[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] The World Wrestling Entertainment,
for over 50 years,
the revolutionary force in sports entertainment.
-[thunder rumbling] -[dramatic music concludes]
[intriguing music playing]
[narrator] For Shawn Michaels, it's always been about being champion.
Sure, he was branded cocky, flamboyant, a brazen showman in his youth,
but the heart of a champion was always there.
And, when he defeated Bret "The Hitman" Hart at WrestleMania 12,
it was truly the consummation of a boyhood dream.
But, the true defining moment of Shawn Michaels' brilliant career
may have been etched in defeat.
Last November, in Madison Square Garden,
the dream was shattered at the hands of Sycho Sid,
but for Shawn, that was of secondary concern.
That night, the Boy Toy grew up, displaying compassion and humanity.
He cared less for the title than for the welfare of his fallen mentor.
Tonight, it's not about ego or accolades.
There's more than just the championship at stake.
Tonight, it's about justice, redemption, a rebirth of sorts.
For tonight, San Antonio's favorite son returns home,
older, wiser, innocence lost.
Tonight, the favorite son returns home a man.
[upbeat country music playing]
[narrator] And now, the 1997 Royal Rumble.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Welcome, everyone. The 1997 Royal Rumble.
We are live
from the magnificent Alamodome,
in deeply magnificent and beautiful San Antonio, Texas.
[crowd cheering]
At ringside, J.R. as well as Jerry "the King" Lawler.
And, we are expecting electricity. We already have it.
Absolutely. The atmosphere, ladies and gentlemen!
I wish you could be here. There is nothing that …
There's no words to express how we feel right now here in the Alamodome.
And, King, you got that smile on your face.
-Must be a reason. -Well, because nowhere else on earth,
except the World Wrestling Entertainment does success go to a man's mouth.
We've heard a lot of talk from Shawn Michaels
and we've heard a lot of talk from Sycho Sid,
and tonight, they gotta put up or shut up.
[Vince] Joining us in Spanish, ladies and gentlemen,
our Spanish commentator. Yes, we are joined live,
Arturo Rivera, the legendary Arturo Rivera on the left,
along with Hugo Savinovich, of course, in the middle,
along with, of course, well, Carlos Cabrera.
And then, moving along, we have a father-son announce team.
Yes, in France, ladies and gentlemen.
Matter of fact, everyone up in Canada joining us,
Ray Rougeau, along with his dad,
Jacques Rougeau, Sr.
[speaks French]
[bell ringing]
-[Vince] Broadcast all over the world. -[Howard] Ladies and gentlemen.
The following contest scheduled for one-fall
is for the World Wrestling Entertainment Intercontinental Championship.
Coming down the aisle is the challenger,
accompanied by Marlena, from Hollywood, California,
weighing 260 pounds,
Goldust!
-["Gold-Lust" playing] -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Goldust, the bizarre one, along with Marlena.
And, Goldust has become a fan favorite all over the world, J.R.
[Ross] Well, it's certainly an unusual turn of events.
-[Vince] Phenomenon. -[Ross] Yes, if you think back
just a few months ago, the controversy that Goldust stirred.
[Vince] Sure. He was misunderstood all along.
[Jerry] Yeah, right.
[Vince] He is different, and he is still very bizarre.
Oh, my goodness. Look at this.
[fireworks crackle]
[Vince] It's gonna be a shoot-out, ladies and gentlemen!
Goldust, right here in San Antonio, one-on-one
with the Intercontinental Champion, Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
[narrator] With Hunter Hearst Helmsley, what you see is what you get.
He is arrogant, conceited and self-absorbed.
Helmsley believes all women are, by nature, infatuated with him.
Since becoming Intercontinental Champion, Triple H's ego has expanded
more than his stock portfolio.
People think I have a big mouth around here,
that I think I'm better than everybody else.
Well, I am.
[narrator] Goldust has always been somewhat of an enigma.
He is bizarre and outrageous, a master of mind games.
He is a former two-time Intercontinental Champion,
but, until recently, Goldust left the rest up to our imagination.
Well, you know, you're…
You're…
-Well, aren't you? -A what?
[bleeps]
No.
-[Vince] Oh! -[crowd cheering]
[narrator] Has jealousy outted a hidden side of Goldust?
When Helmsley attempted to add Marlena to his trophy case,
Marlena said no.
So, Helmsley took matters into his own hands, literally.
[Vince] Hunter Hearst Helmsley picked up Marlena and is taking her away.
[Jerry] Look out! Goldust now. Oh, no! Oh!
[Vince] Oh, no. Marlena down.
She's hurt, and there's nothing Goldust can do about it.
[narrator] The relationship between Goldust and Marlena,
has created more questions than answers.
Is Helmsley truly infatuated with Marlena
or is he using Marlena to distract Goldust?
Or is Goldust putting on his finest performance?
Is Goldust's real desire the Intercontinental title?
["Ode to Joy" playing]
[Vince] And Goldust awaiting the presence.
And here he comes,
the Intercontinental Champion, Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
[Ross] He's not alone either.
-[Vince] What do mean by that? -[Ross] Helmsley's not alone!
[Howard] Hunter Hearst Helmsley!
[Vince] Wait just a moment.
[Jerry] I like it. Yes.
[Ross] I heard him speaking to someone earlier today about…
-Hey! Hey! Hey! Uh-oh! -[Vince] Hey, oh!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Goldust wasting no time.
The match has not begun, but Goldust has begun the action.
And look at him get right in the face
of the individual escorting Mr. Helmsley out,
and that certainly looks very much like Curtis Hughes.
-[bell ringing] -[Ross] It certainly is. It's Mr. Hughes,
and I heard Helmsley talking earlier today about how happy he was
with his new butler, but Mr. Hughes, I'm sure…
Would he be a butler?
[Vince] Not unless he's gone to butler school…
-[Jerry chuckles] -…and right now, it looks like
Goldust is taking Mr. Helmsley to school, all right.
[Jerry] Well, I think that referee should've disqualified
Goldust from the get-go. Didn't even wait for the bell to ring,
attacked Hunter Hearst Helmsley in the aisle.
[Vince] Goldust with good reason to be upset over the recent actions
-of Hunter Hearst Helmsley… -[Jerry] Come on.
…as was just chronicled.
[Jerry] Look at this now. What is this?
-[Vince] Oh! -[Jerry] Oh!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And Goldust quite the aggressor.
Hey! Knock it off.
[Jerry] Referee's cutting Goldust a little slack here.
[Ross] Yeah, tell me why.
[Vince] Well, it's the Royal Rumble event,
and… Marlena looking on.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
has really come into his own as the Intercontinental Champion.
Everyone knew he was an extraordinary athlete,
but since becoming Intercontinental Champion,
he has scored quite a number of victories.
-[grunts] -[Vince] And a right hand,
a succession of them.
Goldust catching Helmsley off guard,
-and Helmsley driving the knee… -[Jerry] There ya go. Yes!
…into the spinal area.
[Ross] Inverted atomic drop by Hunter Hearst Helmsley,
a real thinking man's wrestler.
Helmsley won the Intercontinental title from "Wildman" Marc Mero
on Monday Night Raw, last October in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
[Jerry] I'm glad to hear you call him a thinking man's wrestler.
I've had the privilege to be partners with Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
This guy's greatly misunderstood. He's not only a great athlete.
-He's a humanitarian! -[Vince] Oh, wait a minute.
Here comes the Pedigree! No. Almost.
-[Vince] And, oh, no. -[Jerry screams]
[crowd cheers]
[Vince] And, Helmsley over and out.
[Jerry] Helmsley went over the top rope and his lower back
caught the edge of the ring as he went over the top.
And, clearly, Goldust, thus far, has been the aggressor in this matchup.
[Ross] Come on, Mr. Hughes. Don't just stand there.
[Vince] And I'm wondering whether or not…
-[Jerry] No! -[Vince] Oh!
[Jerry] What about that?
[Ross] That's not a very smart move by Goldust.
I don't know how far the referee's gonna let this one go
before he intercedes.
[Vince] Well, indeed, as you brought out, J.R., because you cannot win
the Intercontinental Championship or any title,
if, in fact, you are disqualified.
And look at Helmsley doing everything he can to escape,
and this official must maintain some order here,
-and listen to this. -[Jerry] Come on, McMahon!
Even you know that should've been a disqualification.
[Vince] I'll agree with you.
-[grunts] -[Vince] Oh, no.
Goldust, I guess, his game plan is to really take it to Helmsley
and risk being disqualified and, obviously,
put him in a weakened state and then capitalize on it.
[Jerry] I think his game plan is to use those metal steps as a stepping stone
to the Intercontinental title.
[Vince] If he can do it and get away with it.
[Ross] Well, Goldust is 6'6, about 265, certainly has a leverage,
and I would say, a strength advantage over Helmsley.
Helmsley weighing in at 246, but…
-[Jerry] Oh. -[Ross] There ya go.
Well, that'll turn the tide.
Helmsley has just bought himself a little time here.
[Vince] Well, wait a minute. This just in. Unfortunately, we have just been notified
that George and Adam, you know the two young men
who have been here forever at the Royal Rumble,
and we saw them interviewed in a free-for-all by Todd Pettengill.
Apparently, they made their way down for the interview with Shawn Michaels
in the free-for-all,
and unfortunately security has thrown them out of the building.
[Jerry laughing]
They sat here for weeks, and now they got thrown out.
[Vince] I don't find that humorous. Terrible misunderstanding
on the part of the security force here at the Alamodome.
Maybe they'll get it straightened out.
[Ross] Helmsley fighting back now, trying to reassert himself here.
-Hard Irish whip. Oh! -[Jerry] Look out!
[Vince] Oh, right into the boot.
[Jerry] Helmsley has had trouble getting on tract.
-[Vince] He certainly has-- -[Ross] Look out!
[Vince] And he may continue to have difficulty.
Here's a cover. We have a count.
-[Ross] Nope. -[Vince] And no.
-Hunter Hearst Helmsley… -[screams]
…grabbing the official now, anything just to beg off a bit.
[Ross] Helmsley was in a desperate state last night on Shotgun Saturday Night.
-[Vince] Yes, he was. -[Ross] Thanks to Goldust.
But as we said in the free-for-all, when we went off the air last night,
Helmsley was making pretty good use of a pool cue on Goldust.
And, Goldust…
on the outside, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley going upstairs.
[Jerry] Yeah, finish him off.
[Vince] Hunter Hearst Helmsley now with tremendous leverage.
-[Ross] Here he goes! Look out. -[Jerry] Oh, yeah!
[referee] Hey, hey, hey!
[Ross] Nice double axe handle from the top as Helmsley now has turned the corner,
and there we see Curtis Hughes, Mr. Hughes, if you will.
[Vince] And, you think that's the new butler of Hunter Hearst Helmsley?
[Ross] I have no reason to believe it's not.
I heard Helmsley telling someone earlier today
-that he was just-- -[Vince] Uh-oh. Watch out! Watch out!
-Oh! Right into the ringpost. -[Jerry] Yeah.
[Ross] Helmsley, right at this point, I don't think Helmsley would care
how he retains the Intercontinental title.
I think a count-out would suit him just fine,
seeing as though how this match has started.
[Vince] And Hunter Hearst Helmsley trying to turn the tide on Goldust.
Just as Goldust started this match off in a highly aggressive fashion,
it looks like Hunter has really turned things around,
and now he Goldust set up.
-Look out! Oh! -[Jerry] Oh!
[Ross] Well, that's a big mistake right there by Helmsley,
drove his knee into the steel security railing.
[Vince] And that could very well be the mistake--
Yes! That Goldust needs to capitalize on.
[Ross] Well, good strategy by Goldust going right back to work on the leg.
-[Jerry] Come on, ref, not again. -[Vince] Not those steel steps.
-[Vince] Oh! -[Jerry] Oh!
[Ross] You know, this thing might as well be non-sanctioned.
They've been out…
The referee could've counted 'em both out if he had chosen to.
-That's a discretionary thing right there. -[Vince] He could have disqualified
both men as well, if he had wanted to.
[Ross] Absolutely.
[Jerry] Discretionary? It's disgraceful.
[Vince] And Hunter Hearst Helmsley may not have enough to get back in the ring.
It looks like Goldust is gonna help him.
All Goldust has to do now is cover him for the count of three
or make him submit!
And a submission certainly is not out of the question
considering the damage that is continually being done
to the knee of Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
[Ross] Single-leg pick up and then a back trip by Goldust,
who just drove his knee into the insertion of Helmsley's.
[groans, pants]
[Vince] And Helmsley getting to the ropes to try and break the hold,
and Goldust, listening to the official's count.
[crowd cheering]
-[Vince] Well, admonition and-- -[Jerry] Come on, refs!
[Vince] Oh!
[Ross] One of Helmsley's great advantages in this matchup
going in was his quickness.
That, perhaps, has been negated entirely with Goldust's attack
on Helmsley's leg, his upper leg and knee.
[Jerry] Yeah, his illegal attack, thanks to that referee.
I guess, obviously, the referee would like to see
Goldust be the new Intercontinental Champion.
[Triple H groans]
[Ross] What do you think? Helmsley gonna put you in his will, King?
You've endorsed him. You put the stamp of approval on him.
-What's your-- -[Jerry] He's got a lot of money.
-Don't worry about it. -[Vince] I think you have your
eyes set on someone else.
Find out a little bit later on perhaps.
[Triple H groans]
[Vince] Goldust continuing to hammer into that knee,
and Goldust and Marlena have made quite an impact here
in the World Wrestling Entertainment since arriving, and…
Uh-oh, wait a minute. Oh.
And Helmsley getting out of that one in an aggressive fashion.
[Jerry] Can't stand Goldust, but I, you know, I can't say any of that--
anything bad about Marlena,
-especially when she wears that outfit. -[Vince] Mm-hmm, exactly.
[Jerry] It brings out the bust in her, I mean the…
-[Vince] The best in her. -[Jerry] Best in her.
-[Goldust grunts] -[Ross] Hammer him!
[Vince] Hunter Hearst Helmsley having his problems again.
Goldust alertly going right back to the bad leg.
[Ross] Goldust's bizarreness
has somewhat masked his in-ring ability at times.
-There's a figure-four! -[Vince] Yes, indeed.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And can Hunter Hearst Helmsley withstand the pain
that he must be experiencing as a result of this figure-four
-and the damage done with the earlier? -[Jerry] Look at this.
-[Vince] Oh, he was almost counted out. -[Jerry] Come on, ref.
-[Vince] Helmsley. -[Ross] Goldust had great success
last year at the Royal Rumble. He won the Intercontinental Championship.
Could he do it again? Make it two years in a row?
[Vince] And to think that these two individuals,
after this match is over, are scheduled, at least,
whether they will or not, are scheduled to enter the 30-man,
every-man-for-himself Royal Rumble matchup.
But, at this pace, I don't think either individual's gonna be in it.
[Jerry] Don't count Hunter Hearst Helmsley out yet.
[Ross] I don't know. If they can walk, they're gonna be in it
because the stakes are too high. They may get a late number.
You know, Helmsley or Goldust could be 29 or 30.
-[Vince] That's right. -[Ross] The 29th or 30th entrant,
and that could be-- make all the difference.
[Vince] Luck of the draw has so much to do with the outcome
of the Royal Rumble matchup. And, look at this.
Like a cat. Here we go.
-Goldust now… Oh! -[Jerry] Oh!
[Vince] Shades of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
on the British Bulldog as of late.
There you see Goldust all over Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
[Ross] Well, the key for Goldust now is not to lose his composure
and get the Intercontinental Champion in the ring.
That's the only place that Goldust can win
the Intercontinental Championship, is inside the ropes.
[Vince] Helmsley bashed down into the apron.
[referee] Seven!
[Jerry] I'm busy counting here. I'm up to about 54.
[Vince] I see.
[Jerry] Why didn't the referee count Goldust out?
[Ross] Why don't you ask these questions to Monsoon?
He's in charge of the officials.
We can't answer those questions, King.
[Vince] Maybe it's because you wouldn't want to be assigned
as a guest referee on occasion.
-[Ross] That'd be a good idea. -[Jerry] Yeah, you're right.
I would've already disqualified Goldust.
-[Vince] I'm sure you would have. [laughs] -[Ross] Be the red cashew.
[Jerry] The what? The who?
[Vince] Uh-oh. Look out.
-[Jerry] Look at this! -[Ross] Oh, man!
[Vince] Oh, no.
[Ross] You know, I'm no huge fan of Helmsley. I think I…
Well, I admire his athleticism, but I’m not so sure
the referee shouldn't call for disqualification.
[Jerry] Yeah, how much is he gonna let him get away with?
[Vince] That's a very good point.
[Ross] And, I think this is the same referee that is assigned
the matchup for the title.
If this is his attitude, letting just about anything go,
hell, there's no telling what's gonna happen later tonight.
[Vince] Well, when it's game time,
especially when the stakes are as high as they are at the Royal Rumble,
then I guess, maybe, this official at least,
is allowing a little more latitude to say the least.
[Jerry] Well, later on tonight, that's gonna go in the favor of Sycho Sid.
[Vince] It could very well.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley back in the ring, maybe not for long.
[Ross] Look at Goldust. What's he trying to do now,
show off that one chest hair he's got?
[Vince] Goldust with Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
Helmsley with a knee to the midsection, catching Goldust off guard.
Helmsley setting Goldust up for the ride off the rope.
-From the other side now, and, oh! -[Jerry] Ah, yes! [chuckles]
[Ross] Goldust went away from the ground attack,
took a high-risk, a moderate high-risk maneuver,
quite frankly, and it didn't pay off for him.
He should've gone right back to the leg.
[Jerry] Should've fallen out with his head and hit those steps.
[Vince] Hunter Hearst Helmsley making his way to the outside.
[Ross] If I were Helmsley, I’d just leave him out there.
[Jerry] Come on. This is a shame.
-[Vince] Look at Helmsley. -[Ross] Poor Hunter's leg.
[Vince] He really has-- Oh, no. No, no, no, into the rail.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust using the guard rails,
-using the steel steps, ringposts. -[Jerry] Oh!
[Ross] And this is only the first match here on the pay-per-view.
[Vince] I would suggest that Gorilla Monsoon,
the president of the World Wrestling Entertainment,
who is here in attendance, is watching this matchup,
and I don't know that he's going to allow all this bending of the rules,
so to speak, out and out breaking of the rules…
-[Jerry] Right. -…in the upcoming matches.
[Vince] Then again, he may just say, "Hey, let 'em wrestle."
-[crowd cheering] -[Jerry] You the man, Hunter!
[Ross] Helmsley is standing, but just barely.
He can't hardly do his curtsy.
[Vince] Goldust and Helmsley.
[grunts]
-[referee] One. -[grunts]
[referee] Two.
[Vince] And, again, the official picking up the count,
not that that necessarily matters at this juncture.
[Ross] Helmsley now has-- Oh, he's seen…
[Vince] Wait a minute, he's got the director's chair.
…a closer look at Marlena. I thought.
-I mean, you know… -[Vince] Oh, no.
[Jerry] Ref, come on.
[Vince] Finally, the official physically getting involved.
[Ross] You gotta make a call sometime.
[Jerry] Why didn't you grab those steps a while ago?
[Vince] What Hunter's hot about now.
Todd Pettengill, ladies and gentlemen,
somewhere in this mass of humanity along with…
Oh, my goodness.
…country western superstar, there's Collin Raye!
Vince, superstars in the squared circle and right here, Collin Raye.
"Little Rock." I listen to you, man. How you doin'?
Doin' great, man. It's good to see you, Todd.
Famous country singer right here. How you enjoyin' things?
Oh, man. This is wonderful.
I'm so glad that the Royal Rumble's in my home state,
down here in Texas. I don't have to go all the way to the east coast
-to see it, you know. -Come on. Sing a little bit.
-Sing a little bit. Yeah. -Oh, I do--
-Which one? -"Little Rock."
♪ Think I’m on a roll here In San Antonio ♪
[laughs]
-He's changed the words. -A little awkward in San Antonio.
Collin Raye. Let's get back to ringside.
[Vince] Well, thank you, there, Todd.
[Jerry] Pettengill, send him over here and let him autograph Jim Ross' hat.
[Vince] Oh!
And Hunter Hearst Helmsley…
[Ross] I don't know how smart that move was.
Helmsley, the thinking man's wrestler
has damaged his own leg even more, it would seem.
[Vince] Nonetheless crawling over, and for the cover.
