Royal Rumble was the fourth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling
pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on
January 19, 1991, at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida.
The main event was the 1991 Royal Rumble match won by Hulk Hogan, who last
eliminated Earthquake to win the match. Featured matches on the undercard were
The Ultimate Warrior versus Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF Championship, Ted
DiBiase and Virgil versus Dusty Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes and The Mountie versus
Koko B. Ware. Background
Royal Rumble featured professional wrestling matches involving different
wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were
played out on Superstars, Wrestling Challenge and Prime Time Wrestling — the
World Wrestling Federation's television programs. Wrestlers portrayed a villain
or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and
culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches.
The pay-per-view featured the annual Royal Rumble match, which has been
featured at every Royal Rumble event since its inception. It features 30
wrestlers, and the match ends when one wrestler remains in the ring, after all
29 other wrestlers have been eliminated via being tossed over the top ring rope
and having both feet touch the floor. The main feud heading into the Royal
Rumble was between the WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior, who had been champion
since defeating Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990, and
Sgt. Slaughter, who had returned to the WWF in 1990 and became a villainous
sympathizer of the Iraqi government. Their feud began building during a time
when the United States was engaged in Operation Desert Shield. During the
build-up to their match, Slaughter and his manager, General Adnan, cut several
anti-American promos to build heat for the event; at one point, Slaughter
unwrapped a present and revealed a pair of boots purportedly sent to him by
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussien. In the meantime, Randy Savage challenged
Warrior to his own series of matches, which Warrior successfully answered.
Event = Main event matches =
The tag team match pitting Ted DiBiase and Virgil against Dusty Rhodes and
Rhodes' son, Dustin Rhodes was most notable for Virgil's split from DiBiase.
Tensions that had been building between the two in the previous weeks exploded
when – after the match – Virgil struck DiBiase in the head with his Million
Dollar Championship to turn fan favorite character. DiBiase had verbally abused
Virgil throughout the match, and at one point attacked him and threw him from
the ring after he was being dominated by the Rhodes' team. DiBiase went on to pin
Dusty Rhodes with a roll-up. Prior to the Warrior-Slaughter match at
the Royal Rumble, Sensational Sherri attempted to seduce Warrior into
granting Savage a title shot. Warrior refused, enraging Savage. During the
match itself, Warrior easily fought off a double-team attack by Adnan and
Slaughter, running Adnan off before shredding the Iraqi flag and stuffing it
into Slaughter's mouth. As Warrior was attempting to finish off Slaughter,
Sherri interfered by grabbing Warrior's leg; Warrior chased Sherri down the
aisle before he was attacked by Savage near the platform area. Savage struck
Warrior with a spotlight as Slaughter regained his senses and distracted the
referee. After several minutes of Slaughter holding the advantage, Warrior
rallied and set up Slaughter for the gorilla press slam. However, Warrior
grabbed Sherri and press slammed her onto Savage, who had also appeared at
ringside. This gave Slaughter time to hit a knee strike to Warrior's back.
Savage then struck Warrior in the head with the scepter, allowing Slaughter to
pin the champion. After Warrior came to his senses, he ran backstage to find
Savage. The Royal Rumble marked the continuation
of an ongoing feud between Hulk Hogan and Earthquake, whose roots dated to
mid-1990 when Earthquake injured Hogan in a sneak attack during "The Brother
Love Show". Hogan and Earthquake were the final two competitors in the Royal
Rumble, and Hogan eliminated Earthquake to win the Royal Rumble.
The pay-per-view broadcast also included featured pre-taped comments from fans
outside the arena, wishing United States troops a quick and safe return from the
Middle East, and an announcement that Hogan would tour military bases across
the country to support the troops. Aftermath
Following his WWF Championship loss, Warrior focused on revenge against
Savage, with their first encounter being a steel cage match January 21 at Madison
Square Garden in New York City, which Savage won; Warrior was enraged and –
despite being restrained by several referees and other wrestlers – attacked
Sherri after the match by slamming her in the ring. Meanwhile, Warrior was
unsuccessful in regaining the title, losing a series of steel cage matches to
Slaughter, usually thanks to interference from Sensational Sherri.
Warrior and Savage eventually agreed to a "career vs. career match" at
WrestleMania VII, which Warrior won. Hogan, meanwhile, was named the number
one contender for Slaughter's WWF Championship. During a promo that took
place right after the Slaughter-Warrior match, Gene Okerlund "received word"
that Slaughter was defacing the American flag, to which Hogan vowed that
Slaughter's reign as World Champion would be short-lived. At WrestleMania
VII, Hogan defeated Slaughter to become World Champion for the third time.
Results = Royal Rumble entrances and
eliminations = A new entrant came out approximately
every 2 minutes. Hulk Hogan became the first man to win
the Royal Rumble twice. Rick Martel set a new longevity record
with a time of 52:17. References
External links Official website