9. The Rockers Vs. The Orient Express (Royal Rumble '91)
Innovation is not a word reserved for Ladders, Cages, and other gimmicks, grappling fans. For all intents and purposes, the four men involved in the opener at Royal Rumble '91 would be insulted if you made that insinuation. Just look at the sheer number of times that they threw a new wrinkle into the well-established tag team wrestling formula that night. Some of the moves performed, to traditionalists, might have come across as too choreographed, but the undercard cannot and should not be wrestled as mini-main-event style matches. If that were the case, it would be awfully rare to see an undercard match steal the show. So, who cares if a tag team match such as this exemplifies professional wrestling as a performance art akin to dancing? It is, in fact, a dance. It is show business. Shawn Michaels embraced that as much as any talent in the WrestleMania Era. The Rockers vs. Orient Express is as innovative a match as you could ever hope to watch for its day. As much as high risk has become associated with stunts, it is just as much about the degree of difficulty in a high spot. Watch some of the sequences that these four men pull off so seamlessly and try to argue that they were not high risk. Clearly, if they had not worked, then we would not be discussing this match at all. If 50% of the chances taken had failed? The Rockers vs. Orient Express would have disappeared from memory a long time ago. To some, it already has for the aforementioned reasons of misinformation and incorrect definitions. Let us not make that mistake, here. Go back and count the number of innovative Ladder spots in the Edge/Christian vs. Hardys match from 1999. Then, go back and count the number of just plain old innovative spots from this match. Are they not nearly quantitatively equal? This is a forgotten classic.
Chad Matthews
Contributor
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
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