STW - Royal Rumble 1991 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

It’s time to Rumble! It’s time for the ROYAL Rumble! And today’s show is all about the 1991 Royal Rumble. It took place on January 19, 1991 at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. 16,000 fans were reported in attendance that night.

The poster for the event really deserves some discussion. It’s the first year where it features drawings of the wrestlers matching toward the camera. This is a spoof of the 1979 film The Warriors, which used that style on their poster. But, since 1991, this has become the standard look for Rumble posters. The next year, they repeated the art style exactly. Even modern posters follow the same style, some more loosely than others.

(Do you recall who would have come up with this idea for the poster? Who was a big proponent of the theme?)

The show was reported to have done better than a three percent buyrate - which was the highest yet of any Rumble pay-per-view. That would mean a gross of about $8.9 million. 440,000 buys were reported. Indeed, it was the most purchased Royal Rumble show until 1999, which did 650,000.

But crazy enough, this Royal Rumble had more buys than this year’s Wrestlemania - or any other Wrestlemania until 1998. If you look at the numbers, this show is where things began to fall fast for the company.

(Why is that? Was this just done in such poor taste that it turned everyone off? Or do you think it was other factors)

Tonight’s commentary team is Gorilla Monsoon and Rowdy Roddy Piper, who hijacks the show about three seconds into it to go on a tirade about the troops. He ends up giving a five star promo, of course, because he’s Roddy Piper. But he’s wild on this night.

News and Notes

Normally, we stick to wrestling news and notes here. But, considering how prominent a role patriotism is playing in the show we are covering today, I thought we might want to look at world events surrounding the Gulf War.

In August, 1990, Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, invaded the oil-rich country of Kuwait. On November 29 the UN Security Council authorized the use of force against Iraq if it did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, 1991. By January 1991 the allied coalition against Iraq had reached a strength of 700,000 troops, including 540,000 U.S. personnel and smaller numbers of British, French, Egyptians, Saudis, Syrians, and several other national contingents. Saddam steadfastly refused to withdraw Iraqi forces from Kuwait, however, which he maintained would remain a province of Iraq. Iraq built up about 300,000 troops during its occupation. It looked like a full-scale war was about to begin.

The allied coalition’s military offensive against Iraq began on January 16–17, 1991, with a massive U.S.-led air campaign that continued throughout the war. Over the next few weeks, this sustained aerial bombardment, which had been named Operation Desert Storm, destroyed Iraq’s air defenses before attacking its communications networks, government buildings, weapons plants, oil refineries, and bridges and roads. By mid-February the allies had shifted their air attacks to Iraq’s forward ground forces in Kuwait and southern Iraq, destroying their fortifications and tanks.

(So, two days before this event, the United States went to war. And tonight, Sergeant Slaughter, managed by Sadaam Hussein, is going to win the world title. Were there any last-minute hesitations about this angle going into the Rumble? Or...did world news events actually influence the decision?)

(Was this a frightening time for Americans? Most of us listening to, watching, hosting, or researching this show were little kids in 1991 and don’t remember)

Following the Rumble, Dave Meltzer would publish a special “investigative research project.”

After nearly two years of investigative research by Dusty Rhodes, the American Dream and this publication working side-by-side, vital new discoveries have been made concerning Titan Sports president Vincent K. McMahon.

For years, it has been erroneously believed by this publication that McMahon continually pushed no-talent wrestlers, even though lacking charisma and that had proven not to be able to sell tickets, simply because he wanted to create a promotion with nothing but oversized steroid freaks. It was believed this would make it easier to create new stars for his promotion, because it takes a good five years to mold a top-rate worker, but you can get steroided out monsters in almost any major gym in the country.

But just before Sgt. Slaughter captured the WWF title Saturday night, a major breakthrough hit our desk. In reality, it is not the muscles and the size that McMahon wants to brainwash fans into believing is superior, it is wrestlers with severe cases of male pattern baldness.

(Want to address these comments? Did Vince have any hang-ups about putting the belt on Sarge given his physique?)

The Event Itself

Let’s get to the show. Meltzer would say it was probably the best WWF pay-per-view event ever. But, he said he had a big issue with the show that he would address after the results. And so will we.

First...

