The 1993 Royal Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the sixth annual Royal Rumble event and took place on January 24, 1993, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California. It centered on the men's Royal Rumble match, a modified 30-man battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time.
Six matches were contested at the event, including one dark match. The main event was the 1993 Royal Rumble match. It was won by Yokozuna, who was awarded a match for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IX. This was the first time that the Rumble winner earned a world championship match at WrestleMania, which is now standard for the annual event. In other prominent matches, Bret Hart defeated Razor Ramon to retain the WWF Championship, and Shawn Michaels defeated Marty Jannetty to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The event marked the WWF debut of former World Bodybuilding Federation bodybuilder Lex Luger.
Production
Background The Royal Rumble is an annual professional wrestling event, produced every January by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) since 1988; that first event was a television special before it became an annual pay-per-view (PPV) beginning in 1989. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four". It is named after and centered on the men's Royal Rumble match. The sixth Royal Rumble event was scheduled to be held on January 24, 1993, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.
The Royal Rumble match is a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time, and the match generally features 30 wrestlers. Prior to 1992, there was no prize for winning the match. At the 1992 event, as the WWF Championship had been vacated prior to the event, it was decided that the prize for the 1992 Royal Rumble match would be the vacant title. For the 1993 match, it was decided that the winner would receive a match for the championship at WrestleMania IX.
Storylines The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by writers of the WWF, while storylines were produced on WWF's weekly live television and syndicated shows, Prime Time Wrestling, which was then replaced by the new Monday Night Raw from January 11, 1993, as well as Superstars of Wrestling and Mania.
The primary feud leading up to Royal Rumble 1993 was between WWFChampion Bret Hart and challenger Razor Ramon (a replacement for The Ultimate Warrior, who had left the previous November).Bret Hart talks Roddy Piper & Shawn Michaels. Aftermath. The Score Television Network. June 11, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012. Ramon formed an alliance in late 1992 with Ric Flair, who Hart defeated to win the title belt. During an interview in which Hart was talking about the upcoming match, Ramon and Flair came to the ring and attacked Hart. Ramon later escalated the feud by attacking Owen Hart, Bret's brother.
Another major feud featured at the event was between Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty, who had teamed for several years as The Rockers. The team split up in December 1991, when Michaels attacked Jannetty during an episode of Brutus Beefcake's interview segment, "The Barber Shop". Michaels became a singles wrestler and won the WWF Intercontinental Championship on October 27, 1992, from Davey Boy Smith. On the October 31, 1992, episode of Superstars of Wrestling, Jannetty returned to the WWF after a lengthy absence and confronted Michaels. He attempted to hit Michaels with a mirror, but Michaels pulled his valet, Sensational Sherri in front of him. Sherri was hit with the mirror, which caused friction between her and Michaels. Michaels and Jannetty were scheduled to face each other for the Intercontinental Championship at Royal Rumble 1993. Leading up to the match, Sherri announced that she would be in the corner of one of the men, but she refused to say which one.
In an undercard match, The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner), who made their WWF debut in late 1992, were scheduled to face the Beverly Brothers (Beau Beverly and Blake Beverly). There was little buildup for the match, but the Steiners and Beverlys had a rivalry over which was the best team of brothers in the WWF (although the Beverly Brothers are not related in real life).
Several feuds also formed the background for the Royal Rumble match. Virgil had served as Ted DiBiase's servant and bodyguard for several years. DiBiase treated Virgil poorly, which eventually led Virgil to turn against his employer. At Royal Rumble 1991, he attacked DiBiase after a match by hitting him with the Million Dollar Championship, a title that DiBiase had awarded himself. Virgil defeated DiBiase for the belt at SummerSlam 1991, although DiBiase later regained the title. The Undertaker was feuding with manager Harvey Wippleman. He had a series of matches against Kamala in 1992 that included a bout at SummerSlam. The rivalry culminated in a coffin match at Survivor Series 1992. The Undertaker won the match, but Wippleman vowed revenge. Tito Santana and Rick Martel had formed a tag team known as Strike Force in 1987, and they held the World Tag Team Championship together for five months. Martel walked away during a match against the Brain Busters at WrestleMania V, leaving Santana to face both opponents alone. The team split up as a result and the former partners had a lengthy feud.
Mr. Perfect served as "executive consultant" to Ric Flair in 1992, but the relationship broke down toward the end of the year. The partnership split up when Perfect teamed with Randy Savage to face Flair and Razor Ramon at Survivor Series 1992. Flair legitimately requested a release from his contract, as he felt he would be more successful if he returned to World Championship Wrestling (WCW). WWF owner Vince McMahon agreed and set up a feud between Flair and Perfect to create a storyline for Flair's departure from the company. Many wrestlers were scheduled to compete at the 1993 Royal Rumble but were either replaced or had left the company before the event. Those who were scheduled to compete were Doink the Clown, Crush, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, The Mountie, and Kamala.
