huge amount of the guys in it were on their way out, so they were easily used as short entries that had little overall effect on the main story. I feel like some of the more recent Rumbles were hampered because they were full of huge stars, and thus couldn't use quickie eliminations the way other Rumbles could- too many guys were just hanging around for AGES because they were too important to just throw out like jobbers.
I love Heenan's quick turnaround there- he's so gleefully happy that Piper saves Flair once that he immediately kisses his ass... only to turn on him and start freaking the fuck out on commentary.
Yeah, I mentioned in another review that Piper tended to gobble up people's offense and outsmart them all the time. Probably annoyed some guys, but Flair ALWAYS showed ass so it mattered less.
He still wrestled for years afterwards, though. Mostly in tag matches with Money Inc., before putting over Razor Ramon on his way to becoming a manager.
Bobby: Virgil just came in, he's number 23, right? Gorilla: That's right! Bobby: Just think, who knows how many bags he's gone through in the back! Gorilla: Will you be serious?!
This version of the Undertaker was probably one of the worst from a work rate standpoint, but scared the shit out of us as kids. The degree to which he no-sold was insane, and you thought he would legitimately murder all of your favorites.
The one that always cracked me up was at one of the UK shows during a Mountie vs Kerry Von Erich match of all things.
During the whole show, Bobby is trying to use all of these English expressions to show his worldliness. At one point Monsoon is saying something to him and Heenan breaks into it with something like, 'not now Monsoon, some cute bird in the crowd is giving me the eye!"
Right after that there are several moments of silence and then then he just delivers a line like "Nevermind, she's a pigeon".
Why doesnt WWE acknowledge the #2 entrants who go the wire, or go long distances, with the same reverence as #1 guys? Theyre in the ring for the exact same fucking anount of time. This annoys me greatly.
Ah, I see. So Mysterio lost it to Cena right after winning it? Seems counterproductive .All I remember about that post MITB few weeks was Cena v Punk to unif titles.
They don't need to anymore...they can both say WWF and show the old logo due to a new agreement with the World Wildlife Fund...too bad a good 10 years worth of DVD releases are marred with horrible blurring and edits (Wrestlemania X-7 probably being the worst)...
Cena couldn't be in the tournament on account of being fired. Then Vince was forcibly replaced by Triple H, who reinstated Cena and gave him the first match against the tournament winner.
Mysterio needed surgery anyway, so this was just throwing him a bone without wasting someone else to job out to Cena.
I like how Fink says "It's now time for the ROYAL RUMBLE" rather than "Royal Rumble MATCH" I never liked when they started adding "match" to it. Not sure why. Just a pet peeve.
I despise the "WWE Universe-era" lingo where everything has to spelled out, like 'Royal Rumble MATCH' vs 'Royal Rumble EVENT.' I've been watching this stuff since the 80s and I've had no trouble distinguishing PPV names from matches. I'm sure I'm not alone.
Its why the match was so good. Aside from injury (DiBiase), where weren't a ton of jobbers to jump in and out, so you had a lot of guys sticking around and getting offense in.
I just can't watch the product anymore because of the "WWE Universe" saying. Having old school guys like Lawler or Bret Hart say that just sounds really dumb.
I remember in Rick Martel's shoot interview (which I think is still up on YouTube for free) he talks about how Haku is the baddest man in the business. He says he's the one guy he'd definitely want in a fight on his side.
Its the small things: Ric Flair, after putting the Figure 4 on Roberts, IMMEDIATELY goes to grab the middle rope for leverage, because as no-DQ, it is smart to do such things.
I had legit nightmares about the Undertaker as a 10 year old kid. I saw him fight the Ultimate Warrior at a house show body bag match, and his entrance had me almost in tears. Warrior was my hero for winning the match, because he'd basically defeated fear incarnate.
They couldn't have been as a good as they were if they weren't best friends. A certain level of comfort you have to have with another person to ad lib that beautifully,
My favorite is after the Savage/Flair match at WrestleMania VIII. Heenan comes back to the booth for the Tatanka/Martel, still distraught over Savage pulling the tights. Gorilla keeps egging him on, and it ends up with Heenan challenging him to a fight, right there in the booth. He goes from calm and collected to literally crying in about 15 seconds:
Heenan: We are going to regroup and get the title back, it's only a matter of time.