ROYAL RUMBLE 

• Thumbs up: 268 (81.7 percent)
• Thumbs down: 41 (12.5 percent)
• In between: 19 (5.8 percent)

BEST MATCH POLL

• Rockers vs. Orient Express 157
• Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter 12

WORST MATCH POLL

• Koko Ware vs. The Mountie 98
• Royal Rumble 32
• DiBiase & Virgil vs. Rhodes family 25
• Bossman vs. Barbarian 11

1. In the non-televised opener, Jerry Saggs of the Nasty Boys pinned Sam Houston, who has returned to the WWF for a fairly full schedule.**

(I didn’t realize Sam Houston was back in the WWF at this point. Why did he go away and why did the company let him return?)

Let’s get to our opening match. It’s actually sort-of a rematch from the previous year’s Wrestlemania: The Orient Express vs. The Rockers. However, the Wrestlemania team was Tanaka and Sato. Tonight’s team of the Orient Express is Kato (Paul Diamond) and Tanaka. And tonight’s match is far, far superior.

2. The Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Janetty) pinned The Orient Express (Patrick Tanaka & Paul "Kato" Diamond) in 19:12 when Kato tried to slingshot Janetty into a blow by Tanaka, but Michaels hit Tanaka, who bent over, and Janetty leaped over and pinned Tanaka with a sunset flip. This was the best WWF PPV match since the 1987 Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage match at Wrestlemania III. While not constant action, it was mainly action with the Rockers providing many exceptional moves. Clearly, Michaels is one of the most talented individuals inside the ring in this business right now. The Rockers did simultaneous dives through the ropes out of the ring and off the top rope doing cross bodyblocks simultaneously onto the floor. It was long and mainly great but there was a two minute nerve hold as a tribute to the wrestling career of Mr. Fuji. ****

At this point in time, this may have been the best match to be held at a Royal Rumble event. And our research producer contends it is one of the best tag team matches of all time.

(What say you? What was the reaction to this amazing contest? And...how many heads is Shawn Michaels turning at this point?)

Angle time. They interviewed Randy Savage backstage and he said that Sgt. Slaughter promised him a title shot when he would win the WWF title later in the show. Mr. Mooney asked what if Ultimate Warrior won, and Savage said that Sherri would take care of that. So Sherri came out, in front of the crowd and did a long, l--o--n--g interview with Mean Gene. She was all dressed up to not look like every evil spirit in the Western World had possessed her. For all her talents, the one thing Sherri doesn't do well is talk. But finally, and this is scary to say, Warrior came out to save the interview. Sherri asked Warrior to give Savage the next title match (ignoring that Warrior was booked to defend the title against Savage already every night from now till Wrestlemania). Then she started rubbing Warrior's chest, his hair his back, saying how she admired him, talked about their lips touching. Then Sherri got down on her knees. Luckily I don't have a dirty mind because I didn't have the slightest idea what they were trying to portray here. But anyway, Warrior said "No" (the same words he said when they wanted to teach him some new wrestling moves), and Savage started throwing furniture backstage and ran out to the ring, but Warrior was gone.

Dude. When Sherri went down to her knees, the crowd popped like she was going to suck his dick! I think they even chanted it.

(Memories of this segment? Why was the Ultimate Warrior wearing a leather jacket? And...why would a babyface say no to a title defense?)

The next match starts slow but ends up far better than anyone probably expected. Bobby the Brain, who had made derogatory remarks about the Bossman’s mother (on commentary, on Prime Time, etc), was in a blood feud with the Big Bossman. This night, Heenan’s protege is the Barbarian.

(Did Heenan clear these insults with Ray Trayler before saying them? He buries his mom on some of the shows! How did you make sure she didn’t end up getting hurt feelings?)

2. Big Bossman pinned The Barbarian in 14:14 by reversing a flying body press and rolling with it for the pin. The first part of the match was downright awful. They didn't touch until the two minute mark, did a few decent moves, then did a bearhug spot that lasted two-and-a-half minutes. From that point on it was excellent with the two trading one hot move and near fall after another until the finish. **3/4

(Why did the Big Bossman get over as a babyface? He was a heel who committed police brutality and yet, by 91, was one of the most iconic stars of the era.)

