If Royal Rumble matches were defined only by the majority of their overall story and not the totality, then Rumble '89 might well have been considered amongst the very best. The first three-quarters of the match were excellent, with standout performances from Mr. Perfect, Andre the Giant, Ax, and Hulk Hogan. Perfect, in particular, was the star of the first half of the match, bumping all over the place and creating drama during the dozen times he was nearly eliminated. He was the man responsible for teaching the fans the fullest extent of what a Rumble match could be. The 1988 version was the dry-run; 1989 was when the match started to become what we know it to be today - the match that made possible all of the superlatives used in the introduction. Perfect's '89 outing was one of the greatest in Rumble lore. You can trace the lineage of Ziggler in 2013, Mysterio in 2009, Benoit in 2004, Jericho in 2003, HBK in 1995, and Flair in 1992 back to Curt Hennig's "perfect" performance in 1989. After Hogan was ousted, the match slowed down considerably. In the end, Big John Studd got the win in the midst of a failed babyface push. Also of note was that it took the crowd a few entrants to start the countdown chant leading to the next wrestler. A crowd hasnt failed to do it since.