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Welcome to the DVD Lowdown!  Longtime readers of the Xtra site may
remember that when the site first started that I had this modest
little column that looked at and reviewed DVD titles.  Unlike "Byte
This," this 2 year hiatus is now over and the column is back.

So with that said... onto the review...

The DVD Lowdown Reviews...
WWE Royal Rumble Anthology - Vol. 1

2007, WWE Home Video
5-Disc Boxed Set
Total Run Time: 806 Minutes

Vol. 1 of the Royal Rumble Anthology presents the first five events
(1988 - 1992) on individual DVDs.  Each disc contains the event in its
entirety.  There are no special features.

Disc 1: Royal Rumble 1988

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat VS "Ravishing" Rick Rude

This match left me kind of flat.  The action at the beginning of the
match was slow-paced and methodical and it didn't really pick up until
towards the end of the bout.  Not the classic I expected.  Definitely
nowhere near the great stuff they did when they feuded in WCW a couple
years later.

Dino Bravo attempts the World Bench Press Record

This was silly and boring.  Imagine watching a guy lift weights for
about 20 minutes.  It's not that captivating.  The whole payoff of the
angle, where Jesse Ventura helped Bravo bench press the "world record"
wasn't nearly as scandalous as they tried to make it out to be.

WWF Women's Tag Team Champions: The Glamour Girls (Judy Martin &
Leilani Kai) VS The Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno & Itsuki
Yamazaki)

This is the highlight of the show.  This is a best 2 out of 3 falls
match and makes you wonder why we don't see more great women's
wrestling like this nowadays from WWE.  Only thing that bothered me
here was Vince McMahon, who was doing commentary, didn't know the
names of the Bomb Angels.  He kept referring to them as the "Red
Angel" and the "Pink Angel" based on what they were wearing.  Way to
go Vince.

Hulk Hogan VS Andre The Giant Contract Signing

Hulk Hogan was going to take on Andre for their big WrestleMania
re-match at Saturday Night's Main Event and this was the contract
signing.  Actually, this is a fun angle to watch as Andre completely
leaves Hogan laid out afterwards.  Classic segment.

20 Man Royal Rumlbe Match featuring:  B. Brian Blair, Boris Zhukov,
Bret "Hitman" Hart, Butch Reed, "Dangerous" Danny Davis, Dino Bravo,
Don Muraco, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Harley Race, Hillbilly Jim, Jake
"The Snake" Roberts, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, "Jumping" Jim Brunzell,
Junkyard Dog, Nikolai Volkoff, One Man Gang, "Outlaw" Ron Bass, Sam
Houston, Tito Santana, The Ultimate Warrior

This was interesting from the perspective of it being the first
Rumble, but there have certainly been much better Rumbles since then.
Plus, it being the first Rumble ever, with no stipulation that the
winner would receive a title shot, it's fun to watch from the
perspective that everybody has a chance at winning it.  For some
reason though, even though it was announced as 2 minute intervals, the
intervals seemed to vary and were never consistent.

The Young Stallions (Jim Powers & Paul Roma) VS The Islanders (Haku & Tama)

Honestly, I couldn't get into this match.

What to watch on Disc 1:  The Women's tag match, the contract signing
and the Rumble itself.

Disc 2: Royal Rumble 1989

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan & The Hart Foundation (Bret "Hitman" Hart & Jim
"The Anvil" Neidhart) VS Dino Bravo & The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers
(Jacques & Raymond) - Best 2 out of 3 Falls

This was a fun opener, and the crowd was really into it.  A hot tag
match.  The Harts and the Rougeaus worked well against each other, and
Hacksaw was his usual self.  Bravo was the only weak link, but it
didn't matter.  Again, a fun match.

WWF Women's Champion: Rockin' Robin VS Judy Martin

Oof.  This is pretty boring.  The only thing that made it watchable
was that Sensational Sherri joined the commentary team for the match.