Next up, we get to read about Dave Meltzer’s love for Jim Helwig.

3. Sgt. Slaughter won the WWF title from the Anabolic Warrior in 12:45. Yippie, Warrior comes out wearing red, white and blue. Thankfully, the WWF doesn't condone Sgt. Slaughter so he didn't bring General Adnon out with him and they didn't wave the Iraqi flag to infuriate an already riled mob. Oh, they did?

The first two minutes were great with Sarge trying to relive 1981 taking one great bump after another. Well, at this point, poor Sarge is blown up and Warrior, who basically stood still the whole time Sarge was taking these awesome bumps, wasn't in any better shape. Well, out comes Sherri to save the day. Sherri trips Warrior, who jumps out of the ring and chases her down the aisle. Randy Savage is hiding behind some TV equipment and jumps out and gives Warrior a clothesline and hits him with a TV light stand. Slaughter kept breaking up the count while Warrior layed and crawled around for three minutes to get back in the ring. After two minutes of not so hot action (when Warrior has to do the selling and Sarge has to rely on his generally weak-looking offense, it's not good), they went to a two minute bearhug. Then a camel clutch with Warrior in the ropes. Slaughter got up like he'd won, but then Warrior started the comeback. Sherri came out again and got in the ring. Warrior press-slammed Sherri and heaved her way over the top rope into the awaiting arms of Savage. That Sherri deserves to make more money than just about anyone in the company except for a guy like Hogan who puts people in the seats. Anyway, behind the refs back, Savage hit Warrior with his scepter, which splattered everywhere, and Slaughter pinned him to win the title. As a wrestling match, there was nothing to this after the first two minutes. But give the WWF credit enough to know these guys only could go two minutes without outside help. So they sent out the best outside help in the world, and really this thing was very entertaining because of those not involved in the match itself. ***1/2

(I know there are some interesting memories behind this match. When did you decide to put the belt on Slaughter? Was there any concern of or precautions taken in case of a riot? Did Savage swing the scepter as hard as he legitimately could - because Warrior looked hurt? Is this what caused Warrior to wear his stupid ballcap when he got hit by Jerry Lawler with a picture frame in 96?)

4. Instead of risking a riot to have an intermission, they did the next best thing, sending a basic unknown, The Mountie (Jacques Rougeau) out with Koko Ware. It really wasn't bad at all, but nobody cared nor could any two wrestlers get any heat at that point in time. Rougeau won in 9:05. Both tried. Rougeau does some nice tie-up moves. At first glance, the gimmick looks pretty lame, though. *3/4

(This is before The Mountie sang his own theme song, which really did seem to bring the gimmick to the next level. Do you agree? Was there any pushback at this point from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police?)

There’s an awkward series of perso-on-the-street interview spots where random people in the audience give a shout out to our “Troops in Saudi Arabia.” The best is when two cops give a shout out and as the female cop finishes her words, she looks like she’s seen literal Death walk up to her left.

(Did you work on the team that shot these? Any funny memories?)

We get the tradition of hearing from all - or most, I didn’t count - of the Rumble participants before the match. Take note of how big Bulldog and Rick Martel are. HUGE. Now, the final person to speak - oddly enough - isn’t Hulk Hogan. It’s TUGBOAT. He says if it comes down to the Hulkster and himself...well…

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”

Then, they cut cold back to Gorilla and Roddy who are trying not to laugh. Gorilla loses it. Then Roddy loses it. Then Gorilla really loses it.

(What was the idea behind having Tugboat tease a confrontation with Hulk Hogan here? Was that feud STILL a possibility?)

Up next, a match that includes two guys named Virgil. But also, an angle that has been building for literally years. Even at the Royal Rumble the year before, Ted DiBiase was shoving and berating Virgil. And the huge build will culminate in the best possible execution, here.

5. Ted DiBiase & Virgil beat Dusty & Dustin Rhodes in 9:57. Basically a backdrop for the long-awaited DiBiase-Virgil split. Dusty missed a charge into the buckle and was pinned by Teddy. The match itself was pretty bad. Gorilla was wrong again when describing which ligament in the knee they were working over. But the break-up itself after the match couldn't have been done better. Ted had beaten up Virgil just before the finish of the match. DiBiase then told Virgil to pick up his belt (on the mat) and put it around his wait. After a very lengthy dramatic pause (I love how the WWF doesn't rush its angles) Virgil clocked Teddy with the belt hard (Teddy got a slight hardway cut) and walked off. Match deserves one star but the angle itself was four stars. **¼

One of the biggest pops of the night here.

