In your opinion, what's the best Rumble finishing sequence of all-time?
(Note: I would consider the "finishing sequence" to be everything from final four until the finish, since sometimes you don't even get a proper final two showdown, you just get Brock dumping Taker from behind, seconds after Taker dumped the last guy)
As a refresher, here were the final fours of each Rumble:
1988: Duggan, Muraco, Bravo, One Man Gang
1989: Studd, DiBiase, Akeem, Martel
1990: Hogan, Perfect, Hercules, Rude
1991: Hogan, Bulldog, Earthquake, Knobbs
1992: Flair, Savage, Hogan, Sid
1993: Yokozuna, Martel, Backlund, Savage
1994: Bret, Luger, Fatu, HBK
1995: HBK, Bulldog, Luger, Crush
1996: HBK, Diesel, Bulldog, Kama
1997: Austin, Vader, Taker, Bret/Fake Diesel
1998: Austin, Dude Love, The Rock, Farooq
1999: McMahon, Austin, D-Lo, Bossman
2000: Rock, Big Show, Kane, X-Pac
2001: Austin, Rock, Kane, Billy Gunn
2002: HHH, Angle, Perfect, Austin
2003: Brock, Taker, Kane, Batista
2004: Benoit, Show, Jericho, Angle
2005: Batista, Cena, Mysterio, Edge
2006: Mysterio, Orton, HHH, RVD
2007: Taker, HBK, Edge, Orton
2008: Cena, HHH, Batista, Kane
2009: Orton, HHH, DiBiase, Rhodes
2010: Edge, Cena, HBK, Batista
2011: Alberto, Santino, Orton, Barrett
2012: Sheamus, Jericho, Orton, Show
1994, 1995, 2004, 2007, and 2011.
ReplyDeleteAgree on 2007. 2004 and 2010 are others I'd put up there.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that there is a definitive "best" finish. Ric Flair in 1992 being the first guy to go virtually coast-to-coast left everyone waiting for an elimination that never happened, and even the botched dumping of Hogan couldn't ruin a fantastic and shocking end. It's a shame that we can't relive 2004 anymore, because that was really the best story of a guy overcoming the odds to finally win the big one. And 2007 was without question the best "finishing match" of the Rumble.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure that there is a definitive worst finish: 1993. Randy Savage dropping the elbow on Yokozuna and going for a pin, then leaping over the top rope in an attempt to make it look like that fat ass who could barely lift his own arms off the mat was throwing him five feet into the air was match-ending stupidity that will never be surpassed.
*insert obligatory "Savage should have won the 93 Rumble" here*
ReplyDelete1993 was fun once it got down to the very end, since while you knew that Yokozuna was very likely going to win, the fact that Savage showed up at #30 and Backlund had gotten such a superman run created just enough doubt in your mind that an upset might happen. Going into the RR, I actually thought Savage would win since he was the 'biggest' name in the match and the most realistic option to face Bret at Wrestlemania IX.
ReplyDelete1994 shouldn't count, they shortcircuited the whole 'final sequence' thing by just having the tie.
1997's was fun just for the sheer chaos caused by Foley/Funk brawling on the outside and allowing Austin to sneak back in to clear the field. It was also exciting since for once the obvious winner didn't win...I think everyone thought WM13 would be the Shawn/Bret rematch.
Jericho and Sheamus had a nice 'mini-match' of their own at the finale of the 2012 Rumble but yeah, 2007's Taker/HBK finale was easily the best one.
2012 gets shafted because Jericho lost, but he and Sheamus did a decent Taker/Shawn impression of near eliminations and high drama.
ReplyDeleteNo love for 2001?
ReplyDeleteAs obvious as it was that Austin was winning, that final sequence of Austin bashing Kane over the head repeatedly with chairs and then dumping him was amazing, especially in hindsight when he did the same at Wrestlemania to the Rock.
Rumble 2007 is by far the best as others have said. Other great ones are 2001, 2004, 2011 and 2012.
ReplyDeleteCrap. Take away Scott's answer, and I lose $50,000,000 on 2004.
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorites are 92, 97, and 02. 92 had such star power in the final four that actually ended up being the 2 Wrestlemania main events. 97 had the big brawl that screwed Bret out of the win and set up the submission match vs. Austin, and 02 again produced a ton of star power AND had Mr. Perfect!
ReplyDelete1992 and - in my eyes - it isn't even close. Bye bye Hogan, sore loser, bye bye Sid, YES YES YES YES YES!! I TOLD YOU, MONSOON! That entire sequence is burned into the minds of most Smarks more than 20 years after it happened.
ReplyDelete2004 was really good. It was basically like Big Show v. five guys, they all hit their finishers on Show but he kept tossing them until it got to him and Benoit, and Benoit figured out how to use Big Show's own fat ass to eliminate him. The UT/Michaels "finish" in 2007 was awesome, but from #30 to the end in 2004 was the bees knees.
ReplyDeleteIf you can take it out of today's context, I was always of the opinion that the 2004 Rumble match was the most perfectly booked match in WWE history. They even foreshadowed (!) Benoit's elimination of Show by having him get rid of Bradshaw in almost identical fashion much earlier, highlighting his ability to improvise and adapt to the situation at hand.
ReplyDelete2004 for me. The mini-match between Shawn & Taker was great, but that's not a sequence, that's a match. Big Show against five guys, all of whom repeatedly gang up on him and try everything in their power to eliminate him, but fail as they're picked off one-by-one, until finally the last man standing - and the smallest of the bunch - figures it out at the last second? THAT's a *sequence*.
ReplyDeleteI know that I'm not supposed to say this, but its obvious - I'd have to say 2004.....Remember when it was down to about 8, and Big Show took EVERYONE's finish, and we thought he was done......then finally, Benoit thought up a way to get him out - the cerebral nature of it was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI watched that again yesterday on the clip show they show before the PPV yesterday and it was as good as I remembered it from last year. I think it helped that either guy could have conceivably won..
ReplyDeleteNever doing a proper Savage/Hart singles feud in the WWF was always a big disappointment for me as well.
ReplyDelete93 is disqualified for me due to the stupidity of the ending where savvy ring vet Randy Savage tries to PIN Yokozuna. Really? That's the best they could come up with?
ReplyDeleteThe 1992 ending seems almost surreal, with Sid dumping Hogan, Hogan assisting Flair in dumping Sid and yet the WWF still trying to sell both guys as faces. What can be more heelish than dumping your friend out and then assisting your biggest rival and the biggest heel to eliminate a top babyface? Not sure how Vince thought that would make Hogan come of well.
ReplyDeleteFor as decent as Yoko was for a huge guy, I always feel that looking back on 1993/1994 that he got in the way of a lot of good stuff that should have happened.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that nobody has more than 4 finishes in Royal Rumble history. Austin has 4, Batista has 4, Cena has 4, a bunch has 3.
ReplyDeleteI miscounted. Orton has 5!
ReplyDeleteSo Orton has six final four finishes and is yet to win a Rumble. Choker.
ReplyDeleteOrton won in 2009.
ReplyDelete