Royal Rumble (1994) - Aftermath

Aftermath

Ludvig Borga did not return to the WWF after his ankle healed, so there was no closure to his feud with Tatanka. The feud between Tatanka and Bam Bam Bigelow was also soon forgotten. In the summer of 1994, both wrestlers joined Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Corporation. The two eventually formed a tag team and unsuccessfully challenged for the WWF Tag Team Championship.

The feud between Razor Ramon and I.R.S. ended shortly after the Royal Rumble. On the January 31, 1994 edition of Monday Night Raw, the 1-2-3 Kid stole Ramon's chains back from I.R.S., bringing the feud to an end. Shawn Michaels’ attack on Razor Ramon increased the hostility between the two. The debate over the true holder of the Intercontinental Championship was settled at WrestleMania X in a ladder match with both belts suspended above the ring. This ended the feud between Michaels and Ramon, although Ramon continued to feud with Michaels’ friend Diesel.

Owen Hart demanded a match against Bret Hart, which Bret repeatedly refused. This situation was complicated because of Bret co-winning the Royal Rumble. Jack Tunney decided that both Bret Hart and Lex Luger would get title shots at WrestleMania X, but that they would each wrestle two matches at the event. Lex Luger won a coin toss televised on Monday Night Raw and won the chance to face Yokozuna first. If he had lost the toss, he would have wrestled Crush before facing Yokozuna. Under the rules set forth by Tunney, Bret was required to wrestle Owen in the opening match at WrestleMania. Owen won the match, but Bret came out of WrestleMania with the WWF Championship after Yokozuna dropped the title to him. This led to an extended feud between the two that saw Jim Neidhart return to the WWF to side with Owen and Davey Boy Smith to make a comeback to take Bret’s side.

Several of the events during the Royal Rumble match led to feuds and pay-per-view matches later in 1994. The uncertainty surrounding Shawn Michaels’ assistance in eliminating Diesel from the Royal Rumble foreshadowed the split between the two at Survivor Series 1994. Diesel’s performance in the Royal Rumble, however, played a large role in helping him become the first wrestler to win the WWF’s Triple Crown in one calendar year. Meanwhile, Crush and Randy Savage faced each other in a Falls Count Anywhere match at WrestleMania X to settle their feud, and Doink and his midget sidekick Dink faced Bigelow and his kayfabe girlfriend Luna Vachon in a mixed tag match.

The Undertaker did not appear in the WWF for several months after his loss to Yokozuna. In reality, he was given time off to allow a back injury to heal. During his absence, the WWF promoted his return by showing video clips of people who claimed to have seen The Undertaker. Ted DiBiase claimed to have brought The Undertaker back to the WWF, but Paul Bearer informed him that DiBiase’s Undertaker was an impostor. Paul Bearer claimed to have located the true Undertaker, which led to a match at SummerSlam 1994 between DiBiase’s Undertaker (portrayed by Brian Lee) and Paul Bearer’s original Undertaker. After defeating the false Undertaker, Bearer's Undertaker got revenge against Yokozuna by winning a Casket match at Survivor Series 1994. To help prevent outside interference, Chuck Norris was brought in as a guest referee.