-[Jerry] Come on, ref. -[Vince] We have a count.
[Vince] Two, and-- No, that left shoulder coming up.
[Ross] Goldust looking to three-peat here
in this Intercontinental Championship matchup
that has been a somewhat strange contest…
-[Jerry] Oh. -[Ross] …so far.
[Vince] And a clothesline by Goldust.
-[Ross] It's almost as if Goldust… -[Vince] Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
[Ross] This is more personal than it is for the Intercontinental title.
His strategy has been very bizarre.
[Vince] Goldust back up on his feet.
A hard right hand, another one.
Goldust now with more intensity.
-Off the rope, and back body drop. -[Jerry shrieks]
-Oh! -[Vince] Nicely executed.
[Jerry] How can all these thousands of people be cheering for Goldust?
[Vince] Goldust to the outside, on the apron.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And upstairs.
High-risk maneuver coming, the first one.
-[Jerry] Look at Hunter. -[Vince] The attempt backfired,
-and so did that one. -[Jerry] Yes.
[Ross] Well, Helmsley shoved the referee back into the ropes.
You see the result.
Not a very pleasant or tender landing for Goldust.
[Jerry] Finally, the referee makes himself useful.
[Vince] And Goldust better get off there. Here comes Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
-[Vince] Uh-oh. -[Jerry] Uh-oh. Oh, yeah.
[Vince] And Helmsley really wants to capitalize
on the weakened condition of Goldust.
[Jerry] If Helmsley hits this, it may allow him to put Goldust away.
-Oh! -[Vince] Headbutt by Goldust,
and Helmsley goes down.
And now, Goldust on the top. What's gonna happen here?
-Goldust… -[Jerry] Look out, Hunter!
-…gets his balance, and no. -[Jerry] No!
-[Vince] Nobody home. -[Ross] That did it.
Obviously, Goldust much too…
-Wait a minute. -[Vince] Hey, wait a minute.
[Ross] Uh, Hughes has just tossed the Intercontinental belt
to Helmsley, and I don't…
The referee not aware of that, and…
[Vince] Oh, no. Wait a minute.
The official trying to get Mr. Hughes down.
[Jerry] Marlena better get down.
[Vince] And, Marlena… Oh, wait.
-[crowd cheering] -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Vince] Helmsley just kissed Marlena.
[Jerry] Marlena kissed Hunter.
[Vince] Hell no. Wait a minute.
And now, it's Goldust with the championship…
-[Ross] Look out! -[Jerry] Oh!
[Vince] Forget about it. We got a new champion.
Just turn around and cover him.
[Jerry] I can't believe Marlena kissed Hunter in front of all these people.
[Vince] Here we… One, two, and a new--
No. Wait a minute.
[Ross] Hughes, I don't-- Hughes pulled Helmsley out of the ring
before the referee could finish the count.
[Vince] And Hunter Hearst Helmsley,
still the Intercontinental Champion. Now, Goldust shoving Hughes.
Wait a minute, I just think he… He just took Marlena's cigar
and jammed it into Hughes' face.
[Jerry] Look out!
[Vince] Helmsley, from behind, attacking Goldust.
-Setting him up now. -[Jerry] Yes.
-[Vince] Oh, no. -[Jerry] Oh, yes.
[Vince] Wait a minute. Here we go, the Pedigree.
-Nobody gets up from the Pedigree. -[Jerry] Right.
[Jerry] Did he? Yes!
[bell ringing]
["Ode to Joy" playing]
[Howard] The winner of this round
and still World Wrestling Entertainment Intercontinental Champion,
Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
[Jerry] Now, go give him another victory kiss, Marlena.
[Vince] Marlena wiping…
Hunter Hearst Helmsley's kiss off of her.
[Jerry] Come one, McMahon.
Everybody knows to the winner goes the spoils.
Go on up there, Marlena. You belong to Hunter now.
[Vince] And there you see all that cigar.
It was put out in the neck of Mr. Hughes.
[Ross] Marlena used Hughes' face for an ash tray, or Goldust did, rather.
[Jerry] Well, she just didn't wanna have cigar breath when she kissed Hunter.
-[Vince] Well, that's nothing. -[Ross] Let me tell you something.
This issue between Goldust and Helmsley is not over.
I hope that Helmsley doesn't think that it is,
'cause I got a feeling that it's just gonna escalate.
[Vince] Nonetheless, Goldust will return tonight,
ladies and gentlemen, and participate in the upcoming 30-man,
every-man-for-himself, Royal Rumble matchup.
Matter of fact, earlier on, we had an occasion
to get these pre-recorded comments from two of the participants.
You know, there's a lot of people that are talking about
how I’m going into this Royal Rumble as, sort of, a marked man,
that everybody's gonna want to get me, but, you know, that's nothing new for me.
I've always been a marked man,
and in this Royal Rumble, the way I see it, it's no turning back.
I can't go back any further.
I've already taken too many steps back, so in this Royal Rumble,
there's gonna be no stopping the excellence of execution.
There's gonna be one man standing at the end of this thing,
and it's gonna be me.
Most people see the Royal Rumble
as a chance to get the shot at the World Wrestling Entertainment title.
[inhales] I see is it as a chance to hurt a lot of people
that I don't like!
And even some that I do.
[chuckles] It's gonna be a nice day.
[Vince] Wow.
-["We Are The Nation" playing] -♪ We are the Nation of Domination ♪
♪ Nation of Domination ♪
[Nation of Domination member] Alamodome, let's do it like this.
♪ We are the Nation, live and in color ♪
♪ Don't diss the man Or we'll bum rush your mother ♪
♪ Listen what I'm saying It's for real not playin' ♪
♪ Faarooq is the man So, hit your knees and start prayin' ♪
♪ Got power like the bear But quick like the cat ♪
♪ Put two and two together Feel your face on the mat ♪
♪ You count the stars While the ref counts three ♪
♪ Hope you like to look at ceilings Cause that's all you're gonna see ♪
♪ He's harder than a rock And he can't be stopped ♪
♪ You suckas step to the side Unless you want to get dropped ♪
♪ The boys from the hood Are on the M-I-C ♪
♪ Spitting out the rhymes It's JC Ice and Wolfie D ♪
♪ Clarence Mason is the boss Crossing T's and dotting I's ♪
♪ He tells the truth The whole truth and never tells a lie ♪
Yeah, boy. Nation of Domination.
We gonna kick it like this.
We gonna kick it with the Nation.
♪ We are the Nation of Domination ♪
I think Ahmed Johnson is going down.
[Vince] Take a look if you would.
The Nation of Domination, and they have been doing just that.
They have been dominating here in the World Wrestling Entertainment,
led by that man, Faarooq.
[Nation of Domination member] By any means necessary.
♪ Nation of Domination, Nation… ♪
[Vince] All right, let's take a look at, ladies and gentlemen,
some of the events that led up to this unbelievable matchup
we are about to witness,
Ahmed Johnson versus the leader of the Nation of Domination.
[Ahmed] You know, besides a redneck, it's you,
the Uncle Toms of this world, that I hate the most.
-[pensive music playing] -You're going down.
You're going down.
[crowd] You're going down! You're going down!
[narrator] When Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq finally face each other
at the Royal Rumble,
it will be the culmination of months of unrest.
[upbeat music playing]
[narrator] Ahmed Johnson skyrocketed to superstardom in the WWE in 1996.
And the winner is Ahmed Johnson!
-[cheers] -[cheers]
[Ahmed] This is not my award. This is your award, the people.
None of us would be here, or we would be nothing without you.
-So, this is your award, not mine. -[crowd cheering]
[narrator] Ahmed's popularity exploded on a worldwide level.
He captured the first ever Kuwait National Championship.
One month later, the new sensation tasted intercontinental gold.
[Ross] On his first try,
Ahmed Johnson becomes the man.
[narrator] But Ahmed's storybook beginning nearly came to a tragic end.
Ahmed was a target in a turf war.
[Vince] Look at this man.
Whoever he is, just all over Ahmed Johnson.
[narrator] Faarooq's unprovoked attack ruptured Ahmed's kidney.
The Pearl River Powerhouse fought through pain but nearly lost his life.
Emergency surgery saved Ahmed's life and career.
Now, the people's champion was on a personal mission.
Where you at? I'll come there. Where you at now?
You at home? I'll come to your house.
We must settle this, whether it be in the ring or out the ring.
It got to be settled. 'Cause you know, you from the streets.
I can't let you walk around, man, doing stuff like that to me.
[narrator] The next day, Ahmed laid out his nemesis and took Faarooq's weapon.
Then, came the reinforcements.
♪ We are the Nation of Domination ♪
[narrator] Faarooq formed the Nation of Domination.
♪ Nation of Domination ♪
The answer is… The answer is… The answer is "The Nation."
[narrator] Proclaimed himself its leader…
If I want something out of this life, you know what I’m gonna do?
I am gonna take it. I am gonna take it. I am gonna take it.
[narrator] And enlisted an army of mercenaries.
I'm gonna show you and this whole world
that when they say "promised land," they say "Faarooq."
[narrator] Now, Ahmed is a lone soldier.
[Vince] That was an uncaged animal right there.
Ahmed Johnson is ready to dismantle, to dismember Faarooq.
[narrator] A lone soldier in a turf war with a ruthless nation.
[commentator] Look at what they're doing. Break it on his back.
Oh.
[narrator] But one question remains.
Can the power of one overcome the strength of a rather dubious nation?
[Ahmed] You're going down!
You're going down! You're going down!
["Pearl River Rip" playing]
[Ross] All right. Fasten your seatbelts, everybody.
'Cause we're going for a ride, and it's likely to be a bumpy one.
Oh, my goodness.
[Howard] Introducing, from Pearl River, Mississippi,
weighing 305 pounds,
Ahmed Johnson!
[Ross] Ahmed Johnson's gonna be stepping into the lion's den.
[Vince] And that quiet rage is going to explode.
Ahmed absorbing the energy and the support
of these thousands of fans. And look out. Uh-oh.
Here he comes.
[Nation of Domination member] Guys, get out of the way.
[Vince] Ahmed in there with Faarooq! Here we go!
[crowd cheering]
[Jerry] They're taking it to the streets.
-They're gonna go to the streets. -[bell ringing]
[Vince] Ahmed now with Faarooq. What's he gonna do with him?
Sends him for the ride. Look out. Here comes Ahmed.
Ahmed shoves him right back in there.
-Ahmed… -[Jerry] Oh, yeah.
-[Vince] Ahmed hammering. -[crowd cheering]
[Ross] I think Faarooq may have to call out the national guard.
[Jerry] Man, those stiff shots to the face, those kicks.
Ahmed Johnson has got the entire attention,
not only of everybody
-here at the Alamodome… -[Jerry] Look out! Look out!
-…but the Nation of Domination. -[Vince] Look out.
-[Ross] Faarooq… -[Vince] Right behind, now.
-Ahmed. Oh, no! -[Jerry] Oh!
[Vince] Into the ring post.
And the Nation of Domination members, look at Crush, ready to pounce.
Ahmed keeping his eyes
on the entire Nation of Domination as well as Faarooq.
[Ross] All of the Nation's ready to pounce.
-They're a bunch of pack of dogs. -[Vince] Ooh!
[crowd cheering]
[Jerry] Ooh!
[Vince] And you could hear the smack of the boot
into the abdominal area of Faarooq.
-[Jerry] Whoa! -[crowd cheering]
[Ross] I think Ahmed Johnson may be intent on inflicting the same kind of injury
to Faarooq that he sustained.
[Vince] It could very well be. A rake in the face by Faarooq,
turning it around maybe only momentarily. I don't know. Let's see.
-[Jerry] Uh-oh. Here we go. -[Vince] Here we go.
Right into the kidney.
[Ross] You knew it was gonna happen.
Ahmed might've saw a bull's-eye on that kidney.
[Vince] And-- Wait a minute. There's some sort of belt there in,
I think, in the hand of Ahmed.
Oh! Wait a minute. From the other side now.
-Oh, no! Way up high! -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Ahmed Johnson against Faarooq.
This match, ladies and gentlemen, has been brewing for some time.
This capacity crowd on hand to enjoy this extraordinary matchup,
as well as all the matches, ladies and gentlemen, in the 1997…
-[Jerry] Look at this! -…Royal Rumble.
[Jerry] Look at this!
[Vince] Only in the World Wrestling Entertainment,
and Ahmed Johnson, I don't think he cares if he's disqualified.
[Ross] Ahmed is whipping Faarooq like a government mule.
[Vince] Now, bear in mind that belt was thrown
into the ring by Crush.
-[Jerry] I didn't see that, McMahon. -[Vince] I certainly did.
[Ross] You weren't looking then, King, 'cause it sure happened.
[Vince] Ahmed on the outside with Faarooq, and this is all…
Well, it's been all Ahmed Johnson… Again, this time to the steel steps.
[Jerry] The Nation's definitely under attack.
He needs to mount some sort of an offense.
[Vince] And Ahmed taking him from coast to coast.
-[Jerry] Ooh. -[Ross] Ow.
[Ahmed] Hey, how do you like Texas now?
[Vince] Ahmed Johnson has been remarkably poised thus far.
[Ross] That is surprising. That surprised me, Vince.
The poise of Ahmed Johnson.
[Vince] I thought he would just completely lose it.
But he hasn't-- Oh, wait. Oh, my goodness.
-Oh, look at that. -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Vince] One of the Nation of Domination members sacrificed
so that Faarooq could mount an offense, right out in front of us.
And Faarooq now… Oh.
Faarooq with a chair.
It's Faarooq on the offense,
and it looks like this match has picked right up
where the Goldust-Helmsley match just left off.
[Jerry] Yeah. Here you go, Ahmed. Have a seat.
[referee] Just get him in the ring.
[Vince] No! No! Oh, no! Right in the kidney.
-[groans] -[Faarooq] Get out of here.
[Vince] Faarooq intent on injuring Ahmed Johnson.
This is not a wrestling match.
No! Faarooq now with that chair.
-Holding on. -[Jerry] Oh! Whoa!
[Vince] Right into the back again,
and finally, the official yanking the chair away from Faarooq.
[Ross] Can you imagine what kind of individual Faarooq is
to try to hurt this man's kidney one more time?
[Vince] Faarooq heaving Ahmed Johnson back into the ring.
[Ross] And Ahmed Johnson's one more kidney injury away
from finding something else to do for a living.
-[Vince] Oh, no. -[Ahmed groans]
-[Jerry] That could be it, right there. -What did I tell you?
Huh?
-What did I tell you? -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And now, Faarooq beginning to badmouth Ahmed Johnson.
Oh, no. Can you hear the smack of the boot
-against the flesh of Ahmed Johnson? -Huh? How about that?
[Ross] Not only can you see the impact, you can certainly hear the impact
of these two strong, big, rugged individuals.
[Vince] You can bet Ahmed Johnson is feeling that impact
and this could be his last match. You're right.
If there's more damage inflicted
on the kidney area-- And now Ahmed is wide open.
He's just wide open.
Two, three.
Come on. Get him off. Come on.
-Oh, all right. -[Jerry] There it is.
-Target. Bull's-eye. -[Jerry] Oh, yes!
[Faarooq] Now, who's the baddest man alive?
[crowd clamors]
[Jerry] I'm sure that Ahmed Johnson has some doctors on call.
If they're watching this…
they got to be reserving him a room somewhere.
[Vince] And Ahmed Johnson knowing full well what he was getting into.
He had been asked repeatedly whether or not he was physically
and emotionally prepared for this rematch, and the answer,
on all accounts, was a very assertive "Yes."
[Ross] Well certainly he was, uh… He passed his physical
to be able to compete here.
-[Vince] Look at this. -[Ross] And to return to the action,
but I don't know that mentally and emotionally--
I don't know how stable Ahmed Johnson really is after what
trauma that he experienced at the hands of Faarooq.
[Jerry] Blatant kidney punches. Got to love it.
[Vince] The Nation of Domination members on the outside
supporting Faarooq on the inside.
[Ross] Nation of Domination keeps multiplying,
they're gonna rival Rhode Island, as far as membership.
-[Faarooq] Who the baddest man alive? -[Vince] Look at the look
on that man's face a moment ago.
I can tell you that Faarooq unquestionably possesses
great scientific skills, although we have not seen many of them,
displayed here tonight. Oh!
[Ross] Modified version of a camel clutch applied by Faarooq.
[Faarooq] Who the baddest man here?
[Ross] And we saw Ahmed reach down in his guts
and try to make that counter just using nothing but raw power.
[Vince] And that's what he does best.
Ahmed Johnson, one of the most powerful individuals
in the World Wrestling Entertainment.
-Come on. Raise the hand. -[Vince] And again,
Faarooq continuing to put the bad mouth on Ahmed.
[Faarooq] That's it.
[Vince] That trash talk unquestionably is finding its mark.
Hey. You don't tell me.
[Vince] All right. Look at this.
-You don't tell me what to do. -[Vince] And now, Ahmed--
Oh, wait a minute.
Now, there's Johnson with Faarooq.
And now the ready position. There's only one place for Faarooq to go.
Down!
[Ross] But Ahmed is down as well.
[Jerry] Yeah, that probably took as much out of Ahmed Johnson as it did Faarooq.
[Ross] The only thing it did was perhaps
give Ahmed a couple of moments to take in some deep breaths of air.
[Vince] Yeah, but you have to wonder the impact
of Faarooq on his back, and the impact at smacking the mat.
Could've hurt the kidneys even worse.
-All right. Faarooq from the top, and… -[Jerry shrieks]
[Vince] Look at that. What a powerslam.
Where did that come from?
Ahmed able to turn him over,
and Ahmed feeling the power of this capacity crowd.
[Ross] Tremendous athleticism by Johnson, catching Faarooq in midair.
[Vince] Off the rope now, and… Oh!
-Spinebuster. -[Jerry] Yeah.
Speaking of catching somebody in midair.
[Ross] Wasn't a fair catch. It was a physical catch,
right down on those kidneys again in the spinebuster.
-[Vince] And it looks like Ahmed has… -One.
[Jerry] Has tasted his own medicine [chuckles].
I am the baddest man.
[Ross] Now, I don't necessarily agree with Faarooq's philosophy on life,
but be that as it may, you've got to admire the fact that…
-[Vince] Oh, no. Wait a minute. -[Jerry shrieks]
-[Vince] They got that Ahmed Johnson… -[Jerry] Faarooq!
[Ross] Turn around.
[Vince] The tenacity of Ahmed Johnson.
Ahmed now with Faarooq, sets him up for the ride.
-[Farooq screams] -[Vince] And now a spinebuster.
[Ross] It's gonna get ugly from here on out.
[Vince] Crush coming in.
Crush thrown to the outside.
-Oh, wait a minute. -[bell ringing]
[Vince] Nation of Domination members coming in all over!
[Ross] Faarooq has sway with the men.
-[bell ringing] -[Ross] Faarooq has called
for the Nation of Domination to attack Ahmed Johnson!
[Jerry] He's got one of those punks.
Oh, no!
[Vince] Oh, no!
[Ross] And then had all the king's men sent to sleep.
[Jerry] Not my men.
[Vince] Ahmed Johnson is going after Faarooq.
[Howard] The winner of this match, as a result of a disqualification,
Ahmed Johnson!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Ahmed… Oh, no!
From behind. Ahmed attacked by another.
[Jerry] Oh, this is like a pack of wolves now.
[Ross] Well, it's a street gang against one guy.
That's what it is.
Ahmed Johnson's all by himself.
This is a gang of men, a pack of dogs after one big old bone.
[Vince] And Ahmed Johnson stalking this
Nation of Domination member.
[Ross] Yeah, is Ahmed stalking him or is he being drawn into a trap?
[Vince] I don't know.
-[Jerry] That's one big, bad Johnson. -[Vince] I know.
[Jerry] Uh-oh. Oh!
[Vince] Ahmed ramming this Nation member into the steel steps.
[Ross] I don't think this Nation of Domination member's
gonna be around long enough to draw any retirement benefits
from the organization.
[Vince] And Ahmed Johnson, ladies and gentlemen,
rearranging furniture out there,
and conspicuous by his absence, Faarooq.
[Jerry] Oh, he'll be out here. He'll stop this. I'm sure. Oh, no.
[Vince] Hey, wait a minute.
[Jerry] No, wait a minute!
[Vince] The Pearl River Plunge is coming up for somebody!
-[Ross] How's he gonna… -[Vince] Oh!
-[Ross] Right in the… -[Vince] Oh, that's power.
