January 9, 2015
By Ryan Porzl
A while back I did a series of articles in which I would pick winners for each years King of the Ring tournament with the scenerio being the real life winner was injured. I'm now going to do it for the Royal Rumble. To bring everyone up to speed, the Royal Rumble is a yearly event held every January since 1988. The main feature is the Royal Rumble match which is a battle royal where a new entrant comes out every two minutes and usually consist of 30 wrestlers. As was the case with my KOTR articles, I will select my own choices for who should win the Rumble and I won't be able to use the real winner since they will be injured. Like KOTR, the rules will be same as I can only pick wrestlers that are not only in the WWF/E at the time but they have to be active. I can't use wrestlers if they weren't under contract to the WWF/E at the time of the Rumble and I can't use wrestlers if they were out of action because of injuries, suspensions, or leave of absences.
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The first Royal Rumble was held on January 24, 1988 and saw "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan become the first Royal Rumble winner. With Duggan out, my choice would be "The Rock" Don Muraco. Honestly, I thought Muraco was one of the most underrated wrestlers for some of 1987 and throughout the majority of 1988 before his departure. He looked to be in the best shape of his life by this point and I do know some of it was steroids but he still looked in great shape. Despite his added muscle and chiseled physique, he was also still very agile as he still moved around the ring quite well, was able somersaults, and dropkicks. Even with Muraco getting older and having been around for many years, I still think he had stuff to offer. While he's gone on record saying he wasn't a fan of him becoming a babyface or fan favorite which he did at the end of 1987, I thought it breathed new life into him. He seemed to catch on with the fans and he was fresh as a character. Finally, the Wrestlemania stipulation wasn't added yet but a win would still give Muraco a big win since becoming a babyface and can allow WWF to position him in title matches like for example an Intercontinental Title feud with the Honky Tonk Man. Another man I would consider is the real life runner up which is the One Man Gang. Gang is one of wrestling most underrated big men as he's not only big and strong but very agile for a 400+ pounder. The Gang could also use the win to make him a serious title contender in 1988 and give Randy Savage a serious rival after Wrestlemania IV. Ultimately, I'll take Muraco over Gang since he just became a babyface and a Royal Rumble win could increase his stock in his new role. The Gang was already coming off the angle with him and Butch Reed ending "Superstar" Billy Graham's in-ring career so they could already market him as a threatening and nasty career killer. Meanwhile, he can always continue to squash talent to show dominance. My final two in the Rumble would be Muraco vs. Gang. My hope would be not only for the win to elevate Muraco's career but also allow the Gang to still look like a threat by coming so close and being the monster of the match. Meanwhile, these two had history as Muraco came to Graham's aid after The Gang and Reed attacked him and were on opposing teams for Survivor Series 1987. With a win, you could wrap the feud up with Muraco avenging Graham who was becoming his manager at this point or this could lead to rematches.
The 1989 Royal Rumble was held on January 15, 1989 and saw "Big" John Studd win in his first match since 1986. With Studd out, my pick will be extremely obvious in real life runner up Ted Dibiase. Honestly, Dibiase should've won this in real life and for many reasons. One being the fact that Dibiase saw his stock drop after Summerslam 1988 where his feuds with "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan ended. By giving him the Rumble, this could allow him to regain some momentum and maintain his position as an upper midcard or main event wrestler. The second reason is because Dibiase bought the #30 slot for the Rumble. By having him win, it shows how beneficial it is to be #30 and getting to go last. It also shows how much his money can take him and how it can buy him any advantage he wants. Another person I would consider is Brutus Beefcake. Beefcake was a wrestler who was a promising up and comer in 1989. I would consider him for many reasons. One, because he had a feud with the Honky Tonk Man over the Intercontinental Title for the first half of 1988 and it looked like he would eventually win but he was passed over in favor of the Ultimate Warrior. By giving him the Rumble, it would allow the WWF to show he's still relevant and someone to look out for. A second reason is that the WWF would put Beefcake in the main event at Summerslam teaming with Hulk Hogan against Randy Savage and Zeus. A Royal Rumble win could be a good way to groom him for that position. I would also probably consider Rick Martel as well. Martel was making his televised return since mid 1988 after taken time off to take care of his wife. Not only could this reintroduce him but plans were already in place for his team Strike Force to break up at Wrestlemania V a few months later. From there, he became a heel or villain and had a singles run with his Model gimmick. By giving him the win, he could show arrogance on TV which can help foreshadow Strike Force's eventual doom and give him some momentum when he began his singles run. Ultimately though, I don't Martel needed it as much as Dibiase. My final two in the Rumble would be Dibiase vs. Beefcake. While I feel Dibiase needed the win more than Beefcake, I would still hope to have Beefcake look good, still get some notice, and some momentum from it. Perhaps more importantly, these two wrestled at Wrestlemania V in a match that had no history and nothing for the fans to get into. By giving Dibiase the win, you can have them rematch at Wrestlemania V and have the fans care more about it.
