The TN/DW Rumble Card:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL93BD7A428DA7BC1F
Brian Pillman vs. Jushin Liger (c) for the WCW Light Heavyweight Title. This is a great high-energy opening match to start off any card and get our crowd energized for what's to come.
Not Fair for Flair segment -- a brief replay of Heenan, Monsoon, Perfect, and Lord Alfred Hayes discussing the upcoming Rumble on WWF Prime Time. Just a quick reminder of why you're here. As if you didn't know.
Bret Hart vs The Undertaker -- What would a great PPV be without the spectacle of two of the greatest stars of all time going one-on-one? This is the very first time these two have met in the ring, so it gives the viewers something they've never seen before. No title on the line (as that's at stake in the Rumble) -- these guys don't need it. Placed early enough in the card that the Undertaker (in identical costume) can reappear in the Rumble.
Honky Tonk Man (c) vs. ??? for the WWF Intercontinental Title. With Brutus Beefcake taken out (we'll have him on the card later in a non-wrestling role, just to keep him relevant), who would the WWF run out there to extend Honky's record-setting run as the IC champion? Every card needs one great surprise/mark-out moment, and this is ours. Listen to the crowd go absolutely bonkers for this one. The fuller spectacle is at
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3i...continen_sport -- there's nothing comparable on Youtube, unfortunately.
Mr. Perfect vs. The Blue Blazer -- a little something to cool the crowd down just a little bit (but not too much); we don't want them to spend themselves too early. A great, short, technical, palate-cleansing match between two more of the best in the business to satisfy the smarks in the crowd that wonder why Blazer hasn't gone over Hogan yet. Again, plenty early in the card to get Perfect some rest before the Rumble matchup.
TLC 3: Edge and Christian vs. the Dudley Boyz vs. the Hardy Boyz vs. Jericho and (redacted) (c) for the WWF Tag-Team Titles. And, here's the spotfest everyone's been waiting for. TLC 1 and 2 were quite awesome as well, but the addition of two more superstars we had to get on our card, Y2J and (redacted), with the angle of Vince McMahon trying to screw them out of the titles by throwing them into this brutal match with the experts of the trade, just adds a little bit more and is played out perfectly in the match with the apparent injury to (redacted) early on.
Shawn Michaels betrays Marty Jannetty on the Barber Shop -- with both Rockers scheduled to enter the Rumble, but tension mounting between them, what could possibly happen? Only one of the most spectacular and memorable backstage segments in history. Besides, we need some time to clear the debris out of the ring after TLC.
Vader vs. Cactus Jack in a Texas Death Match. Cactus Jack had previously had his nose broken by Vader in a March TV match, and had been powerbombed through a table in April and given a concussion that put him off the air for a few months. This is the blowoff match for this eight month feud between two people who know how to hurt each other.
1992 Royal Rumble for the vacant WWF title. Needless to say, a lot of what you feel about our card will be based on what you feel about this match. It takes up nearly half our ring time. There's not much to say about the match itself; it's a match that's about how it makes you feel about wrestling and about yourself afterwards.
We think it's all completely worth it, and we've crafted our card to build toward this match, which is the consensus best Rumble of all time and one of the most significant matches in WWF history. There are a number of great storylines going into this match, including the obvious controversy over Hogan being stripped of the title by WWF president Jack Tunney, the Undertaker's presence (and we've shown his dominance and indestructibility by putting him over Bret Hart earlier in the card), and Ric Flair being stuck at #3 and how impossible it would be for Flair to make it through the field (pushed masterfully both before and during the match by the team of Monsoon and Heenan). Along with the Rumble itself, culminating in the first WWF title for one of the top few wrestlers of all time, we get the legendary Flair "with a tear in my eye" promo to close out the show, and also leave our fans wondering what will happen with the controversy between Hogan and Sid. And, this is our only heavyweight title match on the card, which we think adds just a little bit more.
We've tried very hard to build just not a collection of really good matches (not that that isn't also an admirable goal), but a cohesive wrestling card that captures and appeals to all the great things about wrestling -- the high flyers, the legendary stars, the technical masterpieces, the spotfests, the brutality, and the drama. With the single exception of the TLC3 match, which we think fits really well despite the time difference, all of our matches and promos are within a 5 year time period from 1988 - 1993.
Last edited by DWetzel; 02-25-2012 at 11:47 AM.