And our French announce team is in the middle of everything.
[Jerry] I think we just lost transmission to France.
[Ross] The Rougeaus are in a danger zone down there.
Like the Eiffel Tower falling.
[Vince] And there is, uh,
underneath that wreckage, somewhere is a Nation of Domination member.
["Pearl River Rip" playing]
[Ross] Well, the war has begun
between Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq.
[Vince] And Ahmed obviously, however, will remember this night.
Ahmed was hurt
and you have to wonder what sort of damage was done
to the kidney area of Ahmed Johnson.
[Ross] Well, as we said, the war has begun and there will be more casualties.
[Vince] Let's take you back and take a look at some of this replay.
-Watch this now. Watch. -[Jerry] Whoa. Oh!
[Ross] When you got a 500-pound bench press…
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] That's what you can do with it.
Five hundred pound bench press strength. Look it.
Ahmed turned a 300-pounder in midair.
[Vince] Ahmed Johnson is back, but will he stay?
All right, ladies and gentlemen, let's take you now
to a prerecorded comment from a Texas legend,
one of the 30 participants in the upcoming 30-man,
every-man-for-himself, Royal Rumble matchup.
You know, there's faster wrestlers, bigger wrestlers,
stronger wrestlers, and younger wrestlers than me in the Rumble,
but this is my state.
Do you realize that Terry Funk is Texas-bred and Texas-fed
and I was born to Rumble! [chuckles]
Well, Terry Funk certainly stirring things up on Shotgun Saturday Night.
He's in the Royal Rumble and so is Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson, along with Crush.
The Nation, obviously what we saw here. Just incredible. This is not over.
The first battle in the war between Faarooq and Ahmed Johnson.
-The war is coming. -Never mind that.
Get… Where-- Grace? Get up here.
Get up. You. Get up here.
The next time I’m out there, don't ever leave me out there like that.
You stand up there and fight for me no matter what I do.
You hear that? Get out of here. I'll take care of both of you later.
And guess what, Ahmed Johnson? That's just the beginning of this thing.
I'll get you out there in the Royal Rumble, boy.
I'm gonna put your butt away once and all, once and for all.
You hear me, punk?
You're gonna go down just like I planned for you, all right, Uncle Tom?
[Vince] And it seems as though things are definitely getting out of hand.
[Ross] Well, that's a little personal, I think.
-A lot personal. -[intense music playing]
[Howard] From the Rocky Mountains, weighing 458 pounds…
[Vince] Conspicuous by his absence, ladies and gentlemen.
[Howard] Vader.
[Vince] Is the man who formerly managed
the man they call Vader, James E. Cornette,
and I don't think he wants to be anywhere around wherever the Undertaker is.
[Ross] Well, after what happened on superstars a couple of weeks ago,
when the Undertaker tombstone piledrove Jim Cornette,
Cornette's…
Well, he just hasn't been seen a lot.
[Vince] I don't think he'll ever be the same.
-[Jerry] That's a shame. -[Vince] It is.
[Jerry] Poor Jim Cornette would like nothing better to be right here.
Good thing Undertaker's not here right now.
[Vince] And the man they call Vader in the squared circle.
-[Ross] You think Vader's a free agent? -[Vince chuckles]
The Alamodome, the setting for the 1997 Royal Rumble event,
and get set for some chills.
["Rest In Peace" playing]
[Jerry] Uh-oh!
Whoa.
[crowd cheering]
[Howard] From Death Valley, weighing 328 pounds,
the Undertaker!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] There's only one phenom in the World Wrestling Entertainment,
and you're looking at him.
[Jerry] And thank goodness for that.
[Ross] As great as the Undertaker's win-loss record is,
as phenomenal an athlete as the man is,
the Royal Rumble has not been very kind to the Undertaker
since his first Royal Rumble in 1993.
The Undertaker has had his most challenging events,
his most challenging matchups in this very event.
[Jerry] Is that a flying saucer?
[Vince] The Undertaker goes one-on-one with Vader.
And, based on what we have seen thus far,
we can only expect that this match will continue
the kind of physicality that we have seen in previous matches,
and listen to this unbelievable capacity crowd jam-packing the Alamodome.
[Ross] The Undertaker in a very unusual situation here tonight,
in as much as that he's giving up approximately 130 pounds to Vader.
Vader's 6' 5", 458.
The Undertaker weighing in at 328.
Undertaker's 6' 10", 328 pounds, and…
[Vince] Look at the man's eye right there.
[Ross] Well, that's a gut check for Vader.
No manager. He's by himself.
[Vince] He seems to be intimidated, and who wouldn't be?
[Jerry] Well, man, the Undertaker still looks weird to me
without Paul Bearer there.
-[Vince] Oh! Look out. And from behind. -[bell ringing]
[Vince] Here we go. The Undertaker hammering away on Vader.
And a block by Vader and a right hand,
and Vader can mix it up with anyone when it comes to fisticuffs.
Uh-oh. However, I don't think he's quite as quick.
Uh-oh. Look it. Right on the button, and Vader now set up for the ride.
Coming off the rope in a back-- No!
What a-- Uh-oh.
[Ross] Vader somewhat bewildered
at the intensity and that high threshold of pain
that the Undertaker possesses.
[referee] Four.
[Vince] And the Undertaker
even intimidating the official.
[Jerry] Every one of them superstars have been anxious
to get it underway tonight.
-Unbelievable. Whoa! -[Vince] To the elbow.
The Undertaker still on his feet.
-[Jerry] Look out! -[Vince] Not for long.
Vader… Uh-oh. And… Whoa.
Vader just, at this juncture, doesn't know what to do.
He sets up the Undertaker for the ride to the buckle.
No, to the ropes, and down goes the Undertaker.
Vader now trying to use his sizeable girth advantage.
[Ross] Well, the 130-pound weight advantage
right now and thus far has been to no avail for Vader.
[Vince] All right. Coming off in again.
And using again his sizeable girth,
but still…
I think a bit perplexed.
[Jerry] Yeah. Time to head for dodge.
[Ross] I think Vader's reconsidering his options here,
seeing as though his offense thus far has been futile.
[Vince] And wait a minute. The Undertaker is gonna come after Vader.
-Look out! -[Jerry] Oh!
[Vince] You can't turn your back… Oh! What an uppercut. …on the Undertaker.
The Undertaker now with Vader,
and Vader takes an uppercut again,
and right in the chops.
[Jerry] Takes a lot of force to get that big monster off his feet.
[Vince] Yes, indeed. It does.
And you wonder whether or not,
Cornette, or the lack of Cornette, will be a factor in this matchup.
-[Jerry] Uh-oh. Uh-oh. -[Vince] All right, here we go.
Sets up the Undertaker now, and oh!
And he got some of it, but not all of it.
[Ross] Undertaker got a shot to the ribs,
but Vader's weight still brought the Undertaker down across the top rope.
[Vince] Vader now with the Undertaker.
Has him in tow. What's he gonna do? Sets him up for the ride.
-Back body drop. He gets… Oh! -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Vince] What a maneuver by the Undertaker. What a leg drop from way upstairs.
[Ross] That shows great agility and great flexibility
for this magnificent athlete, who, as we documented,
approximately 6' 10", 328 pounds.
[Vince] Vader back up on his feet…
-[Jerry] No, no way. -…and now off his feet.
-[Jerry] Yes! -[Vince] Look at that.
[Ross] With ease,
the Undertaker slams Vader at 458 pounds.
-[Jerry] Look out! -[Vince] And here we go! Yes.
Into the leg drop.
Into a cover? Yes.
And this one is not over yet.
[Ross] I've never seen anybody deliver the leg drop like the Undertaker.
With all that height and that great velocity.
-[Jerry] You ever see mine? -[Vince] Uh, no.
[Jerry] Let me show you guys one.
-Lay down there, Ross. -[Ross] Yeah, right, King.
I'll get right on that.
[Vince] The Undertaker…
Oh! And a wide-open area, those massive ribs of Vader,
and Undertaker currently taking a… Uh-oh, a bit of--
-Would you look at that. -[Jerry] I hate it when he does this.
[crowd cheering]
-[Jerry] Oh, no-- Oh! -[Vince] Look what Vader did.
[Jerry] He hates it when he does that.
[Ross] Well, Vader had that move well scouted.
-[Vince] Yes, he did. -[Ross] That's one of the Undertaker's
trademark maneuvers.
We see it quite often. Maybe we see it too often.
Apparently Vader certainly has scouted it very, very succinctly.
Knew what to expect, knew the tendencies, and had a counter.
One!
-[Jerry] Come on, Vader. Get up! -[Vince] And Vader
not able to capitalize on the weakened condition of the Undertaker,
at least not at the moment.
I mean, what sort of strategy would you plan for
to meet an individual like the Undertaker?
I mean, you stay right on him, he's gonna eat you up.
If you stay off of him, then he has time to…
to plot his own strategy.
[Ross] I think you got to go for a knee.
I think you got to take a knee out from him.
I think you got to get him off his feet.
[groans]
-[Ross] And that was a low blow, I think. -[Jerry] I don't think so.
I think he went for the knee.
[Ross] Well, he may have.
[referee] One!
[Vince] Standing by, ladies and gentlemen, Todd Pettengill, who has,
I believe, a fan there.
-This is, uh… -[Vince] Yeah, go ahead, Todd.
All right, guys, this is Summer Bishop from Minnesota.
Wait until you hear what she did to get here tonight.
Tell everybody.
Um, last summer I saved up my money to come.
I follow Shawn Michaels everywhere he goes, and…
You follow him everywhere? You saved your money doing what?
Babysitting.
How long did it take you? How many babies did you have to sit?
Um, since the end of the summer,
during the school year, I started babysitting
and I got the money to come here.
-A lot of stories out here. -[Vince] Yeah, I’ll say.
Last year she came from Alaska. Back to you guys.
-[Vince chuckles] -Wow. Thank you.
[Vince] And meanwhile, Vader pummeling the Undertaker.
[Jerry] Yeah. Vader's pounding the Undertaker
and Pettengill's talking about babysitting, give me a break.
[Vince] The Undertaker in a weakened condition
and he may continue to be that way. Oh, yes!
Ever since Undertaker split the top rope there,
he has not been the same,
and it doesn't look like he's gonna recover any time soon.
[Jerry] That's like getting hit with a Louisville slugger, right there.
[Vince] You're right.
Vader just so massive, so strong.
[Ross] Or the limb of the old oak tree.
[Vince] And here at the Alamodome, ladies and gentlemen,
-it could very well be Vader time. -[Jerry] Timber!
-[Vince] Look at this.
[Jerry] Get him now!
-[Vince] Vader now… -[Jerry] Oh!
[Vince] And the Undertaker down again.
Vader certainly capitalizing.
Here we go. Is it gonna be a cover here?
-One, two, and a… -[Ross] Got him.
[Vince] Pretty quick count there, I think, by the official.
[Ross] I'm very surprised. You know one thing about Cornette?
If Cornette was on the case, which leads me to believe
that Cornette and Vader may not be associated,
this is the same referee that Vader hospitalized
back early last year, the same night that he attacked Gorilla Monsoon,
the interim, at that time, interim president.
Cornette's on the case, this referee doesn't have this match.
[Vince] I don't know about that. I would suggest that
maybe he is on the case, and if I were that official,
I think I’d be somewhat intimidated by Vader.
And the Undertaker now, trying to get back to his feet,
but he can't do it. Nope. Vader's done. He's up. No, he's not.
[Ross] This huge crowd certainly behind the Undertaker.
[Vince] Whoa! And look at the Undertaker
-working the midsection. -[Jerry] Whoa! Look out! Ooh!
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] The Undertaker taking it to another level.
[Vince] On his feet now.
[Jerry] He feels the energy from these creatures of the night.
-[Vince] And yes! -[Jerry] No!
[Vince] Suplex nicely executed.
[Jerry] How did he do that?
[referee] One!
[Vince] And I think the Undertaker is spent.
[referee] Two.
[Vince] And you wonder what kind of damage that did to Vader.
-Three. -[Vince] At 400-plus pounds,
plunging into the mat
at a tremendous velocity must take its toll.
[Ross] Well, a man carrying that much body weight at 458 pounds,
he's at his best in the early stages of any contest.
The longer this match goes,
I would think that the Undertaker will increase an already advantage.
-And this! -[Vince] And now.
-[Jerry] Whoa! -[Vince] The Undertaker airborne
and Vader saw that one coming.
And a good--
-Oh, no. -[Jerry exclaims]
-Bring him up. -[Ross] Vader's done a great job of…
-Come on. Bring it up. -…anticipating a couple of key maneuvers
from the Undertaker.
[Vince] You wonder at this rate, will we see the Vader Bomb?
[Ross] I don't know. The other thing you gotta wonder is that at this rate,
these guys beating each other up, if we will see…
-[Jerry] Yeah. Yeah. -…both of them in the Royal Rumble.
[Jerry] Here we go!
[Ross] The match itself.
-They're both in it. -[Vince] Here we go.
-And Vader-- -[Jerry] Man, you might be psychic.
-[Vince] Oh, no! -[Jerry shrieks]
[Vince] Wow. Went to the well once too often.
-[crowd cheering] -[Vince] First time, effective.
-One! -[Vince] Second time, backfire.
-[Ross] Very few people have the strength… -Two!
…or the leverage, the technique to slam Vader in that situation.
[Vince] The Undertaker back up on his feet.
Jams the knee into the midsection of Vader. Sets him up now.
Whips him to the far side, and coming off, and back.
-No, no, no. Wait a minute. -[Ross] Uh-oh!
[Vince] Here it comes! Here comes the Vader Bomb!
-Yes, there! -[Jerry] He got him!
-[Vince] Did he ever! -[Jerry] Over.
-[Ross] Oh, it's not over. -[Vince] Kick out…
-[Jerry] Whoa! -…by the Undertaker.
-[crowd cheering] -[Ross] Can you believe that?
[Jerry] He's already on his feet.
[Ross] The Undertaker kicking out from that powerbomb.
[Vince] And the Undertaker hammering away now.
It's Vader. No, it's a reversal now.
From the rope, missing with a clothesline, and way upstairs.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And I'm sure Vader is perplexed, if not intimidated now,
with the Undertaker kicking out of that Vader bomb.
[Ross] Vader's gotta be very frustrated, wondering "What do I have to do
to put this man away?"
[Jerry] Not again, Vader, you know what to do, you know what to do!
[Vince] We saw what happened last time.
-[Jerry] Hit him again. -[Vince] The Undertaker coming right back.
-And down! -[Jerry shrieks]
-[Ross] Undertaker knocking Vader down. -[crowd cheering, whistling]
[Ross] Wait a minute, I see Paul Bearer.
-[Jerry] I don't see him. -[Vince] There he is.
Now, what's Paul Bearer doing?
Paul Bearer has no business here, and look at this.
The Undertaker, with Vader now.
Here we go, the beginning of the end, up and down.
[Ross] Chokeslam by the Undertaker who has yet to see his friend
and longtime manager, Paul Bearer.
-[Vince] And you know what's next. -[Jerry] Oh.
[Vince] And Paul Bearer turning on the Undertaker.
Paul used to be Paul Bearer who managed the Undertaker.
And Paul Bearer out to get a good ringside view,
I suppose-- Oh, what's going on? Hey, wait a minute.
Wait a minute. Look at this.
-[crowd cheering] -[Jerry] Oh, no!
[Vince] Finally, the Undertaker gets a bit of revenge.
Paul Bearer backing up from the Undertaker.
-[Jerry] Roll away, Paul, roll away. -[Vince] Oh! Look at this, look at this.
Oh, no.
This is bad news for Paul Bearer.
[Jerry] Yeah.
[Vince] Paul Bearer trying to scamp around, look at him.
-Please, no! -[Jerry] He's gonna wish
-he was dead after this. -[Vince] He's begging.
-He's begging the Undertaker. -No! No!
[Ross] Yeah, clutches of the Undertaker on Paul Bearer.
[Jerry] Around that big, fat neck.
[Vince] Wait a minute, Vader's back in the ring.
The Undertaker sees-- Knee with Vader, back down to Paul Bearer.
In the clothesline, and Vader goes outside,
the Undertaker right out there with him.
The Undertaker, on his feet however.
[Ross] Undertaker clotheslined Vader, and then followed Vader right out.
[Jerry] Oh!
[Vince] Down into the apron.
The Undertaker finally getting his hands on Paul Bearer.
And now-- Oh, wait a minute.
[Jerry] The poor French guys again.
[Vince] And a right hand by the Undertaker.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Vince] Vader, now, is in trouble.
Oh, no. Oh, no. Watch this. Watch this now.
The Undertaker,
-what's he gonna do? -[Jerry] He's leaving.
[Vince] No, I don't think so.
Look out, here comes the Undertaker and--
-Oh, no! -[crowd exclaiming]
[Vince] He impaled himself on the railing.
-Paul Bearer gets Vader… -[Jerry] To the rescue!
-…right out of the way. -[Jerry] Paul Bearer!
Paul Bearer to the rescue.
[Ross] The Undertaker's sternum struck the security railing,
and now, the man from the dark side has found himself even in more trouble.
Paul Bearer is back in the ring.
You gotta believe the reason there's no disqualification a while ago,
when Paul Bearer came to the ring,
is that the Undertaker brought Paul Bearer there.
-Brought him in. -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And the Undertaker
may have inflicted severe damage to himself.
No, no! Paul Bearer with all of his weight,
down across the Undertaker, jamming that urn
-into the back of his head. -[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Jerry] Paul sacrificed his whole body to do away the Undertaker.
[Ross] That's quite a sacrifice.
[Vince] And the Undertaker…
is in big time trouble, and Paul Bearer, look at the dent in that urn,
from the back of the head of the Undertaker.
[Jerry] Look at the dent in Undertaker's head.
-[Vince] And-- -[Jerry] Uh-oh.
[Vince] Vader now, going upstairs, Vader trying to capitalize.
-[Jerry] Vader Bomb! -[Vince] Is that enough?
-[Jerry] Vader Bomb! -[Vince] Yes, yes!
-[Ross] That's enough. -[bell ringing]
-["Vader Time" playing] -[Jerry] The Vader Bomb…
-[Howard] Here's coming… -…has defeated the Undertaker.
-…the man we call "Vader." -[Ross] And Vader and Paul Bearer
are leaving arm in arm.
[Vince] Paul Bearer and Vader.
[Jerry] Look at that, that could be a match made in heaven.
-Or hell. -[Ross] Or somewhere else.
[Vince] And the Undertaker back up on his feet, looking around and--
[Ross] He was-- I think he was out.
I think he was knocked unconscious or semi-unconscious,
-now realizing that he's been defeated. -[Jerry] Uh-oh.
[Vince] And he's asking the official…
[music fades]
"Why didn't you…" The Undertaker apparently--
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Vince] Oh, no. Wait a minute.
-Oh, no. -[Jerry] Don't be a sore loser.
-[Ross] Oh, this is bad. Don't do it. -[Jerry] Vader earned that victory!
-[Jerry] Don't. -[Vince] No, no, no!
-No! Oh, no! -[Jerry shrieks] Oh, my gosh!
Monsoon!
-[Vince] Oh, that's-- -[Jerry] Monsoon, get out here!
[Ross] And I don't think anyone wants to come out here now.
The Undertaker is angry.
[Jerry] Get up there, Ross, and do something.
-[Ross] I'll pass. -[Vince] I don't--
I don't think anyone wants to have anything at all to do…
-[Jerry] Uh-oh. -…with the Undertaker.
-[Ross] Whoa. -[crowd cheering]
[Jerry] Uh-oh.
[Vince] And he is angry.
[Jerry] That is one mad Deadman, right there.
All right now, I--
[Undertaker] There's a dark cloud heading to the World Wrestling Entertainment,
and his name is the Undertaker.
[crowd cheering, clamoring]
[Vince] Wow.
Let's go back, here's what happened.
[Jerry chuckles] Yeah.
[Vince] The Undertaker…
-glom by Paul Bearer. -[Ross] Well, he's in the--
You know, he may have a concussion from that blow to the back of the head,
-and then a 458-pound Vader Bomb. -[Vince] You better get
-that camera out of there. -There's a dark cloud
heading for the World Wrestling Entertainment.
[Jerry] I'd call that "a hard-earned victory." [laughs]
[Vince] Look at the size of this mammoth crowd,
ladies and gentlemen, let's take you to pre-recorded comments now,
from two more participants,
I'm sure you will recognize them in the Royal Rumble match.
