One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every WWE Royal Rumble

1989 - The Iconic Opening Sequence Was Kept Secret

WWE Royal Rumble 1989 Ax Smash Demolition
WWE

The 1987 Royal Rumble match was said to be so awful that Vince McMahon nearly trashed the concept forever. The 1988 Royal Rumble was a smash hit, but in retrospect, the novelty of the gimmick carried the action. The speed with which McMahon and Patterson realised the layered storytelling potential of the Rumble was still astonishing.

In 1989, famously, Ax and Smash, teammates in Demolition, drew #1 and #2 respectively. This was and remains an incredible sight. For context, Vince McMahon had not even promoted a major babyface versus babyface match on pay-per-view; that would follow a year later, when Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior faced off at WrestleMania 6. Watching these badass heroes and teammates was a eureka moment on top of a shocking double innovation. The WWF had innovated the hot start, creating a pathway for some of the most exciting opening pairings in Rumble history. Weirdly, it took a while longer for Vince to recreate and tweak the magic - but when he did, a string of mark-out moments unfurled. Even Bret Hart professed to feeling like a giddy fan in his autobiography when watching Ric Flair and Bob Backlund get things going in 1993.

Chris Jericho Vs. Shawn Michaels, and how it didn’t happen, was a sensational twist on the concept in 2003 - an awesome means of building anticipation ahead of their WrestleMania 19 match. In a way, the 1989 masterstroke was almost too good an idea, in that certain nothing-happening wrestlers were resented for having the temerity to come out at #2.

As revealed in a 2023 interview with ‘Wrestling Then And Now’, Ax and Smash had no idea that this was going to happen - and naturally, they had no idea what to do. So they just whaled on each other and sent the crowd into a frenzy.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!