The sentence "Then after some special effects, Taker ascends into Heaven, where he will stay for several months until he is awakened by Leslie Nielsen" pretty much sums up the r/brandnewsentence subreddit.
Now that you said it, that phrase has some big "So the children learned to function as a society, and eventually they were rescued by, oh, let's say Moe" vibes.
@@claymathewselevator8121 in a way he does, his brain is still in 1983 and his body is in 2023. Unless you're counting him in uswa with Paul E holding a mobile phone bulkier then a buckshot or getting beat by new jack in a weird proxy war that had less to do with wrestling and more to do with Mr cornhole's idea of race relations in the south that was low effort even for the the mid 90s lol the more ya know
The beauty of Owen's "And that's why I kicked you leg outta your leg" line at 6:04 is you can actually see & hear Owen realizing what he's about to say, only to have no choice but to say it. Right as he's about to say "leg" the second time, his anger subsides for a quick half-second & his voice audibly has that "Oh s***, what am I saying?!" quality to it, but that's why we all love & cherish that line to that day. Also, let's face it, flubbing a line like that would absolutely be something Owen would have thought of doing ahead of time just to see if he could get everyone in the locker room to laugh, but in this case it was completely by accident, which makes it all the funnier.
Reminds me of a similar situation with IRS at King of the Ring later that year. He starts flubbing his line and realizes it but has to finish it. So he says something like he won't have to face IRS again. But he had a hard time getting it out.
5:40 People complain about Owen's promos, but his acting in-ring was some of the best. The end of Wrestlemania X, when he comes out with a mix of fury & legit pain on his face, and the New Hart Foundation formation, where he legit looks like he's gonna cry, are moments that stand out. Just SO good. 16:15 I love this, because it works for Shawn's character SO well. You're really not sure if he was intentionally distracting Diesel to save himself or just genuinely wanted to talk & the others took advantage of the moment. I love these moments of characterization.
Ted Dibiase actually did really good on commentary He was a heel, but he actually did a good job calling the match and giving constructive criticism to both the face and heel wrestlers in the Rumble I think he could’ve made a great recurring commentator
@@notyoursavior78 Me either, but I don't recall him doing anything particularly good either. He didn't have any of the zingers you'd get out of guys like Heenan, Lawler, or Cornette.
@@foxfireinferno197 someone in the comments said that he made a statement that he's as tall as Diesel if he stands on his wallet. If true that's damn funny.
This was my first PPV I remember watching as a kid. I was weird and loved IRS and Tatanka and I talked my parents to get it for me. We watched it together and I fell in love with wrestling officially that night. The Hart family storyline hooked me, I was in ow of the Undertaking/Yoko story, and funky finish in the Rumble itself got me to watch the next week. This is one of my favorite PPVs ever to revisit. Thanks for finally doing this Classic PPV
Genichiro Tenryu is one of my favorite wrestlers from the late 80s early 90s. His tag matches with with Stan Hansen, his work with Toshiaki Kawada and the rest of Revolution, and his war vs Jumbo Tsuruta for the AJPW Triple Crown championship are legendary. And of course the Federation just doesn't mention any of it lol.
The Wrestlemania VII incidents with Kitao screwed him even though he wasn't really doing anything wrong. He was just a body for this match in Vince's mind. And that's a shame that he had to pay the price for his ex-partner's issues.
The undertaker segments where he was always building the caskets and doing his promos we're really well put together. The setting was perfect they really did good making his workshop look creepy as hell.
Hell ya! Mine had this crazy deal on non new releases. It was 10 movies for 10 bucks, for 7 days! And a free bag of pop corn :) Heaven on earth. For us vidiots. :) Cheers
Same! I didn't start watching until 1998 but my local blockbuster had this, WrestleMania 8, Royal Rumble 89, and maybe a few others but I think this was the first I rented and I loved it. It felt so retro even just four years later because wrestling had changed so much in that time.
Joey Marella was involved in the Royal Rumble controversial match in January then died in a car accident in July after falling asleep driving home from a show. RIP Joey.
He's got a permanent home in my "boy stable". (OSW Review reference). The other 4 spots in my stable have changed year to year, but Bam Bam has always, and will always be there.
@14:55, Jarrett has one of the craziest careers of any wrestlers I've learned about. NWA, WCW, WWF/E, TNA, GFW, AEW, GCW, AAA, he has been in all of them and held titles in all except two. He was a world champion as recent as 2018. It is wild.
Yes! 1999 Royal Rumble in two weeks. Been waiting for you to do this one. Really excited for it. I re-watched it last year having not seen it since 1999. So many shenanigans in the Rumble match.
It too bad that The Great Kabuki got no love from the commentators at all. The man is a legend and he deserved to have the guys on commentary tell the viewers how important he was in Japanese wrestling.
I would love to see a review of Royal Rumble 2002! Jericho's first major defense of the Undisputed Championship, Triple H's big babyface run peaking, and the street fight with Vince McMahon vs. Ric Flair. Oh! And can't forget about Maven's iconic elimination of The Undertaker.