See, this is where we got a problem,
you TV guys always got the cameras where you don't belong.
Well, the problem is I'm not talking to anybody
until I throw 29 pieces of trash over the top rope
and advance to WrestleMania to face the champ.
So, you can take your camera and stick it, son.
That's it. Cut, cut.
-Who's gonna win the Royal Rumble? -[crowd cheering]
Yeah, the British Bulldog, I've got a history in Royal Rumbles,
and tonight, I'm going to remake history by winning this night's Royal Rumble,
tonight, because I am bizarre.
-[upbeat music playing] -[Vince] A confident British Bulldog,
and why not.
He has done exceedingly well in previous Royal Rumble matchups.
[Howard] Ladies and gentlemen,
this six-man tag team match is set for one-fall.
Currently in the ring with us, with a combined weight 573 pounds
the team of Jerry Estrada, Heavy Metal,
-and Fuerza Guerrera. -[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Vince] Six-man tag team action here live from the Alamodome.
[upbeat rock music playing]
[Vince] Now, ladies and gentlemen, you're gonna be treated…
to three of the greats from Mexico.
Everyone looking forward to this six-man tag team matchup.
Earlier on, ladies and gentlemen, they've been jamming the ticket line.
That's from earlier today right outside the ticket booth.
Talk about a city that has been perfect for the 1997 Royal Rumble.
Oh, my goodness. As far as the eye can see.
[Ross] You see stories in the newspaper virtually every day.
Radio promotions…
superstars all over television.
Traffic transit buses with logos.
This has been a magnificent effort for the entire city of San Antonio.
The great state of Texas, for that matter.
[Jerry] What a shot of the crowd.
[Vince] Only in the World Wrestling Entertainment,
ladies and gentlemen, can you see a spectacle like this.
-[bell ringing] -[music fades]
-[Vince] All right. -[Ross] Perro Aguayo, Héctor Garza,
and Canek, meeting Fuerza Guerrera, Heavy Metal, and Jerry Estrada.
[Vince] And it's gonna be Estrada starting things off for his team.
And… Jerry Estrada…
-[Jerry] Whoa. -[Vince] Oh, goodness.
Nice take down there, by Garza.
[Ross] That's Garza, actually, and Heavy Metal there.
-[Vince] Yeah. -[Estrada] Arriba Mexico!
-[crowd member] Arriba Mexico! -[crowd cheering]
[Ross] Garza, we've seen Garza on superstars.
Only been wrestling five years, second-generation star from AAA,
as many of their stars are.
Of course, Heavy Metal, another second-generation star,
been wrestling seven years.
Certainly a somewhat of a schizophrenic-type individual,
in as much as sometimes he abides by the rules
and sometimes he throws the rule book completely out the window.
[Jerry] Sort of like me.
[Vince] Uh, sort of. Although, he's an athlete…
I mean, you know what I mean? He's not a King.
And he's young-- I mean, in any event. [laughs]
There's no telling what you're gonna see
in terms of athleticism here in this six-man tag team matchup.
But we have seen just about everything, thus far.
Although, of course, yet to come,
the 30-man Royal Rumble matchup itself
as well as the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship matchup.
The title holder, Sycho Sid,
against the former champion, Shawn Michaels.
-[laughs, speaking Spanish] -[Jerry] Look it, this guy's happy.
[Ross] Perro Aguayo,
certainly one of the great legends in all of Mexico.
-This is his 27th year of competitions. -[Vince] Oh. Oh, my goodness.
-[Ross chuckles] -Arriba Mexico!
-[crowd cheering] -[speaking Spanish]
[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
[Ross] Jerry Estrada knocked down by Perro Aguayo.
[Vince] And look at that. Take down by Perro Aguayo,
and Perro Aguayo now yanking the hair.
And I would suggest that when you've been wrestling
for some 20 years, you know all the tricks of the trade.
[Jerry] Whoa.
[speaking Spanish]
[Ross] Aguayo certainly a master in matches involving mask.
-He's won over 30 of 'em in his career. -[Vince] Really?
[Ross] They say that this, uh, 1997, very well could be his last--
-[Jerry] Look out! Whoa! -[commentators exclaim]
[Ross] What a back body drop, and look at the agility.
[Vince] Unbelievable. Look out! We got Perro Aguayo. No, no, no, no.
-And, uh-- [laughs] -[Perro exclaims]
[speaking Spanish]
[Vince] Jerry Estrada.
[Ross] Perro Aguayo's son,
wrestled before we went on the air here today.
He's only 17.
[Vince] All right, Canek in the ring now.
-[Jerry] I like Canek. -[Vince] Yeah? Against Guerrera?
Canek in the red. Canek now hitting the ropes, back this way.
And Guerrera. Nice hip toss by Canek.
Guerrera set up for the ride, no, reversal. And Canek in the corner.
[Ross] Certainly, if you're just joining us
and haven't seen the, uh, AAA stars, the stars from Mexico in general,
the mask's part of their wrestling culture.
[wrestlers exclaim]
-[Jerry] Whoa. -[Vince] You wanna explain that, J.R.?
[Ross] Well, it's just been over the years,
the masks certainly are--
They're taking after movie stars or things in society.
It's just always been a-- It's a part of the culture,
much like many of their high-risk maneuvers
that a lot of them employ.
[Jerry] I wish you were from Mexico.
-[Vince] Why is that? -[Ross] Why's that, King?
-[Jerry] You'd wear a mask. -[Vince] Oh, stop it.
-From the top rope. -[Jerry] That blue one from--
[Vince] Nobody there.
[Jerry] Good move, Canek.
[Vince] Going upstairs, Canek, who is a tremendous competitor.
[Ross] Whoa, that was a crossbody by Canek,
couldn't get the cover there.
Canek's been wrestling for over two decades,
in his illustrious career. One of the better-known competitors.
And, uh, Canek holds a victory over Lou Thesz…
-Heavy Metal loves USA! -[crowd cheering]
…several years ago.
[Vince] Heavy Metal now, and Héctor Garza.
To the young man, I'm sure you're gonna see a lot more of here
in the World Wrestling Entertainment, in the very near future.
Great athleticism of these two.
-[Jerry] Oh! -[Ross] A spinning heel kick there, King.
-[Jerry] Wow. -[Vince] Nice move there by Heavy Metal…
-[Heavy Metal grunts] -…on Héctor Garza.
Upside down, great agility, on a back elbow.
[Jerry] I'm gonna try that.
[Ross] Great counter move there by Heavy Metal with a back elbow.
-[Vince] Unbelievable competition. -[Jerry] Look at that!
[Ross] Whoa!
[Jerry] Whoa. Safe.
[Vince chuckles] This is not baseball, King, thanks.
[Jerry] Look at this!
-With an arm drag. -[Vince] Yes, tremendous leverage there.
[Ross] Guys have great timing, and they don't-- They know no fear.
[Jerry] Oh.
[Ross] Around the world, let's go, tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.
They know no fear, in as much as
that they would put their own bodies on the line
-several times with the-- -[Vince] Oh, look at that maneuver.
Unbelievable agility.
[Jerry] Think I'd just leave at that point.
[Ross] I'm sure a lot of fans are seeing these guys for the first time.
Nice, a handshake there, you don't see that too often.
And the veteran, Perro Aguayo, back in.
[speaking Spanish]
[Ross] To meet, uh, Jerry Estrada.
Estrada also known as-- His nickname is the "Puma."
[Vince] The Puma. And Estrada showing off his physique.
-And-- Oh, my God. -[Ross] That's a Perro Aguayo.
[Perro speaking Spanish]
[Vince] Canek back in now.
-[Perro speaking Spanish] -[Estrada grunts]
-[Ross] Little test of strength here. -[Estrada yelps]
-[Jerry] Uh-oh. -[Perro exclaims]
-[Ross] Whoa. -[Vince] And Canek goes for the ride.
Look at this.
-Unbelievable. -[Jerry exclaims]
[wrestlers grunt]
[Vince] Arm drag takedown.
Canek connecting with a dropkick. Another arm drag takedown.
[Estrada grunts]
-[Pepe Casas speaking Spanish] -[Vince] Right into the arm bar.
[Jerry] I get dizzy just watching these two guys.
[Vince] Right.
[Ross] The man down there, the masked man, of course,
-is, uh, Canek. -[Jerry] Canek.
[Ross] Jerry Estrada, white tights with the black spots.
-[Vince] All that fuzz and whatever it is. -[Jerry] Whoa.
-[wrestlers grunt] -[Vince] And a cover and a count.
And Estrada can't put him away.
[Ross] Nice roll up there, but no cigar this time.
-[Jerry exclaims] -[Vince] Oh, my goodness!
Perro Aguayo took the dropkick right in the chest.
-[Jerry] Ow. -[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
Guerrera all over Perro. Look at this.
He's making mincemeat out of him.
-No, he's not. Whoa! -[Jerry] Take that.
[Ross] These guys have been in the ring many, many times together.
Guerrero still holds
the National Middleweight Championship of Mexico.
Perro Aguayo's son, we saw him earlier today as I mentioned,
only 17, but boy, what a potential he has.
[Vince] And Guerrera, little off the mark there,
let's see if Perro Aguayo can capitalize. He does, nice takedown.
-[Jerry] Oh! -[Vince] Oh, my goodness, what a shot.
[groans]
[Jerry] He just keeps coming back for more though.
-Look at that! Whoa! Ouch! -[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
-Look out, here comes Perro Aguayo. -[Ross exclaims]
-[Jerry] Nope, puts on the breaks. -[Perro growls]
-[Ross] I don't-- -[Jerry laughs]
[Ross] I don't think old Perro's been known for his, uh, aerotactics.
-[Vince] No, he's not. -[Ross] Somewhat tenacious, however,
with his ground attack.
[Pepe Casas speaking Spanish]
-[Vince] El Canek. -[grunts, exclaims]
[Ross] Heavy Metal knocked down by the veteran.
-[yells] -[Vince] And Canek now going to work.
Figure-four coming-- Nope, no.
Quickly, Heavy Metal escaped. Although, didn't escape from that, did he?
-[Ross] No, he certainly didn't. -[Vince] Tag was made.
[Jerry] Heavy Metal's in the wrong corner.
-Uh-oh, this could snap a leg. -[Vince] Oh!
[Ross] Héctor Garza in.
Well, this kid's got a great future, I think…
as the World Wrestling Entertainment continues to expand worldwide.
[Vince] Heavy Metal set up and-- Nice maneuver there.
Héctor Garza in control.
[Ross] Not a great deal of mat wrestling as you can tell, fans,
by the styles employed by these gentlemen.
[Vince] There's a bit of mat wrestling for you.
[Ross] A submission move right there.
-Let's see it. Ooh. -[Vince] Uh-oh.
[Ross] Step over into a crossface, a submission maneuver.
And, uh…
Heavy Metal needs to make a tag quite obviously.
[Vince] Héctor Garza making the tag and the veteran, Perro Aguayo back in.
See what he can do with Heavy Metal.
-[exclaims] -[Pepe Casas speaking Spanish]
[Vince] Heavy Metal would like, certainly, to tag one of his partners,
-and the team of Perro Aguayo… -[Jerry] Whoa.
…Garza, and Canek, doing a pretty good job.
-[Ross] Hallway slam. -[Jerry] Oh!
[Pepe Casas speaking Spanish]
[Vince] And risking disqualification there,
again, Heavy Metal.
[Ross] Pepe Casas, the referee.
-Very popular referee down in Mexico. -[Jerry exclaims]
-[speaking Spanish] -[exclaims, groans]
[Vince] Reaching for the tag and nothing happening there.
[Canek speaking Spanish]
[Vince] Perro Aguayo, snaps Heavy Metal over.
-[Pepe Casas speaking Spanish] -[Vince] Canek tagged in.
-[exclaims] -[Jerry] Heavy Metal needs to tag out.
-[Jerry] Whoa. Dodged that one. -[Vince] Uh-oh. And ducking.
[Vince] Uh-oh, look out, and Canek wide open.
-[Jerry exclaims] -[Vince] Oh, no! [exclaims]
-Guerrera… -[groans]
[Ross] On a strike right there by Canek, the veteran.
[Vince] And Guerrera slammed into the canvas.
Perro Aguayo in there, look out. We've got--
Who knows what's gonna happen.
Heavy Metal and Canek. Oh, wait a minute, look.
-Action inside the ring, outside the ring. -[speaking Spanish]
[Vince] Only one place for Heavy Metal to go,
and it won't be pleasant no matter where he winds up. [exclaims]
-[Ross] Whoa! -[Jerry] Oh!
-Oh. -[Vince] Heavy Metal taking it to Garza.
Garza-- Oh, look at that maneuver!
And, uh, thanking his lucky stars I would think would be Heavy Metal.
-Wait a minute, Garza going up to the top. -[Jerry] What's he doing?
-[Vince exclaims] Unbelievable. -[Jerry exclaims]
[Ross] Outstanding high-risk maneuver by Héctor Garza.
-[Jerry] Look at this! -[Ross] That's Jerry Estrada,
now Heavy Metal being press slammed by Canek.
[Vince] And Perro Aguayo, the veteran, wants to come back in.
He's looking for that double stomp right to the abdomen,
-that's his favorite maneuver. -[commentators exclaim]
-[Ross] I don't think he got all of it. -[Vince] He got some of it.
Oh!
And did he get enough?
-Yes, he did. -[crowd cheering]
[upbeat rock music playing]
[Howard] The winner is the team of Canek, Héctor Garza and Perro Aguayo.
[Vince] A little flavor, ladies and gentlemen,
the six-man tag team matchup from AAA.
[Ross] I look forward to doing more personality profiles
that's happening, so that we can get to know them better.
You'll see a lot more of these great stars.
[Vince] Fierce competitors, and as you said, J.R.,
high-risk maneuvers.
Whoa, that's a lot. They really had them adjusting the furniture.
[Ross] They have a little bit different style than those of many Americans.
[Vince] True matadors of the World Wrestling Entertainment.
[lively music playing]
[Vince] We certainly hope, ladies and gentlemen, you have joined, uh,
enjoyed rather, the Royal Rumble thus far, and yet to come, of course,
the 30-Man Royal Rumble matchup, plus, of course,
the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship match.
Shawn Michaels, the challenger, against Sycho Sid, the champion.
Well, I mean, what more can we say. Like King said earlier,
I will agree with one thing he said, the talking's almost over.
It's almost time to-- For those two guys to get in the ring
and settle it one way or the other.
Right here in the Alamodome.
Tell me what you think Sid meant by the apology.
He's already come out here and apologized.
-Well he's planning on doing damage. -[chuckles]
I don't think any of us are safe.
We invite you, by the way, ladies and gentlemen,
to join us on February 16,
we will emanate on pay-per-view as only the World Wrestling Entertainment can.
That's Sunday, February 16,
from the UTC Arena from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Let's go up now to Howard Finkel.
[Howard] Ladies and gentlemen, may I be the first to tell you
that today's attendance here at the Alamodome, for the Royal Rumble
is 60,477,
and we, at the World Wrestling Entertainment,
-thank each and every one of you. -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] They're jam-packed
-at the Alamodome. -[Howard] And now,
get ready for the 1997 Royal Rumble.
In just a moment, the first two competitors,
who drew one and two will enter the ring,
and every 90 seconds thereafter,
another competitor will enter the ring, according to the number he pulled.
That process will continue until all 30 men are in the ring,
in the Rumble. Elimination occurs at any time
over the top rope and onto the floor. After all 30 men have entered,
the one person that remains in the ring will be the winner
and will go on his way to meet
whoever the WWE Champion is at WrestleMania 13.
[Vince] Well, thank you very much. Here we go, ladies and gentlemen.
-Yes, the Royal Rum-- -["We Are The Nation" playing]
-♪ …of Domination ♪ -[Vince] Wait a minute, the first enter--
[Ross] The person that drew number one.
-Is it Faarooq? -♪ Nation of Domination… ♪
[Jerry] Well, that will be…
[Vince] Yes, indeed, the Nation of Domination.
-We saw them earlier on. -♪ Nation of Domination… ♪
-[Vince] And this is an unlucky number… -♪ We are the Nation ♪
…to draw, number one.
Your likelihood of going all the way is not great.
[Jerry] Wait a minute, maybe it's not Faarooq.
-[Vince] I don't think it is, now. -[Jerry] Looks like Crush.
-Let's go! -[Vince] When you see one,
-you're likely to see the other. -♪ Nation ♪
-♪ Of Domination ♪ -[Vince] But I think you're right.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Vince] Well, certainly, they're one less Nation member,
Ahmed Johnson put one of them through a table earlier on.
♪ Nation… ♪
[Ross] Well, Crush has the longest odds of winning this thing.
Only Shawn Michaels has ever started it
at number one and won it.
-[Vince] Well, it has been done before. -[Crush speaks indistinctly]
[Vince] But this man has a real bad attitude.
-And-- -["Pearl River Rip" playing]
-[Jerry] All right, wait a minute. -[Vince] Oh, no! Crush can't believe it.
-[Howard] Ahmed Johnson. -[Ross] Yeah, it's Ahmed Johnson!
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] Well, Ahmed Johnson is gonna have 90 seconds,
a minute and a half, to do just about whatever he wants
to Crush, one-on-one. And remember the object,
to throw your opponent over the top rope
and both the man's feet must hit the floor.
[Vince] And Ahmed is just the man
that can get the job done as we saw earlier on.
-And look at this. -[Jerry chuckles]
He's pleading his case.
[Vince] And the Nation of Domination-- Here they go!
-And Crush going to work on Ahmed Johnson. -[bell ringing]
[Vince] Crush, hammering away now.
Actually trying to pick right up where Faarooq left off.
Look at this, Crush is all over Ahmed Johnson.
Won't let him out of the corner. And again, the object here
is not to pin your opponent, not to make him submit.
-[Jerry] Get him out. -[Vince] It's simply to get him out.
[Ross] We're seeing some Texas-sized aggression
-from Crush here. -[Jerry] Oh.
[Vince] And Faarooq hammering it out with Crush.
Sets him up for the ride now.
-From the other side-- Whoa! -[exclaims]
[Vince] With a clothesline.
Ahmed Johnson…
[Jerry] Get him up, get him up in the air.
[Vince] Taken off his feet there. Uh-oh.
Oh, my.
And this has turned into a street brawl.
[Ross] You gotta think that neither of these men even care
about eliminating the other at this juncture.
They just want to beat each other up.
[Vince] Oh, I think they wanna eliminate each other but not in the fashion
that you would normally eliminate someone
-in the Royal Rumble. -[Jerry] Yeah. Crush would like
-to pick Ahmed Johnson up… -[Vince exclaims]
…to throw him over the top rope
and have Ahmed Johnson land right on his head.
[Clarence] Who's responsible for this?
-[Jerry] What? -[Clarence] Who's responsible here?
-[Vince] And Clarence Mason. -[Clarence] Who's responsible for this?
-[Jerry] Wanna have a side bar, Clarence? -[Ross] Yeah, he ought to have a salad bar
-to leave. -[Jerry] What?
[Vince] Clarence is really upset.
And again, Crush, didn't take him long to go right back
to the kidneys of Ahmed Johnson.
And trying to get
the Pearl River Powerhouse over the top rope.
[Jerry] Don't just stand there, Clarence, help him.
-Can he do that? -[Vince] What? No, he can't do that.
And Ahmed just may go.
[Jerry] Yeah, right down on his head. There you go, Clarence.
[Vince] Ahmed is so thick.
And any second someone else is going to join the fray and it's…
-[Jerry] The Bad Guy! -[Vince] It's-- Yes.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Vince] And I'm told we're having problems with our clock.
Oh, my goodness. Like in the NFL,
there's an official time and an unofficial time.
And look at Razor now.
Razor…
-[Jerry chuckles] -[crowd booing]
[Vince] Greeted with a round of boos, and Ahmed Johnson…
-Ahmed Johnson eliminates Razor. -[Jerry] What!
[crowd cheering, applauding]
-[Vince] Ahmed now, turning back to Crush. -[Ross] That didn't take long.
[Vince] No, it didn't.
[Jerry] Razor's having trouble with his clock.
He didn't even have time to rewind it.
[Jerry] Ahmed with those new speedo briefs
or something there. What are those tights, McMahon?
[Vince] He doesn't really care about the tights,
all he cares about is taking it to Crush,
-and throwing him out. -[Jerry] Oh! Look out!
[Vince] He's gone, he's gone. Crush is gone.