(What were the feelings backstage about the execution of this angle? Did the reaction help make the feud important enough to basically last all year, as it did? What is Virgil thinking after that insane pop?)

(Dusty is wearing much-less gaudy red polkadots. Did he tell Vince he was ordering new tights and perhaps come up with this as a solution? )

Hulkster does a promo next. This must have been live, because he completely forgets Saddam Hussein’s name, turns, looks at Mean Gene, and says “You know who, brother. Sudan! Sudan Hussein.”

(What happened? Did this hurt the character permanently? He looked like a total idiot! Not to mention business fell off after this show…)

(Hulk actually says what the goal of the program is. Sergeant Slaughters reign of terror will be just like Sudan Hussein. So, the company is booking the war between America and Iraq, right?)

[The company denied this was the case in a letter rebuttal to a Dave Meltzer opinion piece on this show. We will talk about the letter and the opinion piece after the Rumble match.]

And now, our main event of the evening.

6. The Immortal and Shameful Hulk Hogan threw out the charismatic Earthquake to win the Royal Rumble in 65:16. This was the worst of the four Rumbles thus far. They kept lots of guys in the ring for long periods of time, but unlike in other years when guys like Curt Hennig, Bret Hart or Shawn Michaels had their best working shoes on and carried the action for the non-workers, it seemed that everyone was just told to go out there and punch and kick and little was worked out. There were almost no high spots, and nobody took any kind of special bumps being eliminated. Since Hogan already told us he was going to win before the thing started by guaranteeing his victory for the troops abroad (up until that interview, I hadn't had as much fun watching a ppv show from any promotion but this degree of exploitive-ness sent my blood pressure up to levels it has never reached before) and was real long and kind of boring actually waiting for the inevitable. Bret Hart started with Dino Bravo which is already a bad start. Then came Greg Valentine (who had signed an exclusive full-time contract with WWF just prior to the event so he's out of any future indie dates including those he's agreed to previously) who threw out Bravo in 3:09. Then came Paul Roma and Kerry Von Erich followed by Rick Martel, Saba Simba and Butch Miller. Martel dumped Saba Simba in 12:41. Jake Roberts was in next and then Hercules. One funny spot was when Hercules forgot to sell Kerry's clothesline. Then came Tito Santana and The Undertaker. Undertaker threw out Hart at 20:38. Snuka came in, Undertaker threw out Butch Miller in 22:30. Davey Boy Smith and Demo Smash came in. Martel eliminated Roberts at 27:14. LOD Hawk and Shane Douglas came in. Undertaker dumped Von Erich and Hawk threw out Snuka at 30:31. I think Roma was dumped somewhere here but I've got no idea where. Randy Savage was supposed to come out next but he never did, as they'll no doubt say he was attacked in the dressing room by Warrior. Too bad. We had official TAC timers timing the 30-yard or so sprint down the aisle (which was the only thing making the match entertaining by this point was finding out who would come out next and time their sprint) and Savage and Curt Hennig were the odds-on favorites to post the best times (times posted later). LOD Animal was next, and they dumped Undertaker with a double clothesline in 34:47. Martel then got Hawk out of there at 34:52. Then Demo Crush, Jim Duggan and Earthquake entered. Quake dumped LOD Animal in 40:54. Mr. Perfect took his sweet time coming out (his official time to saunter in 30 yards was 35.47 seconds, challenging Andre the Giant as the slowest entrance time in Royal Rumble history). But at least he did dump Duggan in 43:04. Then Hogan came out and he dumped Smash at 44:40. Haku came in. Valentine went out at 46:00--which means he was in the ring for 44 minutes. As the story goes, this was his punishment for working the Herb Abrams dates in New York. The company, since Valentine wasn't under contract, couldn't stop him from working indies, but they weren't too happy he worked for McMahon's enemy Mr. Abrams. Jim Neidhart came in. Quake dumped Santana at 48:47. Luke Williams came in, and Quake put him back out in just 21 seconds. Brian Nobbs came in, and dumped Hercules at 53:58. Warlord came in. Hogan dumped Crush in 54:54 and Hogan dumped Warlord in 55:56. The last guy in was Tugboat. Someone dumped Shane Douglas at 56:56. Hulk dumped Tugboat (a feud in about nine months?) in 58:55. Smith dropkicked Mr. Perfect out in 59:04. Martel threw out Neidhart in 59:30. Smith dumped Haku in 59:44. Smith clotheslined Martel out in 60:38, so Martel was in for 52 minutes. I don't even want to speculate what he did to cause that. Earthquake and Nobbs threw out Smith at 61:07, leaving Hogan with Nobbs and Quake. Quake gave him a big splash and an Earthquake, but of course he popped up and with his super powers, eliminated Nobbs with a kick that missed by a foot on 62:28. Hulk collapsed from a bodyslam, then Quake squashed him a few times before we had yet another superman comeback, bodyslam, and clothesline over the top. **1/4