I hate to disagree with the Z-man but I thought "Papa Ted (Ted DIbiase)" was decent on commentary of this event. My favorite line from Dibiase was when The Million Dollar Man put Diesel over by saying: "That's one big man, McMahon. Almost as big as me.....while I'm standing on my wallet".
It's kinda a shame that Vince didn't go with the botch and just declare co-winners, and not just for the sake of his quads. The "co-winner controversy" finish had only been done once in '94 (if you don't count the Big Show/Rock finish, which was also a botch). I think they could've at least taken advantage of the botch and incorporated it into the storyline. But this was after the point when Vince had become allergic to spontaneity and everything had to follow their plans.
Also the tie that had a sensible finish. WWE was pretty stupid not to take up that precedent of 1994. But I guess they had to have a silly pop. It's completely against the rules to restart the match if both went over the top rope unto the floor.
Awesome video, Brian! Good to see your streak of great output hasn't rested in peace just yet! (Slight correction headed your way, Genichiro *Tenryu, not Tenju. Still doesn't dampen the viewing experience, just thought I'd mention!)
The Undertaker's Royal Rumble 1994 Outro was the most dramatic exit of his entire career. If you look closely, you can see Taker rising from the Video Wall on a harness and ascending towards the Heavens. That was awesome.
I remember when I was trying to get a friend into wrestling and I hid my head in shame watching the Undertaker segment. Even as a kid I thought it was corny as fk and felt embarrassed while watching it 😂
I'm not surprised that Bret got the louder pop after the match. He had tons of sympathy from earlier in the night due to Owen, AND he was selling a huge knee injury. (Luger got beat up backstage, but he was 100% fresh and a house on fire when he got in the match).
Right. Bret got pop of the night just for showing up in the Rumble. The fact that he was somehow 1 guy from winning the whole thing really got the people behind him.
A lot of fans still felt Bret deserved a rematch with Yokozuna (which he never got, due to Hogan snatching the belt), so that is also why he was so popular.
Nine years old watching this. Ace PPV, plenty of story for every match from the past and going forward, amazing characters and new concepts. Bam Bam was a beast this night. Superheavyweight, opening match, appears in casket match and takes a bunch of bumps, then does an Ironman performance in the Rumble. One of the GOAT superheavyweights. Legend.
Perhaps the single most underrated big guy in wrestling. Such great athleticism and grace in the ring, always fun to watch. Keith Lee reminds me a lot of him.
Kind of amazing that your "four post massacre" reference actually included a(t least one) wrestler (Bam Bam) that was in the actual match you were talking about. edit- That variety of Tenryu pronunciations was both hilarious and mind-boggling. Did you decide to just pronounce it differently every time to cover all the possible bases? There's no "ch" sound in there, my man.
This is really the only ppv I ever got to watch on TV. I was living in Rhode Island at the time. I had this friend named Lamb Lambert. His mom invited a bunch of kids over I never really had access to PPVs except this one.
Brilliant video upload thanks again enjoyed watching it got the 94 royal rumble on tagged classic dvds and ive got it in the 20 royal rumble dvd box set as well mint to watch
Just the way that you describe the taker match in one fell swoop even ending with the Leslie Nielsen sh*t is hilarious and is so bizarre...like who were the writers then? Was this just Vince? I am so happy I was only 9 when this came out and only was there to be entertained and didn't deep dive into story lines so much. Great review, love this channel!
Really enjoying your new HQ and editing as of late(-ish), especially those black and white zoom-ins when someone “is definitely not turning on someone else”. Great comedic timing. Keep up the great work, Z-Man. And a happy belated birthday to you as well!
I've always loved this casket match because it's the one time a heel used a NO DQ rule to its zenith. It makes the heel look more cowardly and it makes the babyface look almost heroic.
Ayyy Providence Rhode Island stand up ! My town ! Love your stuff WWW been watching for years. Probably watched and rewatched all your classic ppl reviews and anything that deals with 90s-2000s wrestling
It would be wild if Brian Zane, Marky D, and Ryan from Wrestling Bios would review a classic pay per view, or at minimum review a recent Conrad Thompson podcast so they can Save with Conrad.
@@roccojamison89gooker51 I think Marky would be a bit too negative for the other three, tbh, i wouldn’t want to see him blow a gasket at 90’s wrestling. Will say, Zane, Ryan, and Conrad would definitely be fun!
I remember watching this as a kid, and even back then the Undertaker match felt like a bit too much. Half the heel locker room was invested in Taker losing.
Storyline wise, I saw it as *NOBODY* wanted Taker as champ, as he would likely be unbeatable. That's why the babyfaces didn't come to help (jerks) hahah
Aside from the finish, one of the biggest things of note for this show was Diesel's Rumble Performance. This was the first Rumble where a talent really got to dominate the Rumble and clear the ring for a few entrants. It was certainly a moment where the fans took notice. As you said, Diesel (a heel) got some cheers for his performance, which helped elevate him. That elevation was even furthered by a great title match against Bret Hart at the King of the Ring PPV, and he would indeed be the WWF champion by year's end. IN fact 2004 in general was good for elevating talent that would become crucial to the future of the business, including Bret Hart, who got his first serious WWF title run. Yes, he had already been a champion, but this is the first time it felt more than a test run. I already mentioned Diesel. ANd both HBK and Razor Ramon would be elevated thanks to the classic ladder match at WMX
It sounds like this ppv was to me what the '99 RR is to you Brian. I was 10 years old and totally awestruck by wwe at the time. Owen's betrayal was so well done as was the finish even if it was annoying that you didn't know who won. And you WAY undervalued the awesome spectacle of Takers beat down and everything afterwards. That was amazing, and made Taker look like a million bucks that it took 10 guys to beat him down considering how long he fought them off for.
