WWF Royal Rumble 1988 Review

WWF Royal Rumble 1988 Review
January 25, 2014 (Edited September 17, 2025)
By Ryan Porzl

Event: Royal Rumble 1988
Tagline: None
Date: January 24,1988
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Live or Tape: Live
Arena: Copps Coliseum
Attendance: 18,000
Announcers: Vince McMahon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Interviewers: “Mean” Gene Okerlund and Craig DeGeorge
Other: Jack Tunney (WWF President)
Broadcast: USA Network

Similar to the Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble's origins are largely the same. After screwing Jim Crockett Promotions by running the Survivor Series 1987 the same night as Starrcade 1987 and forcing Pay-Per-View companies to choose, McMahon was told never to run a PPV the same night as another again. Shrewdly, McMahon decided to run the first Royal Rumble against the Bunkhouse Stampede PPV only this time, the event would be free on the USA Network. No surprise, the WWF easily won again.

We start with Vince narrating all the matches and happenings.

Vince and Ventura welcome everyone to the show. Vince is replacing Gorilla Monsoon as the play-by-play due to Monsoon suffering a mild heart attack. While Monsoon thankfully recovered, it was among the first of many health issues that plagued him for the last eleven years of his life.

Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude- Both men were at different points in their career. Rude was a promising, yet still green wrestler. Steamboat was on the downswing of his WWF run. Surprisingly enough, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan isn't in Rude's corner.

Rude works over Steamboat to start with punches and forearms but Steamboat comes back with chops. Rude comes back with an eye rake and throws Steamboat over the top but Steamboat skins the cat back in while Rude poses. Rude turns around, sees Steamboat, and charges at him but Steamboat back body drops Rude over the top and to the floor. Back in, they do a test of strength which Rude wins. The fans chant “Steamboat” as Steamboat comes back by escaping, taking Rude down, and applies an armbar. Steamboat lifts Rude in the air with the arm and chops the arm. Steamboat goes back to the arm. Rude punches Steamboat out and whips him to the ropes. Rude misses a clothesline, Steamboat comes off the ropes, slides between Rude's legs, and gets an armdrag takedown. Steamboat reapplies the armbar. Rude gets up and Steamboat transitions to a wristlock. Rude eventually hits forearms on Steamboat and Steamboat comes back with chops and punches.

Rude reverses the irish whip but Steamboat comes off the ropes and gets his own irish whip on Rude. Steamboat catches Rude coming off the ropes with a chop. Another armdrag and back to the armbar. Steamboat eventually releases it and splashes the arm. Steamboat gets an arm wringer but Rude eventually fights out and starts working over Steamboat. Rude whips Steamboat to the ropes and catches him with an elbow. Steamboat gets rammed on the turnbuckle, then another, and then another. Rude starts punching Steamboat in the middle of the ring. Rude whips Steamboat to the ropes but Steamboat comes off and slides between his legs. Steamboat runs the ropes and slides between the legs again. Rude runs the ropes and gets caught with an armdrag and Steamboat works the armbar. Steamboat knees the shoulder and works a wristlock. Rude reverses an irish whip and catches Steamboat with an elbow.

Rude starts posing but can't do it since he arm is hurt. Steamboat eventually comes back with punches and chops. Rude reverses an irish whip and drops to the canvas with Steamboat jumping over, coming off the ropes, jumping over, coming off the ropes, and Rude eventually knees Steamboat which sends him to the outside. Rude follows out and rams Steamboat back first to the apron. Rude bodyslams Steamboat and gets back in the ring. Steamboat gets back on the apron only for Rude to suplex him back in the ring for 2. Rude applies the camel clutch but Steamboat won't quit as fans rally behind Steamboat. Rude hits a seated senton on Steamboat's back, taunts to boos, and goes back to the camel clutch. The ref checks Steamboat's arm and I think Steamboat forgot to keep it up the third time so he keeps it up on a fourth check.