The 1990 Royal Rumble was held on January 21, 1990 and was won by Hulk Hogan. With Hogan out of action, my pick to the Rumble would be "Ravishing" Rick Rude. I pick Rude because the WWF was already planning to elevate him to the main event and this would be a great way to do it. The WWF was also planning to have him renew his feud with The Ultimate Warrior after Wrestlemania VI so a Royal Rumble win would be a big win especially over the Warrior which would make him look credible especially since the last big match they had was at Summerslam 1989 which Warrior won. My second pick would be "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes as he was still very popular but in the same position Harley Race was in four years earlier as he had here and there appearances with the WWF but never won a title or tournament. Even worse, their biggest achievements were in NWA territories but the WWF never acknowledged those companies. To solve that problem with Race, the WWF gave him the 1986 King of the Ring tournament and the gimmick of the king of the WWF to give him instant credibility. The same can be done here for Rhodes as they didn't want to mention his NWA achievements and he never won a WWF Title so given him the Royal Rumble would be a great way to give him credibility to fans who didn't follow the NWA territories or were too young to remember his big series of matches with "Superstar" Billy Graham at MSG back in 1977 and 1978. I know a lot of people would've picked Mr. Perfect to win since it's been rumored for years that he was supposed to win but Hogan said no and wanted to win. While Perfect was great, I wouldn't pick him. Honestly, Perfect as the winner wouldn't have been a good call. While he had potential, he wasn't in that position yet and had only been with the WWF for a year and a half at that point. I feel Perfect could've been a Royal Rumble winner but not for a few more years. Ultimately, I think the WWF made the right call to put him in the IC Title picture which he dominated for most of 1990 and 1991 and then move him up if it wasn't for his back injury. A lot of other people would pick the Ultimate Warrior for it but I wouldn't select him either. Warrior was already Intercontinental Champion and about to win the WWF Championship at Wrestlemania so he didn't need it. Meanwhile, Warrior shouldn't have beaten Hogan in any match (even if he didn't eliminate him during this match) until Wrestlemania so the win is even more special instead of Warrior beating Hogan....again. I would actually have a final three with Rude, Hulk Hogan, and the Warrior. The finish can be Rude gets knocked to the outside but goes under the top rope and doesn't get eliminated. With him forgotten, Hogan and Warrior have another confrontation like they did earlier in the rumble. Then just when they're leaning on the ropes trying to eliminate each other, Rude sneaks up and dumps them both to win. By doing this Rude looks incredibly strong by eliminating both the WWF Champion and Intercontinental Champion. It adds more fuel to the Hogan/Warrior stuff as they can argue and believe that Rude wouldn't have snuck up on them if the other wasn't trying to eliminate him. Nothing is settled and Hogan & Warrior are stalemated heading into Wrestlemania VI. Finally, you can have Rude cut promos about how he beat both, will sit back, watch them go at it, and he'll be waiting for the winner. Finally, when Warrior does win, Rude can then bring this win up to make him a strong title contender. He beat Warrior twice already. Once for the Intercontinental Title, once for the 1990 Royal Rumble, and he can say that the third win will be the charm as he takes the World Wrestling Federation Championship.
Royal Rumble 1991 took place on January 19, 1991 and saw Hulk Hogan make history by becoming the first two time winner. However, with the Hulkster out of action, my pick would be the Big Boss Man. In 1991, Boss Man was easily one of the most popular wrestlers on the roster and was in his prime as a wrestler as he was putting on many great performances. Boss Man would be a great winner as the fans would love it and it could lead to a big push especially with him about to challenge Mr. Perfect for the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania VII. While I don't think he would ever be WWF Champion, the win could probably catapult Boss Man to the IC Title as he would've made a great champion and a challenger for the WWF Championship. As far as other potential winners, I would consider "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan as a second choice. With the WWF giving Sgt. Slaughter the WWF Championship at the event and him playing an Iraqi Sympathizer gimmick, I would consider Duggan since he played an American patriot and him winning would send the fans home happy. I would also consider the Undertaker since the WWF already had big plans in place and wanted to shoot him up to the main event in quick order. Already looking dominant in his debut at Survivor Series, a win would continue quick rise to the top all the while coming off as someone fans and WWF Superstars needed to watch out for. Ultimately, I wouldn't pick Taker at least not yet since he just debuted two months earlier and he was going to get enough by squashing Jimmy Snuka at Wrestlemania VII and begin a feud with the Ultimate Warrior in the spring. My final two would be Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect. Boss Man was feuding with the Heenan Family and Perfect was a member so that's one reason. I also believe the WWF knew they were going to meet at Wrestlemania VII so this can help set it up. Finally, Perfect defeated Boss Man by countout on the November 1990 Main Event special. With Perfect winning there and Boss Man winning here, that would put them at 1-1 each which sets up a third encounter at Wrestlemania VII.
