Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

33. 1989

Savage Hogan Royal Rumble 1989
WWE.com

Everyone was still figuring out what made the Rumble Royal when the Royal Rumble rumbled along in 1989. Got that? Seriously, the second televised version was actually the first to make pay-per-view, and it was a slight improvement on 1988's 20-man affair. The WWF beefed the titular match up to 30 wrestlers (sorry, WWF superstars), and there was way more star power thanks to Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Randy Savage.

However, it was Big John Studd who took the win. He entered at the #27 spot and worked for around 12 minutes before finally tossing out Ted DiBiase to take plaudits. That was a slight surprise considering Hogan's involvement, being honest. Almost everyone tuning in surely thought the Hulkster would be the one to triumph, but heel duo Big Boss Man and Akeem prevented that.

Demolition's Ax and Smash kicking off the match helped jumpstart it, but again, this was one of the earlier Rumbles before agents and wrestlers alike figured out that they needed to lace the bout with landmark spots to maintain interest. Bad? No, not at all. One of the best? Hmm, that's subjective, but 1989 lands where it lands on this list.

That MegaPowers implosion is must-see, right enough.

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 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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.