Gorilla: Oh yeah? How many of you will it take to do THAT? Mr. Perfect spent as much time in the ring as Flair did!
Heenan: I am a broadcast journalist.....
Gorilla: YOU'RE A LIAR!
Heenan: I'm going to sit here and do my job......
Gorilla: YOU'RE A LIAR!
Heenan (stammering): I am a professional and you are not going to make me upset!
That was still so dumb. Superface Cena shouldn't have been booked to face a tired Rey on the SAME NIGHT that Rey won the title....Cena should've insisted on an even playing field. Give Rey a few weeks to rest and hold the title as a reward, and then run Rey/Cena at Summerslam. Cena wins there and THEN Punk comes out.
"That's it, it's over, everything down the toilet..." "Why don't you show some mercy, go down there and throw the towel in?" THE GREATEST commentary in wrestling history BAR NONE.
My favorite part of this match, the selling contest between Flair and HBK on who can take the most ridiculous bump off of Kerry Von Erich's discus punch lol....cracks me up every single time.
That one has always came off seeming a little legit, no? I mean, I assume he just said it to sell the heel victory, but all of the Heenan camp was on camera and it came out VERY fast. I wonder if he was worried about a fire starting or what.
The thing that always bugged me on the CHV version is that they clipped Flair's awesome backstage interview out and replaced it with him talking to Lord Alfred Hayes where he gives away what number he drew.
That's almost as bad as them cutting the end of Flair's entrance at WM8 to cut to a way too happy-go-lucky Randy Savage prior to the match. I mean, you imagine is backstage plotting the nastiest possible ways to kill Flair and that he can't wait for the music to hit so he can run out and murder him, but instead it's like SLIM JIMS FOR EVERYONE YEAAH!
Yes this is my absolute favorite exchange of all of their exchanges -- when Gorilla hits the line "Don't jump, it's a long way down!" I am on the floor in tears.
In just about every shoot/interview that I have recently listened to, including the Austin podcast, nearly EVERYONE mentions Haku as being the most legit tough guy in the business. Flair, Hart, Lawler, etc. have all mentioned this.
Love this match. Top 3 rumble.
ReplyDeleteThis is number 1 with 2001 being number 2.
ReplyDeleteTHE BARBARIAN DOESN'T LIKE FLAIR.
ReplyDeleteBoth amazing Rumbles, but I still have to go with 2004.
ReplyDeleteHe's not a hairdresser on his day off you know.
ReplyDeleteYou mean Top 1.
ReplyDeleteBobby Heenan's best performance ever. There were times when he was funnier of course (accusing Stu and Helen Hart of sneaking into Summerslam 91 for instance) but for the entire hour he was on fire with everything he said and did.
ReplyDeleteJack Tunney was pretty bad in front of a live crowd.
ReplyDelete"The best president since Noriega"
ReplyDelete"Will you be serious??"
Dibiase being eliminated so soon was puzzling. Was he injured?
ReplyDeleteYOU SKIRT WEARING FREAK! IT'S A SKIRT, NOT A KILT!
ReplyDeleteMade sense, since WWE would actually be okay with that now... or at least one would think.
ReplyDeleteI think the Undertaker set the world record for choking people in this match. Think about it, that's the same guy who comes back every year to wrestle great matches as an old broken down man, and all he's doing here in his prime is choking people for 20 minutes.
ReplyDeleteIt's been over 20 years, they've long stopped caring.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think he's still around today? For once or twice a year that is.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta be fair to Flair!
ReplyDeleteYou know it's a great match because I just dropped what I was doing and watched the whole damn thing, even though I've seen it a dozen times.
ReplyDeleteAlso weird seeing Flair have exchanges in his prime with Taker and Shawn before theirs, because their more recent feuds , where Flair was on his way out, Taker was hitting his stride as a worker, and Shawn was king among men, are so much fresher in the memory.
The doctored footage was only ever shown in clip packages (SNME, WM8, one of the Hulkamania tapes) and on some of the TV shows. The commercial releases always had the original audio intact, including the CHV.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed that they didn't blurt out the "F"
ReplyDeleteHis neck was pretty screwed up at that point.