I laughed so hard when you said “hide your breadsticks and f money…it’s Virgil”. The best line I heard in ages. I hope Virgil doesn’t see this and take your quote lol. Definitely trade mark that phrase lmao
19:40 I think we were all thinking the same thing, as I imagined Tunney tearing both of his quads. I still loled when Brian said it. Effin Hilarious Good Job Brian! I'm still laughing!!!
If Brian doesn't mention it. In the post of the casket match. A beautiful moment in Bloodline History, Yokozuna put the belt on Afa's shoulder as they head back to the locker room.
There was some residual heat in the Tatanka/BamBam match, despite BamBam being a replacement. They were feuding just after Wrestlemania 9 and during the summer BamBam "Scalped" Bull-Buffalo's hair during a backstage segment. Their feud didn't get much of a resolution as they were on opposite teams with the Smoking Gunns and Headshrinkers at Summerslam '93. Both segued into a different feuds afterwards, BamBam with Doink and Tatanka with Borga...who was feuding with Luger. I would say this is the true blow off to their spring/summer feud and based on the live audience reaction, they still cared.
I'm glad we got Tatanka/Bigelow instead of Tatanka/Borga because Borga didn't have much of a shelf life in WWF to begin with. You know, had he not gotten injured before this PPV as well as job to Earthquake at WrestleMania 10, I wonder if Borga would've challenged Bret for the World Title in the spring or summer of 1994? It would've been interesting to hear Bret cut a promo about how as much as he respects Finland and all its cultures, he won't stand for Borga's bully-boy ways. From there, the two have a match (presumably on Raw or Superstars), Bret makes Borga tap out to the Sharpshooter, and the former Viking is outta the WWF and back to Herb Abrams' UWF in time for Blackjack Brawl against Cowboy Bob Orton.
@@RoyStantz I'm not 100% sure but I believe Borga had a match with Bret on the house show loops in September or October of '93? In any case you're right about Borga having a shelf life as he was intended for Luger to slay, and Luger was done with him by Survivor Series. Had Lex won the title at WrestleMania it's possible he might have gotten a PPV match with Lex, but that would have meant no Diesel Experiment at KotR '94. I highly doubt that Borga would have even gotten a sniff at Bret's title in '94, given Bret's line-up of challengers that year (Owen, Diesel, 123 Kid, Anvil, and Backlund) Considering how fast Vince soured on Lex, had Borga made it to WrestleMania X, Adam Bomb wouldn't have been the one that was squashed by Earthquake that night.
@@TONYGILLEY I agree with all of that. In fact, I checked the results site The History of WWE, and it tells me the only time Bret and Borga ever fought was at a Wrestling Challenge taping at a high school in Carbondale, Pennsylvania on November 9 1993, when it was a tag match pitting Bret and Luger against Yoko and Borga.
Brian I disagree about Yokozuna being afraid of Casket being bad. Remember they made it look like Andre was afraid of snakes. That didn't hurt him either.
11:23 Is this shot from Ready to Rumble? Also, remember when you mentioned Curt Hennig had the yellow singlet underneath the one he wore at Slamboree 2000? Was that a reference to the movie?
Had you grown up watching this as a kid like I did, you would rate this higher. Especially the Undertaker v Yoko match. This was insane as a 6th grader. This Royal Rumble is on my top 3 list of Rumbles.
I can tell you as a kid the Undertaker vs. Yokozuna was pure sports-entertainment in the best way. Seeing him hold off the heel lockerroom for a good few minutes was awesome and made you mark like mad.
I was 11 at this time, so it's one of my favorite Rumbles. I just loved everything about the show as a kid, and even though some of it doesn't age well, the nostalgia is strong.
I was there in Providence that night, obviously it doesn't really hold up as an adult but at the time as a nine-year-old it was the greatest thing I ever witnessed....... The theatrics after the casket match, that's a memory that I still vividly hold till this very day
I vividly remember watching the scrambled version of this PPV on good old channel 32. I really wish I could have convinced my parents to order this one.
I don’t know who needs a Wrestling With Wregret episode more as both men had such a strong WWE rise and a pretty sad fall The Lex Express or Ken Kennedy
Funny enough it's the opposite for me. I watched him for years as Scotty Flamingo, Johnny Polo etc in Global, WCW, WWF that when he came out in ECW as Raven I just couldn't buy the rich, snotty kid suddenly being the dark grunge guy. But...he made it work.
Bam Bam and Tatanka did have a short feud in summer of 93. My favorite heel turn moment was when Owen kicked Bret's leg outta his leg. I was hoping you would say Dees-sul 😆😆 and I love that you mentioned the casket cam
Little tibit i learned from The New Generation Project Podcast - Bret Hart pushed for Owen to be used in the storyline instead of Bruce because in his own words, "Owen was great and Bruce was the shits."