Steamboat eventually makes the comeback by getting up and dropping Rude with an electric chair drop to a pop. Steamboat gets up and goes for a splash but Rude gets his knees up. Rude gets up and rakes the eyes. Atomic drop gets 2 and Rude goes back to the camel clutch. Steamboat eventually comes back by grabbing Rude's ankles and propels Rude into the corner. Steamboat rams Rude into the turnbuckle a few times. Steamboat gets a snapmare and drops a chop for 2. They get up with Rude kneeing Steamboat in the stomach and gets a headlock takedown but Steamboat counters with a headscissor. Rude jackknifes for 2 but Steamboat bridges out and gets a backslide for 2. Steamboat dodges a punch and gets a school boy for 2. Steamboat sweeps the leg and jackknifes for 2. Rude reverses a small package for 2. Steamboat reverses for 2. Rude rakes the eyes, whips Steamboat to the ropes, and connects with a clothesline for 2. Rude attempts a suplex but Steamboat reverses with his own. Steamboat climbs the top turnbuckle and hits the diving high cross body but Rude shoves the ref in the way and Steamboat lands on him. Rude gets Steamboat in a canadian backbreaker and the ref calls for the bell. Rude thinks he won but Howard Finkel announces Steamboat won by disqualification at 17:00.

Thoughts: ** Decent opener. Not bad but nothing amazing. The action was solid and the crowd was into it. The biggest problem was it was a little slow at points and Steamboat's arm work meant nothing in the long run. Kind of surprised Steamboat won by disqualification since the WWF clearly saw Rude had potential while Steamboat still had heat with the company after taking time off the previous year (which was justified as his wife gave birth) and shorten his IC title reign. Honestly, these two had better matches in WCW years later. Their 1992 encounters are worth checking out.

We're back and in case the commercial break wasn't a big enough bathroom break, we now go to the most useless moment on the show as Dino Bravo attempts to set a bench press record. With the New Dream Team broken up, the WWF decided to repackage him as the World's Strongest Man. How they thought this would be successful, I don't know. Even in the 21st century, wrestling companies haven't quite realized that fans don't give a rat's ass about a wrestler whose gimmick is lifting heavy stuff. As if that wasn't bad enough, Bravo was paired with Frenchy Martin who was probably the most useless manager in WWF history. Martin was a Canadian wrestler who mostly achieved success in Puerto Rico for WWC and his native Canada in various Canadian promotions. “Mean” Gene Okerlund will host the segment while Jesse Ventura will assist Bravo as his spotter and explain stuff to Okerlund. Bravo says it's a big challenge but he feels he can do it. Martin talks in french.

We start with 415 pounds as a warm up. Bravo gets cheap heat by stalling and by saying he doesn't want anyone to make a sound so he needs concentration. Bravo sits on the bench and easily lifts it. We now move up to 505 pounds. Once again, Bravo easily lifts it successfully. We now have 555 pounds. Bravo stalls because the fans won't shut up and Ventura gets on the mic and tells everyone to give him a chance. Bravo sits and lifts it. Bravo says he feels good but wants silence. We're now at 595 pounds as Okerlund is getting annoying by telling people not to make noise. Martin babbles in French while Bravo stalls for a bit because of crowd noise until finally sitting and lifting it. Okerlund is telling us that Bravo is closing in on the world record. Feel the excitement? Yeah, me neither. Okerlund tries to get comments from Martin but he talks in French again. See what I mean about useless? Nothing against the French language but geez. Next is 655 pounds and it's the same old song and dance with Bravo stalling for boos while Ventura bitches to Vince about doing something about it. Bravo lifts it. Okerlund talks to Ventura who says he's never lifted that much and then more babbling from Martin. We now reach 715 pounds with the then-record being 705 pounds. Just in case we haven't wasted enough time, Bravo walks off for a brief period because of the noise while Ventura complains to the fans to give Bravo a chance. Finally, Bravo sits and tries to lift it but can't so Ventura cheats and helps him lift it. Bravo celebrates while Okerlund claims Bravo did it but Vince calls bullshit on commentary to end the segment. This segment failed on so many levels. First is the fact it was a giant waste of time as they could've used this time for another match or something the crowd can care about. Second of all, fans already don't care about this stuff so why should they care when Bravo cheated? Say what you will about Ted Arcidi, Bill Kazmaier, and Mark Henry as wrestlers but at least they had legit claims to being the World's Strongest Man. Fans already have a hard time getting into this gimmick. Are they now supposed to boo Bravo or care because he's a cheater? Are we supposed to boo Bravo because he's a liar and a fraud? I guess but I don't care enough. Third, this segment took WAY too long at nearly 20 minutes and was nothing but the same thing over and over again all the while needing to resort to cheap heat. Shockingly, the gimmick didn't take Bravo to the next level. Hard to believe wrestling fans didn't care about weight lifting.

