10 Most Infamous Backstage WWE Royal Rumble Moments
5. A Failed Trial Run (1987)
Pat Patterson devised one of WWE's most popular signature match types when he came up with the Royal Rumble, though the legendary over-the-top battle royal came within an inch of outright rejection following a disastrous trial run.
Though Vince McMahon's initial response to the Rumble pitch was "Pat, that is stupid," Patterson convinced the Chairman to give it a trial run on a St. Louis house show. A reported 1,976 watched a drab 12-man affair unfold, with the One Man Gang last eliminating Junkyard Dog to take the W. It didn't resonate, the fans didn't get it, and with the live crowd so apathetic to the whole thing, Vince was ready to write the Royal Rumble off for good.
The bout may have been binned off entirely if not for McMahon's desperation to please NBC's Dick Ebersole in a 1988 meeting. "Pat, why don't you tell Dick that stupid idea you had?" Vince asked, looking for ways to jazz a USA Network special up, and Ebersole loved it, reportedly saying "this is the greatest thing for television."
Thus, the first true Royal Rumble was born. Jim Duggan took a 20-man affair in the first official incarnation of what would become one of WWE's greatest creations.