Every WWE Royal Rumble's Best Performer

1989 - Hulk Hogan

hulk hogan royal rumble 1989
WWE.com

It's a tricky one here. Hulk Hogan unquestionably made the biggest impact in 1989, but Mr. Perfect put in an impressive 27-minute shift. At the end of the day, though, the nod has to go the The Hulkster.

Big John Studd was the eventual winner of the '89 Rumble - which was the first time the event was televised - but it was Hulkamania that was really running wild, brother. Hogan may only have been in the match for 11 minutes, but he ticked a whole host of boxes during his performance.

For a start, the pop to Hogan coming out was simply ridiculous. Secondly, the match served to further the tension between Hulk and then-WWF Champion Randy Savage. And thirdly, Hogan would eliminate a mammoth ten guys during that 11-minute stay. Courtesy of Hulkamania, out went Mr. Perfect, Tito Santana, Koko B. Ware, Bushwacker Luke, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, The Warlord, Bad News Brown, Randy Savage and Big Boss Man.

Ever as a non-Hogan fan, it's hard to argue the 1989 Royal Rumble match didn't belong to the Hulkster.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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 dayjob, 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.