10 Biggest Missed Opportunities In WWE Royal Rumble History

10. André The Giant As The Inaugural Winner (1988)

If someone were to form an opinion on WWE alumni based on binge-watching Royal Rumble matches alone, he'd reckon André The Giant was as much of a legend as Chuck Palumbo, and that is not how you'd ever want the first WWE Hall of Famer remembered.

Originally, McMahon was not too fond of the Pat Patterson-pitched Royal Rumble concept. This may explain why on the night, his two biggest stars (Hogan and André) were assigned to a contract-signing segment and had nothing to do with the experimental main event.

But while the show was a hit, setting the record for highest viewed wrestling TV special, in retrospect, winner Jim Duggan looks nonetheless a little out of place amongst the Hogans, Austins, Cenas and the like. No disrespect to him, (and the same goes for John Studd) but winning the Rumble was the highlight of his career. He needed it in order to stay alive in our memories. The Rumble did not necessarily need him.

Again, you can't blame WWF, but in hindsight, what an inspired choice André would have been as the inaugural winner. It would've been a win-win situation: the accomplishment would've been a welcome addition to André's slim list of WWF honours, and it would've given the Royal Rumble winners' lineage a more prestigious and worthy forefather.