Royal Rumble 1992 took place on January 19, 1992 and was the event where Ric Flair won the Royal Rumble and became the new WWF Champion after the title was vacant. Unfortunately, Flair can't compete so my choice will be Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Roberts was on fire at this point after turning heel in the summer of 1991. It breathed new life into his character and he was getting a lot of heat from the crowd. Best of all, Roberts was in a great feud with Randy Savage so instead of concluding the feud a few weeks later on Saturday Night's Main Event, they can have it go all the way to Wrestlemania VIII. While I'm a big Roberts fan, I must admit that he's not my first choice. My first choice would've been Mr. Perfect. By the summer of 1991, Perfect had two great and long runs as IC Champion and should've been more than ready to take that next step in early 1992 which is to claim the WWF's top prize. Unfortunately, Perfect was suffering from a back injury and was in a non-wrestling capacity at the time so it would be impossible to give him the win. Sid Justice (a.k.a. Sycho Sid) would be another one I would consider. While he was still new as he came into the WWF the previous summer, he was still very popular and was one of the popular wrestlers during the actual Royal Rumble event. This would be the case to strike while the iron is hot. My final two would be Roberts and Savage. As I mentioned, Roberts and Savage were feuding at the time with Savage having already beaten him on the This Tuesday In Texas show a month earlier. By having Roberts win, it ties the series and it allows you to get one more big match out of them at Wrestlemania VIII where Savage wins the title and enjoys a deserved second reign. With them already feuding and the title on the line, this would be a great Wrestlemania main event as the match would be good and the crowd would be hot.
Royal Rumble 1993 was held on January 24, 1993 and saw Yokozuna win. The rumble also marked the first time the guaranteed title shot at Wrestlemania stipulation was included. With Yokozuna not available, my choice to win would be "Macho Man" Randy Savage. I pick Savage because this would be more or less a "last hurrah" for him as his time was winding down with the WWF starting to transition him to color commentary. I would also use it to build the future. 1993 was the first year the Wrestlemania title shot was up for grabs. With Bret Hart as champion and needing a big match a Wrestlemania along with a big win to get credibility, Savage would be perfect. By having Savage win, he would challenge Bret for the WWF Title at Wrestlemania IX which could not only serve as a last big Wrestlemania match for Savage but he could put on a great match and put Bret over at the event which should establish Bret as the face of the WWF. The hope would be that a good match at Wrestlemania and Bret winning would be a passing the torch type moment. Bret had potential to be a great champion but outside of his title win over Ric Flair, he didn't have many "big" wins that would make him a main event star and a win over Savage at Wrestlemania would easily solve that problem. The story would also be great as both were faces or fan favorites and would still respect each other but at the same time both would hammer home how they need this win. Savage can admit he turned 40 in November 1992 and with the WWF transitioning him to commentary, he knows he has to prove he can still hang with the elite all the while knowing he may not get many more title shots with this one potentially being his last at a big event like Wrestlemania. Bret, meanwhile, can say he respects Savage but knows that it would be the biggest win of his career to beat an opponent the calibur of Savage at the main event of Wrestlemania. Speaking of Wrestlemania, this is Bret's first Wrestlemania main event so he wants to make it count. My second pick would be Mr. Perfect. Bret and Perfect already had a great match at Summerslam '91 so you have to think they would put on another memorable match worthy of Wrestlemania. Best of all, Perfect was healthy by this point while the Summerslam match saw him compete with a bad back. In fact, their match at the 1993 King of the Ring was considered better so I have no reason to believe that a match at Wrestlemania IX wouldn't be a classic. Ultimately, I wouldn't go with Perfect since Savage is the bigger name and Perfect just came back two months earlier after 15 months on the shelf. My finals would be Savage vs. Perfect. These two had some history as they were tag team partners in Perfect's return match at Survivor Series 1992. They would also be able to put on a good performance and it would be a good position for Perfect as he just came back so he didn't need the win and a runner up position would still allow him to look good and show he's still a threat in the WWF.
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