ReplyDeleteDiBiase was awesome. That little bit of offense he got in on Davey Boy was nice.
ReplyDeleteIt's an awesome throwback and one of the best collections of wrestlers ever thrown into a ring.
ReplyDeleteMatches like this remind me of why Davey Boy was so over. Great worker, but also had the power and size.
ReplyDeleteSweet Chin Music being just part of the offense is kind of odd now.
ReplyDeleteIts kind of sad that this era of the WWF completely ignored the history between Von Erich and Flair.
ReplyDeleteOne of the neat things about the match is that a huge amount of the guys in it were on their way out, so they were easily used as short entries that had little overall effect on the main story. I feel like some of the more recent Rumbles were hampered because they were full of huge stars, and thus couldn't use quickie eliminations the way other Rumbles could- too many guys were just hanging around for AGES because they were too important to just throw out like jobbers.
ReplyDeletePiper no-selling Flair was pretty hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI love Heenan's quick turnaround there- he's so gleefully happy that Piper saves Flair once that he immediately kisses his ass... only to turn on him and start freaking the fuck out on commentary.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I mentioned in another review that Piper tended to gobble up people's offense and outsmart them all the time. Probably annoyed some guys, but Flair ALWAYS showed ass so it mattered less.
ReplyDeleteHe still wrestled for years afterwards, though. Mostly in tag matches with Money Inc., before putting over Razor Ramon on his way to becoming a manager.
ReplyDeleteYeah,by the time they got to Summerslam he was nearly immobile. I'm shocked they made it to Wrestlemania as champions.
ReplyDeleteI think my favourite Heenan call ever was during the Rockers break-up. When Jannetty gets tossed through the Barber Shop Window:
ReplyDeleteHeenan: "Did you see that!? Jannetty tried to jump through the window to escape!"
Monsoon: "ARE YOU KIDDING!?"
Heenan: "What an act of cowardice!"
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
ReplyDeleteBobby: Virgil just came in, he's number 23, right?
Gorilla: That's right!
Bobby: Just think, who knows how many bags he's gone through in the back!
Gorilla: Will you be serious?!
This version of the Undertaker was probably one of the worst from a work rate standpoint, but scared the shit out of us as kids. The degree to which he no-sold was insane, and you thought he would legitimately murder all of your favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe one that always cracked me up was at one of the UK shows during a Mountie vs Kerry Von Erich match of all things.
ReplyDeleteDuring the whole show, Bobby is trying to use all of these English expressions to show his worldliness. At one point Monsoon is saying something to him and Heenan breaks into it with something like, 'not now Monsoon, some cute bird in the crowd is giving me the eye!"
Right after that there are several moments of silence and then then he just delivers a line like "Nevermind, she's a pigeon".
Been so long since I've seen this match in full that I now associate Heenan's glee over Flair's win to Botchamania instead of the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteThere wouldn't BE a Royal Rumble today if the 1988 Rumble wasn't so awesome.
ReplyDeleteGuys who won or were awarded the WWE title from abeyance:
ReplyDeleteBob Backlund
Randy Savage
Ric Flair
Bret Hart
The Rock
Triple H
Randy Orton (2)
Rey Mysterio
Orton will attempt to win the title from no one for an unprecedented third time.
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES.
ReplyDeleteI may be misquoting there.
What about Cenas tournament win on Raw after Punk "left" after MITB?
ReplyDeleteGod damn, I miss The Brain.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesnt WWE acknowledge the #2 entrants who go the wire, or go long distances, with the same reverence as #1 guys? Theyre in the ring for the exact same fucking anount of time. This annoys me greatly.
Mysterio won the tournament, then defended the title against Cena.
ReplyDeleteActually, #1 is "in the ring" at least a minute longer.
ReplyDeleteAh, I see. So Mysterio lost it to Cena right after winning it? Seems counterproductive .All I remember about that post MITB few weeks was Cena v Punk to unif titles.
ReplyDeleteNot in terms of match time since the bell doesn't ring until both are in the ring...