Ultimate Warrior VS "Ravishing" Rick Rude - Posedown

This is horrid.  It was bad when HHH and Scott Steiner did it several
years ago, it was worse in 1989.  It's such an illogical concept.  You
have a heel and a face in a posedown... who are the fans going to
cheer for?  Ugh.  The only thing that saves it is when Rude beats down
Warrior after he loses.  Anytime the Warrior is left laying is always
a good thing.

King Haku VS King Harley Race

The story going into the match is that both men are "kings" of the
WWF.  Bobby Heenan managed both men, so he was undecided on who to
root for.  The match isn't anything to write home about, but there are
few stiff shots that both guys get in, and watching Heenan run around
the ring screaming "Go Haku!"  "Come on, Harley!"  is priceless.

30 Man Royal Rumble featuring:  Akeem, Andre The Giant, Arn Anderson,
Bad News Brown, The Barbarian, The Big Boss Man, Big John Studd,
Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Bushwhacker Butch, Bushwhacker Luke,
Demolition Ax, Demolition Smash, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine,
Hercules, The Honky Tonk Man, Hulk Hogan, Jake "The Snake" Roberts,
Koko B. Ware, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Marty Jannetty, "The Million
Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, "Outlaw" Ron Bass, The Red
Rooster, Rick Martel, "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin, Shawn Michaels, Tito
Santana, Tully Blanchard, The Warlord

This was about what you'd expect it to be.  It wasn't bad, to be
honest... but it's nothing that you will remember fondly either.

Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake VS The Genius
 

Again, about what you'd expect.  Nothing great.  The Genius does end
up getting a haircut from Beefcake, until Mr. Perfect hits the ring
and lays him out setting up their match for WrestleMania VI.

"Rugged" Ronnie Garvin VS Greg "The Hammer" Valentine - Submission Match
 

For those of you remembering the classic Austin/Hart match from
WrestleMania 13... forget it.  It's not the kind of action you'll see
here.  This was 17 minutes of boredom.  The story of the match was
that Garvin had a shin-brace that "blocked" the effects of Valentine's
Figure-Four Leglock.  You can't make this stuff up.  Also annoying was
that Garvin and Valentine kept repeatedly trying for pin attempts in a
Submission Match.  I'd rather forget I watched this.

The Brother Love Show with guests Sensational Queen Sherri & Sapphire
 

What does it say about the undercard when this was the best segment on
the show so far?  This was actually entertaining.  Sherri was such a
great heel.  Anyway, after Sherri insults Sapphire a little too much,
the two start "brawling."  Randy Savage hits the ring and pulls
Sapphire off Sherri, Dusty Rhodes hits the ring and those two brawl.
An entertaining segment.

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan VS The Big Boss Man

This was right before Boss Man's babyface turn.  I've always had a
fondness for Duggan, don't ask me why.  And Boss Man I always felt was
a solid worker.  Regardless, this match just plain sucked.  It has a
non-finish, it was slow and plodding and I just could not get into it.

30 Man Royal Rumble featuring:  Akeem, Andre The Giant, Bad News
Brown, The Barbarian, Bret "Hitman" Hart, Demoliton Ax, Demolition
Smash, Dino Bravo, Dusty Rhodes, Earthquake, Haku, Hercules, The Honky
Tonk Man, Hulk Hogan, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Jim "The Anvil"
Neidhart, Koko B. Ware, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Marty Jannetty, "The
Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Mr. Perfect, "Ravishing" Rick Rude,
The Red Rooster, Rick "The Model" Martel, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Shawn
Michaels, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, Tito Santana, The Ultimate Warrior,
The Warlord

Finally after an underwhelming undercard, the Rumble itself delivered.
 Again, I liked that it kept feuds going (Colossal
Connection/Demolition and DiBiase/Roberts).  It also had a classic
moment with Hogan and Warrior facing off in the ring.  When every
other man in the ring had been eliminated and it was just Hogan and
Warrior, that crowd was insane.  A great moment.

What to watch on Disc 3:  Considering the horrendous undercard, just
watch the Rumble.

Disc 4:  Royal Rumble 1991

 The Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels) VS The Orient Express
(Kato & Tanaka)

This match was awesome!  A really hot tag match, and I remember these
two teams working a lot in the early 90s.  A 20 minute tag match...
would you ever see a 20 minute tag match in today's WWE? Best match on
the whole card, including the Rumble itself.