-[Ross] Feet didn't hit, did they? -[Vince] Oh, you're right, you're right.
[Ross] That's why the referees are on the outside.
No reason for them to be on the inside of the ring.
[Vince] Both feet-- Wait a minute, wait a minute.
-Ahmed just eliminated himself! -[Jerry] What?
[Vince] There's Faarooq! Ahmed's going after Faarooq!
Ahmed eliminated himself and Crush is in the ring all alone.
[Clarence] You see that big dog, just look at him.
-[upbeat banjo music playing] -[Clarence] Go, go, go. Run, stupid.
-[Jerry] He is an idiot. -[Vince] And--
This must be. Here we go, with-- Is it one or both?
It's Phineas Godwinn there with Hillbilly.
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] This is Phineas' first Royal Rumble.
[Vince] And this should be right down Phineas's alley,
-or trough, so to speak. -[Jerry chuckles]
[music concludes]
[Vince] And Crush, right away, trying to tie up the big hog farmer.
[Jerry chuckles] And look at Phineas go.
[Vince] And in the Royal Rumble, ladies and gentlemen,
you don't need a great deal of scientific wrestling technique
-in order to win this thing. -[Hillbilly cheers]
[Vince exclaims] It's the luck of the draw.
[Jerry] There you go, that's a smart move right there.
[Vince] And look at Crush,
wrapping himself around one of those ropes,
much like Jake "The Snake" might do a little bit later on, like a python.
-[Jerry] Jake "The Snake"? -[Vince] Yes?
[Jerry] Is he gonna have the python with him?
[Vince] He suggested he would.
And now, down on the mat,
no one's gonna be eliminated in this fashion.
-Crush… -[Jerry] Oh.
…and Phineas going at it.
[Ross] I can't believe Ahmed Johnson is in motion, just, uh, just overcame it.
That's just, uh, very, very unfortunate for Ahmed.
[Vince] And again, we continue, ladies and gentlemen,
-we have, uh, clock problems. -[groans]
[Vince] But very soon, someone else will be joining the fray.
[Ross] Yeah. You don't have to wait long.
Every 90 seconds.
["Hell Frozen Over" playing]
-[Vince] Oh, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. -[Jerry] Uh-oh.
[Vince] And he's in no hurry, is he?
-[Jerry] The bad man, right there. -[Vince] Yes, I'll agree with ya.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Ross] Well, he's got really no reason to get in any hurry.
Let Phineas and Crush beat each other up some more.
Maybe it'll make Austin's job a little bit easier.
[Vince] And look at Phineas.
Phineas wisely going to work on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
-[Jerry] Not kidding, he better do that. -[Vince] Austin set up for the ride,
to the buckle, here comes Phineas, and oh, what a clothesline.
-[Ross] Whoa. -[Jerry] Whoa.
[Ross] Phineas is over 300 pounds. That's a pretty tough clothesline.
[Vince] And now, Crush capitalizing.
[Hillbilly] Come on, don't give it up now. Don't give it up now.
[Vince] And Phineas takes a shot to the throat.
[Ross] Shot to the kidneys also by Crush…
on that good-natured yet somewhat simple razorback.
[Jerry] Somewhat simple? That's being kind.
[Vince] Well, he's not exactly the brains of the outfit.
[Jerry] He hasn't been to any Mensa meetings lately.
-[Vince] Oh, look out! -[Jerry] Whoa.
[Vince] And Stone Cold just clobbered Crush,
but again remember now, it's every man for himself.
-[Jerry exclaims] -[Vince] And Crush is out. Crush is gone.
-[crowd cheering] -[Ross] Phineas has eliminated Crush.
-[Vince] Outstanding. -[commentators exclaim]
[Vince] Just turned around and got that Stone Cold stunner.
-[Ross laughs] -[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
And Austin is putting a bad mouth on Phineas.
-Phineas-- Oh, no! Look at that. -[Ross] Wow.
[crowd cheering]
[upbeat rock music playing]
[Vince] All alone, ladies and gentlemen, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, all by himself.
And Bart Gunn on his way in.
Here we go.
We see Bart Gunn, a south paw, hammering away
on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Gunn, now setting him up, no, reversal, coming off the rope end. What? Whoa.
Drops the leg right across the back of the head.
-[Ross] Oh. -[Vince] And drives the facial area
of Stone Cold into the mat.
Bart now-- Oh, my, look at that.
-And oh, a clothesline. -[Jerry exclaims]
[Ross] The first time Bart held on, the second time he couldn't,
and once again "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
-is picking them off one at a time. -[Jerry] Oh, look at this. Please.
[Ross] And he's telling us all he is in great shape.
-He's in fighting shape. -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] He's in great condition, all right.
[Ross] I'm sure he's been in a few, uh, barroom brawls.
[Vince] And look at this.
He's basically awaiting for the next individual to come out.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Well, talk about a man with a nasty temperament.
[Jerry chuckles]
[Vince] Ice, well, his watch is working as well as ours.
-Nobody in? How about it? -[Jerry] There it is.
[Ross] Austin would love to win this thing to go
-with his 1996 King of the Ring title. -[crowd chanting] Five, four,
three, two, one.
-[Ross] Who's it gonna be? -["Snake Bit" playing]
[Vince] It's Jake "The Snake" Roberts.
-[Jerry exclaims] -[Vince] That's who it is.
[Ross] Check it out, Stone Cold.
[Jerry] Oh, he's got the snake!
[Vince] Jake "The Snake" competing in his sixth Royal Rumble,
more than any WWE athlete in history.
[Ross] Much unlike the new generation superstars,
this is, uh, a grizzled veteran of 42 years of age.
[Jerry] They can't keep that snake in the bag.
-[shrieks] There's a snake. -[Vince] And The Snake rolling in.
And look at the little south paw-- But, wait a minute,
coming off the rope now. Oh!
[Jerry] A hard right hand.
[Vince] Jake "The Snake" Roberts with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Rematch from the King of the Ring, I believe, in the finals,
when Jake almost won it, and everybody wants the DDT.
[crowd chanting] DDT!
[Ross] Jake "The Snake" would love to have that one more dance with glory.
As we said in the Free for All,
you're two matches away from the WWE title.
You win the Rumble, you've got one more shot.
It's a two-match series that's set on top of the mountain.
[Jerry] Look at this! Come on, Stone Cold!
Pick Jake up and slam him right on top of that snake of his.
[Ross] Uh-oh.
[Vince] And the, uh, official has, uh…
[Jerry] Don't bring that thing over here.
-[Vince] Brought the snake out. -[crowd chanting] Ten, nine, eight,
-seven, six, five… -[Vince] And here we go, DDT coming up,
meanwhile we're four seconds away from the next entry into the Royal--
Oh, a clothesline.
And here we go, the DDT coming up.
[Jerry] Uh-oh.
["Rule, Britannia" playing]
-[Ross] British Bulldog. -[Vince] Wait a minute,
over the top to the outside.
[Jerry] Jake is history!
-[Vince] Oh, my goodness. Jake is gone. -[Jerry] Look at this.
[Vince] Here we go. The British Bulldog, who's had so much luck
in these Royal Rumbles, now as a personal-- Oh, yes.
Look at this.
A personal bone to pick with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Look at him go.
[Ross] These two men despise each other. They've had a lot of problems in the past.
-They've been well-documented. -Come on!
-[crowd cheering]
[Ross] The Bulldog's had a lot of success in the Royal Rumble '95.
He was a runner up to Sean Michaels.
He was in the final four last year from Fresno.
[Vince] And I'm not so certain he wasn't the runner up the previous--
Look at-- Oh, my goodness. Look at this now.
And driving him down in the canvas.
[Ross] Bulldog's got a lot of power. He's got experience,
and what an opportunity this would be for one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions
to earn the right to be the main event at WrestleMania.
[Vince] And both, by the way, Tag Team Champions,
the British Bulldog and his brother-in-law,
Owen Hart, choosing to enter this Royal Rumble matchup.
-[Ross] Uh-oh. -[Vince] And look at Austin hanging on.
-[Ross] Well, there's a lot of things… -[commentators exclaim]
-[Ross] Oh, my goodness. -[Vince] Floating around the locker room
-regarding the Bulldog and Owen. -[crowd chanting] …three, two, one.
[upbeat rhythmic music playing]
-[Vince] And is that Pierroth? -[Ross] That's Pierroth.
Pierroth, the Champion of Champions from the Mexican AAA organization,
-Pierroth, the veteran. -[music fades]
-[Vince] But I'm not so certain… -[Jerry exclaims]
…he was chosen one of Dok Hendrix's, uh, top-ten.
Off the rope now. And oh! A bit of a spinebuster down on the canvas
and the Bulldog is, uh, rocking everybody now.
[Ross] Pierroth is a notorious rule-breaker
from, uh, the AAA organization. Not very popular here in San Antonio.
[wrestlers grunt]
[Ross] Has had an illustrious 12-year career
south of the border, making his first Royal Rumble appearance
and knocking the Bulldog down. And he went for the cover.
He saw momentarily, just instinctively,
-Pierroth going for the cover. -[groans]
[Ross] And Steve Austin's getting
-a break here. -[Jerry] Uh-oh.
-[Ross] Yeah, he was playing it smart. Oh! -[Vince] Yeah. Oh!
And Pierroth just hammered to the canvas.
-Again, it's every man for himself. -[Pierroth groans]
[Vince] Look at the Bulldog, going to work on Pierroth,
so is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
[Jerry] I think, uh, Stone Cold and the British Bulldog
would like to get rid of Pierroth, and then go at each other again.
[Vince] In the corner, Pierroth,
and now, Bulldog going to work on Stone Cold, so is Pierroth.
Uh-oh. Ten more seconds, somebody else is gonna join the fray.
[crowd chanting] …seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
["Desert Threat" playing]
-[Vince] It's the Sultan. -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Vince] And there's the Iron Sheik behind the Sultan.
[Ross] Where's Mr. Backlund?
Maybe he's gonna enter the Rumble.
[Vince] Well, he, uh, might still be in New York. He was there last night.
[Ross] Maybe he missed his plane. That'd be a shame.
[Jerry] You find humor in the misfortunes of others, don't you, Ross?
[Ross] Selectively, yes.
[Vince chuckles] In any event,
it's every man for himself, ladies and gentlemen.
-[Jerry] Oh, look out. -[Vince] No friends in there.
If there is an alliance, it's likely to be, uh, one that's short-lived,
-and Pierroth hanging by a thread. -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Iron Sheik yelling indistinctly]
[Vince] Why, the Sultan manhandling Pierroth.
He's a big, powerful individual,
-and look at him trying to get Pierroth. -[Jerry] Pierroth's legs wrapped.
-[Ross] That's smart. -[Vince] Hanging all over him.
[Ross] Smart move by the veteran as Bulldog and Austin are wailing away.
-[Jerry] Uh-oh. -[Ross] But Austin's in trouble,
-Austin's… -[Vince] Stone cold's out. No, he's not.
[Ross] Remember, both feet have to touch the, uh, the floor.
[Vince] And Pierroth trying to pickup the Sultan.
[Jerry] No such luck.
[Vince] He's well over that 300-pound mark, I would suggest.
-Whoa. -[Jerry exclaims] Wow. What a slam.
[Ross] Sultan in his first Royal Rumble.
[Vince] Look at this. Look how Austin is softening up the Bulldog's legs.
-[groans painfully] -[Vince] Remember it was that same leg,
that same knee that Stone Cold did damage to, a little bit earlier on…
-[crowd chanting] …two, one. -…in weeks previous.
["Thousand Masks" playing]
[Vince] Here we go, ladies and gentlemen.
Here comes the legendary Mil Máscaras.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] So, now, Pierroth joined by a countryman, Mil Máscaras.
[Ross] Even though, there'll be no allies here,
yes, indeed they are countrymen.
That's about as far as that relationship goes.
"The Man of a Thousand Masks," Mil Máscaras in here.
[Vince] And here, look at him go to work on the Sultan. [exclaims]
Sultan set up for the ride now.
-And-- Oh, yeah! -[Jerry] Wow.
[Ross] Máscaras in the ring for over three decades.
Renowned movie and television star in Mexico,
known as "The Man of a Thousand Masks."
[Jerry] And do you know what a feather in somebody's cap it would be
if "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or the Sultan…
-[Vince exclaims] -…were able to unmask Mil Máscaras,
right here in the Royal Rumble? Would that be something?
-[Ross] Certainly would be, King. -[Vince] A headbutt by the Sultan.
Meanwhile, over on the far side, the Bulldog with Stone Cold and Pierroth.
And they're all tangled up over on the right side of the ring.
And Máscaras trying to get the big Sultan up and out.
-Now, they need to get back. -[Jerry] Might need to get a Boy Scout
out here to get those guys untied.
[Vince] Uh-oh. Ten more seconds, somebody else joins the fray.
[Jerry] Mil Máscaras has almost got the Sultan out.
-[crowd chanting] …three, two, one. -[Vince] It's… it's--
["Ode to Joy" playing]
-[Vince] Ah. Hunter Hearst Helmsley. -[Jerry] Yeah!
[Ross] Helmsley retaining the Intercontinental title earlier,
here on the Royal Rumble.
[Vince] And you can see he's not running at full speed.
[Jerry] Yeah, but now you're gonna see some bodies flying.
[Ross] He didn't bring his butler with him, either.
[Vince] Well, at least not yet.
Helmsley succession of right hands softening up the British Bulldog.
[Ross] Pierroth still trying to get "Stone Cold" Steve Austin up.
That's not gonna work in that position, I don't think, and now,
the Bulldog's in jeopardy of being eliminated.
[Iron Sheik] Sultan!
[Vince] And Mil Máscaras with Hunter Hearst Helmsley
in the mid-ring. We've got Pierroth and Stone Cold in the far side,
and the Sultan and the Bulldog exchanging blows in the--
Oh! In the left. Oh, my goodness.
What a clothesline that was by the Bulldog.
-Look out, over he goes. And yeah! -[Jerry] Look out!
[Vince] The Bulldog has just eliminated the Sultan.
[Ross] A lot of power by the British Bulldog.
Great upper-body strength by Davey Boy Smith,
the British Bulldog, eliminating the Sultan.
[Jerry] Boy, Mr. Bob Backlund can't be happy about that.
[Vince] Backlund has quite a record here in the Royal Rumble.
-[Ross exclaims] Look out. -[Vince] Oh, and Hunter has been elimin--
-[Jerry] No, no, no. -[Vince] Now, I'm not so sure.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Austin now, in the corner
and drives the elbow down into Hunter Hearst Helmsley.
Every man for himself.
[Ross] There are no allies here. There are no partners.
-No allegiances. -[crowd chanting] …three, two, one.
[Jerry] No lie.
["High Energy" playing]
[Vince] Oh, no. It's Bret Hart's "stinking, rotten brother,"
-as Bret would say, Owen Hart. -[Jerry] What?
[Ross] You mean the whiner? He whines about everything.
[Jerry] Listen to you guys. He's the Slammy Award winner.
[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
Máscaras and Pierroth going at it, and here comes the Slammy,
-and here comes Owen Hart. -[Jerry] Come on, Owen.
-[Ross] Owen and Austin going right at it. -[Vince] Yeah. Yes indeed,
and that'll be most interesting.
[Ross] I wonder if Owen and the Bulldog will get it on here.
[Vince] Bulldog is, uh, gonna be lucky not be thrown over
-after Hunter Hearst Helmsley. -[Jerry] Look out, Owen.
[Vince] Just really did some damage in there--
Oh, and the Bulldog coming right back to Austin.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Ross] I bet Stu and Helen Hart are here somewhere in attendance.
[Vince] And there goes Austin. Austin's going for a ride.
-[Jerry] Yes. -[Vince] Yes.
-[crowd cheering] -[Vince] And--
-[Ross] Oh. -[Vince] Hey, wait a minute.
[Jerry] think that was Owen, eliminated Bulldog.
-[Vince] Owen Hart trying to-- -[The British Bulldog] What are you doing?
-You Idiot! -I was trying to get rid of him.
-[Vince] The Bulldog is angry. -I saved you!
[Ross] Bulldog just called
-Owen an "Idiot." -I saved you!
-[Vince] They're Tag Team partners. -He pulled me out!
[Vince] They're Tag Team champions.
-[Jerry] They're brother-in-laws. -Go!
-He pulled me out! -[Jerry] So, what? You whiner.
It's every man for himself.
[Vince] I understand that, although, Owen was professing
-that it was an accident, he was… -[Jerry] Probably was.
…attempting to get "Stone Cold" Steve Austin out.
[Ross] Owen hasn't told the truth since the King was a prince.
[Jerry] Oh, listen to you now. I feel sorry for Owen.
[Vince] But it is every man for himself
-as you brought up, King. -[crowd chanting] …two, one.
-[Jerry] I heard… I heard-- Uh-oh. -["Gold-Lust" playing]
-[Vince] And here comes Goldust. -[Jerry] Oh, yeah.
[Vince] Who gave quite an accounting of himself in a matchup
with Helmsley earlier on, and of course, Helmsley is still in there as we speak.
-[Jerry] Oh, look out, here comes Austin. -[music concludes]
-[Vince] This is-- -[Jerry] Look at Owen,
-he's almost eliminated. -[Ross] Goldust has never competed
in the Royal Rumble match,
since entering the World Wrestling Entertainment,
so this will be a little bit new to him, and it's real simple.
It's every man for himself.
He starts throwing people over the top rope.
[Vince] Here we go, and here's the way Owen dumped.
-I don't know about that. -[Jerry] That looked accidental.
-[Vince] No, I-- -[Jerry] It did to me.
[Vince] At least in slow motion, it certainly did not look accidental.
[Jerry] Now, Owen's gonna eliminate Mil Máscaras.
[Vince] And look at this. Driving a knee a moment ago,
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin into Goldust.
Goldust in his very first Royal Rumble as you brought out earlier on, J.R.
And-- Uh-oh. Look out.
-Máscaras, now with Owen. -[Jerry] Hook your leg, Owen,
hook your leg. Under the rope, hook it up, there you go.
[Vince] Máscaras is in magnificent condition
for a man that's been around as long as he has here in the sport.
-[Ross] Yeah. -[Vince] Very commended.
[Jerry] I heard he really remembers the Alamo. Oh.
[Vince] And Owen Hart. Look at that. Still in the Royal Rumble matchup.
[Ross] Sometimes, you think Owen's made of elastic.
He bends, but he doesn't break.
[Vince] I wonder what is going on in the Bulldog's mind
-at this moment. -[crowd chanting] …eight, seven…
[Vince] The Bulldog, who has been a stellar performer
in previous Royal Rumbles, eliminated by his own brother-in-law,
-and Tag Team partner. Who's this? -["Formula One" playing]
-[Jerry] That's Cibernético. -[Ross] Cibernético.
[Vince] Cibernético.
[Ross] Cibernético's the youngest competitor in this thing.
He's only 20 years of age.
[Jerry] He won't last 20 seconds.
[Vince] Yeah, well he can go, I can tell you that, and look at him.
He's going right for Máscaras.
[Mil Máscaras grunts]
[Vince] Cibernético to south paw, winding up Mil Máscaras.
Austin on the far-right side of the ring, resting comfortably, look at this.
[Ross] Cibernético. Cibernético grew up a huge fan of Mil Máscaras,
as were, I'm sure, a lot of youngsters in Mexico.
What an opportunity, I'm sure what an honor
for Cibernético and Mil Máscaras,
to be in the ring together, for this young man.
[wrestlers grunt, groan]
[Jerry] There's no honor to have somebody you looked up to
-when you were a kid… -[Cibernético groans]
…trying to pull your mask off and ramming your head in the turnbuckle.
[Vince] Meanwhile, Austin, over in the far side as we see, yes,
Austin, Goldust, and Owen Hart.
And Owen Hart would, I'm sorry to say, do that to his own brother.
-That's for putting out… -[Vince] Of course, he would do that
-to his own brother. -…the British Bulldog.
-[Jerry] You're not kidding. -[Vince] And, uh, wait a minute.
We-- We've got Helmsley hanging onto the ropes.
He almost went out. Helmsley right back in.
[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Vince] Cibernético, Mil Máscaras, Pierroth,
along with Goldust, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Austin,
and Owen Hart, and in seven more seconds--
-Oh, wait a minute, Helmsley. No. -[crowd chanting] …seven, six, five…
-[Vince] Helmsley. -[Jerry] Still in.