2 out of 3 falls/WWF Women's Tag Team Championship: The Glamour Girls (c) (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. The Jumping Bomb Angels- Here we have one forgotten belt in the WWE Elephant Graveyard of titles, at least until the belts were revived in 2019. Like the Women's Title, the tag titles were brought over from the NWA in 1983. The story here is that The Glamour Girls won the titles in August 1985 in Egypt which, of course, means they were given the belts in a phantom title switch. I guess Rio de Janerio was not available. You know what I hate about reviewing these type of matches? I can't tell who's who. The Glamour Girls aren't a problem but the Jumping Bomb Angels are a Japanese team and thus the announcers don't know their names. It's embarrassing and pathetic. These matches make you wish Jim Ross or Mike Tenay were doing commentary cause at least they would do their homework and know who's who instead of calling them “The Jumping Bomb Angel” or some type of variation. Anyway, Yamazaki is red and Tetano is pink.

First Fall: We start with the Angels dropkicking the Glamour Girls. Tetano and Kai start with Tetano whipping Kai to the ropes and goes for a dropkick but Kai holds on to the ropes and Tetano crashes to the canvas. Kai tosses Tetano by her hair and then forearms her with Tetano bumping very well. Kai whips Tetano to Martin's knee. Tag to Martin who hits a bodyslam and goes for the cover but Tetano bridges out and gets a schoolgirl for 2. Tag to Yamazaki who whips Martin and hits her with a somersault shoulderblock. Yamazaki follows with a gutwrench suplex for 1. Tag to Tetano who gets a front facelock before Martin takes her down. Tetano wraps her legs around Martin's stomach in a body scissors until Martin fights out with a palm strike to the stomach. Martin whips Tetano to the ropes with Tetano coming off the ropes with a high crossbody but Martin catches her and slams her to the canvas. Martin comes off the ropes but misses an elbow drop and tags Kai. Tetano whips Kai to the ropes and connects with a jumping knee. Tag to Yamazaki who whips Kai to the ropes and catches her with a flying forearm. Yamazaki follows with a dropkick and the Angels each take shots at Kai. Yamazaki pins for 2 and applies an octopus hold. Martin comes in to break the hold but Yamazaki moves and Martin kicks Kai. Tetano comes in and the Bomb Angels get figure fours on the Glamour Girls. Yamazaki releases and leg drops the legs two times until tagging Tetano who hyper extends the leg and applies an indian deathlock but eventually releases. Tag to Yamazaki who continues the leg work by scissoring the legs and applying an ankle lock with Kai crawling to her corner. After several attempts, she tags Martin in. Martin gets an arm wringer and kicks Yamazaki. Martin whips Yamazaki to the corner, Yamazaki gets her feet up but Martin grabs them and slams Yamazaki on the canvas. Martin continues to work over Yamazaki. Martin whips Yamazaki to the ropes, drops her head too early, and Yamazaki leapfrogs Martin but gets kneed coming off the ropes by Kai. Martin hits a reverse powerbomb to get the pin at 7:00 making it 1-0 as we go to commercial.

Second Fall: We're back with the second fall with Martin tossing Yamazaki in Martin's corner with her hair. Martin drives her knee into Yamazaki's throat. Tag to Kai who whips Yamazaki to the ropes and comes off the other side with a flying forearm. Kai kicks Yamazaki and goes for the pin but Yamazaki bridges out at 2. Kai gets a bodyslam and comes off the ropes but misses the splash. Hot tag to Tetano who gets a dropkick. Tetano whips Kai to the ropes and connects with a clothesline. Tetano comes off with a second turnbuckle clothesline. Tetano comes off the ropes with a high crossbody for 2. Tag to Yamazaki with the Angels hitting a double team suplex. All four are in as The Glamour Girls reverse irish whips but the Angels stop in the middle of the ring. The Girls charge with clotheslines but the Angels dodge and the Girls hit each other. Yamazaki whips Kai to the ropes but the two collide into each other. Kai picks Yamazaki but Yamazaki reverses into a sunset flip at 10:00 to a pop making 1-1 as we go commercial.

