Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble's Biggest Surprise 1988-2022

38. 1990 - Hulk Hogan & The Ultimate Warrior Go Nose To Nose

Edge Royal Rumble
WWE Network

The moment your writer was bitten by WWE's bright yellow f*cking bug as a wide-eyed youngster, top babyfaces Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior facing off for the first time mid-match was a thrilling tease of a WrestleMania blockbuster to come.

It was another tremendous use of the Rumble itself - they brawled evenly for mere minutes before Rick Rude arrived to pick the bones of their battle. The company was learning how to book big moments in the battle royal as they went along and this was a winner long before they needed to frame both competitors around a giant neon sign.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett