100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

5. The Mega Powers Threaten To Boil Over (1989)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE.com

The best WrestleMania moments have build that creates tension on the road and bubbles over right before the big event. That was true for Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan in 1989. No, the Rumble wasn't what it'd become in the '90s back then. There was no 'Mania title match up for grabs, but that didn't prevent the WWF from dropping clues for what the big title bout would be.

Mega Powers were on the brink, and they were about to explode.

Savage was left livid when Hulk accidentally eliminated him from contention in the Rumble. Hogan apologised, and said he'd been trying to get rid of Bad News Brown instead. Macho Man accepted that, and the soon-to-be ex-tag partners shook hands as fans cheered. Jesse Ventura's line on commentary about Hogan clotheslining Miss Elizabeth if it meant stealing the spotlight was unbelievably good.

Things were bubbling away nicely. It wouldn't be long until Randy turned on Hulk and portrayed him as a no-good sort with "lust in [his] eyes" for Liz. The split story didn't technically start at the Rumble, but it was a major part of the story. Drink in all that retro goodness, people.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.