10 Reasons WWE Royal Rumble 1992 Is Still The Best
8. But Ric Flair Did
Nobody thought Ric Flair would leave WCW in the early nineties.
The Nature Boy was a cornerstone of the company and it seemed like he would be there for his entire career. This was until WCW boss Jim Herd decided that Flair should take a pay cut and, in a strange twist, adopt a Roman Gladiator gimmick as well. Flair refused outright and 'went North' to Stamford in late 1991. His debut on WWF television came on the September 21st episode of Superstars and he would bring his 'Big Gold Belt' with him as he maintained that WCW had not repaid him the deposit to get it back. The Nature Boy arrived in the WWF declaring himself as the 'Real World Champion'.
Flair would align himself with Bobby Heenan and Mr Perfect before moving on to play a significant role in main event storylines going forward. When The Undertaker lifted Hulk Hogan up for the Tombstone Piledriver at the 1991 Survivor Series it was Flair who had put the folded steel chair in the ring.
It was seemingly only a short matter of time until Flair was going to win the WWF title but his victory at this Royal Rumble makes it one of his most memorable performances. Previous to this no wrestler coming in the first twenty entrants had won. Flair enters at number three, sets a record time for being in there and won the WWF title at the end. Having a heel win the Royal Rumble hadn't really been tried before and to add to it Flair was still considered something of an outsider from the other company down South. The modern equivalent would be Kenny Omega somehow turning up and throwing Cody Rhodes out last.