The story of Vince McMahon entering the Royal Rumble and doing whatever he possibly could to avoid a major ass kicking at the hands of Steve Austin was a phenomenal story. It is actually criminally underrated when ranking the best moments of the feud that sparked a comeback of massive proportions for WWE in the Monday Night Wars. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of the 1999 Royal Rumble match. See, the contest had started with Austin and McMahon. With the match back-ended with stars, and an injury angle that took Austin out of it and left McMahon on commentary, fans were forced to watch as "Superstars" like Golga, Dan Severn, Droz, Mabel and Gillberg battled for the right to head to WrestleMania. Not exactly a quality talent pool there, huh? By the time members of D-Generation X and The Corporation hit the ring late in the contest, the damage had been done. That nothing they did really helped pick up the pace or generate anything even remotely close to excitement, did nothing to help matters. It was not until Austin made his way back to the ring for his final showdown with McMahon that things picked up a bit but 40 minutes of "action" prior to that could not be erased. Today, when fans look back at the most underwhelming Rumble matches in WWE history, the 1999 showing typically ranks among the top of the list.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
