10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 1988 Facts
7. Vince McMahon Apparently Didn't Care For The Idea At First
Patterson later wrote about his growing excitement for the Rumble idea as he fleshed it out in his head. He took the idea to McMahon for final approval, and according to Patterson, McMahon laughed it off at first. McMahon is said to have reasoned that the duration of the match would be too long to hold fans' attention. Given the relative shortness of matches on Saturday Night's Main Event, it's clear where the boss' sensibilities lay.
Down the line, WWE was making plans for a USA Network special, and McMahon and Patterson met up with Dick Ebersol, legendary NBC executive and producer that helped produce WWE programming, and would closely advise McMahon.
During the meeting, Patterson explained the concept to Ebersol, who loved it. Patterson claims that Ebersol got the concept, and openly articulated the made-for-TV drama of who the next entrant was going to be, imagining the now-standard countdown clock augmenting the frenzy. If this is true, then it's likely that the Rumble exists today because of Ebersol's vision.