The Royal Rumble is one of the "Big Four" original WWE pay-per-views, along with Survivor Series, SummerSlam, and WrestleMania. There have been 30 of them--the 31st will be this coming Sunday, January 28. And although its tropes are well-known at this point--30 participants, over the top rope, both feet touch the floor, title shot at WrestleMania--the match didn't start that way.
Like all innovators, WWE used lots of trial and error before figuring out what worked, what could work, and what did not. Here are 7 WWE Royal Rumble Facts You Might Not Know, starting with how it came to be.
Pat Patterson Conceptualized The Royal Rumble
Longtime WWE employee Pat Patterson pitched the Royal Rumble to Vince McMahon as a modified Battle Royal; instead of having everyone start the match in the ring at the same time, they would enter the ring individually at two-minute intervals, thus extending the match and creating anticipation for each new wrestler.
Vince McMahon didn't like the concept; he thought it would take too long, and fans wouldn't have the patience to endure such a long match. But during a meeting to plan the WWE's first show on the USA Network, Patterson pitched the idea to television executive Dick Ebersol, who loved it. McMahon agreed to run with the concept, so long as Patterson was wholly responsible for planning it.
The Very FIrst Rumble Match Was Untelevised
Before attempting such an ambitious match on a massive stage, where the chances for embarrassment were higher, Patterson staged a test run in St Louis in late 1987. So technically, this was the first Rumble. But because it was on a house show and it was not televised, it doesn't count "in canon."
The stipulation for this match was that the winner would get a title shot the next time WWE came to St Louis. There were 12 participants, and it came down to the Junkyard Dog and the One Man Gang. Both men went over the top rope together, and the One Man Gang was declared the winner. He lost his title match against Hulk Hogan the following month.
It was, by all accounts, a mess. Patterson wasn't even at the arena to choreograph things. And so the concept was dead in the water until Ebersol gave it new life.
The PPV Wasn't Always a PPV
The first televised Rumble was offered on the aforementioned USA Network, rather than on PPV. Hacksaw Jim Duggan won this contest after last eliminating the One Man Gang. The entire affair felt a bit rushed--it lasted 33 minutes, even though there were 20 entrants who purportedly entered at two-minute intervals. But it did set the bar. And it gave Bret Hart a key moment to shine as a singles competitor; he was the first entrant, and he lasted longer than anyone else that day.
It was also a ratings success. It ran opposite Jim Crockett Promotions’ Bunkhouse Stampede PPV. Wrestling fans had a "tough" decision to make: pay to watch Crockett's show or watch the Royal Rumble for free. It's this sort of cutthroat approach to business that made WWE into the juggernaut it is today.
The Rumble Winner Didn't Originally Receive A WrestleMania Title Shot
Currently, the Royal Rumble is such an integral part of the "Road to WrestleMania," that's it's hard to imagine a time when it didn't matter nearly as much. But it used to be bragging rights accomplishment, similar to being crowned King of the Ring.
1989 Rumble winner Big John Studd never even got a main event push. When Hulk Hogan won the Rumble in 1990, he was already the champion. And the 1992 Rumble was for the vacant WWE Championship, which Ric Flair won. 1993 was the first year that the Rumble was explicitly contested for a title shot at WrestleMania. Yokozuna won that match and defeated Bret Hart at WrestleMania IX to win his first world title.
WWE Didn't Play Every Entrant's Theme Until 1996
Typically, prior to 1996, the No.1 and No. 2 Entrants were the only superstars who got played to the ring with their entrance music. Everyone else just ran out with no fanfare.
There are positives and negatives to having no music. On one hand, it draws the audience's attention to the ramp; the fans can no longer know what's coming next from auditory cues. It also adds to the spontaneity of the match and makes the entrances seem like actual run-ins.
But the net positive of having music outweighs its drawbacks. The Pavlovian response to hearing a bell chime or hearing glass break is is irreplaceable. It also allows for brief moments of meaningful disorientation; when AJ Styles made his debut along with his never-before-heard theme song in 2016, the several seconds of confusion elevated the audience's excitement.
Whenever WWE Deviates From The Classic Rumble, It Doesn't Work
The formula works, but that has never stopped WWE from trying to improve it. In 1995, WWE Creative cut the entrance intervals to 60 seconds. In 2011, they upped the number of participants to 40, ten more than the traditional 30 participants. Neither stipulation has ever been attempted again.
They've even toyed with the idea of adding hardcore elements to the match, like in 2001. But still, 30 men, 2-minute intervals, and over-the-top-rope eliminations have always worked best. The appeal of most Rumbles is how performers attempt to bend the rules, not when they break them entirely.
Pat Patterson Wants The Winner To Get A Trophy Cup
There's no physical prize for winning the Rumble, and Patterson would change that if he had his way. In his book Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE, he writes:
"You know what I would like to see done every year? I’d love to be introduced as the creator of the match and give a cup to the winner at ringside. It would be just like the Stanley Cup in hockey. You would have all the past winners’ names on it and people could look for the names of their favorite Superstars on there. The winner could celebrate by drinking champagne from it. (We would need to go back in time and have the winner of every edition of the match engraved on it.) People could get their picture taken with the Cup when we do Fan Axxess at WrestleMania. You could sell replicas as well."
It's certainly an appealing idea (although WWE would have to engrave "Chris Benoit," which might cause some problems). But if the company can have a trophy for the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, why not the Royal Rumble? Bring on the Patterson Cup!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.