50 Fascinating Facts About WWE in The 1980s
6. 10 Of The First Rumble’s Entrants Never Worked Another
Jim Duggan was handpicked as the right man to win the first televised Rumble. He eliminated One Man Gang to score the victory, and the live crowd in Canada popped big despite the fact there was nothing really on the line for the fresh new match up. It was a win for the sake of it; it'd be years before the WWF dangled a WrestleMania headline spot in front of the winner. That didn't start until 1993.
Something else was notable about the '88 version. Exactly half of the 20 wrestlers involved in the match would never work another Royal Rumble again. That's right, a full 10 of the 20 went one and done in the Rumble. The full list is: Hillbilly Jim, Danny Davis, Sam Houston, Harley Race, Boris Zhukov, both Killer Bees, Junkyard Dog, Butch Reed and Don Muraco. This was their only Rumble in front of the cameras.
That's perhaps most shocking when it comes to Race, Zhukov, The Killer Bees and Muraco. Those guys hung around the WWF for a few years after this debut, and it's hardly like McMahon turned his nose up at the thought of padding things out with tag teamers. Where's the justice for big Boris?! Poor lad.
This is a quirky stat, because you'd think the WWF would lean on those who had experience in the match come the first proper pay-per-view version in 1989. Nope. That 30-man match had some bigger stars in it, so there was no room for Davis, Houston, The Killer Bees and the like.
At least they carved a unique place in WWE history.