I was 5 the first time I seen this casket match. Undertaker used to scare the crap out of me but for some reason I thought the visual of him ascending to the heavens was cool and still love going back and watching it today
Love your retro reviews. This may be a nitpic, but the Razor Ramore Vs IRS segment you gave 2 1/2 out of 5, but the graphic says 3 1/2. thought that you should know.
Kicking the leg out of someone's leg has to be one of the most brutal ways you can turn on someone. Owen meant business!
Kick or be kicking
Owen Hart is an animal...An Animal!
@@seanjones7339 you're a jam up guy
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, AND ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE!
I am not a nugget!
I miss Owen.
I know we are all thinking the same thing but I still had to say it :)
Cheers from Canada
The sentence "Then after some special effects, Taker ascends into Heaven, where he will stay for several months until he is awakened by Leslie Nielsen" pretty much sums up the r/brandnewsentence subreddit.
Booking by Mad Libs.
That's so funny I was just thinking what a sentence that was.
The Undertaker: Dead and Loving It
Now that you said it, that phrase has some big "So the children learned to function as a society, and eventually they were rescued by, oh, let's say Moe" vibes.
That needs to be a shirt!
Only problem, you need to deal with 2 sets of lawyers.
Cheers
"I must go my funeral home needs me" -undertaker that day
Undertaker died on the way back to his funeral home
Undertaker should have access to a time machine
@@claymathewselevator8121 in a way he does, his brain is still in 1983 and his body is in 2023. Unless you're counting him in uswa with Paul E holding a mobile phone bulkier then a buckshot or getting beat by new jack in a weird proxy war that had less to do with wrestling and more to do with Mr cornhole's idea of race relations in the south that was low effort even for the the mid 90s lol the more ya know
And people do seem to ask where's Undertaker? If only he and Kane would have had a match at a fireworks factory.
@@georgemetcalf8763 Well Vince that was my favorite rumble Royal-Ned Flanders
“It became a flying SOMETHING!” Is now my favourite Brian Zane quote of all time! I love how excited he gets about it! 🤣🤣 8:07
"In comes President Jack Tunney, he'll sort this out and he won't even tear his quads to do it" That got a huge chuckle out of me 😂
The beauty of Owen's "And that's why I kicked you leg outta your leg" line at 6:04 is you can actually see & hear Owen realizing what he's about to say, only to have no choice but to say it. Right as he's about to say "leg" the second time, his anger subsides for a quick half-second & his voice audibly has that "Oh s***, what am I saying?!" quality to it, but that's why we all love & cherish that line to that day.
Also, let's face it, flubbing a line like that would absolutely be something Owen would have thought of doing ahead of time just to see if he could get everyone in the locker room to laugh, but in this case it was completely by accident, which makes it all the funnier.
Reminds me of a similar situation with IRS at King of the Ring later that year. He starts flubbing his line and realizes it but has to finish it. So he says something like he won't have to face IRS again. But he had a hard time getting it out.
But that was Owen
Idk why but the fan selling the salt from Yokozuna has me rolling 😂
That stuff did wind up going everywhere. I guess he just wanted his camera time
Ah man that IRS/ Bray factoid hits different now
5:40 People complain about Owen's promos, but his acting in-ring was some of the best. The end of Wrestlemania X, when he comes out with a mix of fury & legit pain on his face, and the New Hart Foundation formation, where he legit looks like he's gonna cry, are moments that stand out. Just SO good.
16:15 I love this, because it works for Shawn's character SO well. You're really not sure if he was intentionally distracting Diesel to save himself or just genuinely wanted to talk & the others took advantage of the moment. I love these moments of characterization.
0:00
“That’s a, CASKET.”⚰️
D-don’t say-wha don’t say-don’t say that word!”
“What word? Casket?”⚰️
😂😂😂
Ted Dibiase actually did really good on commentary
He was a heel, but he actually did a good job calling the match and giving constructive criticism to both the face and heel wrestlers in the Rumble
I think he could’ve made a great recurring commentator
I agree, thought he did a solid job here.
Yeah I never thought DiBiase was awful here. Maybe I am just too light of critic? I don't remember him doing anything wrong or bad.
@@notyoursavior78 Me either, but I don't recall him doing anything particularly good either. He didn't have any of the zingers you'd get out of guys like Heenan, Lawler, or Cornette.
@@foxfireinferno197 someone in the comments said that he made a statement that he's as tall as Diesel if he stands on his wallet. If true that's damn funny.
I thought DiBiase was great...along the line of Ventura. A heel but called the match and gave the faces their due grudgingly
Yokozuna is supposed to be the villain but seeing the look on his face makes me want to give him a hug, He genuinely looked terrified
He sold it beautifully
Like Andre with Damian.
Brian's right. The gimmick was used a lot back then but we didn't care. Everyone had their kryptonite!
Cheers
@@elreyyakko which really hurts him honestly. He was billed as a monster before and now he's a scaredy cat essentially
@@jayharv285 not really, like someone stated above, Andre was scared of a snake, being scared of death incarnate was fine.