ReplyDeleteThis is just the best. The perfect/Heenan/flair trio is the best thing I've ever seen in wrestling. Love this match and 1992 WWF.
ReplyDeleteThey don't need to anymore...they can both say WWF and show the old logo due to a new agreement with the World Wildlife Fund...too bad a good 10 years worth of DVD releases are marred with horrible blurring and edits (Wrestlemania X-7 probably being the worst)...
ReplyDeleteWell, that's not what he said...
ReplyDeleteThats what I meant. Like actual "wrestling time"
ReplyDeleteI always loved Ric Flair's WWF theme...
ReplyDeleteIts the little things: Haku when stalking Flair stomps on Davy Boy as he goes by.
ReplyDeleteCena couldn't be in the tournament on account of being fired. Then Vince was forcibly replaced by Triple H, who reinstated Cena and gave him the first match against the tournament winner.
ReplyDeleteMysterio needed surgery anyway, so this was just throwing him a bone without wasting someone else to job out to Cena.
What a clusterfuck
ReplyDeleteWe are The Knights Who Say YES.
ReplyDeleteKerry probably didn't remember it anyway
ReplyDeleteI was there and the booing for Hogan was really quite loud.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Scott is the one holding the "Ric Flair- Real World Champion Wooo" sign.
If anything being #2 is a bigger disadvantage because #1 often tries to beat the crap out of them when they're first trying to get into the ring.
ReplyDeleteJesus, that roster was loaded.
ReplyDeleteI like how Fink says "It's now time for the ROYAL RUMBLE" rather than "Royal Rumble MATCH" I never liked when they started adding "match" to it. Not sure why. Just a pet peeve.
ReplyDeleteI despise the "WWE Universe-era" lingo where everything has to spelled out, like 'Royal Rumble MATCH' vs 'Royal Rumble EVENT.' I've been watching this stuff since the 80s and I've had no trouble distinguishing PPV names from matches. I'm sure I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this match is the Piper/Flair/Jake the Snake sequence about mid-way through the match. Heenan's in classic form there
ReplyDelete"It's not a skirt. It's a kilt."
ReplyDeleteLater...
"You skirt-wearing freak!"
Haku was an underrated bad ass.
ReplyDeleteI'd like him to break out that Teardrop Suplex again.
ReplyDeleteUndertaker in 1992 - throat thrust, throat thrust, throat thrust. Still just looks like it hurt.
ReplyDeleteMan, I miss pile drivers.
ReplyDeleteIts why the match was so good. Aside from injury (DiBiase), where weren't a ton of jobbers to jump in and out, so you had a lot of guys sticking around and getting offense in.
ReplyDeleteMan - just watching the end. Slaughter took a great bump when he went over the corner and out.
ReplyDeleteHaku is a properly rated bad ass.
ReplyDeleteI just can't watch the product anymore because of the "WWE Universe" saying. Having old school guys like Lawler or Bret Hart say that just sounds really dumb.
ReplyDeleteI remember in Rick Martel's shoot interview (which I think is still up on YouTube for free) he talks about how Haku is the baddest man in the business. He says he's the one guy he'd definitely want in a fight on his side.
ReplyDeleteThat was one of his signature bumps I believe.
ReplyDeleteIts the small things: Ric Flair, after putting the Figure 4 on Roberts, IMMEDIATELY goes to grab the middle rope for leverage, because as no-DQ, it is smart to do such things.
ReplyDeleteI had legit nightmares about the Undertaker as a 10 year old kid. I saw him fight the Ultimate Warrior at a house show body bag match, and his entrance had me almost in tears. Warrior was my hero for winning the match, because he'd basically defeated fear incarnate.
ReplyDelete2005 needs more love
ReplyDeletegene after the match: "put that cigarette out!'
ReplyDeleteBobby: "It doesn't matter who comes out, it's every man for himself!"