Third Fall: We're back for the third fall with the Angels whipping Kai to the ropes and hitting a double team jumping knee and then following up with a double team clothesline for 1. Yamazaki whips Kai to the ropes and hits a knee but Kai no-sells it and kicks her a few times. Tag to Martin who whips Yamazaki to the ropes with Yamazaki attempting a kick but Martin grabs the foot and Yamazaki hits an enzuigiri. Tag to Tetano who attempts a fisherman's suplex but Martin blocks it and works over Tetano. Tetano gets whipped into the corner but gets an up and over and attempts a backslide but Martin escapes and slingshots Tetano into her corner. Tag to Kai with Martin snapmaring Tetano and Kai follows with a perfect necksnap. Kai works over Tetano on the ropes and snaps her neck first on the rope by pulling the hair. Kai hits a butterfly suplex for 2. Martin and Yamazaki tag in with Martin getting Yamazaki in her corner. The Girls work her over for a bit with Kai tagging in during the beating. Eventually Kai hits a snapmare for 2. Yamazaki gets whipped to the ropes but blocks Kai's attack and makes the comeback to a pop. Yamazaki slams Kai ass first on the canvas two times for 2. Yamazaki sends Kai into Kai's corner which allows her to tag Martin. Yamazaki pulls Martin in by her hair and tags Tetano. Yamazaki bodyslams Martin while Tetano comes off the top with a diving knee for 2. Bodyslam gets 2. Butterfly suplex with a bridge gets 2. Tag to Yamazaki who whips Martin to the ropes and comes off the other side with a high cross body for 2. Yamazaki bodyslams Martin but misses the second turnbuckle senton. Martin covers for 2. Yamazaki sweeps the leg and tags Tetano. Tetano comes off the turnbuckle with a second turnbuckle clothesline but Kai breaks the pin at 2. As the ref is getting Kai back to the apron, the Angels come off the top rope with a double missile dropkick and synchronized it perfectly with Tetano covering while Yamazaki stops Kai to get the win and the titles at 15:00 to a big pop. After the match, Ventura complains and for some reason, the WWF point out Tetano's botch by accidentally getting Martin's shoulder up.

Thoughts: ***1/2 Very good match that was never boring and featured some damn good moves while the crowd was largely into. The matches between these two teams is more impressive when you consider some of the stuff they were doing were not common or seen in American wrestling at the time. The Angels were probably best on offense while the Girls bumping which they were good at although the Girls showed good aggression on offense. The finish was also awesome. Usually when two wrestlers come off different turnbuckles for a double missile dropkick, their timing could be with one jumping too late and missing. However the Bomb Angels connected perfectly. My only real complaint was the finishing pin was botched with Tetano getting Martin's shoulder up. Maybe this was supposed to lead to something but it never did. The Bomb Angels would hold the titles for six months before losing them back to the Glamour Girls in Japan. The titles were eventually abandoned by February 1989 and wouldn't be seen again until new versions came along in 2019.

We get clips of the history between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant along with Ted Dibiase's involvement. The clips include Wrestlemania III, Ted Dibiase vowing to buy the WWF Championship from Hulk Hogan, Hogan declining, Andre attacking Hogan on the 1/88 SNME, and Ted Dibiase buying Andre's contract.

We now go to the official signing between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant for their rematch on the Main Event on February 5th. Andre's joined by Ted Dibiase and his bodyguard Virgil as Dibiase bought Andre's contract from Bobby Heenan before this on the January 9, 1988 edition of Superstars of Wrestling. Okerlund is hosting the signing and WWF President Jack Tunney is there as well. Hogan sits down to sign but Andre takes his time and stalls as fans chant “Hogan”. Eventually he sits down and Hogan signs while Dibiase goads him and says Hogan is scared. Andre takes forever as he looks it over but eventually signs. Both get up after Dibiase wants Andre to deliver his seal of approval. Hogan goes for Dibiase but Andre rams him face first on the table and flips the table onto him. It served it's purpose but like most contract signings it took forever. Nevertheless, it was a good last hype job for the Main Event on February 5th.

Vince and Ventura go over the rules of the Royal Rumble. In case you don't know, The Royal Rumble rules are as follows. The wrestlers who drew numbers 1 and 2 begin the rumble and then every (usually) 2 minutes after, another wrestlers enters according to the number they draw. In the Royal Rumble it's supposed to be every man for himself. Elimination occurs when a wrestler is thrown over the top rope and both feet touch the floor. The winner is the last wrestler remaining after all the wrestlers enter. Sadly, this Rumble only features 20 wrestlers.

1988 Royal Rumble: Bret Hart is #1 and Tito Santana is #2 to start us off. Apparently, Santana was replacing Bam Bam Bigelow though I don't know the reason. Makes sense since there's only one member of Strike Force. Bret kicks things off by working over Santana on the ropes and in the corner. Santana blocks getting rammed to the turnbuckles and rams Bret to take control. Santana works over Bret for a bit. Bret reverses an irish whip and leapfrogs Santana coming off the ropes but Santana stops himself and punches Bret to a pop. Santana gets some mounted punches and tries to eliminate Bret but is unsuccessful. Bret regains control with an inverted atomic drop. Bret follows with a second turnbuckle elbow drop as we get some weird commentary from Vince who says he hopes for Santana's sake Rick Martel is next despite Martel not being in the Rumble. Bret tries to eliminate Santana but can't.

