Royal Rumble (1992)

Royal Rumble
Promotional poster featuring various WWF wrestlers
Promotion	World Wrestling Federation
Date	January 19, 1992
City	Albany, New York
Venue	Knickerbocker Arena
Attendance	17,000
Tagline(s)	Every Man for Himself!
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous This Tuesday in Texas Next → WrestleMania VIII
Royal Rumble chronology
← Previous 1991 Next → 1993

The 1992 Royal Rumble was the fifth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on January 19, 1992, at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. It centered on the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time.

Six matches were contested at the event, including one dark match. The main event was the 1992 Royal Rumble match. This Royal Rumble match was notable as for the first time, the winner would win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, which had been vacated in December 1991. Ric Flair would start at number 3, Sid Justice would enter at number 29 while The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan would enter at numbers 20 and 26 respectively. In other featured matches on the undercard, The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) had a WWF Tag Team Championship match against current champions The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal), The Beverly Brothers (Blake Beverly and Beau Beverly) took on in a tag team match The Bushwhackers (Bushwhacker Luke and Bushwhacker Butch), and Roddy Piper took on current WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion The Mountie with the title on the line.

Production

Background

The event was held at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York.

The Royal Rumble is an annual gimmick pay-per-view (PPV) produced every January by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four". ^[1] It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. The 1992 event was the fifth event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 19, 1992, at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. ^{[2] [3]}

The Royal Rumble match generally features 30 wrestlers. Prior to 1992, there was no prize for winning the match. However, as the WWF World Heavyweight Championship had been vacated, the vacant title became the prize of the 1992 Royal Rumble match. It was the first of only two times in which the promotion's world championship was the prize of the Royal Rumble match—the second occurred at the 2016 event. ^{[2] [3]}

Storylines

Prior to the event, it was announced the winner of the Royal Rumble would win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship, which had been stripped from Hulk Hogan after two controversial title switches between Hogan and the Undertaker, first at the 1991 Survivor Series and later at the Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view event. Hogan and The Undertaker were among the 30 entrants in the event. WWF president Jack Tunney gave Hogan and Undertaker an advantage in the random draw to determine the order in which wrestlers would enter the ring, promising them numbers between 20 and 30. ^[4]

Event

Other on-screen personnel:

Role:	Name:
Commentator	Gorilla Monsoon
	Bobby Heenan
Interviewers	Gene Okerlund
	Sean Mooney
	Lord Alfred Hayes
Ring announcer	Howard Finkel
Referee	John Binella
	Danny Davis
	Earl Hebner
	Joey Marella

The event comprised five matches, including the Royal Rumble match. The Royal Rumble match helped begin Justice's slow-building turn into a villain. Justice – who was returning from a recent injury – entered at No. 29 and was among the final four wrestlers, along with Hogan, Randy Savage, although he jumped outside the ring to hit Jake the Snake Roberts and Flair. Justice eliminated Savage and then Hogan, leaving himself and Flair in the ring. During the initial live pay-per-view broadcast, Justice's elimination of Hogan was loudly cheered by the audience in attendance even though, as per storyline plans, Sid "sneaked up from behind" to throw Hogan out. As such, the original reaction was edited out of future television replays of the event, with play-by-play announcer Gorilla Monsoon adding new comments condemning Sid for his actions (Monsoon had originally said Justice's elimination of Hogan was fair). Hogan, who was still at ringside after being eliminated, grabbed Sid's arm and distracted him long enough for Flair to eliminate him to win the match and become the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Sid and Hogan got into an argument in the ring and had to be separated by security.

In his book, To Be The Man, Ric Flair mentions not knowing he was going to be winning the Royal Rumble (WWF Title) until arriving at the arena the day of the event, and also felt he was brought in at number three in order to showcase his skills and endurance to the WWF audience, who may not have watched his work in Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling. Bobby Heenan mentioned in his autobiography, Bobby The Brain, that it was his initial suggestion that Flair enter the Rumble at number one for dramatic purposes, and that Vince McMahon changed it to number three and claimed it as his own idea.

Reception

The Rumble match is often considered the greatest Rumble in history. ^{[5] [6] [7]} In particular, the commentary by Heenan was particularly praised, with some calling it "one of the greatest color commentary performances in pay-per-view history". ^[8]

Aftermath

The confrontation between Hogan and Justice was played out over a series of future WWF television programs. On the Superstars program aired January 25, 1992, WWF President Jack Tunney held a press conference, where he announced that Hogan would face Flair for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania VIII. Justice, who was also in attendance and began standing up as if Tunney were about to proclaim him the top contender, was outraged and termed the announcement "the most bogus act Jack Tunney has ever pulled off." Sid later apologized and Hogan accepted, but on the February 8 Saturday Night's Main Event XXX , Justice abandoned Hogan during a tag-team match against Flair and The Undertaker, completing his heel turn and leading to a match at WrestleMania VIII.