All villains need at least one weakness so it was perfect.
This was my first PPV I remember watching as a kid. I was weird and loved IRS and Tatanka and I talked my parents to get it for me. We watched it together and I fell in love with wrestling officially that night. The Hart family storyline hooked me, I was in ow of the Undertaking/Yoko story, and funky finish in the Rumble itself got me to watch the next week. This is one of my favorite PPVs ever to revisit. Thanks for finally doing this Classic PPV
Genichiro Tenryu is one of my favorite wrestlers from the late 80s early 90s. His tag matches with with Stan Hansen, his work with Toshiaki Kawada and the rest of Revolution, and his war vs Jumbo Tsuruta for the AJPW Triple Crown championship are legendary. And of course the Federation just doesn't mention any of it lol.
The Wrestlemania VII incidents with Kitao screwed him even though he wasn't really doing anything wrong. He was just a body for this match in Vince's mind. And that's a shame that he had to pay the price for his ex-partner's issues.
He's a freaking legend in Japan. Right up there with Kobashi.
The undertaker segments where he was always building the caskets and doing his promos we're really well put together. The setting was perfect they really did good making his workshop look creepy as hell.
I love this PPV. When I was a kid I'd rent this on VHS from the local video store a few times. It's nostalgic to me and I still love it.
Me too! That’s how you got to look at a ppv like this.
Nothing like going to a Video Store on a Friday night in the 90s lol
@@kevinlee9929 word. I used to go to this small town video store and they had a huge selection of WWF tapes. I'd always be renting them
Hell ya!
Mine had this crazy deal on non new releases.
It was 10 movies for 10 bucks, for 7 days! And a free bag of pop corn :)
Heaven on earth. For us vidiots. :) Cheers
Same! I didn't start watching until 1998 but my local blockbuster had this, WrestleMania 8, Royal Rumble 89, and maybe a few others but I think this was the first I rented and I loved it. It felt so retro even just four years later because wrestling had changed so much in that time.
Joey Marella was involved in the Royal Rumble controversial match in January then died in a car accident in July after falling asleep driving home from a show. RIP Joey.
I still met him, pretty drunk, in Germany in April. We didn't believe it when he said he was the son of Gorilla Monsoon.
Man Im just realizing how good bambam really was
I always liked him for his really distinct look but looking back as an adult he was also just really talented
Bambam was amazing for a guy his size and his wrestling psychology and how to keep the audience engaged was 2nd to none.
He was so over in ECW that even as a super heel hooked up with Shane Douglas crowds would lose their 💩 for Bigelow
He's got a permanent home in my "boy stable". (OSW Review reference). The other 4 spots in my stable have changed year to year, but Bam Bam has always, and will always be there.
@14:55, Jarrett has one of the craziest careers of any wrestlers I've learned about. NWA, WCW, WWF/E, TNA, GFW, AEW, GCW, AAA, he has been in all of them and held titles in all except two. He was a world champion as recent as 2018. It is wild.
Not a huge fan of his in-ring work but yeah, he has done everything you can possibly do in the business.
Double J loves the business too much
Yes! 1999 Royal Rumble in two weeks. Been waiting for you to do this one. Really excited for it. I re-watched it last year having not seen it since 1999. So many shenanigans in the Rumble match.
It too bad that The Great Kabuki got no love from the commentators at all. The man is a legend and he deserved to have the guys on commentary tell the viewers how important he was in Japanese wrestling.
I would love to see a review of Royal Rumble 2002! Jericho's first major defense of the Undisputed Championship, Triple H's big babyface run peaking, and the street fight with Vince McMahon vs. Ric Flair. Oh! And can't forget about Maven's iconic elimination of The Undertaker.
Its the best rumble match in my opinion despite triple h winning being predictable
Hopefully get that after the 1999 review if we’re lucky
@@Steven-uk2fz put it over 1992?
And Maven's big loss...to the pop corn machine!
Brutal! Loved it!
@@Steven-uk2fz
I didn’t like that rumble since the ring was mostly clear like 2010
I hate to disagree with the Z-man but I thought "Papa Ted (Ted DIbiase)" was decent on commentary of this event.
My favorite line from Dibiase was when The Million Dollar Man put Diesel over by saying: "That's one big man, McMahon. Almost as big as me.....while I'm standing on my wallet".
Ah yes. The tie that didn't have Vince McMahon tear his quads and have the match restarted!
It's kinda a shame that Vince didn't go with the botch and just declare co-winners, and not just for the sake of his quads. The "co-winner controversy" finish had only been done once in '94 (if you don't count the Big Show/Rock finish, which was also a botch). I think they could've at least taken advantage of the botch and incorporated it into the storyline. But this was after the point when Vince had become allergic to spontaneity and everything had to follow their plans.
Peacemaker vs Drax The Destroyer
@@glennwelsh9784 I'm guessing that they didn't want to end the show w/ the fans booing.
Also the tie that had a sensible finish. WWE was pretty stupid not to take up that precedent of 1994. But I guess they had to have a silly pop. It's completely against the rules to restart the match if both went over the top rope unto the floor.
@@jp3813The fans didn't boo in 1994.
