7 Times Vince McMahon Thought WWE's Royal Rumble Sucked

5. 1995

Royal Rumble 1995 Owen Hart British Bulldog Rick Martel
WWE

If anyone moans about the 2020 Rumble after the fact, then kindly remind them to re-watch the 1995 version on the Network. That, just eight iterations into the traditional favourite's run, was inarguably the first time the WWF showed they were already getting bored of the now-established 30-man format.

Three years on from the heights of 1992 and Ric Flair's nineteen-ninety-Woo win, the '95 Rumble featured a lacklustre roster and was over in less than 40 minutes. On TV, McMahon remarked that intervals had been dropped to 60 seconds so the match would be more dangerous. In reality, it showed that the boss knew nobody wanted to wait two minutes between Duke Droese and Jimmy Del Ray.

The "most exciting half hour in television" turned out to be a flop, and it's only notable for Shawn Michaels' start-to-finish win. There's simply no way Vince or anyone else backstage could've come away from a jobber-filled line up (Michaels, British Bulldog, Owen Hart and Lex Luger were the only real stars involved) and viewed it as a success.

It sucked, and Vinnie Mac knew it.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.