9 WWE Royal Rumble Tropes That Have Been Perfected
2. The Ironman - Ric Flair (1992)
It can’t be a Royal Rumble without an Ironman performance. Ever since Ted DiBiase broke the half hour mark in 1990, only three Rumbles have passed without someone going 30 minutes or more in the match. Most Rumbles have someone going 45 minutes plus, and three men have surpassed one hour without being victorious.
Some of these performances have been utterly toothless (Bob Backlund in 1993 jumps to mind), but more often than not they are incredible showings of intestinal fortitude and bloody mindedness, not to mention skill. Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio and Stone Cold Steve Austin deserve no small amount of credit, but it is difficult to look beyond Ric Flair when it goes to great Ironman performances in the Rumble.
Ric Flair spent one hour and two seconds in the ring in 1992, practically going coast to coast in winning the WWF Championship. What made Flair’s performance all the more special was that he spent a large part of the match in the action, as opposed to lying prone in the corner of hanging onto the ropes. Every time someone new came to the ring, The Nature Boy was there to meet them. Flair was the first man every time.
No man in history has deserved to win a Rumble more than Ric Flair deserved to win the 1992 edition. It was the greatest single performance in Royal Rumble history, and it will likely never be topped.