30 Surprising WWE Facts You Probably Didn't Know

1. The Royal Rumble Nearly Didn’t Happen

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WWE.com

These days, the Royal Rumble is probably the second most popular pay-per-view style event on the WWE calendar, and certainly the most popular gimmick match that the company have ever produced.

However, when Pat Patterson first came up with the idea of the Royal Rumble concept, Vince McMahon absolutely hated it.

Patterson introduced the idea in 1987, and Vince ridiculed it, shooting it down as being stupid. However, a few months later NBC needed a WWF special to run on the USA Network, and, out of ideas, Vince sarcastically suggested that Patterson tell NBC executive Dick Ebersol his “stupid idea”.

Naturally, Ebersol loved it, telling McMahon that the fans would go crazy for the gimmick. The first ever Royal Rumble match took place on a January USA Network special event, and became a pay-per-view the following year.

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