To many wrestling fans, the annual Royal Rumble is the most enjoyable PPV of the year. Sure, WrestleMania may have the glitz and glamour, but the Rumble show usually has at least one or two great matches on the card, not to mention the over-the-top titular match itself. The reason that fans love the Royal Rumble match is down to a whole variety of reasons; theres the anticipation of possibly seeing a debuting face; theres the hope of an old favourite of yesteryear appearing; theres the chance that the match is used to make somebody into a main event player; and theres even the slightest of hope (which is seemingly getting slighter with each passing year) that will be given an unpredictable finish. Quite often, though, the real key to a Royal Rumble match is its anchor; a superstar who slugs it out and serves as the base of the match, overseeing new arrivals and eliminating those in need of a boot off the apron. Whether you call them VIPs, marathon men or simply the stars of the match, its these guys who serve as the glue to a great Rumble and its these performers who can make or break the match. So, with that said, lets look at the anchor, the star, the glue of each and every Royal Rumble match to date.
1988 - Bret Hart
WWE.com
Sure, in 1988 Bret Hart was still a good few years away from his big singles push, but he was easily the MVP of the very first Royal Rumble match.
The match itself was won by 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan, but Duggan didn't really stand out and neither did anybody else bar The Hitman. To put it into perspective, the '88 Rumble lasted only a little longer than half an hour, and Bret Hart was in the ring for a solid 25 minutes, starting at #1 before eventually being eliminated by Don Muraco.
Being the inaugural Royal Rumble match, it was certainly a concept in its infancy, as reflected by having 20 superstars in the match as oppose to 30. It's also testament to Hart at how well a job he did with what he had to work with. Guys like Jake Roberts and eventual winner Duggan were over huge with the crowd, but most of the superstars out there were names like Ron Bass, Boris Zhukov, Hillbilly Jim, Sam Houston, Danny Davis and One Man Gang.
It may have been a shorter version of what fans are accustomed to today, but the first Royal Rumble was fun for what it was, and Bret Hart stood head and shoulders above the competition.
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.
