10 Fascinating Facts That WWE Fans Always Get Wrong

10. The First Royal Rumble Match Didn’t Happen in 1988

Ask any WWE fan when the first Royal Rumble took place, and they’ll confidently tell you it was in 1988, on a pay-per-view of the same name. But here’s the twist: that wasn’t actually the first Rumble match.

The real first Royal Rumble happened on October 4, 1987, at a house show in St. Louis, Missouri. That’s right—no TV cameras, just a test run in front of a live crowd. The match featured 12 participants (not the usual 20, 30, or once 40), and was won by none other than One Man Gang. WWE was experimenting with the concept, and while it didn’t make waves at the time, it laid the groundwork for what would become one of the company’s most iconic annual events.

The 1988 televised version, won by “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, is often credited as the first because it was the first to air publicly. But if you’re a true wrestling trivia buff, you’ll know the Rumble’s roots go back further—and started in a much humbler setting.