[Ross] Referees are there to check the feet.
[Vince] Whoa!
-[Ross] Make sure the feet didn't touch. -["Wildcat" playing]
-[Ross] Uh-oh. -[Vince] Here comes the Wildman.
-[Jerry] Here comes trouble. -[Vince] Yeah, Sable.
[Jerry exclaiming] Whoa! Hey, somebody went out.
-[Vince] Cibernético is gone. -[Ross] Cibernético's been eliminated.
[Vince] Cibernético has been eliminated. Wait a minute, Pierroth--
-Pierroth dumped outside by Máscaras. -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And wait a minute, Máscaras going upstairs.
Mil Máscaras flying through the air!
-[Jerry] Whoa! -[music concludes]
[Ross] Máscaras, I think, just eliminated himself.
[Jerry] He didn't know-- [splutters]
-[Ross] He may be confused of the rules. -[Jerry] What was he thinking?
[Vince] I'm not so sure
Máscaras should be allowed to get back in there.
-[Jerry] No way. -[Vince] Yeah.
He got confused there and got carried away.
-[referee 1] Get out. -[Vince] And now, they're--
The officials are…
[Ross] Máscaras has made a mental error there.
-This is his first Royal Rumble. -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Vince] And it is a very unpopular decision
by this capacity crowd.
-[Jerry] Look out. -[Vince] Look out.
-[exclaims] -[Jerry] Oh, no.
[Vince] Hunter Hearst Helmsley Has been eliminated.
-[Jerry] By Goldust. -[Vince] Oh, yeah.
-[crowd shouting indistinctly] -[Vince] And "Wildman" Marc Mero.
-Mero underway. -[Jerry] Look at these two clowns.
[Ross] Mero and Goldust getting it-- Oh, boy!
What it is, a… by Owen Hart. And to just think, it was just a--
-[Jerry] Yeah. -[Ross] Not that long ago
that, uh, they were partners.
-[Jerry] Goldust? -[Ross] Yeah, that they were partners,
Goldust and the Wildman.
[Vince] Well, in any event, it's every man for himself
in the 1997 Royal Rumble.
[Ross] And with Marlena and Sable out there,
it may end up being every woman for themselves.
[Jerry] Those two guys shouldn't take it so hard.
It was no disgrace to lose to the King.
-[Ross] Oh, please. -[Jerry] What?
-[crowd chanting] …two, one. -[Vince] Who's it gonna be?
-Who's coming in now? -["Hit Me" playing]
[Ross] That's a Latin Lover.
[Vince] Sure is.
[Ross] Latin Lover making his first Royal Rumble appearance.
Started his career as a masked wrestler. Lost his match in a mask.
-[music concludes] -[Vince] Oh, there's a keister. [laughs]
[Ross] Been unmasked ever since.
[Vince] And Latin Lover is going to work on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
[Ross] Latin Lover's a major star in the AAA organization.
[Jerry] Is he any kin to "Little Latin Lupe Lu"?
[Ross] I don't think so, King.
-[Vince] Oh! -[Jerry] Wow.
[Ross] We'll have more music trivia later.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Latin Lover just nailed Owen Hart.
[Jerry] Looks like Sable's got her eye
-on the Latin Lover. -[Vince] Oh, please.
She certainly doesn't have her eyes on you.
[Ross] Apparently Sable and Mero have reconciled
-as we talked about last night on Shotgun. -[Jerry] Oh, yeah?
I don't know about that. I hear she's got her eye
-on Rocky Maivia and possibly me. -[Vince] Oh, stop it.
A little argument that everyone made too much of.
Goldust… And Owen Hart has been--
-[Jerry] Now, look at him. -[Vince] Look at that athleticism.
[Jerry] He is fantastic.
I think he saw Shawn Michaels do that one afternoon.
Oh, look at that. Oh.
[Ross] Latin Lover going for the dropkick and Goldust able to step out of the way,
-and stepped right into-- Goldust! -[Vince] Goldust.
And Owen Hart has eliminated Goldust.
-[Jerry] Man. -[Vince] Wow.
[crowd chanting] Ten, nine…
-[Jerry] Who's this guy? -[Vince] And Latin Lover is almost out.
-[crowd chanting] …four, three… -[Vince] And Owen Hart hammering away
-and here comes somebody else. Uh-oh. -["We Are The Nation" playing]
[Jerry] Faarooq.
[Vince] And Faarooq wasting no time getting to the ring.
Don't tell me it's gonna be Faarooq and the Nation of Domination
-winning this thing. -[music concludes]
[Jerry] Yeah. Well, I tell you one thing, Ahmed is lucky he's already gone.
-[Ross] Ooh. -[Vince] And Faarooq hammering away
on the Latin Lover.
[Jerry] He's not loving that. Whoa.
-[Vince] No. -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Ross] Farooq is our 18th entrant.
-[Vince] Coming off the ropes, Latin-- -[Jerry] Look out, Faarooq!
-[Vince] Oh! -[Ross] Ow. Ow.
[Jerry] He tried to catch himself on the apron. [chuckles]
-He didn't make it, he didn't love that. -[Vince exclaims]
-[Ross] Stone Cold and Faarooq now. -[crowd cheering]
[Ross] We got a slobber knocker with these two.
[Vince] Stone Cold going at it with Faarooq.
Wait a minute, Ahmed Johnson!
-Ahmed Johnson. -[Jerry exclaims] Look out!
-[Ross] He's got lumber! -[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Vince] Ahmed Johnson wailing away!
[Ross] Farooq is out of here. He's been eliminated with a two-by-four.
[Vince] And Clarence Mason better get out of Dodge as well.
[Jerry] I guess so. Two-by-four.
[Vince] With the whole Nation of Domination out here,
and Ahmed made certain that Faarooq was not going to win this thing
-if the eventual-- -[Jerry] Look at this, look at this!
[Vince exclaims] Wait a minute. Owen Hart, the Latin Lover out,
and that means "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's in there
all by himself again. Look at this.
-That's Mero "Wildman," Marc Mero… -[Ross] Marc Mero.
[Vince] …and Owen Hart have been eliminated
thanks to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
["Salsa" playing]
[Vince] Savio Vega.
[Jerry] He's not gonna give Steve Austin any time to rest.
[Vince] And they have had a go before, there's history here.
[Ross] Remember that strap match
-they had last year on pay-per-view? -[Vince] A classic.
[Ross] They whipped each other like animals last year,
and neither have forgotten it.
The real story in this Royal Rumble, thus far, is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
[Vince] Austin, now, set up for the ride, here he goes, over the top…
-[Jerry exclaims] -…into the buckle.
-[Ross] Austin catapulted face-first… -[Vince] Oh!
…and a spinning heel kick by Savio Vega.
[Vince] But that's not gonna get rid of Austin yet.
-[Jerry] Gotta get him over the top rope. -[Vince] Savio is trying to get him up,
and out and over.
All right, off the rope, from behind now, driving Austin,
Austin hooks the rope, Savio Vega back up on his feet, and look out.
-[Jerry] Ooh. -[Vince] Oh, no. Right on the throat.
-Stone Cold with a clothesline. -[Jerry] Look at him, yes!
[Vince] Unbelievable.
Austin is all by himself once again.
You might say with all his friends, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
[Jerry] How many men has he eliminated single-handedly?
-[Vince] I don't know. -[Jerry] Look at this,
and he's asking for more.
[Ross] I don't know if those kinds of records are kept,
-but right here you see Austin. -[Jerry] Here goes two right here, look.
-[Ross] He takes out two at one time. -[Vince] Wildman and Owen Hart.
[Jerry] I'd give an assist to Owen there. He almost had Mero out.
[Ross] Mero, or excuse me, Austin very opportunistic
in that particular exchange.
[Vince] And in four seconds,
-Austin is gonna face somebody else. -[crowd chanting] …three, two, one.
[''With My Baby Tonight'' playing]
[Vince] "Double J" Jesse James.
[Jerry] Got the promising young singer. I wish he'd promise to stop singing.
[Vince] And look at this. Look at Austin.
Austin playing possum.
[Ross] Double J's number 20, ten more men still to come.
[Vince] And Double J with those left hands.
Look at this, left and rights, he is quick.
-[Jerry] Uh-oh. -[Vince] Double J sets up Austin
-for the ride, to the buckle. -[Ross] Whoa!
[Vince] Double J gets set, here we go!
-And a clothesline! -[Jerry exclaims]
-[crowd cheering] -[Vince laughs]
Double J kicked in the ribs and over the top-- Did he?
No. He didn't get him.
-Double J-- Now-- He got him. He got him. -Oh!
[Vince] Stone Cold all by himself again.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin…
-Get the hell out of here. -…and you gotta give credit
where it's due. You may not like Stone Cold,
you may not like his attitude, but Austin is a competitor.
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] Well, all these 60,000-plus fans,
I'm assuming appreciate Austin's intensity.
They certainly do not appreciate his attitude.
[Vince] Who will be next?
Who will face "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in less than ten seconds?
[Jerry] But the quicker he can eliminate 'em,
-the more time he has to rest. -[crowd chanting] …four,
three, two, one.
-["Heart Attack" playing] -[Jerry] Uh-oh.
-Yes. Yes. Yes. -[crowd shouting indistinctly]
[Vince] Bret "The Hitman" Hart,
and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin slugging it out in the Royal Rumble.
[Ross] Boy, this is hellfire and brimstone when these two get together.
-[Vince] Bret Hart-- Oh! -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Drives a knee to the spine area. Bret hart with a clothesline.
"The Hitman" Bret Hart.
-[Ross] Austin-- -[Vince] Many think he should have won
the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship,
back in West Palm Beach. He, of course, gave blame to Shawn Michaels
for not winning the championship.
And the Hitman now with a tremendous opportunity
to win the 1997 Royal Rumble.
The Hitman, the 21st entry into the Rumble.
[Ross] Well, Stone Cold has been in this thing well over 20 minutes,
just past 20 minutes, I should say.
[Vince] And he has to be running out of gas, J.R.
-[Ross] Right. -[Vince] It has to take--
He's been taking rights and lefts from everybody.
[Ross] For 22, 24 minutes for Austin.
-[Vince] Oh! Oh! -[Ross] Hard Irish whip from the Hitman
coming with a high impact. Those nasty maneuvers, those tough ones.
"I'm in your face, Stone Cold!"
-[Jerry laughs] -…says the Hitman.
[crowd chanting] …four, three, two…
-[Vince] And-- -[Jerry] What's this?
-["The Great Gates Of Kiev" playing] -[Jerry] Oh, yeah.
-Hey, McMahon, watch this, baby. -[Vince] You are in it.
-I can't believe it. You… you are in it. -[laughs]
-You weren't lying. -Get ready.
[crowd cheering]
-I said it once, I'll say it again. -Bret Hart--
-"It takes a King." -Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Jerry "The King" Lawler sneaking up behind "The Hitman" Bret Hart.
Look at, the King is out. And Bret Hart looks like--
[screams]
[Ross] Oh, my-- I think we just saw a record broken.
I think Lawler has just broken a record.
[Vince] I think he just said it, "It takes a king…"
"…To know a king." McMahon, I told you.
-[Ross] You told us what? -[Jerry] "It takes a king to know a king."
[Vince] That's unbelievable. How--
Do you realize you were just in the ring? Hello, King?
-What? -[Vince] You got your jacket all twisted
and unzipped here.
You just-- You had enough time.
You were in there long enough to complete a sentence.
"The Hitman" Bret Hart, ladies and gentlemen.
[Ross] Twenty-four minutes for Austin thus far.
Bret Hart with that headbutt in the lower abdomen.
This is so very, very personal.
And Bret Hart thought this morning when I talked to him on superstars
that he shouldn't even have to be in this matchup,
that he should have come into the Royal Rumble as the WWE Champion.
[Jerry] He shouldn't have even been in this matchup.
[Ross] That's what I just said.
[Jerry] Not because he should be the champion,
it's because he shouldn't even be in the WWE. He's a jerk.
[Vince] And who is going-- Uh-oh.
["Diesel Blues" playing]
[Vince] Here comes the big man.
[Ross] 6'9, 315, 325 pounds, somewhere in that vicinity.
A lot of power and a lot of body weight to get over the top rope.
[Jerry] Come on, Big Daddy Cool. Get in there and murderalize 'em.
[Vince] Whoa, and here he goes right away
-on Bret "The Hitman" Hart. -[Jerry] Yes, yes.
[Ross] As they say in Oklahoma, Bret got waylaid that time.
[Vince] And this man can do the job, no doubt about it.
Oh. And right back into Austin. No friends in there.
Every man for himself.
[Ross] Diesel's in magnificent condition. Look at that upper-body development.
[Vince] Only seven more individuals
to join the fray of the 1997 Royal Rumble Match.
The winner of which goes on to WrestleMania
to face the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion for the title.
-[Jerry] Diesel, what are you doing? -[Vince] And Austin's going out.
[Jerry] Get over there on the Hitman.
[Vince] And "The Hitman" Bret Hart coming over to help.
-[Jerry] Oh, here they both go. -[Vince] Uh-oh.
[Ross] Rake of the eyes by Austin
causing some separation there, and look at Austin and Hart
like two pit bull dogs going right back at it,
trying to take a bite out of each other.
-[Vince] And the Hitman to the buckle. -[Jerry] Oh, yes.
[Vince] With authority.
Bret Hart's sternum just struck the top of the turnbuckle there.
[Jerry] Come on Diesel, help him. Now's your chance.
-Help Stone Cold. -[crowd chanting] …two, one.
-[Vince] Oh, here comes Terry Funk. -[Jerry] Uh-oh.
[Vince] He's jumping the gun, so to speak, just a little bit.
[Ross] A bit laced in crazy. There's no doubt about that.
[Vince] Texas legend Terry Funk, and boy, is he ever in a tremendous position
to win this thing as well. I mean, joining number 24…
this man.
[Ross] We saw Austin and Funk get it on last night on Shotgun.
[Vince] And a southpaw, hard left hand, and again.
[Ross] Funk was rather outspoken last evening.
[Vince] Oh, to say the least, for which we apologize for.
Funk and Austin. Meanwhile, over on the other side,
"Big Daddy Cool" Diesel almost had Bret Hart out.
[Ross] A name like Funk, you-- you know he's going to be that way.
[Jerry] He reminds me a lot of Mankind. He doesn't care how much pain he absorbs.
He doesn't care what happens to his body-- Oh, come on.
Terry Funk, get over there and get the Hitman.
[Ross] Terry Funk's brother, Dory Funk Jr. in the Royal Rumble last year.
Of course, the son of the legend, Dory Funk from Amarillo, Texas…
of famous Double Cross Ranch.
[Vince] And Funk to the buckle. Almost out and over.
Upside down! And Funk is going to be out of here.
No, not quite.
[Jerry] There he is, there he is, get him. Yes.
-Oh, yes. Oh. [chuckles] -[Vince] Takes a hit to the mid-section.
That's gratitude for you in the Royal Rumble match.
[Ross] Terry Funk with those tape… those fists taped, I should say.
[Vince] And you have to wonder whether or not
there's a little something extra in there.
-[Jerry] Look at this! -[Vince] Oh, no. Bret Hart, piledriven.
-[Jerry] He didn't get him good, though. -[Ross] No, he didn't. Bret had a block.
-[Vince] Here comes Rocky Maivia! -["Destiny (II)" playing]
[Vince] Here he comes. Here comes the rookie.
This man could win this thing.
[Ross] "Stone Cold" Steve Austin almost fatigued.
He's been in here over 30 minutes now, has Stone Cold…
[Vince] Yes, and look at Rocky go, taking it to Stone Cold.
[Ross] And, this thing is building right back up.
[Vince] Rocky Maivia, the son of the great WWE superstar,
Rocky Johnson, the grandson of the great WWE superstar,
the great Peter Maivia, Chief Maivia. And, look at this.
Oh. Rocky will take it to you.
-A great athlete! And now we got Austin. -[Jerry] Oh, no.
[Vince] It's gonna be Rocky who eliminates Austin.
[Jerry] He stayed all this time just to be eliminated by a rookie.
-[Vince] Wait a minute! -[Jerry shrieks]
[Vince] Terry Funk is thrown over.
No, Bret Hart can't quite get him over.
[Vince] And, Funk, oh, saved.
[Ross] Look at here. That ring veteran knew where he was,
kept his balance, did Terry Funk,
and now Diesel with a tremendous elbow
right to the ear, right to the side of the head of Rocky Maivia.
I still can't believe they're having a Royal Rumble without a king in there.
[Jerry] Maybe I should go in there.
[Vince] Uh, King, I hate to tell you this, but you were in there.
You've been in there. Do you remember?
Look out. Diesel now in the corner,
and Rocky strong enough and powerful enough
to get the big man out.
Hanging on to the ropes. Look at him wrap himself up there.
Five seconds and counting. Who's gonna join us?
The 1997 Royal Rumble heating up. Who's gonna win this thing?
-["Ode to Freud" playing] -[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
[Ross] Well, business just picked up.
[Vince] Don't tell me this man's gonna win.
[Ross] We got Terry Funk and Mankind in the same ring
with Stone Cold and Bret Hart and these others.
-Anything's liable to happen. -[Jerry] This could be a dream come true.
Get rid of that rookie, Rocky Maivia, and then you got Mankind,
you got Terry Funk, you got "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel,
and you got Stone Cold, all against the Hitman.
Wouldn't that be a dream come true?
[Vince] And, look at this thing now. Mankind in the ring.
Diesel doesn't want to have any part of him.
-[Jerry] No, Mankind! -[Vince] Who does?
-Mankind goes right away to Terry Funk. -[Jerry] Get the Hitman.
[Vince] And, Rocky Maivia. Oh, look. There we go, ladies--
No. Funk hanging on, hanging on by a thread.
Mankind continuing to attack.
Meanwhile, Diesel and Rocky getting on in the corner.
[Ross] Two young lions on one side of the ring,
two great veterans on the other,
and then you got two bizarre ones right in the middle there of your screen.
-[Vince] Yes, indeed. -[Jerry] Oh.
He suplexed the Hitman right there. Way to go, Stone Cold.
[Vince] Stone Cold content now to--
Just look at him hammer away on Bret Hart's head.
Look at Bret Hart's head bouncing off the canvas.
[Jerry] I oughta go in there and do that myself.
[Vince] All right, we've got, ladies and gentlemen,
six competitors in the ring.
That's what it's come down to, and in just a few seconds,
another one with join the fray.
[Ross] The Hitman with a sleeper.
Oh, and a counter by Austin, causing the separation.
-["Can't Get Enough" playing] -[Vince] Here comes Flash Funk!
[Vince] And, another newcomer, ladies and gentlemen,
relative newcomer to the WWE, just like Rock Maivia,
could win all the marbles here right now in the Royal Rumble.
[Jerry] Where are the funkettes?
[Vince] Well, I don't think that they should be involved in this. Do you?
[Jerry] I think they're in Terry Funk's dressing room.
[Ross] Oh, there's a piledriver! That one found its mark.
-That one hit. -[Jerry screams]
[Vince] And now, Bret Hart must rid the ring of Stone Cold,
but he's gotta get him up to do it.
And, I think Bret Hart is content to just weaken him.
[Jerry] Look at Flash Funk. What's he doing?
[Vince] Funk, all right, from the top.
That's a real dangerous maneuver, nonetheless an effective one.
[Ross] Flash Funk, you might notice, no relation to Terry Funk.
[Vince] Flash Funk is flashy. No doubt about it.
You talk about a high-risk taker,
that's Flash Funk for you, and Austin hanging on.
You're not gonna get this man out like that.
It's gotta be something of high impact.
All right. Diesel now, with a forearm on Flash Funk.
[wrestlers grunts]
[Vince] And, speaking of Funks, Terry Funk on the far side of the ring
is, unfortunately, receiving all kind of-- Look at that.
Oh, my goodness, Mankind.
Oh, my.
[Ross] We got three men, three of 'em left I understand.
[Jerry] Come on, Mankind. Go get Bret Hart.
[Ross] Three men left to enter.
[Vince] All right. Here we go. Who's coming to town?
-["Mastodon" playing] -[Vince] Uh-oh.
[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
[Ross] After a controversial victory over the Undertaker,
with the help of, perhaps, Vader's new manager,
we're not sure, Paul Bearer, here comes The Rocky Mountain Monster.
And, no doubt he'd like to be in the main event at WrestleMania 13
at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago.
[Jerry] Look at how smart he is.
He's taking his time coming down that aisle.
