50 Things You Learn Binge-Watching Every WWE Royal Rumble
46. Hogan & Warrior Set One Template In 1990
Big boy meets big boy showdowns like Keith Lee going face to face with Brock Lesnar in 2020 or even Rikishi being faced with the daunting prospect of tangling with man mountain Viscera in 2000 owe everything to 1990's Rumble. There, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior put down a blueprint everyone else could follow for years/decades to come...brother.
This was the first time two major stars had a standoff in the middle of the ring as fans anticipated violence to come. That anticipation has been used countless times to great effect. 'What's going to happen when Lee gets into that ring and squares up to Brock?!', 'Can Rikishi eliminate Viscera?!' etc etc. Those examples prove that WWE don't even need to book the spot exclusively with top stars.
They wanted to in '90 though.
WWF Champ Hulk and Intercontinental Champ Warrior had an electric nose to nose that's still must-see to this day. Fans went bananas for this, as expected, but it did show Vince McMahon once and for all that Warrior (complete with his ridiculously shredded physique) was his company's future. Of course, that'd turn out to be a false dawn, but the then-boss could only go by fan response, and they were red hot for some Ultimate Warrior in 1990.
This one confrontation set a Rumble template and whet the appetite for more colossal confrontations/match teasers during subsequent matches. WWE has squeezed a lot from copying Hulk and Warrior. In fact, Rumbles rarely pass without this sort of staredown midway through or near the end.