WWF Royal Rumble was a 1988 professional wrestling event put on by the World Wrestling Federation. It was the first event of 1988, the second Royal Rumble, and the 19th event overall in the alternate WWF timeline. Airing from the Rosemont Horizon just outside of Chicago, Illinois, the show was shown live on the USA network opposite Jim Crockett Promotion's Bunkhouse Stampede, which aired on Pay Per View, in an effort to lower business for the Crockett event. The main event was the thirty man Royal Rumble match itself, with the winner being guaranteed a WWF Title Match at Wrestlemania IV. The WWF Title itself was on the line as well, as The Million Dollar Man was ordered by WWF President Jack Tunney to defend it in a match against former Intercontinental Champion, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (who was a replacement for Andre the Giant).
Due to ongoing contract disputes, Jesse Ventura was not present at this event, leading to a last minute replacement by "Superstar" Billy Graham as commentator. Ventura would return in time for Wrestlemania.
Prelude[]
In December, Ted DiBiase had his promised match with Andre the Giant, being squashed by the Eighth Wonder of the World. However it was then revealed that DiBiase had paid off Bobby Heenan to make the match non-title behind Andre's back. Andre left the Heenan family (after beating up Heenan in the process) and got an ordered rematch at the Royal Rumble. However, prior to this Andre was confronted by, surprisingly, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who tossed Damien into the ring during one of Andre's matches. This caused the Giant to have a kayfabe heart attack (Roberts had been acting on information from Heenan, who revealed that the Giant had a deathly fear of snakes) and removed him from the match against DiBiase. But The Million Dollar Man did not escape unscathed, as WWF President Jack Tunney made him defend the title against former IC Champion Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.
The Royal Rumble Match itself was billed around one major thing: Who would get a shot at Ted DiBiase's WWF Championship at Wrestlemania? The odds on favorite was former WWF champion Hulk Hogan, for obvious reasons, but given the luck of the draw almost anything could happen. Other favorites in the match included "Macho Man" Randy Savage, the One Man Gang, Intercontinental Champion "Ravishing" Rick Rude and, as a dark horse, the young grappler Sting.
Other matches on the undercard included the US Tag Titles defended as The Midnight Express faced Strike Force. The Women's Champion, Rhonda Burke, defended her title against Rockin' Robin, while Jake "The Snake" Roberts went one on one with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.
Event[]
The event began with new Women's star Alundra Blayze in a dark match, defeating former women's champion Velvet McIntyre. The event proper began with the United States Tag Team Titles on the line, as the Midnight Express faced former World Tag Team Champions Strike Force. The match was another tag team classic involving Cornette's team, with back and forth action and quick tags between all involved. Neither team could get a major advantage over the other until near the end, when it looked as if The Midnights would finish off the Z-Man with the Rocket Launcher. Zenk moved out of the way though, getting a hot tag to Tito who nearly got a pinfall with his patented flying forearm. However Cornette pulled the referee out of the ring before he could get a three count, resulting in a disqualification. Strike Force did beat down Cornette before Eaton and Lane were able to get him out of harm's way. Following this, the issue between Jim Duggan and Jake Roberts came to a head, as The Snake defeated Duggan with a DDT, ending their feud. However, after the match was over, Andre the Giant made his presence known, chasing away Jake (who did not have Damien with him) and vowing revenge.
The WWF Title match was proof that, no matter what you might think of his tactics, Ted DiBiase was still a hell of a wrestler inside the ring. DiBiase and Steamboat put on a mat classic for over 16 minutes, mostly with several near falls of DiBiase being unable to put the challenger away. Steamboat did manage offense for periods during the match, and even escaped out of DiBiase's dreaded Million Dollar Dream. The end came however when Steamboat attempted a high cross body off the top rope. A momentary distraction from Virgil broke up the timing just enough for Steamboat to misfire, missing the move entirely and crashing down to the mat. The Million Dollar Man was then quick on the uptake, as he cinched on the Million Dollar Dream once more, and Steamboat faded away to the referee's three count, allowing DiBiase to retain his title. The woman's champion, Rhonda Burke, then did the same to Rockin' Robin, finishing her off with a big powerbomb to retain her own title.