No need to rush into the fray.
-Look at Mankind. -[Vince] Mankind has-- No.
Can you believe he hung on?
[Jerry] Oh, now look. Vader's my man. Who you go after?
[Vince] Vader's the biggest man in the Royal Rumble at 458 pounds.
[Jerry] Swat that fly.
[Vince] What do you mean? That's not a fly. That's Flash Funk.
-[Jerry] Well, swat him anyway. -[Vince] And-- Uh-oh. Look at this.
Funk now-- Uh-oh, taking succession of right hands by--
And, a left to the midsection. Down goes Flash Funk,
and look at this. Austin going to work on Vader.
[Jerry] Move, Austin. Let Vader get the Funk outta here.
[Vince] And, Austin now, off the rope and--
-[Jerry] Oh! -[Vince] Oh, my goodness.
[Jerry] What you get.
[Ross] Vader's upright at 458, just as imposing as anybody
has ever been here in the WWE.
[Vince] And Austin has been in the squared circle now,
being pummeled, for over 35 minutes.
[Ross] Bret Hart's got a score to settle…
[Jerry] That's gotta be a lot of fun. I'm gonna enter this thing next year.
[Ross] Vader, remember, beat Bret Hart on Raw one-on-one
not that long ago
in a match that certainly was not without some controversy.
[Vince] Here we go. Only two individuals left,
ladies and gentlemen.
[crowd chanting] …six, five…
-[Vince] Here comes number 29. Who is it? -[crowd chanting] …four, three, two, one.
-[upbeat banjo music playing] -[Jerry] Oh.
[Vince] Yeah, here he comes.
Here comes the brains and the brawn of the Godwinn outfit.
[Jerry] Brains?
[Vince] You talk about a big, strapping individual
who can throw somebody out of the ring, that'd have to be Henry O. Godwinn.
[Ross] It's a great opportunity for Henry. He's around 300 pounds as well.
[Vince] And look at him, right away going for the Big Van Vader.
[Ross] Henry was one of the last five men in the Royal Rumble in '95.
A break or two could've won that thing.
[Vince] And Bret Hart up--
All perched up, and that's not the thing to do.
Bret Hart better get down there.
[Ross] Did you see Henry Godwinn knock down Vader?
-[Vince] Yes, I did. -[Ross] Wow.
[Jerry] You're real impressed by Henry Godwinn, aren't you?
[Ross] Well, he's a heck of an athlete, King.
[Jerry] The only guy I know that's got a burglar alarm
on his garbage can.
[Ross] He's lasted a little bit longer than you have thus far.
[Jerry] I'm gonna-- What are you talking about?
[Ross] You're in Luke-- The Bushwhacker category.
[Vince] In any event…
I'm surprised that any number of individuals
have not ganged up and thrown Bret Hart out of the squared circle.
[Jerry] I'm in shock over it.
He shoulda had a big bull's-eye on him when he went in there.
Everybody shoulda went after him.
-[Ross] Something's gotta give here. -[Vince] There's only one man left,
and you can bet something is going to give.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin moving back in now. Look at this.
[Ross] And you know who that one man is, don't you?
-[Vince] Uh, well-- -[Jerry] Me?
[Vince] Why don't we just save it for everybody,
for the benefit of those of you who haven't been counting.
[crowd chanting] …five, four, three…
[Ross] For those of you that haven't been keeping score,
maybe this will let you know who's coming out next. Oh.
-["Rest In Peace" playing] -[crowd cheering]
-[Vince] And, the winner… -[Jerry] Whoa!
[Vince] …of the 1997 Royal Rumble is on his way.
[Jerry] What happened to the darn li--
That's the way they should've done the whole Royal Rumble. [chuckles]
-Uh-oh. -[Ross] Well, one of these men…
One of these men will wrestle the WWE Champion,
whomever that may be, at WrestleMania 13.
And, will 13 be the lucky number of the Undertaker?
[Vince] I can tell you this.
It seems to me that the Undertaker had a real rotten attitude
after his loss to Vader earlier,
and I don't know if anyone wants to get into the Undertaker's way.
[Jerry] Well, Vader's not scared of him obviously.
Look at this. He sees the Undertaker coming.
-Look, look. There they go! Uh-oh. -[Vince] And here they go!
[Jerry] There he goes. Oh, right on the button.
[Vince] The Undertaker wants to get even with Vader,
but he wants to win this thing more than anything else.
[Ross] Undertaker and Mankind have had their wars.
Undertaker nailin' Austin.
[Vince] And the Undertaker-- Oh, what a right hand that was.
-[Ross] Uh-oh. -[Vince] Uh-oh.
And Austin's going for the ride.
-[Jerry exclaims] Oh! -[Vince] Oh! Did you see the elevation?
And Vader's gonna go for the ride. Oh!
[Ross] That's the second time tonight that Vader has felt that one,
another thunderous right on Diesel!
[Jerry] Do Bret Hart! Do Bret Hart!
[Ross] He will. Don't worry.
[Vince] It's every man for himself, and Flash Funk gets some as well.
[Jerry] Hit that hillbilly too while you're at it.
[Vince] And head's collide at the Royal Rumble.
The Undertaker,
obviously, now, I think we would have to state,
the favorite here to win the Royal Rumble.
But, then again, you never can tell.
Will it be Rocky Maivia? Will it be-- Oh, my goodness.
-Look at Rocky go. -[Jerry] Oh, man!
[Ross] Did you-- Vader just threw Flash Funk
over Vader's head all the way to the floor.
Flash is outta here.
[Vince] Flash Funk has been eliminated.
Terry Funk still in there along with Vader.
[Ross] Uh-oh. Look at Terry Funk.
[Vince] Let's take another look at the way Flash was eliminated.
-Watch this. -[Jerry] No, no, no. Whoa!
[Ross] That's power. That hurts.
Scary upper body strength and power by Vader.
Which one of these men will meet the WWE Champion at WrestleMania 13?
-[Jerry] Terry Funk. No, no, Vader. -[Vince] Yes, ladies and gentlemen,
Chicago, the Rosemont Horizon, as J.R. stated,
the setting for this year's WrestleMania. But who will face the champion?
Will it be Bret Hart, who has fought so valiantly
and so long to regain his number one spot of contention?
-Will it be Vader, Rocky Maivia? -[Jerry] Uh-oh, look at--
The Hitman is concentrating on Stone Cold.
If it comes down to Hitman and Stone Cold, I'd say it'll be the Hitman.
If it comes down to Terry Funk and Vader, Vader.
[Vince] "Stone Cold" Steve Austin has been in the ring for over 40 minutes.
[Jerry] If it comes down to Undertaker and anybody, Undertaker.
[Ross] I tell you, I cannot imagine the fatigue, the exhaustion
that must be riveting the body of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
-after 40 minutes of hell with these guys. -[Jerry] I'm not even tired.
[grunts]
[Ross] You must have amnesia.
[Vince] And Rocky Maivia with Bret Hart up.
-He's going to eliminate the Hitman. -[Jerry] Yoo-hoo!
-The rookie, the rookie. What? -[Vince] No.
Austin hammering away and Vader all over Austin.
-Vader over to Rocky. -[Jerry] I think Austin must have amnesia.
-What did he save the Hitman for? -[Vince] I don't--
Maybe he wants to do it himself.
Look at-- Funk and Austin have hooked up again here.
It started last night on Shotgun Saturday Night.
[grunts]
[Vince] Look at these two-- Look at-- Unbelievable action here.
-[Ross] Look at Henry Godwinn. -[Vince] Where?
[Ross] Henry Godwinn held on. Undertaker threw
big ol' Hank over the top, but he, Hank, held on,
came back in, made a U-turn.
[Vince] And the Undertaker and Vader…
getting it on.
[wrestlers grunt]
[Vince] Could it be Vader, who has the Undertaker's ticket?
Oh, what a right hand by Henry Godwinn.
[Ross] Henry Godwinn just knocked down Bret Hart.
[Jerry] Everybody's forgettin' about one of the biggest men
in the ring right now. Look at him, "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel.
[Vince] Good point.
[wrestlers grunt]
[Ross] Oh. Henry Godwinn nailin' the Undertaker.
Like we said before, there are no allies in these things.
[Vince] No, sir. Henry Godwinn can lay 'em in.
No doubt about that. To the midsection.
Henry Godwinn continuing to pound on the Undertaker.
And, thus far, we have seen no two individuals hook up
as any sort of allies. Uh-oh.
Uh-oh. And, look at-- Unbelievable! What strength!
[Ross] Whoa.
[Vince] Unbelievable strength by the Undertaker,
who threw Henry Godwinn all the way out, and just rammed, I believe, his head
right into our table.
Henry Godwinn…
hurled over the ropes. Take a look at this.
-[Ross] Wow. Almost right in our lap. -[Vince] And into the table.
And Henry Godwinn with a valiant effort in the Royal Rumble.
Wait a minute. Someone else almost eliminated.
So, now…
-[Jerry] Look at this! -[Vince] Look at this.
Uh-oh. Oh, with a mandible claw! That could do it for Rocky. Yes!
[Ross] Oh. Mankind eliminates rookie Rocky Maivia.
-[Jerry] A rookie mistake. [chuckles] -[grunts]
-[Vince] Oh. -[Jerry] Ow.
[Vince] And Vader collapsing "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel.
-[Ross] Vader using that bulk again and-- -[Vince] Oh!
Wait a minute. Mankind…
and Funk on the far side.
They're just-- Oh, they're mauling each other.
[Jerry] And, that's… that's the same.
I think they're doing it 'cause they like it.
I just love to see Mankind and Terry Funk as a team.
-[Vince] And-- -[Jerry] Uh-oh! Look at this!
-[Ross] Oh, look at that. -[Vince] No one has been eliminated!
Both feet have to hit the floor.
[Jerry] If those two guys concentrated their efforts,
they can eliminate everybody in there.
[Ross] You know, Mankind and Funk are bizarre, but they're great athletes.
-Great athleticism to hold on. -[Jerry] Look at this!
[Vince] And Funk's been eliminated.
[Ross] Mankind eliminates Funk…
so Funk can kiss his chances
for the main event at WrestleMania goodbye.
[Vince] "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel, Bret "The Hitman" Hart,
Vader, Undertaker, Mankind--
Wait a minute! Mankind was just eliminated.
[Jerry] Who got him?
-[Vince] The Undertaker. -[Ross] Undertaker eliminated Mankind.
And Funk doesn't wanna leave.
-Oh. -[Vince] Oh, wait a minute.
Funk and Mankind out there with the officials.
Now you're supposed to go back to the locker room area,
and these two are doing anything but.
[Ross] Vader hammering away on the Undertaker,
as is "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel on Bret Hart.
[Vince] Waist lock takedown by Austin. Austin all over Diesel.
[Jerry] Come on, Austin. What are you doing?
-[Ross] And Funk and Mankind-- -[Vince exclaims]
-[Jerry] Goodbye, Austin! -[Vince] Austin's been eliminated!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Austin-- Wait a minute. He was in there for 34 minutes.
[Ross] Yeah, the referees didn't see him.
[Vince] Austin has been eliminated.
Wait a minute. The Undertaker and Vader have both just been eliminated!
[Ross] But Austin eliminated…
[Vince] And Diesel's been eliminated as well!
And now, it's all-- Oh, no. No!
-[bell ringing] -[crowd cheering]
[Ross] Wait a minute here.
[Howard] Here is the winner of the 1997 Royal Rumble,
-"Stone Cold" Steve Austin! -["Hell Frozen Over" playing]
[Jerry] He eliminated the Hitman!
I didn't actually see Austin's feet hit the floor.
[Ross] Austin eliminated the Undertaker and Vader and Bret Hart,
but Austin went out.
Bret Hart eliminated Stone Cold, and the referees didn't see it,
and Bret Hart is not gonna stand for it.
[Jerry] Maybe his feet didn't hit the floor, Ross.
[Ross] I saw it! I'm sat right here, King.
I didn't see the monitor.
-[Vince] And now imagine Bret Hart. -[Jerry] I was looking at Terry Funk.
[Vince] Imagine what's going on in his mind.
Austin was eliminated. We saw it. We called it.
The officials were over there with Mankind and Terry Funk,
and didn't see it.
-[Ross] Bret Hart's obsession… -[Vince] Bret Hart is livid.
…with winning that title is so evident. Bret cannot believe it.
Bret Hart eliminated Stone Cold and neither referee saw it.
-[Vince] "The Hitman" Bret Hart is… -[yelling indistinctly]
-Wait a minute. -[continues yelling]
-["Hell Frozen Over" continues] -[crowd clamors]
[Bret] Are you gonna do something about that?
Are you gonna do something about that?
-["Hell Frozen Over" continues] -[crowd clamors]
I threw him out the goddamn ring!
Oh, I saw it. I saw him. He threw you down.
-["Hell Frozen Over" continues] -[crowd clamors]
[Vince] Well…
that was unfortunate. Talk about unsportsmanlike conduct.
[Jerry] Let's see about having him suspended for life.
-[Vince] No. -[Jerry] What? No?
[Vince] It's simply-- Obviously--
[Ross] It's a very emotional time for Bret Hart.
-Let's cut right to the chase. -[Vince] There's no question about it.
His dreams have been shattered.
-[Ross] Again. -[Vince] Again.
[Ross] He said Shawn Michaels shattered 'em in December
and In Your House in West Palm Beach,
-and now perhaps-- -[Vince] Let's go back, J.R.
[Ross] Okay, let's take another look at it.
He's got a heck of a gripe.
[Vince] Austin on "Big Daddy Cool" Diesel there. Watch.
[Ross] Now, Austin right over to the outside. Both feet hit.
-[Vince] He's down. -[Ross] He's eliminated. He's gone.
-However… -[Jerry] Wait a minute.
[Ross] …you gotta see what you call. The referees didn't see it.
That's the travesty here.
The referees did not see Austin eliminated by Bret Hart.
And then, Austin comes back and eliminates three.
[Vince] Let's go back and show that.
[Jerry] Why do you wanna keep showing that, McMahon?
It's gonna get your neck snatched around.
[Vince] All right. Bret is eliminated by Austin.
[Ross] Well, he'd already-- That must've been--
And, he had already eliminated-- Austin had already eliminated Vader
and the Undertaker, much like he did Owen Hart
and the "Wildman" Marc Mero, earlier.
So, Austin has won the Royal Rumble, like it or not.
[Jerry] Right, so quit whinin'.
["Hell Frozen Over" continues]
[Vince] Unbelievable result in this year's Royal Rumble matchup.
You wanna talk championships, ladies and gentlemen,
you have to be talking about the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship
and a match I'm sure Bret Hart wishes he were in
at this year's WrestleMania. And, apparently, it just won't happen.
-You can hear everyone booing here. -[crowd booing]
A very unpopular decision, the way that "Stone Cold" Steve Austin,
quote, "won" the Royal Rumble match.
Well, quite frankly, it was a…
I don't know if you would say it was a bad call.
Both officials were on one side of the ring.
That's bad officiating, folks.
That's why there are two officials out here.
The officials were out of position.
Bret Hart's got a very legitimate gripe.
Please stop whinin'. It's the referees' decision.
The decision has been made. It's final.
How many times have you watched a baseball game, or a football game,
and the replay shows something different from what the referee saw?
-It's over. -In any event, ladies and gentlemen,
all of this, all of this leads up to one thing,
the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
Sycho Sid, champion, Shawn Michaels, the challenger.
[narrator] Bad attitude. For Sycho Sid, it's second nature.
For Shawn Michaels, bad attitude comes from being provoked.
[Sid] I am not intimidated by nothing!
[Shawn] I'm gonna do what I want when I want.
[Sid] 'Cause I am the super predator at the World Wrestling Entertainment.
[Shawn] It's gonna take more than being a man to beat me.
[Sid] See, the game I play, I am the master!
[narrator] At the Survivor Series,
Sid's game was to attack Shawn's 62-year-old mentor.
[Ross] What he'd do that for?
[narrator] Shawn Michaels acted on instinct,
the honor of friendship over the glory of a title.
Sid acted on a killer instinct. The Sycho era had begun.
What's done is done. I can be the champion again and again.
This is something that cannot ever, ever be replaced.
[narrator] From Sycho Sid, no sympathy, no apology.
You put your [bleep] on the apron, and then he became part of the game!
[narrator] The following day, the WWE made the official announcement.
The 1997 Royal Rumble would be at the Alamodome,
in Shawn Michaels' hometown, San Antonio, Texas.
[Shawn] March 31st was a great day for me,
but one thing that would be more special than that
would be to win the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship…
[sniffles] …in the town that I live in.
[narrator] The young man who trained in a tin shack
just outside San Antonio was returning home
to fight in front of 70,000 friends, fans, and family.
[Shawn] Sid, you're what I want next in my hometown.
Myself and all the people in San Antonio will tear you apart.
[Sid] The day I was born, I was born the man!
[narrator] The verbal and physical assault escalated.
[Shawn] I am 6-foot-9 and over 300 pounds!
[Sid] There's gonna be 71,000 kids to see me kick your 6'9",
300-pound teeth down your stinkin' throat.
[narrator] For Sid, nothing was sacred,
not even José Lothario's 19-year-old son.
I wanna apologize for what I'm gonna do.
[narrator] The monster has been unleashed,
but is the monster Shawn Michaels or Sycho Sid?
[Vince] Well, we are about to find out
as this huge, mammoth crowd, over 60,000, ladies and gentlemen,
in the Alamodome.
And, earlier today, J.R. had an occasion on Superstars
to speak to a flu-ridden, a weakened Shawn Michaels.
Well, on one hand, I wanna say I'm wonderfully excited.
On the other hand, I wanna tell you that I'm extremely nervous.
I don't want this flu to be any excuse to anybody,
because it doesn't matter how I feel right now.
When it comes to crunch time, Shawn Michaels will be ready.
And, let's talk about how Sid reacts to being threatened.
He attacked a 62-year-old man, a man that means a great deal to me,
a man that means more to me that anybody else in this world
with the exception of my mother and my father.
And then, when Pete Lothario
stuck up for his father just by mentioning the fact
that if Sycho Sid get out of line, he felt like he had to do something,
and then Sid attacked him.
So we know how Sid reacts to being threatened.
He snaps, just like that.
Well, Sid, I want you to think about something.
You're gonna be threatened by 71,000 screamin' San Antonians,
and you're gonna be even more threatened
by a guy across the ring from you by the name of Shawn Michaels.
I don't feel well, I don't look well, but believe me, Sid,
I'm gonna be good enough,
and I'm gonna be better than you come tonight.
So, how am I gonna feel come crunch time?
I'm gonna feel like the Heartbreak Kid. I'm gonna feel like San Antonio's own.
I'm gonna feel like the man that can bring Sycho Sid down.
I'm gonna feel like the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion
when all this is over with, whether you like it or not, Sid.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] You're looking at Shawn Michaels, José Lothario,
on their way from Michaels' locker room. On their way out to 60,000 plus fans,
on their way out to the Alamodome, and on their way out to, perhaps, regain
the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] That must be a very long walk.
[Ross] What's he thinking about right now? How fast is his heart beatin'?
His mama's here, his daddy's here.
-["Sexy Boy" playing] -[crowd cheering]
[Ross] And so are his friends and his fans!
♪ I've got the looks That drive the girls wild ♪
♪ I've got the moves That really move 'em… ♪
[bell ringing]
[Howard] The following contest scheduled for one fall
is for the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
Coming down the aisle with José Lothario,
from San Antonio, Texas, weighing 247 pounds,
the challenger, the Heartbreak Kid,
Shawn Michaels!
♪ They see me walk, they hear me talk ♪
♪ I make 'em feel Like they're on cloud nine ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
[crowd cheering]
♪ Eat your heart out, girls ♪
♪ Hands off the merchandise ♪
[crowd cheering]
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
♪ I think I'm cute, I know I'm sexy ♪
♪ I've got the looks That drive the girls wild ♪
♪ I've got the moves That really move 'em ♪
♪ I send chills Up and down their spines ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
♪ I make 'em hot, I make 'em shiver ♪
♪ Their knees get weak Whenever I'm around ♪
♪ They see me walk, they hear me talk ♪
♪ I make 'em feel… ♪
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Vince] Shawn Michaels, ladies and gentlemen,
-applauding this capacity crowd. -[crowd cheering, applauding]
-[crowd booing] -[Vince] And there, ladies and gentlemen,
there is the man, if you would.
There is the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion.
