7 Times WWE Changed The Rules To The Royal Rumble Match
2. Self-Eliminations Don’t Count – 1992
Back in 1989, Andre the Giant was so terrified of Jake Robert’s snake that he became the first man to eliminate himself from the Royal Rumble match. Ever since then, countless other wrestlers have tossed themselves over the top rope.
However, just a few years after fans watched Andre remove himself from the bout, Roberts was involved with another self-elimination, but the outcome was quite different.
Randy Savage was so enraged, that after he eliminated Roberts from the Rumble match in 1992, he continued assaulting him outside of the ring. The only issue was that the ‘Macho Man’ leaped over the top rope to do so.
Announcers stammered as they struggled to cover up the blunder. Gorilla Monsoon went on to suggest Savage was still in the match because he exited on his own accord, which was a revolutionary idea, as no one before or after him was given so much leniency.
WWE clearly bent a rule and allowed the ‘Macho Man’ to re-enter the match, but since he didn’t win or go on to doing anything remarkable, it seemed like a lot of work for nothing.