"Mean" Gene Okerlund Interviews Sensational Queen Sherri

Sherri cuts a promo saying that Sgt. Slaughter promised her charge
"Macho King" Randy Savage a title match if he beat the Ultimate
Warrior.  The Warrior came out and Sherri not only came on to him, but
practically begged Warrior for a title shot should he beat Slaughter
but Warrior refused her.  An interesting segment which set up a big
angle later in the show.

The Big Boss Man VS The Barbarian

Boss Man had been feuding with Bobby Heenan's "Family" over comments
that Heenan kept making about Boss Man's mother.  This was a
continuation of the feud, and it was nothing special.

WWF Champion: The Ultimate Warrior VS Sgt. Slaughter

Early in the match, Sherri hit the ring and baited Warrior into
chasing her to the back... where Savage jumped him and did a great
beat-down in the aisle.  Warrior returned to the ring and was on his
way to winning when Savage returned and cost Warrior the title.  The
match itself was "eh," but the angle with Warrior and Savage is worth
watching.
 

Koko B. Ware VS The Mountie

This was the Mountie's debut match.  Well... Jacques Rougeau had been
in the company before, but much like WWE has always been known to do,
his entire history with the company was ignored and he was
"re-packaged" as a Mountie.  Sigh.  Anyway, this was a 9 minute
squash.

Dusty Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes VS "The Millon Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase & Virgil

The match itself is OK.  Nothing special. What IS special is what
happens afterwards.  DiBiase for years had abused and mistreated his
bodyguard Virgil.  Virgil never overtly voiced his displeasure, but it
always seemed like it was brewing within him.  In the weeks leading up
to the match, DiBiase kept bragging that he had the perfect tag
partner because Virgil would do whatever DiBiase told him to do.  They
would show vignettes of Virgil doing the most humiliating things for
DiBiase's pleasure.  After the match, DiBiase completely humiliates
Virgil in front of the crowd, and Virgil finally... after 3 YEARS of
build-up takes out DiBiase.  It was perfectly executed and the fans'
response was awesome.  Fantastic angle.  Too bad Virgil was a terrible
wrestler.

30 Man Royal Rumble featuring:  Bret "Hitman" Hart, Brian Knobbs,
"British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Bushwhacker Butch, Bushwhacker
Luke, Demolition Crush, Demolition Smash, Dino Bravo, Earthquake, Greg
"the Hammer" Valentine, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Haku, Hercules, Hulk
Hogan, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, Mr.
Perfect, Paul Roma, Rick "The Model" Martel, Road Warrior Animal, Road
Warrior Hawk, Saba Simba, Shane Douglas, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka,
"Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich, Tito Santana, Tugboat, The
Undertaker, The Warlord

This wasn't the strongest Rumble, but it was still fun to watch.
Martel's marathon performance was entertaining, but other than that
there was nothing overly special about this Rumble.  Oh, and it's
obvious that Hogan would win it considering he had a 4 minute
interview before the match, while the other competitors only had 15
seconds apiece.  Still, it's an hour of fun wrestling.

What to watch on Disc 4:  The Rockers/Express tag match is awesome.
The WWF championship is worth it only to see Savage's beat down of the
Warrior.  Watch the Virgil/DiBiase angle, which to this day I think is
one of the finest examples of booking ever and the Rumble itself is
worth watching.

Disc 5:  Royal Rumble 1992

The New Foundation (Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart & "The Rocket" Owen Hart)
VS The Orient Express (Kato & Tanaka)

Not nearly as much fun as the previous year's Rockers/Express match,
but still a solid and fun tag team match.  Owen was the workhorse of
the team with Neidhart only coming in for the hot tag towards the end.
 The Orient Express was always an underrated tag team that always had
solid matches.  Anyway, a fun match.