(I loved the tradition of letting stars stay in the Rumble super long to show them as tough competitors. Rick Martel, Bob Backlund, Was that something that was lost after guys started winning the Rumble from the number 1 or 3, in Flair’s case, spot?)

(The spot where no entrant came out was apparently supposed to be Randy Savage - but as a kid, I didn’t pick up on that and found it to be confusing. It didn’t seem like the announcers really knew how to get it over. Was there more to this that maybe never happened? Should Savage have come out and the Warrior have come after him?)

(The thing at the end with Hulk and Quake seemed to go on about twice as long as the crowd wanted it to and Hulk just about lost the crowd at the end before he got them back. Was this supposed to be the big ending to Hulk/Quake?)

(I don’t THINK there was a stipulation in this match for the winner to get a world title shot - but of course, the winner DID get a world title shot. Was that where the Rumble stipulation for a Mania shot came?)

(Overall, what did you think of the Royal Rumble in 1991 - and what do you think about it today?)

Now we already told you that Dave Meltzer was a fan of the show. But as far as the creative? He thought it crossed a line.

At what point does the allowable bad taste that pro wrestling thrives upon cross the line? This question was debated heavily over the past week throughout pro wrestling, particularly within the offices of the World Wrestling Federation.

It was no coincidence that Sgt. Slaughter's shot at the WWF title was to come just four days after the United Nations deadline for Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. Vince McMahon felt that by making Slaughter his world champion, only to lose to a flag-cloaked Hulk Hogan amidst a patriotic orgy of 100,000 fans at the Los Angeles Coliseum that it would be the biggest money-making match in pro wrestling history.

But just a few days before the match, reality got in the way. There was now legitimate U.S. bloodshed in the Persian Gulf. Nearly everyone involved with pro wrestling, both in and out of the WWF, believed that the current world situation would cause McMahon to pack this angle in. While exploiting not-so-vague racial and xenophobic stereotypes is well within wrestling's normal bounds of poor taste, exploiting a legitimate war seemed to cross over the invisible line.

Many within the WWF front office feared a media backlash against such an obvious attempt to heavily exploit the war. A few heavy hitters in the front office were privately considering quitting the company because McMahon refused to change his Wrestlemania plans. There were inter-office arguments, even to the last minute, trying to convince McMahon to allow Warrior to win, or at least change the Slaughter character.

(I have to pause to ask...who is he talking about here? Who was considering quitting - or who might have been most bothered by the angle?)

Because of the fear of such a backlash, the WWF both during its syndicated television shows and Saturday's PPV show made statements wrapping themselves up in the nationalism that war brings out in a country. The company said it didn't condone Slaughter's character during the PPV show, there was continual, almost obsessive propaganda about the current political situation and best of luck wishes for the troops abroad. Hogan himself dedicated his performance in the 30-man Rumble to the troops.