3:51 honestly your impersonations are so spot-fucking-on at times, it's uncanny! Right up there with your Gordon Solie, for me 😊😉
Awesome video, Brian! Good to see your streak of great output hasn't rested in peace just yet!
(Slight correction headed your way, Genichiro *Tenryu, not Tenju. Still doesn't dampen the viewing experience, just thought I'd mention!)
Your Bret impersonation is great lmao
I absolutely love the spot of IRS dodging the foot when coming off the top rope. You hardly ever see that.
Rotunda was an underrated worker
The Undertaker's Royal Rumble 1994 Outro was the most dramatic exit of his entire career. If you look closely, you can see Taker rising from the Video Wall on a harness and ascending towards the Heavens. That was awesome.
Always heard that was Marty Janetty actually ascending..
@@Maniac_Matt Yes.
I remember when I was trying to get a friend into wrestling and I hid my head in shame watching the Undertaker segment. Even as a kid I thought it was corny as fk and felt embarrassed while watching it 😂
I'm not surprised that Bret got the louder pop after the match. He had tons of sympathy from earlier in the night due to Owen, AND he was selling a huge knee injury. (Luger got beat up backstage, but he was 100% fresh and a house on fire when he got in the match).
Right. Bret got pop of the night just for showing up in the Rumble. The fact that he was somehow 1 guy from winning the whole thing really got the people behind him.
Those things certainly added to it, but Bret was also just more popular than Lex. He was the guy fans wanted.
A lot of fans still felt Bret deserved a rematch with Yokozuna (which he never got, due to Hogan snatching the belt), so that is also why he was so popular.
I think people were done w/ the whole muscular American hero at that point. Also, Bret's matches were clearly more entertaining.
@ThrottleVinnieModo I don't think I would describe Bret's matches as entertaining
Zane just throwing out a flawless Bret impression outta now where
Nine years old watching this. Ace PPV, plenty of story for every match from the past and going forward, amazing characters and new concepts. Bam Bam was a beast this night. Superheavyweight, opening match, appears in casket match and takes a bunch of bumps, then does an Ironman performance in the Rumble. One of the GOAT superheavyweights. Legend.
Perhaps the single most underrated big guy in wrestling. Such great athleticism and grace in the ring, always fun to watch. Keith Lee reminds me a lot of him.
My greatest Royal Rumble of all time due to Booger not showing and boiling my eyes out that they made it out like it was Bret who couldn't make it!
@@therealostrich836 Bravo 🤣🤝🏻
Kind of amazing that your "four post massacre" reference actually included a(t least one) wrestler (Bam Bam) that was in the actual match you were talking about. edit- That variety of Tenryu pronunciations was both hilarious and mind-boggling. Did you decide to just pronounce it differently every time to cover all the possible bases? There's no "ch" sound in there, my man.
14:41 a wild Slapnuts appears! (everywhere)
Tatanka and Bam Bam would be tag partners at next year's Rumble with Ted as their manager.
The piper call back is the chefs kiss
1:22
Habs Jersey in the crowd!
Cheers from Montreal
Happy New Year Brian. Hope you and the family are doing well :)
Brian please bring back This Week in Wregret. We need it now more than ever
2:22 correct me if I'm wrong: is it true that Luna was the first ever woman who was playable in wrestling games? (at least in WWE games)
Yes. WWF RAW for SNES and SEGA Genesis.
This is really the only ppv I ever got to watch on TV. I was living in Rhode Island at the time. I had this friend named Lamb Lambert. His mom invited a bunch of kids over I never really had access to PPVs except this one.
Lamb Lambert makes me think of when Dan Lambert was in AEW
Brilliant video upload thanks again enjoyed watching it got the 94 royal rumble on tagged classic dvds and ive got it in the 20 royal rumble dvd box set as well mint to watch
Just the way that you describe the taker match in one fell swoop even ending with the Leslie Nielsen sh*t is hilarious and is so bizarre...like who were the writers then? Was this just Vince? I am so happy I was only 9 when this came out and only was there to be entertained and didn't deep dive into story lines so much. Great review, love this channel!
Jeff Jarrett is the new Jesse Hernandez. Seriously, you can’t escape this man.
Really enjoying your new HQ and editing as of late(-ish), especially those black and white zoom-ins when someone “is definitely not turning on someone else”. Great comedic timing. Keep up the great work, Z-Man. And a happy belated birthday to you as well!
I've always loved this casket match because it's the one time a heel used a NO DQ rule to its zenith. It makes the heel look more cowardly and it makes the babyface look almost heroic.
Man with the entire story with Lex Luger, I so want to see a full in depth look at his time in WWE.
I'm surprised that Brian hasn't already done one.
We were gonna get it in a network doc but it seems to be stuck in some sort of production hell
OSW
OSW review lex express
@@Kaltagstar96 maybe one day it’ll happen.
Ayyy Providence Rhode Island stand up ! My town ! Love your stuff WWW been watching for years. Probably watched and rewatched all your classic ppl reviews and anything that deals with 90s-2000s wrestling
Zane apparently isn't a Marky D fan because he's unaware of that magical phrase "...and a wild slapnuts appears!"