Butch Reed is #3. Bret whips Santana to the ropes but Santana comes off with a flying forearm as Reed enters the ring. Reed works over Santana and tries to dump him out but can't as Santana escapes by attacking Reed's knee. Bret recover only for Santana to hit him and Reed with a noggin knocker. The heels regain control and double team Santana. Bret holds Santana for Reed to come off the second turnbuckle with a double ax handle. Santana gets whipped to the ropes and hit with a double team elbow.

Jim Neidhart is #4 which ironic as he was partners with Bret and a former partner of Reed. We get heel miscommunication which results in Reed hitting Bret with a jumping knee and nearly eliminating him. The heels now triple team Santana throughout the interval. The heels hit a triple team demolition decapitation. Neidhart and Reed (former partners in Mid-South) follow by whipping Santana to the ropes and both connect with punches. The heels try to eliminate Santana but are unable to.

Jake Roberts is #5 to make the save and gets a big pop. Mr. Reed makes history (though not the type he wants) by being the first ever elimination when Roberts sneak up on the heels and dumps Reed to the floor. Roberts works over the Harts and whips Neidhart into Bret. Roberts bodyslams Bret while Santana works over Neidhart. Fans chanting “DDT” as the Harts are whipped into each other. Roberts signals for the DDT to a huge pop and goes for it but Neidhart clotheslines Roberts who takes a great bump though the camera misses most of it. The Harts come back with Neidhart working over Roberts while Bret hits Santana with a piledriver.

Harley Race is #6 as he and Neidhart double team Roberts while Bret works over Santana. Neidhart and Race try to eliminate Roberts but he holds on and fights out while Neidhart saves Bret from elimination. Race drops Roberts with a headbutt and drops a headbutt on Roberts.
Jim Brunzell is #7 to a good pop and hits the Harts with a noggin knocker. Brunzell and Santana try to eliminate Bret but Neidhart tries to pull him back. Roberts tries to get involved but Bret falls through the ropes and on the apron to escape elimination. We get more elimination attempts but no one goes over. Santana gets mounted punches in the corner on Bret.

Sam Houston is #8 and surprisingly, gets the better of the Harts. Fans chant “DDT” again but Roberts instead shoulder blocks Neidhart in the corner but makes a comeback off camera and works over Roberts in the corner. Brunzell and Houston try to eliminate Race but he holds on. The Harts toss Santana out to eliminate him.

Danny Davis is #9 and goes after Houston since they have a rivalry. They go back and forth until Neidhart and Brunzell get involved. Roberts works over Race who is between the ropes and seesawing with every punch. Houston and Neidhart go at it while Bret pairs up with Brunzell. Roberts blocks a kick from Davis and hits a punch followed by a belly-to-back suplex. Fans want the DDT and Roberts goes for it but Davis holds on the ropes to block it.

Boris Zhukov is #10 and goes after Houston. More Rumble craziness and near eliminations happen. We get an interesting bit with Race going after Zhukov for a bit despite this rumble being more about faces vs. heels instead of every man for themselves. Eventually, Zhukov and Davis work over Houston. Race holds Brunzell allowing Bret to come off the second turnbuckle with a punch.

Don Muraco is #11 but Nikolai Volkoff runs out as well. The two argue until Muraco punches Volkoff and enters the ring. Race hits Houston with a suplex while Muraco gets shots in on Davis and the Harts. Volkoff argues with the ref for the rest of the interval and watches partner Zhukov get eliminated by Roberts and Brunzell. Brunzell then whips Bret to the ropes and catches him with a dropkick. Houston tries to eliminate Race but Race holds on. Ventura says he's tired of McMahon's barbs and brings up McMahon hearing from future super agent Barry Bloom.

Nikolai Volkoff is #12 and goes after Houston. Hey, why not? Pick the easiest target. Volkoff holds Houston for Davis to get shots. Bret throws Brunzell over but Brunzell lands on the apron and gets back in. Muraco eliminates Race who takes a nice 360 over the top and to the floor to a good pop. Race tries to get back in but the ref won't let him. Interesting bit as Bret tries to eliminate Roberts only for Roberts to be saved by little half-brother Houston.

Jim Duggan is #13 to a big pop and briefly goes at it with rival Race before entering. Duggan goes for the mounted corner punches and surprisingly, no one takes advantage of this stupidity. Duggan gets a “HO!” from the fans. Fans chant for the DDT but Davis blocks the attempt.