But in this case, the hypocrisy is just too much for me. The company can claim all day long not to condone the character, but it was the president of the company that was the creator of the character and the man who decided to make him champion at the height of the hostilities. He was the one who scripted Slaughter's interviews. He was the one who approved the idea that the company should give the illusion that during the show, Slaughter was backstage desecrating the American flag. He was the one who decided to fuel hostilities among wrestling fans past dangerous levels for no reason other than to line his personal pocket book. Slaughter himself originally, when negotiating to return to the WWF last summer, balked at the villain Anti-American role, but backed down when it became obvious McMahon would hire him no other way. Those close to him say that Slaughter, 42, realized his wrestling career was near its end and was looking for a front office position with the WWF when he had to step down as a wrestler. To get it, Slaughter knew he would have to be 100 percent subservient to McMahon's wishes this go-around.

Randy Savage's interference in the grudge match allows Warrior to be taken out of the championship picture, and leaves Hogan as the patriotic challenger. To further exploit the situation, the WWF wanted to send Hogan to Saudi Arabia to visit the troops, but was turned down by the USO. Instead, Hogan will spend the next few weeks visiting families of those overseas to strengthen his babyface image, while vowing to bring the title back from Hussein's emissary.

(Did Slaughter do this angle to get a front office job? Was that the only way? And was this angle the only way he was going to be brought back in? Originally it was as a more drill sergeant-style heel before he became an Iraqi sympathizer.)

(Looking back...this was a terrible mistake, right? Can we all just admit that?)

Meltzer actually penned a column for The National about the matter. I won’t include the entire thing because we just talked about most of it. But, I want to include the closing paragraph:

“All I want is for someone to admit the truth. Either Mr. McMahon and Mr. Hogan are sincere in wanting hostilities to be pacified and work toward that goal in their own small way by dumping this angle, or at least changing it to the point that there is no longer any confusion that is has anything to do with the world situation; Or Mr. McMahon and Mr. Hogan,at least admit to what this year's Wrestlemania is all about, and stay the hell out of the real world with your phony American schtick. It's better off without you.”

(That’s pretty brutal. Did Dave have a point here? Was this exploitation of a war - or was this art imitating life? And how do you know, as a creative producer, when you’ve crossed that invisible line?)

After Metlzer’s article, Richard Glover penned a harsh letter to the editor of the paper that published Meltzer:

Dear Frank:

Today's "Grunt and Grin" article contained many statements that Mr. Meltzer reasonably should have known were false.

The most glaring and malicious inaccuracy concerns the USO Tour referred to in your last paragraph. the WWF did not seek to send Hulk Hogan to Saudi Arabia. The USO initiated the idea and requested Hulk Hogan to be among the group of celebrities selected to visit our troops. The USO never turned down anything, they wanted Hulk in Saudi Arabia; the Defense Department nixed the trip.

Furthermore, Hulk Hogan's current tour is not "to strengthen his image." It too, comes at the request of the USO. The original trip was entirely planned by the USO who along with AIG, Anheuser-Bush (sic), Coca-Cola Company and AT&T are the sponsors of the current tour.

Had Mr. Meltzer even read the press release prepared by the USO, he would have known that his statements were completely erroneous.

Mr. Meltzer is equally inaccurate in his portrayal of the discussions within the WWF offices. Not only was the content of those meetings inaccurately reported, but the feelings and actions of the participants were inaccurate as well.

Mr. Meltzer's reporting of the re-hiring of Sergeant Slaughter and the development of Slaughter's current position within the WWF are also totally inaccurate. Not only that, but the Ultimate Warrior versus Sergeant Slaughter match was set before the United Nation's resolution setting the January 15 deadline was passed.

Sadly, we are not surprised by Mr. Meltzer's inaccurate, innuendo-filled report. We are shocked that you and your editors have permitted such wanton and reckless reporting with such obvious bias, distortion, falsity and malice.

Frank, we've warned you repeatedly that this would happen. We even supplied Mr. Meltzer with a knowledgeable contact in our office, J.J. Dillon, to verify his facts and information. He did not even make a reasonable effort to check the facts. The WWF insists that you print a complete retraction and apology of equal length and prominence as next week's column. We, of course, reserve all our rights to seek any remedy at law or otherwise.

Sincerely,

Richard K. Glover

Senior Vice President

Business Affairs and Development

Titan Sports

(So there’s always been a thorny relationship between Dave and the WWF? What do you remember the backstage scuttlebutt being regarding his attacks on the company during this time?)