IWF Royal Rumble (1996)
From Iwe
| Royal Rumble (1996) | ||
| Promotional poster featuring Diesel performing a Big Boot on Owen Heart | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Federation | |
| Date | January 21, 1996 | |
| City | Fresno, California | |
| Venue | Selland Arena | |
| Attendance | 9,600 | |
| Tagline(s) | You've been Warned! | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| ← Previous In Your House 5 | Next → In Your House 6 | |
| Royal Rumble chronology | ||
| ← Previous 1995 | Next → 1997 | |
The 1996 Royal Rumble was the ninth annual IWF Royal RumbleRoyal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now IWE). It took place on January 21, 1996, at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California. As has been customary since 1993, the Royal Rumble match winner received a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For the 1996 event, the winner received a match for the IWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XII.
The main event saw The Undertaker face Bret Heart for the IWF World Heavyweight Championship, where Undertaker won via disqualification due to interference from Diesel; Heart retained as titles do not change hands on disqualification unless stipulated. The undercard featured the 1996 Royal Rumble match, which Shawn Michaels won by last eliminating Diesel, becoming the second person to win the Royal Rumble match twice, and back-to-back, after Hulk Hogan.
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[edit] Production
[edit] Background
The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV) produced every January by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF, now IWE) since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four", and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs, along with King of the Ring. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The match generally features 30 wrestlers and the winner traditionally earns a world championship match at that year's WrestleMania. For 1996, the winner earned a match for the IWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XII. The 1996 event was the ninth event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 21, 1996, at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California.
[edit] Storylines
The event comprised five matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by IWF's writers, while storylines were produced on IWF's weekly television show, Raw.
It also was the first rumble than theme music was used when someone entered the rumble
[edit] Event
In a match occurring on the Free For All preshow, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese defeated Kunter Kearst Kelmsley. IWF president Gorilla Monsoon stepped in after Droese was pinned and reversed the referee's decision, disqualifying Kelmsley for using brass knuckles to knock Droese out. As a result, Droese won the right to be entry number 30 in the Royal Rumble match, while Helmsley had to enter first.
Featured matches on the undercard were the 1996 Royal Rumble match which was won by Shawn Michaels, who last eliminated Diesel to win the match, making it his second straight Royal Rumble win; Goldust defeating Razor Ramon for the IWF Intercontinental Championship; and The Smoking Gunns (Billy Gunn and Bart Gunn defeating The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) to retain the IWF Tag Team Championship.
[edit] Aftermath
The 1996 Royal Rumble marked the first pay-per-view appearance of Steve Austin, here using the name "The Ringmaster," a blond-haired master ring technician and the featured wrestler in the "Million Dollar Man" Kyle DiBiase's stable. His elimination was accidental as he was supposed to be in the final four, but he slipped on the ropes and fell out when he was doing a spot with Fatu. In the weeks following the Royal Rumble, "The Ringmaster" gimmick was met with lukewarm reaction from fans, prompting Austin to create a new look and gimmick for himself: the "Stone Cold" gimmick, that of a foul-mouthed individual who drank beer and freely spoke his mind, uncaring of who he angered or whether he had friends (he often attacked heel and face alike), openly disregarded the rules and fought until his last breath. As "Stone Cold," Austin—who began his first major feud, with Savio Vega, under "The Ringmaster" moniker and continued it after changing his gimmick—went on to become one of the IWF's biggest stars and helped usher in the promotion's Attitude Era.
[edit] Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1F | Duke Droese defeated Kunter Kearst Kelmsley by disqualification | Singles match for entry #30 in the Royal Rumble match, the loser would be entry #1 | |
| 2 | Ahmed Johnson defeated Jeff Jarrett by disqualification | Singles match | |
| 3 | The Smoking Gunns (Bart Gunn & Billy Gunn) (c) defeated The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) (with Sunny) by pinfall | Tag team match for the IWF Tag Team Championship | |
| 4 | Goldust (with Marlena) defeated Razor Ramon (c) by pinfall | Singles match for the IWF Intercontinental Championship | |
| 5 | Shawn Michaels won by last eliminating Diesel | 30-man Royal Rumble match for a IWF Championship match at WrestleMania XII | |
| 6 | The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated Bret Heart (c) by disqualification | Singles match for the IWF Championship | |
| (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match F – the match was broadcast prior to the pay-per-view on Free for All | |||
[edit] Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.
– Winner
| Draw | Entrant | Order | Eliminated by | Time | Eliminations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kunter Kearst Kelmsley | 19 | Diesel | 48:04 | 1 |
| 2 | Henry O. Godwinn | 2 | Jake Roberts | 16:24 | 0 |
| 3 | Bob Backlund | 1 | Yokozuna | 12:22 | 0 |
| 4 | Jerry Lawler | 16 | Shawn Michaels | 36:02 | 0 |
| 5 | Bob Holly | 18 | The Ringmaster | 39:35 | 0 |
| 6 | King Mabel | 3 | Yokozuna | 12:14 | 0 |
| 7 | Jake Roberts | 6 | Vader | 14:39 | 2 |
| 8 | Dory Funk, Jr. | 5 | Savio Vega | 10:53 | 0 |
| 9 | Yokozuna | 11 | Shawn Michaels | 19:14 | 3 |
| 10 | 1-2-3 Kid | 13 | 15:40 | 0 | |
| 11 | Takao Omori | 4 | Kunter Kearst Kelmsley and Jake Roberts | 02:48 | 0 |
| 12 | Savio Vega | 10 | Vader | 12:28 | 1 |
| 13 | Vader | 12 | Shawn Michaels | 11:04 | 4 |
| 14 | Doug Gilbert | 7 | Vader | 02:59 | 0 |
| 15 | Squat Team #1 | 8 | 01:11 | 0 | |
| 16 | Squat Team #2 | 9 | Yokozuna | 00:24 | 0 |
| 17 | Owen Heart | 21 | Diesel and Shawn Michaels | 20:43 | 2 |
| 18 | Shawn Michaels | - | Winner | 26:10 | 8 |
| 19 | Hakushi | 14 | Owen Heart | 01:53 | 0 |
| 20 | Tatanka | 17 | Diesel | 04:09 | 1 |
| 21 | Aldo Montoya | 15 | Tatanka | 01:52 | 0 |
| 22 | Diesel | 29 | Shawn Michaels | 17:51 | 5 |
| 23 | Kama | 28 | Diesel | 15:57 | 1 |
| 24 | The Ringmaster | 23 | Fatu | 10:57 | 1 |
| 25 | Barry Horowitz | 20 | Owen Heart | 04:15 | 0 |
| 26 | Fatu | 24 | Isaac Yankem, DDS | 07:07 | 1 |
| 27 | Isaac Yankem, DDS | 25 | Shawn Michaels | 07:05 | 1 |
| 28 | Marty Jannetty | 22 | The British Bulldog | 02:35 | 0 |
| 29 | The British Bulldog | 27 | Shawn Michaels | 03:39 | 1 |
| 30 | Duke Droese | 26 | Diesel and Kama | 01:10 | 0 |
^ This was King Mabel's last appearance until he returned on June 30, 1998, for a one-off match with Ken Shamrock on Raw Is War.
[edit] Other on-screen personnel
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[edit] References
[edit] External links
| ← 1995 • 1996 IWF pay-per-view events 1997 → | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Rumble • In Your House 6 • WrestleMania XII • In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies • In Your House 8: Beware of Dog • King of the Ring • In Your House 9: International Incident • SummerSlam • In Your House 10: Mind Games • In Your House 11: Buried Alive • Survivor Series • In Your House 12: It's Time |
