50 Things You Learn Binge-Watching Every WWE Royal Rumble
50 observations after watching a staggering 45 WWE Royal Rumble matches.
It's been 36 years (and counting) since the first WWE Royal Rumble way back in the VHS days of 1988, and the annual powerhouse shows no signs of stopping. There have been 45 core Rumbles to date since '88. That number includes the so-called Greatest Rumble from 2018, and obviously takes into consideration WWE adding women's matches to the format sheets starting that same year too.
For reference, none of the other televised Rumbles from episodes of Raw or SmackDown were considered here. Those were...all over the place, often for a reason. Variations on the theme starring anywhere between 10-15 wrestlers became a ratings ploy at one point. Similarly, any Rumbles that took place on house shows will be absent. Yes, even the one from MSG that weirdly happened right before the pay-per-view beamed live in 1994.
That was a strange trial run and ranks up there with other WWE moments fans might not remember!
Royal Rumbles are cherished by millions, and it's always fun to use the latest kickoff to WrestleMania season as an excuse to fire up old footage then go through each one in order. That's if you can stomach some of the wildly erratic quality found in some of the earlier efforts, of course.
Binging Rumbles is a fine way to pass the time. However, if you can't be bothered or know these events like the back of your hand anyway, then join in on the fun here and relive everything from 1988-2024. That covers everyone from Jim Duggan, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan to Steve Austin, Cody Rhodes, Asuka and Bayley.
Here's what one can learn when going on a binge session with cosy, warm and nostalgia-fuelled Rumble history.
50. Nobody Knew How To Rumble In 1988!
Vince McMahon didn't think much of Pat Patterson's bold vision for what the Royal Rumble could be. During a meeting with NBC's Dick Ebersol, McMahon even reportedly encouraged Pat to tell the exec that "stupid idea of his". Luckily, Dick loved it, and a pay-per-view powerhouse was born. Not quite, at least not yet.
The first Rumble aired as a TV special in 1988, and it's such an oddity to look back on now.
Throughout, it's crystal clear that nobody really knew what was going on or how to differentiate the bout from other kick and punch-based Battle Royals of the era. Wrestlers entering at regularly scheduled intervals according to numbers drawn earlier? What is this madness?! It'll never catch on.
Fans in Ontario's Copps Coliseum seemed bored out of their skulls after the initial flutter of excitement for something new too. Let's just say this wasn't the hottest of starts for Patterson's creation, and it might've died a swift death had Ebersol not rubber-stumped the concept with his own personal seal of approval. That went a long, long way with Vince back in the late-80s - he was willing to try things on and follow those in the television industry who knew their stuff.
Admittedly, even the most hardcore wrestling fan won't squeeze much enjoyment out of the first Rumble. Seeing Bret Hart make history as the first entrant ever is fun, but the whole affair comes across more as a house show attraction than something that'd still be going strong decades later.