Flair, meanwhile, began feuding with Savage over the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. According to the storyline, Flair claimed that he had a previous relationship with Savage's wife, Miss Elizabeth, going as far as presenting pictures of Elizabeth in which Flair had himself superimposed. This culminated in a title match at WrestleMania VIII; Savage won the match and his second (and final) WWF World Heavyweight Championship. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

This was the first Royal Rumble in which stakes were involved for the winner—the stipulation in which the winner would face the WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania first took place at the following year's event. It would be 24 years before the Royal Rumble was again for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. ^[12]

Results

No.	Results	Stipulations	Times [13]
1D	Chris Walker defeated The Brooklyn Brawler by disqualification	Singles match	—
2	The New Foundation (Jim Neidhart and Owen Hart) defeated The Orient Express (Kato and Pat Tanaka) (with Mr. Fuji)	Tag team match	17:19
3	Roddy Piper defeated The Mountie (c) (with Jimmy Hart) by submission	Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship	5:21
4	The Beverly Brothers (Beau and Blake) (with The Genius) defeated The Bushwhackers (Luke and Butch) (with Jamison)	Tag team match	14:57
5	The Natural Disasters (Earthquake and Typhoon) (with Jimmy Hart) defeated The Legion of Doom (Hawk and Animal) (c) by countout	Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship	9:24
6	Ric Flair won by last eliminating Sid Justice	30-man Royal Rumble match for the vacant WWF Championship	1:02:02
(c)  – the champion(s) heading into the match D  – this was a dark match

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations

A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.

Draw	Entrant	Order	Eliminated by	Times [14] [15]	Eliminations
1	The British Bulldog	7	Ric Flair	23:33	3
2	Ted DiBiase	1	The British Bulldog	01:18	0
3	Ric Flair	-	Winner	01:00:02 ^	5
4	Jerry Sags	2	The British Bulldog	01:06	0
5	Haku	3		01:51	0
6	Shawn Michaels	10	Tito Santana	15:46	1
7	Tito Santana	9	Shawn Michaels	13:55	1
8	The Barbarian	11	Hercules	12:55	0
9	The Texas Tornado	8	Ric Flair	09:20	0
10	Repo Man	6	Big Boss Man	06:23	2
11	Greg Valentine	5	Repo Man	04:12	0
12	Nikolai Volkoff	4		01:03	0
13	Big Boss Man	13	Ric Flair	03:38	2
14	Hercules	12	Big Boss Man	00:56	1
15	Roddy Piper	26	Sid Justice	34:06	1
16	Jake Roberts	15	Randy Savage	10:55	0
17	Jim Duggan	19	Virgil	20:45	1
18	Irwin R. Schyster	23	Roddy Piper	27:01	0
19	Jimmy Snuka	14	The Undertaker	02:27	0
20	The Undertaker	17	Hulk Hogan	13:51	1
21 ^	Randy Savage	27	Ric Flair and Sid Justice	22:26	2
22	The Berzerker	18	Hulk Hogan	09:00	0
23	Virgil	20	Jim Duggan	07:29	1
24	Col. Mustafa	16	Randy Savage	02:36	0
25	Rick Martel	25	Sid Justice	12:39	1
26	Hulk Hogan	28		11:29	4
27	Skinner	21	Rick Martel	02:13	0
28	Sgt. Slaughter	22	Sid Justice	04:37	0
29	Sid Justice	29	Ric Flair	05:55	6
30	The Warlord	24	Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice	01:43	0

^ Randy Savage eliminated himself shortly after eliminating Jake Roberts by jumping to Roberts over the top rope. However, he returned to the ring and resumed his participation. ^[16]

^ Ric Flair broke the longevity record for lasting 1:00:02. This record would stand for one year before it would be broken by Bob Backlund (Lasting 1:01:10) in Royal Rumble (1993). Ric Flair also became the first person in history to last more than one hour.

References

1. Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
2. "Specialty Matches: Royal Rumble". WWE . Archived from the original on July 14, 2005. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
3. Waldman, Jon (February 2, 2005). "Statistical survival – breaking down the Royal Rumble". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
4. "Wrestling Challenge". WWF Wrestling Challenge. Springfield, Massachusetts. December 8, 1992. Syndicated.
5. TOI Sports Desk (January 15, 2024). "5 Greatest Royal Rumble matches of all time". Times of India. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
6. Bob Colling (January 12, 2023). "Why the 1992 WWE Royal Rumble Match is Still The Best". Tilt Magazine. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
7. Justin LaBar (December 27, 2013). "Breaking Down Why Royal Rumble 1992 Was Pinnacle of Storied Event". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
8. Chris Trew (January 25, 2018). "Reliving Bobby Heenan's Best Moments From The 1992 Royal Rumble". Uproxx. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
9. "WrestleMania VIII official results". World Wrestling Entertainment . Retrieved May 3, 2008.
10. "Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs. "Nature Boy" Ric Flair – WWE Championship". World Wrestling Entertainment. April 5, 1992. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
11. "History of the WWE Championship: Randy Savage (2)". World Wrestling Entertainment . Retrieved May 3, 2008.
12. Tedesco, Mike (January 5, 2016). "WWE Raw Results – 1/4/16 (Reigns vs. Sheamus)". WrestleView. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
13. "Royal Rumble 1992". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
14. "Royal Rumble 1992: Royal Rumble Entrance & Elimination Information". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
15. "Ric Flair (spot No. 3) wins the Royal Rumble Match to become WWE Champion". WWE . Retrieved January 31, 2014.
16. Aitken, Robert (January 22, 2012). "WWE Royal Rumble 2012: Most Controversial Eliminations in Royal Rumble History". Bleacher Report . Retrieved May 18, 2018.

External links

• Official website