10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 10 Facts
2. Fan Reaction At The Royal Rumble Ultimately Led To WWE Putting The Belt On Bret Hart
The infamous double-finish of the 1994 Royal Rumble match did serve a purpose. When Luger and Hart went over the ropes simultaneously, it provided an opportunity for real-time market research. Howard Finkel announced each man as the Rumble winner, Luger first, then Hart. The crowd response was overwhelmingly in favor of Hart when it was his turn to be anointed winner, and it swung the office Hart's way.
According to Hart, McMahon told him the next morning that he'd made the decision to go with him as champion at WrestleMania, due to the crowd response in Providence. Suddenly, those plans to hold off on Luger's likely run with the gold until WrestleMania were out the window, and Hart would be vindicated by McMahon's questionable decision from the previous year.