It would be wild if Brian Zane, Marky D, and Ryan from Wrestling Bios would review a classic pay per view, or at minimum review a recent Conrad Thompson podcast so they can Save with Conrad.
@@roccojamison89gooker51 I think Marky would be a bit too negative for the other three, tbh, i wouldn’t want to see him blow a gasket at 90’s wrestling.
Will say, Zane, Ryan, and Conrad would definitely be fun!
DOUBLE J
JEFF JARRETT
I remember watching this as a kid, and even back then the Undertaker match felt like a bit too much. Half the heel locker room was invested in Taker losing.
Storyline wise, I saw it as *NOBODY* wanted Taker as champ, as he would likely be unbeatable. That's why the babyfaces didn't come to help (jerks) hahah
Aside from the finish, one of the biggest things of note for this show was Diesel's Rumble Performance. This was the first Rumble where a talent really got to dominate the Rumble and clear the ring for a few entrants. It was certainly a moment where the fans took notice. As you said, Diesel (a heel) got some cheers for his performance, which helped elevate him. That elevation was even furthered by a great title match against Bret Hart at the King of the Ring PPV, and he would indeed be the WWF champion by year's end.
IN fact 2004 in general was good for elevating talent that would become crucial to the future of the business, including Bret Hart, who got his first serious WWF title run. Yes, he had already been a champion, but this is the first time it felt more than a test run. I already mentioned Diesel. ANd both HBK and Razor Ramon would be elevated thanks to the classic ladder match at WMX
Nash is even on record saying this was the night that Diesel was made.
"And That's Why I Kicked Your Leg Out Of Your Leg" - Owen Hart 1994
Always great to sit down and enjoy quality content after a long work week. Thanks again man
It sounds like this ppv was to me what the '99 RR is to you Brian. I was 10 years old and totally awestruck by wwe at the time. Owen's betrayal was so well done as was the finish even if it was annoying that you didn't know who won. And you WAY undervalued the awesome spectacle of Takers beat down and everything afterwards. That was amazing, and made Taker look like a million bucks that it took 10 guys to beat him down considering how long he fought them off for.
Selling an injured leg is a lost art.
No one sells it better than Bret Hart.
Billy Gunn did a great job selling his hurt ankle in the 99 Rumble.
I laughed so hard when you said “hide your breadsticks and f money…it’s Virgil”. The best line I heard in ages. I hope Virgil doesn’t see this and take your quote lol.
Definitely trade mark that phrase lmao
Owen was such a great heel, a nice guy born to play the bad guy.
Usually the case with most of the best wrestling and film villains in real life
Honestly the heels always end up being the nicest guys. Same reports about Rick rude aswell
14:46 Even when Brian is questioning, there's no other perfect time for this...
"A WILD SLAPNUTS APPEARS!!!"
19:40 I think we were all thinking the same thing, as I imagined Tunney tearing both of his quads.
I still loled when Brian said it. Effin Hilarious Good Job Brian! I'm still laughing!!!
If Brian doesn't mention it. In the post of the casket match. A beautiful moment in Bloodline History, Yokozuna put the belt on Afa's shoulder as they head back to the locker room.
Thanks for the classic review
8:48 The first Z-Man Botch of 2023.
Oh well, this is still a good Classic PPV review on one of my favorite Royal Rumble events, Zane.
Cool review as always Brian 💯
There was some residual heat in the Tatanka/BamBam match, despite BamBam being a replacement. They were feuding just after Wrestlemania 9 and during the summer BamBam "Scalped" Bull-Buffalo's hair during a backstage segment. Their feud didn't get much of a resolution as they were on opposite teams with the Smoking Gunns and Headshrinkers at Summerslam '93. Both segued into a different feuds afterwards, BamBam with Doink and Tatanka with Borga...who was feuding with Luger. I would say this is the true blow off to their spring/summer feud and based on the live audience reaction, they still cared.
I'm glad we got Tatanka/Bigelow instead of Tatanka/Borga because Borga didn't have much of a shelf life in WWF to begin with.
You know, had he not gotten injured before this PPV as well as job to Earthquake at WrestleMania 10, I wonder if Borga would've challenged Bret for the World Title in the spring or summer of 1994?
It would've been interesting to hear Bret cut a promo about how as much as he respects Finland and all its cultures, he won't stand for Borga's bully-boy ways.
From there, the two have a match (presumably on Raw or Superstars), Bret makes Borga tap out to the Sharpshooter, and the former Viking is outta the WWF and back to Herb Abrams' UWF in time for Blackjack Brawl against Cowboy Bob Orton.
@@RoyStantz I'm not 100% sure but I believe Borga had a match with Bret on the house show loops in September or October of '93? In any case you're right about Borga having a shelf life as he was intended for Luger to slay, and Luger was done with him by Survivor Series. Had Lex won the title at WrestleMania it's possible he might have gotten a PPV match with Lex, but that would have meant no Diesel Experiment at KotR '94. I highly doubt that Borga would have even gotten a sniff at Bret's title in '94, given Bret's line-up of challengers that year (Owen, Diesel, 123 Kid, Anvil, and Backlund) Considering how fast Vince soured on Lex, had Borga made it to WrestleMania X, Adam Bomb wouldn't have been the one that was squashed by Earthquake that night.