ReplyDeleteGorilla: "It does matter, some guys hate Flair more than others"
They couldn't have been as a good as they were if they weren't best friends. A certain level of comfort you have to have with another person to ad lib that beautifully,
ReplyDeleteThe 1990 Rumble is still amazing and it was Andre's last great performance.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is after the Savage/Flair match at WrestleMania VIII. Heenan comes back to the booth for the Tatanka/Martel, still distraught over Savage pulling the tights. Gorilla keeps egging him on, and it ends up with Heenan challenging him to a fight, right there in the booth. He goes from calm and collected to literally crying in about 15 seconds:
ReplyDeleteHeenan: We are going to regroup and get the title back, it's only a matter of time.
Gorilla: Oh yeah? How many of you will it take to do THAT? Mr. Perfect spent as much time in the ring as Flair did!
Heenan: I am a broadcast journalist.....
Gorilla: YOU'RE A LIAR!
Heenan: I'm going to sit here and do my job......
Gorilla: YOU'RE A LIAR!
Heenan (stammering): I am a professional and you are not going to make me upset!
Gorilla: Don't jump! It's a long way down!
Heenan: Put Em' Up!
Gorilla: The brain has lost it here, folks....
Heenan: PUT EM' UP!
Kinda wished Dibiase had at least lasted another minute so Flair could've legitimately said he went through all 29 other guys.
ReplyDeleteThat was still so dumb. Superface Cena shouldn't have been booked to face a tired Rey on the SAME NIGHT that Rey won the title....Cena should've insisted on an even playing field. Give Rey a few weeks to rest and hold the title as a reward, and then run Rey/Cena at Summerslam. Cena wins there and THEN Punk comes out.
ReplyDeleteRoberts was just such a piece of garbage that you wanted Piper and Flair to join forces and beat the crap out of him.
ReplyDeleteThis is easily the best Royal Rumble ever, and for my money one of the top 10 (maybe higher) best matches in WWF/E history.
ReplyDeleteI would watch that crappy Martel-Tatanka match just for that exchange again.
ReplyDelete"That's it, it's over, everything down the toilet..."
ReplyDelete"Why don't you show some mercy, go down there and throw the towel in?"
THE GREATEST commentary in wrestling history BAR NONE.
Forgot how awesome IRSs ring attire was. Black slacks, suspenders, tie, tucked in collared shirt.
ReplyDeleteI actually had to rewind that and watch it again. Dude was sprinting to that corner.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this match, the selling contest between Flair and HBK on who can take the most ridiculous bump off of Kerry Von Erich's discus punch lol....cracks me up every single time.
ReplyDeleteThat one has always came off seeming a little legit, no? I mean, I assume he just said it to sell the heel victory, but all of the Heenan camp was on camera and it came out VERY fast. I wonder if he was worried about a fire starting or what.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that always bugged me on the CHV version is that they clipped Flair's awesome backstage interview out and replaced it with him talking to Lord Alfred Hayes where he gives away what number he drew.
ReplyDeleteThat's almost as bad as them cutting the end of Flair's entrance at WM8 to cut to a way too happy-go-lucky Randy Savage prior to the match. I mean, you imagine is backstage plotting the nastiest possible ways to kill Flair and that he can't wait for the music to hit so he can run out and murder him, but instead it's like SLIM JIMS FOR EVERYONE YEAAH!
Heenan's retelling of his last night with the WWF and Monsoon and him getting misty eyed in the doorway of his hotel room is a pretty touching story.
ReplyDeleteYes this is my absolute favorite exchange of all of their exchanges -- when Gorilla hits the line "Don't jump, it's a long way down!" I am on the floor in tears.
ReplyDeleteThat's even funnier now that we live in a post Virgilbag world.
ReplyDeleteYeah, except he wears a belt while wearing suspenders.
ReplyDeleteWTF?
I crack up every time Flair does his "get punched, walk around dazed, then collapse" bit.
ReplyDeleteHeenan was always golden on commentary - but this 65-70 minutes was the best work of his career; and of anyone else.
ReplyDeleteIn just about every shoot/interview that I have recently listened to, including the Austin podcast, nearly EVERYONE mentions Haku as being the most legit tough guy in the business. Flair, Hart, Lawler, etc. have all mentioned this.
ReplyDeleteRandy Orton fucking sucks.
ReplyDeleteI don't think WE will ever be able to top the era of Monsoon/Heenan on commentary.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean Jack "on the take" Tunney? #hennanism
ReplyDelete