This was one of the better Royal Rumbles that the WWF put on. The internet was not yet a household item at this time, so it wasn't as easy to know who was going to win the match. In so many other Rumbles everyone knew or had a pretty good idea who the winner was going to be. In 1993, it was pretty evident Yokozuna was going to win. In 96, HBK making his dramatic return and main event push was pretty obvious, same with Triple H in 2002. In 98, the WWF's roster was pretty thin and anybody with half a brain knew that Stone Cold Steve Austin was going to win. But in this particular Rumble the winner was not obvious from the start. And this wasn't like other Rumbles where one third of the participants were either glorified jobbers or people brought in from outside the WWF just to fill a slot. Here you had Hogan, Sid Justice, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Undertaker, Macho Man, Sgt. Slaughter. All of whom were viable candidates to win the Rumble. Future talent like Shawn Michaels and Davey Boy Smith also had major roles in the Rumble. I was very disappointed that Ted Dibiase got eliminated in the opening minutes of the match as he was one of my favorites growing up. This rumble also marked the final PPV appearance for longtime 80's WWF mainstays like Nikolai Volkoff, Greg Valentine, Haku, Jimmy Snuka, and the Iron Shiek (goes by Col. Mustafa at this event). All in all, just some great action as the WWF was in a transition period from the Rock N' Wrestling era of the 80's to the Bret Hart/HBK generation of the 90's. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan are still my all time favorite commentator duo. Heenan's cheer leading for Flair was classic. I love it when Flair comes out at #3 and Heenan goes on and on about it not being "Fair to Flair." Truly Flair stole this rumble by winning it from the #3 position. At that time, it seemed like an impossible task. Before then, the rumble winners were all guys who had late draws. But this was one of Ric Flair's greatest wrestling performances ever.
The under card was decent. Roddy Piper winning the IC title is a must see. The crowd absolutely ate it up. And the tag title match between LOD and the Nautrual Disasters was also pretty good, but nothing special. Now the other tag matches were really not all that good. Teams like the New Foundation, the Orient Express, and the Beverly Brothers never got over with the fans. And while the Buschwackers were loved by a lot of fans, they were never taken seriously as legitimate tag team contenders. And were really used as comic relief for their WWF career.
All in all, a pretty good PPV for the WWF. Not the best, but certainly worth a look. If you are a Ric Flair or Roddy Piper fan this event is a must have. Fans of Hulk Hogan should skip this PPV as what went down at this event was the beginning of the end of the Hulkamania era in the WWF.
The under card was decent. Roddy Piper winning the IC title is a must see. The crowd absolutely ate it up. And the tag title match between LOD and the Nautrual Disasters was also pretty good, but nothing special. Now the other tag matches were really not all that good. Teams like the New Foundation, the Orient Express, and the Beverly Brothers never got over with the fans. And while the Buschwackers were loved by a lot of fans, they were never taken seriously as legitimate tag team contenders. And were really used as comic relief for their WWF career.
All in all, a pretty good PPV for the WWF. Not the best, but certainly worth a look. If you are a Ric Flair or Roddy Piper fan this event is a must have. Fans of Hulk Hogan should skip this PPV as what went down at this event was the beginning of the end of the Hulkamania era in the WWF.