The Royal Rumble match itself kicked off with Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart and Koko B. Ware as the first two entrants. The highlights of the match included an early confrontation between Bret Hart and his former tag team partner (including Neidhart being tossed out by Bret Hart.) Bret also lasted the longest in the match before being unceremoniously dropped by the Big Boss Man. Sting made a good accounting for himself, surviving to the final 6 before being dumped out by the One Man Gang. The final four of the event were former WWF champion Hulk Hogan, the Macho Man, Boss Man and Gang. Hogan managed to eliminate the Boss Man, but as referees were distracted on the outside trying to get Rick Rude to the back, they missed the elimination. This allowed Boss Man to reenter the match surreptitiously and attack Hogan from the rear, resulting in both of them getting eliminated from the match. Despite Hogan's protests, the match continued between Savage and the One Man Gang, with the Macho Man skinning the cat shortly after it appeared that Gang tossed him out, before coming back and clubbing the Gang with a knee to the back to send him tumbling to the outside, winning the match and becoming the #1 contender to the delight of the crowd.
Results[]
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Alundra Blayze d. Velvet McIntyre by Pinfall | Singles Match | 6:00 |
| 2 | Strike Force [Tito Santana & "Z-Man" Tom Zenk] d. The Midnight Express ["Beautiful" Bobby Eaton & "Sweet" Stan Lane] w/Jim Cornette (c) by Disqualification | Tag Team Match for the WWF US Tag Team Titles | 13:01 |
| 3 | Jake "The Snake" Roberts d. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan by Pinfall | Singles Match | 8:42 |
| 4 | "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase w/Virgil (c) d. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat by Submission | Singles Match for the WWF Title | 16:55 |
| 6 | Rhonda Burke (c) d. Rockin' Robin by Pinfall | Singles Match for the WWF Women's Title | 8:00 |
| 7 | "Macho Man" Randy Savage Won the Royal Rumble | 30-Man Royal Rumble Match | 66:43 |
Royal Rumble Order[]
| No. | Entrant | Eliminated By |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart | Bret "The Hitman" Hart |
| 2 | Koko B. Ware | "The Natural" Butch Reed |
| 3 | "Dangerous" Danny Davis | Bret "The Hitman" Hart |
| 4 | "The Natural" Butch Reed | Sting |
| 5 | Bret "The Hitman" Hart | Big Boss Man |
| 6 | "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff | "Ravishing" Rick Rude |
| 7 | Demolition Ax | The Dynamite Kid |
| 8 | Davey Boy Smith | "The King" Harley Race |
| 9 | Demolition Smash | Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake |
| 10 | The Dynamite Kid | Big Boss Man |
| 11 | Hercules | Sting |
| 12 | "The King" Harley Race | "Macho Man" Randy Savage |
| 13 | "Jumpin" Jim Brunzell | Steve Williams |
| 14 | Dino Bravo | Hulk Hogan |
| 15 | Sting | One Man Gang |
| 16 | Haku | Hulk Hogan |
| 17 | Hulk Hogan | Big Boss Man* |
| 18 | Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake | One Man Gang |
| 19 | Steve Williams | Hulk Hogan |
| 20 | B. Brian Blair | Rick Steiner |
| 21 | The Honky Tonk Man | Hulk Hogan |
| 22 | "Ravishing" Rick Rude | "Macho Man" Randy Savage |
| 23 | Big Boss Man | Hulk Hogan |
| 24 | "Macho Man" Randy Savage | WINNER |
| 25 | Rick Steiner | "The Rock" Don Muraco |
| 26 | "The Rock" Don Muraco | One Man Gang |
| 27 | One Man Gang | "Macho Man" Randy Savage |
| 28 | Tama | "Macho Man" Randy Savage |
| 29 | Terry Taylor | "Ravishing" Rick Rude |
| 30 | Nikolai Volkoff | Hulk Hogan |
Aftermath[]
Hogan's feud with DiBiase would shift slightly, as he would have a Wrestlemania match with the man who had been a thorn in his side, the Big Boss Man. DiBiase would go on to face Randy Savage in the main event of Wrestlemania. The feud between Jake Roberts and Andre the Giant would also take a central role at Wrestlemania as well, while Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart were scheduled for a singles match at the show of shows.