Ron Bass is #14 as Bret hits Brunzell with a headbutt. Roberts tries to eliminate Davis but Volkoff stops him while the Harts work over Duggan. Volkoff then goes at it with Brunzell until tossing Brunzell out. Bass whips Muraco into the corner with Muraco flipping into it. Bass tries to get Muraco out but can't. Roberts comes off the ropes and collides with Neidhart knocking both down.

Brian Blair is #15 and goes after Davis. Bret then goes after Blair but Blair gets the better which Ventura complains about. More craziness and near eliminations as Blair tries to eliminate Neidhart but Bret makes the save. Fans chant “DDT” as Roberts and Davis go at it but it's not happening. Roberts nearly gets rid of Davis but Bass makes the save. Duggan then tries to eliminate Bass but Bass rakes the eyes.

Hillbilly Jim is #16 and Neidhart goes after him. Then to be stupid, Neidhart makes the classic Rumble/battle royal mistake of charging and Jim back body drops him out to send Neidhart packing. Jim then works over Davis. Blair gets thrown over the top but lands on the apron to survive. Bret and Duggan go at it while Jim and Blair try to eliminate Bass to no luck.

Dino Bravo is #17 and Jim kicks his ass after he enters. Bass gets Houston on his shoulders and dumps him to the floor. Blair tries to eliminate Volkoff but Davis stops him. Roberts and Jim try to eliminate Bret but Davis makes the save. Roberts is on the top turnbuckle holding on as Bass tries to get rid of him.

The Ultimate Warrior is #18 to a good pop. Muraco tosses Bret out but Bret gets the longevity record. Roberts and Blair work over Davis in the corner while Warrior tries to eliminate Bravo.

The One Man Gang is #19 and plays Diesel this year by being the dominating monster. Gang comes in and kicks Roberts' ass for a bit. Blair gets tossed by Gang. Gang goes back to Roberts and dumps him out. Warrior picks Davis up by the throat until Volkoff makes the save.

The Junkyard Dog is #20 to round things out. JYD works over Bravo while Warrior hits Davis and Bass with a noggin knocker. Volkoff punches at Duggan until Duggan back drops him out to eliminate him while Gang does the same with Jim eliminating Jim. Muraco and Warrior work over Gang while Duggan pairs up with Bravo and JYD with Bass. Duggan hits Davis and nails the three-point stance clothesline to eliminate Davis which gets a big pop. Warrior gets double teamed by Gang and Bravo and since he's still a midcard act, he gets dumped unceremoniously. Yes the Warrior lasted less than 4 minutes and eliminated no one. Got to start somewhere. JYD works over Gang until Gang rakes the eyes and Bass dumps the JYD. Bass then has a shitty elimination by taken some weak forearms by Muraco and going out.

Final Four: Muraco, Duggan, Bravo, and Gang. The heels work over the faces with Bravo whipping Duggan to the corner and Gang hitting an avalanche. Muraco somersaults out of two corners and starts to hold his own. Gang takes a dropkick. Frenchy Martin gets on the apron only to be dropkicked by Muraco but Bravo comes back and works over Muraco. Bravo holds Muraco for Gang to clothesline him out. Duggan tries to fight but the heels double team him. Duggan gets whipped to the ropes and hit with a double team clothesline. The heels push their luck as Bravo holds Duggan but it backfires as Gang clotheslines Bravo out instead to a good pop leaving us Duggan and Gang. These two have history with Gang defeating Duggan a year earlier in Mid-South/UWF to send Duggan out and to the WWF. Duggan punches away at Gang and whips him to the ropes but lowers his head too early and Gang hits him with a forearm. Gang works over Duggan as the fans rally behind Duggan until making the big mistake of charging which allows Duggan to low bridge the Gang and the Gang crashes & burns on the floor to give Duggan the win and the Rumble at 33:00. Ventura is hilarious as he complains “I don't believe this. Out of all the people to win this thing. It's HIM!?”.

Thoughts: **1/2 Decent for the first Royal Rumble but it did have some slow moments, the 20 man thing was weak as I prefer the 30 man rumbles, and this wasn't one of the more stacked rumbles. While there were some good names, this felt like one of, if not, the weakest Rumble in terms of star power with a lot of notable names not competing in it. Say what you will about the mid to late 90s Rumbles where the star power wasn't big and wrestlers had to do double duty at the event but even they came off having more main event stars than this one did. Another issue was unlike most Rumbles, this was more “Face vs. Heel” as opposed to “Every Man For Himself”. That said, there was some positives as Bret looked good and it was showing by this point that Vince saw potential in Bret beyond a tag wrestler. I like Muraco got to look good getting three eliminations and making it to the final four. Gang was good as the final boss monster that eventual winner Duggan has to slay in order to win. Duggan winning was good as he was a popular name and there wasn't a lot of star power.