You can hear this capacity crowd beginning to vie-- boo, rather,
what they are viewing on this massive screen.
Yes, this monster,
and, some would say, "this great champion,"
on his way to the squared circle.
He has indeed dominated…
["Psycho Dance" playing]
…the World Wrestling Entertainment at its highest level,
defeating Shawn Michaels, defeating Bret Hart.
And that brings us to this, J.R.
[Ross] It certainly does. There has never been
a more intimidating, more dominating physical champion ever.
[Howard] World Wrestling Entertainment Champion, Sycho Sid!
Who's the man?
[crowd cheering]
-Who's the man? -[crowd cheers]
It's the smell. [sniffs] Yes!
I smell a powerbomb!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] So, it has come down to this.
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Sycho Sid has his fans as well here in the Alamodome.
[Ross] Well, fans from all over the United States, over 30 states,
three foreign countries are here.
Sycho Sid, yes, will have a smattering of fans.
-I'm sure they will be very vocal. -[Jerry] That's right, but you know what?
This is a brilliant move by Sycho Sid,
because I gotta tell you this, Shawn Michaels' ego is so big,
it needs its own zip code.
And when he sees even one of these over 60,000 fans
cheering for Sid, that could blow his mind.
You could see Shawn Michaels snap.
[Vince] Well, just keep this in mind. Sid apologized in the free-for-all.
He apologized for what he had to do tonight,
and the last time he apologized, Pete Lothario went through a table.
Sid, the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion,
defeating Shawn Michaels,
Madison Square Garden at the Survivor Series,
and now we're in the Alamodome.
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] Sycho Sid with a 90-pound weight advantage.
Six inches taller than Shawn Michaels…
at least.
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] You know, Barry Switzer,
when he was the coach of the Oklahoma Sooners said, "Speed kills."
Shawn Michaels has the speed.
Will he be able to use it in this matchup?
-[crowd clamors] -[speaking indistinctly]
[Ross] And there you see the great size advantage
that Sycho Sid possesses.
[Jerry] Whoa!
[Vince] All right. Now then, it's not just--
Look at Shawn Michaels though. He smiled right at him. Look at this!
[Jerry] He's tryin' to play mind games!
[Vince] Yeah, well, he's pretty good at it.
Michaels shoved down again.
-Look at him! Uh-oh! -[Jerry chuckles]
[Vince] Ooh.
And this should not come down to a bit of machismo.
If that's what it comes down to, then it's gonna be Sid, the victor.
Sid, way up high. Oh! Way up high is now Shawn Michaels.
-And look at this! -[Jerry exclaims]
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] A blow to the chest, and Sid is out!
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] And Sid-- Just mocking Sycho Sid a moment ago.
[Ross] Shawn Michaels should go out and bring Sid back in.
[Vince] I don't know. That may exactly be what Sid wants him to do.
He could be playing possum out there, right, King?
[Jerry] Right! You don't ever wanna invite,
uh, something like Sid--
[Ross] And I don't dis-- I disagree with both of ya.
You gotta take that chance.
You're dang sure not gonna win a title by count-out.
[Vince] Well, I understand that.
And Shawn had the referee very busy to make sure there was gonna be no count.
Sid back up on his feet and right back out.
And-- Ooh! Well, right in there! Look at this!
Michaels connecting. Michaels with Sid. Ooh, man!
And Sid now-- Oh! Look out!
-[Jerry] Oh! -[Vince] Oh, my gosh.
And way up! No! No!
And Michaels with a rake in the face.
And he's lucky he just wasn't pummeled by Sid.
Sid back in. Here we go. Shawn Michaels now going upstairs.
The high-risk taker, Michaels now trying to turn this-- No!
A cover here. This could be it! It's over! No, it's not.
[Ross] Sycho Sid caught Shawn Michaels in mid-air.
[Vince] And there's Pete Lothario, sat on the front row.
-[Jerry] What is he doin' here? -[Ross] What's he doin' here?
[Vince] Well, you know what he's doing here. He said--
[Jerry] How did he get a front row ticket?
[Vince] Hey, listen. He flatly stated that if things got out of hand,
if in fact, Sid touched José Lothario again,
-he'd be right there. -[Jerry] Yeah, what would Pete do?
[Vince] I don't know. He would do the best he could.
[Ross] Camel clutch applied by Sycho Sid, a submission maneuver.
Using power obviously slowed the pace to a snail's pace here.
-This is good strategy by Sycho Sid. -[Vince] Oh!
[Ross] Do not let Shawn Michaels dictate the pace.
-[crowd booing] -[Vince] And do not let Shawn Michaels
-get back to his feet. -[Jerry] That's right.
And the longer this match goes, the more in favor of Sycho Sid.
Because I don't care what Shawn Michaels says about the flu.
Believe me, it drains your energy.
He will not have his usual stamina tonight.
[Vince] I'm inclined to agree with that.
And again, remember now, this is a partisan crowd here.
We're in Shawn Michaels' hometown of San Antonio, Texas.
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Vince] And Shawn can draw from that energy.
[grunts]
-[Vince] Oh! -[Ross] Also got his beloved mentor,
José Lothario,
who has said that this will be his last time
to accompany Shawn Michaels to the ringside.
-[Jerry] Thank goodness. -[Ross] A lot of special meaning here.
[Jerry] Yeah, I'm sure he's envisioning a big victory.
They go out tonight. And he has a big victory drink.
Geritol on the rocks.
[Vince] In any event, it was José Lothario
who helped guide Shawn Michaels to the victory
at least year's WrestleMania over Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
And now, José Lothario attempting to help Michaels
once again become the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion.
And it looks like Michaels could use a little help right about now.
[Jerry] Yeah.
-[Vince] Oh, no! -[Jerry exclaims]
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] Shawn Michaels was able to use his quickness there
in anticipation, in-ring savvy, to avoid that contact.
[Vince] And a reversal there! Oh, my-- Oh!
Boot to the chin!
Michaels with Sid.
A hard right hand by Shawn and another one.
Sid, now, in the corner and a reversal again.
Oh, no! Michaels up, out, and down.
[Ross] Tremendous impact from that Irish whip
turning Michaels inside up, upside down.
[crowd clamors]
[Vince] And we have mentioned many, many times
about the resiliency of Shawn Michaels.
This man can take a beating, and I mean a severe one.
[Jerry] He better be able to, 'cause he's fixin' to get one.
-Look at this! -[Vince] And you could very well be right.
[crowd clamors]
[Vince] And there he is, Sycho Sid…
right out in front of us with Shawn Michaels.
What's he gonna do with him? Scoops him up. Oh, no.
And Michaels rammed into the ringpost!
[Ross] Not a-- He won't do it again, will he?
-Will he? [chuckles] -[Vince] And again!
[Ross] Right in the kidneys and the lower back
with that unforgiving steel ringpost.
[Vince] And there's a cover and a count!
Gotta have that kick-out.
[Ross] Lot of fight left in this kid from San Antonio, I'll tell ya.
[Jerry] I wonder what kind of cut-rate discount
he can get on life insurance here in his own hometown.
[Vince] Advice being verbalized there from José Lothario a moment ago.
And again, Sid working on the lower back area.
[Jerry] Why don't José sit down somewhere? He gets winded just dialin' long distance.
Sit down, old man!
-[crowd cheering] -[speaking indistinctly]
[Ross] Again, Sid going for a very basic maneuver.
Sid's gotta keep it basic.
He's not the most technically refined athlete.
But he doesn't have to be with this kind of power and intimidation.
But this is a smart game plan.
Shawn Michaels kept-- He kept, uh, executing the Sweet Chin Music
when he's on his knees or on his back.
[Vince] He's not there now! Michaels back up on his feet.
Shawn Michaels now. Working in the midsection.
Michaels with more leverage. Oh, my goodness!
-He was turned upside down! -[Jerry] Almost took his head off!
Yeah, you're the man!
[crowd booing]
[Ross] Man, these fans are-- They're not likin' this at all.
[Vince] No. And look at this. Sid is beginning to, uh, taunt them a bit.
-[Ross] Yeah. -[Vince] Here's a cover.
One! We have two!
And a kick-out by Shawn Michaels.
[Jerry] See, you guys don't know what it's like in there.
You can't worry about winning a popularity contest.
You gotta win the match!
-Ooh! -[Vince] To the buckle. Sid moving in.
Sycho Sid with the advantage.
[Ross] Sycho Sid now. Center-- Michaels again for the ride.
-Tremendous velocity. -[Jerry] Uh-oh. Watch this!
[Ross] Right into the bear hug.
Again, Sycho Sid's game plan is beginning to unfold.
It is very elementary. It is very basic.
Sid is keeping everything within his skill level and within his expertise.
It's power and it's a slower pace.
[Vince] Michaels, what can he do to retaliate?
What can he do to get out of this? Oh, my goodness.
And Sid wrenches it up another notch or two.
[Jerry] That's what he wants, that good slow pace.
Drag it on.
Let Michaels, all that stamina and all that strength be drained out.
Sure, Shawn Michaels got 60,000 people plus on his side.
But do you know who Sid's got on his side?
That little flu bug. [laughs]
[Ross] Shawn Michaels indicated earlier that his, uh, bout of the flu
-would have no bearing on this match. -[Jerry] It will! It will!
[Ross] He would not use it as an excuse one way or the other.
[Jerry] Wait and see, he will.
[Vince] A right hand again by Michaels. His mom and dad looking on.
And finally Michaels breaks the hold and there they are, looking concerned,
as well they should be, because Sid has turned this right back around.
[Ross] Sid with those, uh, hard forearm shots right into the kidneys
and then goes right back to the bear hug.
This is, again, very good strategy for the six-nine, 313-pound monster,
as Shawn's mama is lookin' on with a tremendous look of concern.
[Vince] And she should be concerned.
And not withstanding this partisan crowd in San Antonio,
I would suggest that Shawn Michaels is still the underdog.
[crowd chanting, cheering]
[Vince] Michaels trying to work his way to the inside.
Break the leverage.
And he should have just about done it by now.
Michaels-- Yes, here we go. And Michaels rams the knee!
[Jerry] No fair!
[Ross] Shawn Michaels inverted atomic drop caused some separation now.
-That's it. -[Vince] And Michaels!
With a little extra momentum coming off of the middle row, Michaels.
[Ross] Shawn's gotta get Sid off Sid's feet.
-[Vince] Oh! And look at that. -[Jerry chuckles] Oh! Man!
[Vince] You talk about a tower of strength.
Look at him just wrench him like a big grizzly bear.
-Look at that! -[Jerry] Yes! Yes!
[Vince] Sid is just all over Shawn Michaels.
And Sid, ladies and gentlemen,
-is very much on his game. -[Pete] Come on, Shawn!
[Vince] He may never have been any better than he is tonight.
-Come on, Shawn! -[Jerry] Oh, shut up!
[Vince] Pete Lothario, son of José, on one side of the ring,
José on the other.
[Jerry] José got Pete a good seat tonight.
You gotta be nice to your kids
'cause they're gonna be choosin' your nursin' home, you know?
[crowd cheering]
-[Ross speaking indistinctly] -[Vince] Here we go!
-Two! -[Jerry] And got him!
-[Vince] And another kick-out. -[Ross] Near-fall there.
[Vince] Sid, look out, here comes a huge leg drop!
[Jerry] Bingo! Wow.
[Vince] And a cover. And a count.
-And barely kicking out. -Two!
[Ross] Very lax and not, uh, too fundamentally sound.
Sid's gotta go right back to work on the back.
[Vince] Yep, well, he must've heard you. Look at this.
-Reaching right up there on that chin. -[Jerry] I heard him say, "Mama!"
Did you hear him?
-[Vince] He said what? -[Jerry] He said, "Mama!"
-[Vince] He didn't say anything. -[Jerry] I promise!
He's callin' for his mama!
[Vince] And again, Shawn drawing on this huge crowd of San Antonio.
Sid scoops up Shawn. No! Michaels goes all the way behind.
Michaels connects with a right hand. Another one!
Shawn Michaels now peppering away. Michaels scoops up Sid and slams him!
-[Jerry] Oh! -[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Ross] Took a lot of strength for a guy with an injured back
to slam a 300-plus pounder.
[Vince] Reversal! Michaels off the rope and connects!
-Here we go! -[Jerry] What?
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Michaels going upstairs.
-Michaels now with Sid down. Michaels! -[Jerry] Get up, Sid!
[Vince] Yes, he nailed him with the elbow!
-[Ross] Whoa! -[crowd cheering, applauding]
[Ross] Michaels is building momentum. He's gonna take some chances.
-[Vince] Here we go! -[Ross] And this one's over!
[Vince] Sweet Chin Music coming out!
Michaels warming up the band and-- Sid catches him.
Sid, missing with the run in. Michaels now--
And it's Michaels outside!
[Ross] Michaels elevated over the top rope all the way to the floor.
[crowd member] Come on, Shawn!
[Vince] And Sid now-- Oh, no.
[crowd clamors]
[Vince] Shawn Michaels right-- Oh, no! No! No! No! No!
[Jerry] Yeah, and remember, this referee likes
a little extracurricular activity.
[Vince] Sid has Michaels, and powerbombs him!
[Jerry] Whoa!
-What are you doing? Get in there! -[Jerry] Yes!
-[Vince] His head just bounced off. -[Jerry] Ah! Look at this! [exclaims]
[Vince] No, he's got José. He's got Pete Lothario.
[Jerry laughing]
-[Vince] No! -[Jerry] Get over there!
[Vince] Sid's got both Lotharios, and Michaels getting back up
is the only reason why Sid let go.
Michaels getting back up into the ring. And now, Sid can polish him off.
[Ross] Shawn Michaels susceptible to concussions.
His head bounced off the floor. He may be going on instinct.
-The challenger! -[Vince] Oh!
-[Ross] And the referee goes down! -[Jerry] Oh, no.
-[Vince] No! -[Ross] That's never a good sign.
[Vince] And Sid brutals Shawn Michaels and covers him for the…
-[Ross] One, two, three. -[Jerry] Let me go count!
[Vince] And the official has been knocked out.
-[Jerry] Get up, you idiot! -[Vince] Here's another one!
-[Jerry] Yes! -[Vince] One, two, he--
-[Jerry] What? -[Vince] No.
No! He kicked out! Michaels barely kicked out.
A second referee is now in the ring.
Shawn Michaels on his feet. And look at Sid just hammer away.
Oh, Sid! Just knockin' him right down into the cameras.
-Oh, he just struck this official! -[Jerry] Well, that was stupid!
Well, that's not the right official anyway.
[Ross] What do you mean? He's got a striped shirt on!
-[Vince] Sid… -[Jerry] Yeah.
[Vince] …has snapped and that's what-- Oh, no! He's gonna snap again.
-[Jerry] Whoo-hoo! -[Vince] That's what happens.
[indistinct clamor]
[Vince] Michaels… Michaels has a camera!
-[crowd cheering] -[Jerry] Look out, Sid!
[Vince] Oh, no!
[crowd cheering]
[Ross] Just like what happened to José and Shawn
at the Survivor Series.
But who's gonna count the fall?
[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Sid is knocked unconscious!
-[Jerry] Yep. -[Vince] The referee is crawling over!
-[Jerry] No! -[Vince] The referee is crawling closer!
[Jerry] No!
-[Vince] One, two-- -[crowd chanting] One, two--
-[Jerry cheers] Whoo-hoo! -[Vince] No! No! No! No! No!
[Ross] Sycho Sid, his eyes are glazed from taking that shot with the camera.
The band is tuning up! The favorite song!
[Vince] And yes, with a foot to the jaw. Good cover!
-[crowd cheering] -[Vince] Come on, ref!
-[crowd chanting] One, two… -One, two…
-[Jerry] No! -[Vince] Yes!
-[Ross] Shawn Michaels has done it! -[bell ringing]
-[crowd cheers] -[Ross] Shawn Michaels has done it!
[Howard speaking indistinctly]
♪ I've got the looks That drive the girls wild ♪
♪ I've got the moves That really move 'em ♪
♪ I send chills up… ♪
[Ross] The kid came home. And he won the WWE title.
Shawn Michaels has beaten the monster.
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
♪ I make 'em hot, I make 'em shiver ♪
♪ Their knees get weak Whenever I'm around ♪
♪ They see me walk, they hear me talk ♪
♪ I make 'em feel Like they're on cloud nine ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
[Vince] Shawn Michaels paying homage to the 60,000-plus fans
who have jam-packed the Alamodome in his own hometown of San Antonio, Texas.
[Ross] The journey for the Heartbreak Kid continues!
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
[Vince] This is the World Wrestling Entertainment.
This is what pay-per-view is all about!
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
[Vince] And the 60,00-plus jam-packing the Alamodome,
attesting to the popularity of the new WWE generation.
♪ I send chills up Up and down their spines ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
[Vince] The dream came true
at last year's WrestleMania for Shawn Michaels.
And now, the dream continues on!
♪ I make 'em hot, I make 'em shiver ♪
♪ Their knees get weak Whenever I'm around ♪
♪ They see me walk, they hear me talk ♪
♪ I make 'em feel Like they're on cloud nine ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
[Vince] And Michaels now going up to his mom and dad.
♪ Boy toy ♪
-[Vince] Imagine that feeling! -[Jerry] Ugh! Gonna be sick.
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-[Ross] Lot of class in that young man. -[Vince] What a competitor!
[crowd cheering]
♪ Hands off the merchandise ♪
[Ross] That's some more of Shawn's family. His nephew's there.
[crowd cheering]
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
And Shawn Michaels is all over the place.
Well, it's like a family reunion!
[Vince] It certainly is! [chuckles] Look at this!
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy… ♪
[laughs] Congratulations!
♪ I think I'm cute, I know I'm sexy… ♪
[Vince] Shawn Michaels has done it again, ladies and gentlemen!
He is once again the World Wrestling Entertainment Champion.
♪ I send chills Up and down their spines ♪
♪ I'm just a sexy boy… ♪
[Ross] It's just a hug-fest.
♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪
[Vince] And why not?
-♪ I'm just a sexy boy ♪ -♪ Sexy boy ♪
-♪ I'm not your boy toy ♪ -♪ Boy toy ♪
[Vince] All right, let's go back and take a look
at the way Shawn Michaels
regained the World Wrestling Entertainment Championship.
[Ross] Shawn Michaels saw an opportunity. The referee was down.
And Shawn Michaels did exactly what happened to him
and José at the Survivor Series.
He used a television camera. And boom!
-[Vince] Look at that. -[Ross] Right there!
Got Sid right on a part of the jaw.
[Vince] But that wasn't enough to put the monster down!
That wasn't enough to defeat Sid.
And finally the cage referee, dazed as he was, continued the count.
And Michaels has regained the WWE Championship.
Ladies and gentlemen, we invite you to join us in February.
February 16th in Chattanooga for our next pay-per-view extravaganza
as only the World Wrestling Entertainment can bring you.
We thank you for joining us live from San Antonio from the Alamodome.
[Ross] This is the day that everybody in the WWE has been waiting for.
What a way to kick off 1997.
[intense music playing]
[Vince] Helmsley just kissed Marlena.
[Jerry] Marlena kissed Hunter!
[Vince] Nobody gets up from the Pedigree!
[Ross] It's a street gang against one guy.
[crowd cheering]
[Jerry] I think we just lost transmission to France.
[intense music continues]
[Jerry] There's one mad Deadman, right there.
[Undertaker] There's a dark cloud heading for the World Wrestling Entertainment.
[Howard] Get ready for the 1997 Royal Rumble!
[Ross] The real story of this Royal Rumble, thus far,
is "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
[Vince] Ahmed Johnson wailing away!
[Jerry] How many men has he eliminated single-handedly?
[Ross] Boy, this is hellfire and brimstone when these two get together.
[screams]
-[Vince] Austin has been eliminated. -[Ross] And the referees didn't see it.
[Vince] Austin has been eliminated. Oh, no, no.
[bell ringing]
[intense music continues]
[Vince] …Michaels, and powerbombs him!
-He's got José! He's got Pete Lothario! -[Jerry laughing]
[Vince] Oh, no.
[Ross] The favorite song!
[Vince] And yes, with a foot to the jaw. Good cover!
-Come on, ref! One, two… -[crowd chanting] One, two…
-[Jerry] No. -[Vince] Yes!
-Shawn Michaels has done it! -[crowd cheering]
[Vince] Shawn Michaels has done it!
-[Howard speaking indistinctly] -[crowd cheering] two…