10 Wrestlers Who Innovated New Stipulation Matches
4. Pat Patterson - Royal Rumble
Vince McMahon infamously declared it "stupid", but it is WWE's most popular self-created stip precisely because it's the opposite of that. The Royal Rumble was an inspired, genius idea of Pat Patterson's, who recognised the enduring appeal and spectacle - and the boring, confusing bit - of the battle royal.
It required a new marketing spin and structure, to get over as something worth watching and an attraction unique to the World Wrestling Federation, and Patterson's concept was so exceptional that it all but ruined the appeal of the old format. It also made every subsequent revision pale in comparison. Every other tweak on the genre felt desperate, or confusing.
All of them were pointless. It will never be beaten.
This is a match that guarantees 28 pops and yet has featured Drew Carey, Doug Gilbert and Tom Brandi. It's a match that delivers multitudes of suspense and anticipation. It's a match in which, latterly, entire generations can collide. It's a match that spawns the dumbest of fun comedy and the grandest of stakes and career-defining triumph.
It's a match that, after 30 years, bookers can still tinker with - CM Punk's cult recruitment, Brock Lesnar's spree of destruction - because Pat Patterson both painted a masterpiece and built the canvas.