Craig DeGeorge interviews Hulk Hogan from the podium. DeGeorge brings up the Main Event and it appeared they sent a message. Hogan agrees with DeGeorge and believes that Andre & Dibiase were sending a message to him but says it only fuels the fire. He says he's been waiting for this encounter as long as Andre has. Hogan brings up Dibiase and how the Hulkamaniacs have a place for Dibiase and they or he will sell out. He says Andre can't break him because his Hulkamaniacs believe him. Hogan says Andre will have to beat every Hulkamaniac to beat him. DeGeorge brings up the choke on SNME but Hogan says it's fuel to the fire and he will be ready. Hogan poses to end the segment. Solid promo and Hogan came off good being fired up after Andre's cheap shot.

2 out of 3 Falls: The Islanders vs. The Young Stallions- Yes ladies and gentleman, this is the main event of the first Royal Rumble event. That, of course, means that Paul Roma actually has something to brag about besides being in the Four Horsemen while Jim Powers has something to brag about....well.....period.

First Fall: Tama and Powers start with Tama stalling. Tama rakes the eyes to start and works over Powers. Tama whips Powers to the ropes but lowers his head too early and Power leapfrogs Tama. Powers jabs away at Tama and bodyslams Tama who bails out to regroup. Ventura says Heenan is in Barbados. Back in, Tama offers a hand shake which Powers accepts and grabs Tama's foot after a kick attempt and hits an atomic drop into the Stallions corner. The Stallions takes turns on Tama. Vince criticizes the bench press from earlier and Ventura has the balls to call Vince a twinkie. Hey, I'm sure Dr. George Zahorian would take great offense to that. Powers applies a arm wringer but Tama grabs the hair and muscles Powers into the corner. Powers reverses an irish whip into another corner but misses a charge as Tama moves. Tags to Haku and Roma who go back and forth with arm wringers until Roma wins the exchange.

Roma reverses an irish whip but Haku comes off with a shoulder block. Haku runs the ropes with Roma dropping down, Haku comes off the ropes, Roma leapfrogs, Haku comes off the ropes, Roma leapfrogs, Haku comes off the ropes and we get a sloppy exchange with Haku getting a sloppy armdrag. Haku whips Roma to the ropes but misses the clothesline, they come off opposite sides, and Roma catches Haku with a high cross body for 2. Roma goes back to the arm and tags Powers. The Stallions double team whip Haku to the ropes and connects with a double team elbow for 2. Powers works the arm but Haku escapes by raking the eyes and ramming Powers to the Islanders corner. Tag to Tama who hits a bodyslam. Tama comes off the ropes but misses the elbow drop. Powers comes back with an armbar on the other arm but Tama easily makes it back to his corner and tags Haku. Haku whips Powers to the ropes and hits an elbow for 2.

Tag to Tama who comes off the top with a diving double ax handle. Tama hits a headbutt and tags Haku with the Islanders hitting a double team headbutt. Haku rams Powers to the corner. Haku whips Powers to another corner but runs into a knee. Powers attempts the tag but Haku stops him. Powers reverses an irish whip and both hit double clotheslines. Tag to Tama and Roma with Roma cleaning house. Roma whips Tama to the ropes and comes off the other side with a running clothesline. Roma whips Tama to the ropes and hits a dropkick. Roma does another whip and catches Tama with a back body drop. Another irish whip and dropkick gets 2. Tama gains control and tosses Roma over the top with Haku pulling down the rope. Powers goes to check on Roma as Roma suffers a knee injury. Eventually Roma is counted out at 7:00 as we go to a commercial.

We now get an awkward period as the Stallions are in the back so we now have Craig DeGeorge interviewing Andre the Giant and Ted Dibiase on the podium. DeGeorge says it looks like they were trying to make a statement. Dibiase says they weren't making a statement but painting a picture of what's to come on February 5^th in Indianapolis only it won't be a table covering Hogan but Andre. He says we saw the contract signing that will be the end of Hulkamania. Dibiase says they will beat every Hulkamaniac when Andre beats Hogan. Andre says he's undefeated and will stay undefeated. He says on February 5^th, they will make history when he destroys Hulkamania. He says they will be a new world champion when he delivers the belt to Dibiase. Good promo from Dibiase and Andre was solid too.