WWF Intercontinental Champion: The Mountie  VS "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
 

Due to, I believe, Bret Hart going through contract negotitations in
the midst of his first run as I/C champ, WWE took the belt off him on
a house show and gave it to the Mountie.  So WWE re-scheduled their
championship match to feature Piper instead of Hart.  This match, if
you were to watch it without the sound on, wouldn't strike you as
anything special... but Piper was so over with the crowd that this
(basically) 5 minute squash was a hell of a lot fun to watch.  Plus,
after almost 10 years in the company, this was Piper's first WWF title
win and to this date his only run with a WWE singles belt ever.

The Bushwhackers (Butch & Luke) VS The Beverly Brothers (Beau & Blake)

This match featured that lovable character we all know and adore...
Jamieson.  And by "lovable" I mean "annoying."  And by "adore" I mean
"loathe."  Yeah.  Um... the less said about this, the better.  This is
the weakest segment of an otherwise strong pay-per-view.  Basic early
90's WWF "comedy."

 WWF Tag Team Champions: The Legion of Doom (Road Warrior Animal &
Road Warrior Hawk) VS The Natural Disasters (Earthquake & Typhoon)
 

On paper this may not seem like a good match, but it was very
entertaining.   Although it had a screwy finish, the two teams put on
a very entertaining, stiff, "big man" style match.  Much different
than the opening tag match with lots of power moves, lots of brawling.
 It also made me realize how much of an underrated wrestler that the
late John "Earthquake" Tenta was.

30 Man Royal Rumble featuring:  The Barbarian, The Berzerker (Jonh
Nord), The Big Boss Man, "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, Colonel
Mustafa (The Iron Sheik), "El Matador" Tito Santana, Greg "The Hammer"
Valentine, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Haku, Hercules, Hulk Hogan, IRS (Mike
Rotundo), Jake "The Snake" Roberts, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, "Million
Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Nasty Boy Jerry Saggs, Nikolai Volkoff, Repo
Man, Ric Flair, Rick "The Model " Martel, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Sgt.
Slaughter, Shawn Michaels, Sid Justice, Skinner (Steve Kiern),
"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, "Texas Tornado" Kerry Von Erich, The
Undertaker, Virgil, The Warlord

This match is over 16 years old now and it is STILL my favorite Rumble
match.  This Rumble was so perfectly booked.  Everything worked.
Flair's marathon performance is one thing, but no one ever mentions
how many former World Champions are in this match.  You had Flair,
Hogan, Savage, Slaughter, Von Erich, Undertaker... plus you also had
Piper, Roberts, Sid, DiBiase, Michaels, Bulldog... this was a PACKED
Rumble.  Another thing that I loved about this match was that every
single babyface, when they entered the ring, immediately went after
Flair and tried to toss him out.  The best moment had to be at the
exact half-way point of the Rumble... somehow, Flair has survived and
he's the only one left in the ring... and number 15 comes out... and
it's Roddy Piper, whom Flair had been feuding with.  Absolutely the
best Rumble ever.

What to watch on Disc 5:  Other than the crappy Bushwhacker/Beverly
Brothers match, top to bottom this is the best disc in the set.  Skip
the Bushwhacker match, watch everything else.

Top 5 Reasons To Buy or Rent WWE Royal Rumble Anthology Vol. 1
1.  The 1989 Royal Rumble match (Disc 2)

2.  The 1990 Royal Rumble match, especially to watch the Hogan/Warrior confrontation (Disc 3)

3.  The Rockers VS The Orient Express (Disc 4)

4.  Virgil turns baby face on Ted DiBiase (Disc 4)

5.  The 1992 Royal Rumble match, for Ric Flair's awesome performance (Disc 5)

 

Availability

Amazon.com = $34.99
Bestbuy.com = $49.99
Circuitcity.com = $49.99
Highspots.com = $42.99
Overstock.com = $34.41
Walmart.com = $34.88
Netflix.com = All 5 discs are available to rent

Last Word:

This is a great set and you should definitely go out of your way to
buy or rent it.  Granted, there is some Pure Grade-A WrestleCrap on
some of the discs, but for the most part a good value.  Highly
recommended.

Questions? Comments? Insults?  Email me at adolfojacosta@gmail.com