@@TONYGILLEY I agree with all of that.
In fact, I checked the results site The History of WWE, and it tells me the only time Bret and Borga ever fought was at a Wrestling Challenge taping at a high school in Carbondale, Pennsylvania on November 9 1993, when it was a tag match pitting Bret and Luger against Yoko and Borga.
Not gonna lie your intro always brings up some nostalgia sounds being born in the 1900s. Keep up the good work. Always enjoy your videos.
Brian I disagree about Yokozuna being afraid of Casket being bad. Remember they made it look like Andre was afraid of snakes. That didn't hurt him either.
8:47 "I'll give it 2 and a half stars" (3 and a half stars appear on screen)
The Owen vs Bret feud was the last one that really worked perfectly. This brother vs. brother including the parents was just heart wrenching
It's amazing... Jeff Jarrett is still always there. He's the opposite of "...or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
11:23 Is this shot from Ready to Rumble? Also, remember when you mentioned Curt Hennig had the yellow singlet underneath the one he wore at Slamboree 2000? Was that a reference to the movie?
This was the first Royal Rumble I actually watched. As the younger brother myself, I empathized with Owen.
I think everyone who was the family un-favorite in some way related to Owen's storyline from this period.
Bigelow kicking Tatanka in the back of head to stop his momentum was the Samoa Joe “Nope” move of its time.
This is the first RR I can remember watching "live" (which at the time meant the day after the PPV, after school, having taped it overnight).
How timely that you put this video out after how the NXT Battle Royale ended last night.
Had you grown up watching this as a kid like I did, you would rate this higher. Especially the Undertaker v Yoko match. This was insane as a 6th grader. This Royal Rumble is on my top 3 list of Rumbles.
To be fair, Tatanka and Bam Bam had a major feud the previous Summer, so they had SOME (delayed) issue. Plus they had worked together a lot due to it.
14:26 "Hide your bread sticks and your f*** money; it's Virgil."
I can tell you as a kid the Undertaker vs. Yokozuna was pure sports-entertainment in the best way. Seeing him hold off the heel lockerroom for a good few minutes was awesome and made you mark like mad.
I was 11 at this time, so it's one of my favorite Rumbles. I just loved everything about the show as a kid, and even though some of it doesn't age well, the nostalgia is strong.
I was there in Providence that night, obviously it doesn't really hold up as an adult but at the time as a nine-year-old it was the greatest thing I ever witnessed....... The theatrics after the casket match, that's a memory that I still vividly hold till this very day
8:47 "I'll give it two and a half stars out of five."
*Shows three and a half stars*
I vividly remember watching the scrambled version of this PPV on good old channel 32. I really wish I could have convinced my parents to order this one.
BZ's commentary on the Yoko/Taker match > Anything
Happy late birthday Brian! 🎂🥳 (It was mine too, but I didn't get much time to celebrate until this weekend, but I hope you had fun )
My friend in high school and I had a running joke that the Great Kabuki was Yokozuna's mother
Kabuki also looks like Tommy Wiseau with facepaint.
I don’t know who needs a Wrestling With Wregret episode more as both men had such a strong WWE rise and a pretty sad fall
The Lex Express or Ken Kennedy
0:01 is that Stan Lane?
Indeed it is.
Every time I see him I can’t wrap my head around, that Johnny Polo is Raven 😂
Funny enough it's the opposite for me. I watched him for years as Scotty Flamingo, Johnny Polo etc in Global, WCW, WWF that when he came out in ECW as Raven I just couldn't buy the rich, snotty kid suddenly being the dark grunge guy. But...he made it work.
Most memorable moments from Royal Rumble 99 are the frat boys in the 1st row getting jiggy wit it to Gangrel's theme
19:46 We just had the exact same finish to a Women's Battle Royale on NXT New Years Evil Last Night.
Bam Bam and Tatanka did have a short feud in summer of 93.
My favorite heel turn moment was when Owen kicked Bret's leg outta his leg.
I was hoping you would say Dees-sul 😆😆 and I love that you mentioned the casket cam
Little tibit i learned from The New Generation Project Podcast - Bret Hart pushed for Owen to be used in the storyline instead of Bruce because in his own words, "Owen was great and Bruce was the shits."
love the Bret Hart impression
Top tier Bret Hart impression!
You can’t have many PPVs left that you haven’t already reviewed now? Love your work Sir
I was 5 the first time I seen this casket match. Undertaker used to scare the crap out of me but for some reason I thought the visual of him ascending to the heavens was cool and still love going back and watching it today
"I kicked your leg outtha your...leg...."
" ahh the moment owen decided he wanted to be a mid-carder for the rest of his career" - OOC
Loved this Rumble!!! Brings me back to being 12 years old
Love your retro reviews. This may be a nitpic, but the Razor Ramore Vs IRS segment you gave 2 1/2 out of 5, but the graphic says 3 1/2. thought that you should know.
My favourite Rumble match of all time. Booked to perfection with so many amazing little spots :)
That high/low Irish whip dodge from Bret and Owen was pretty good. More people should do that