Second Fall: We're back with the tag match. Roma's knee is heavily taped up. He has to start since he lost the first fall. Tama rakes the eyes and goes after the leg. Tama gets a bodyslam and goes for the splash with Roma getting his knees up which did more harm than good. Tags to Haku and Powers with Powers cleaning house. Powers whip Haku to the ropes and catches him with a back body drop for 2. Powers rams Hakus head to the turnbuckle several times. Powers whips Haku to the corner and catches him coming out with a clothesline. Bionic elbow gets 2. Powers whips Haku to the ropes and hits a dropkick for 2. Suplex gets 2. Powers whips Haku to the ropes and gets an elbow for 2. Haku gets his head slammed on the canvas but hits the stomach of Powers. Tag to Tama who works over Powers before tagging out to Haku. The Islanders hit a double team headbutt. Haku whips Powers to the ropes but drops his head too soon and Powers comes off the ropes with a small package for 2. Haku comes back and hits a pendulum backbreaker for 2. Tag to Tama who irish whips Powers to the ropes and hits a jumping elbow. Tama hits a hip toss gets 2 as fans rally behind Powers. Tag to Haku who hits a standing dropkick for 2. Gutwrench suplex gets 2. Abdominal stretch is applied as the fans rally but Powers eventually hip tosses out. Haku prevents the tag and bodyslams Powers. Haku comes off the ropes but misses a flipping senton. Haku works overs Powers until missing a dropkick. Powers makes the hot tag(?) to an injured Roma. Roma tries to fight but Haku kicks the leg and it's all downhill from here. Haku works the leg and Tama comes off the top rope with a diving splash on the leg. Haku hooks in a single leg crab and it's over at 14:00 with the Islanders getting two straight.

Thoughts: * Ok match as everyone did their part very well while Roma sold the knee well but it was very forgettable and dull while the fans didn't care. I don't know why it was put on the show except to fill the card. If they were going to put this one in, they should've put it before the Rumble since nobody cared about this. I also don't get the 2/3 falls stip other than to do the Andre promo in between which was very odd.

Vince and Ventura give their final thoughts and recap the event to end the show.

Final Thoughts
Royal Rumble 1988 is once again like Wrestlemania I and Survivor Series 1987 in it's worth seeing just on historic value alone. I specifically recommend watching it for the Women's Tag Title match and the Royal Rumble but everything else was mixed. The Bravo bench press stuff sucked and took way too long. The contract signing served it's purpose but not the most entertaining segment. Steamboat/Rude was solid but they had better a few years later. The main event was lackluster and felt like a waste of time. Perhaps the biggest problem with this show is the fact that it doesn't feel special. Maybe the WWF put this together at the last minute or maybe cause it was a TV special, it doesn't feel like this is the start of one of WWF/WWE's greatest traditions and their #3 biggest show of the year behind Wrestlemania and Summerslam. The show doesn't look special with no Royal Rumble banners, there's a lot of midcard talent on here, and a lot of notable absences as some stars either don't wrestle (Hogan, Andre, Dibiase) or are no where to be found (Savage, Honky, Martel, the Bulldogs, Beefcake, Valentine, etc.). Hell, most of the managers don't show up like Heenan or Slick despite having representation at this event. You watch this show and the 1989 edition, it's night and day.

Having said all that, I still much prefer this over the Bunkhouse Stampede as almost every match is at least two stars and range from decent to very good while the Royal Rumble was more fun than the Bunkhouse Stampede match.

Recommended.

Royal Rumble 1988 Facts
Royal Rumble 1988 was the first Royal Rumble that wasn't a Pay-Per-View but on the USA Network.

The first and (to date) only Royal Rumble held in Canada.

The first Royal Rumble to feature a WWF/WWE Women's Tag Team Title match. It would be the last until 2021.

Bret Hart set the longevity record by lasting 25:42.

The One Man Gang set the record for most eliminations in one rumble with 5.

Vince McMahon replaced Gorilla Monsoon as the main play-by-play announcer after Monsoon suffered a mild heart attack.

Despite being the first Royal Rumble event, the first Royal Rumble match was held on October 4, 1987 at a live event which the One Man Gang won.

The only Royal Rumble event to have a 20 man Royal Rumble.

Royal Rumble 1988 was the last Royal Rumble event to not have the Rumble as the main event until 1996.

Royal Rumble 1988 would also be the last Rumble not to feature Rick Martel until 1996.

Bam Bam Bigelow was originally supposed to be in the Royal Rumble but was replaced by Tito Santana for unknown reasons.