10 WWE Royal Rumble Wins That Became Huge Disappointments

10. Hulk Hogan - 1990

Although the traditional "winner goes to WrestleMania" stipulation was not added to the Royal Rumble match until 1993, it was still a big match on pay-per-view, when there were only four such events a year. Anyone who won could potentially have moved to a new level. That wasn't the case with the second pay-per-view version of the match.

The 1990 Rumble is well remembered as one of the best early versions of the match, with a plethora of big-name talent, a hot crowd and the famous first confrontation between Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior that led to the Ultimate Challenge at WrestleMania VI. Ultimately, Hogan would win the match despite already being the WWF Champion and the number one star in the company.

Hogan's status meant that within moments of his victory the Rumble match became insignificant. A win for Mr. Perfect or 'Ravishing' Rick Rude - the last two competitors left with Hogan - would have set them up as top-level house show opponents for the Hulkster; a Warrior win would have given the rising star even more momentum on the way to his WrestleMania collision with Hogan. Instead, Hogan's victory sent the crowd home happy but in hindsight left a lot of potential unused.