The event also featured the WWF debut of Lex Luger. Luger had previously wrestled in WCW, where he held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. He had left the wrestling industry to join Vince McMahon's World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF). After the WBF failed, Luger signed with McMahon's WWF.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:CommentatorGorilla MonsoonBobby HeenanInterviewersGene OkerlundRaymond RougeauRing announcerHoward FinkelRefereeJohn BonelloDanny DavisJack DoanEarl HebnerJoey MarellaBill Alfonso Preliminary matches Five matches with pre-determined results were shown on the pay-per-view telecast. In addition, Doink the Clown defeated Jim Powers by submission in an untelevised dark match before the event. In the first match shown as part of the broadcast, the Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) faced the Beverly Brothers (Beau Beverly and Blake Beverly). Scott gained the early advantage over Beau, and both men quickly tagged in their partners. Rick performed a body slam on Blake, and then tagged Scott back in, who threw Blake with a belly to belly suplex. The Beverly Brothers regained the advantage and took turns attacking Scott's back. Blake performed a Boston crab hold to put more pressure on Scott's back and attempt to force him to submit. Scott escaped the hold and threw Blake to the mat by performing a Tiger driver. The Steiners capitalized on their advantage by keeping Blake in the ring and unable to tag his partner. Scott won the match for his team by pinning Blake after executing a Frankensteiner.
In the next match, Sensational Sherri stood at ringside as Shawn Michaels defended his Intercontinental Championship against Marty Jannetty. She did not reveal her allegiance to either man. Jannetty gained the early advantage, knocking Michaels out of the ring and diving into him through the ropes. He then attacked Michaels by jumping off the top rope, but Michaels countered this move by hitting him on the way down. Michaels hit Jannetty's shoulder against the ring post and focused on wearing down the shoulder once both men had re-entered the ring. Michaels missed an attack from the top rope, which allowed Jannetty to punch him repeatedly. Michaels recovered and threw Jannetty out of the ring, but Jannetty then suplexed Michaels over the rope and onto the arena floor. Sherri turned on Michaels by slapping him in the face, and Jannetty threw Michaels back into the ring with a belly-to-back suplex. Jannetty performed a power slam and a DDT on Michaels. Michaels attempted to punch Jannetty but knocked the referee unconscious instead. Sherri came into the ring and tried to hit Michaels with her shoe. Michaels moved out of the way, and Sherri hit Jannetty instead. When the referee recovered, Michaels performed a superkick on Jannetty and pinned him to retain the championship.
The third televised match featured the Big Boss Man facing Bam Bam Bigelow. Bigelow attacked Boss Man before the match and controlled the match's beginning by using power moves to wear Boss Man down. Boss Man performed two clotheslines on Bigelow to gain the advantage. Bigelow responded by throwing Boss Man with a belly-to-back suplex, and then threw him out of the ring. He wore Boss Man down with a bear hug. Boss Man briefly regained the advantage by suplexing Bigelow but eventually tried to run at Bigelow to crush him in the corner of the ring. As Boss Man approached, Bigelow kicked him in the face and followed this up by performing a diving headbutt from the top rope to win the match by pinfall.
The next match was for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, as Bret Hart defended the title against Razor Ramon. Ramon got the early advantage by punching Hart repeatedly but accidentally hit his knee against a turnbuckle while running at Hart. Hart applied a figure-four leglock to apply pressure to Ramon's knee. Ramon escaped the hold and threw Hart against a ring post; he capitalized on this advantage by attacking Hart's back. Ramon threw Hart with a fallaway slam and applied a bear hug. Hart escaped the hold by biting Ramon. He threw Ramon out of the ring and performed several of his signature moves, including a Russian legsweep and an elbow drop from the second rope. Hart applied the Sharpshooter, his signature hold, but Ramon grabbed the ropes, which forced the referee to instruct Hart to break the hold. Hart threw Ramon with a belly-to-back suplex, but Ramon responded by attempting to perform the Razor's Edge, his signature move. Hart reversed this into an unsuccessful pin attempt. With both men exhausted, Hart applied the Sharpshooter and won the match by forcing Ramon to submit.
Before the final match, Bobby Heenan, a manager and commentator, unveiled his newest wrestler, "The Narcissist" Lex Luger. Heenan pointed out Luger's muscles and announced that Luger would carry on Heenan's rivalry with Mr. Perfect.
Main event