When calendars turned over to 1992, the wrestling world was in unique state. WWF was still on top of the world but signs were starting to appear that a downturn was on the way. WCW was still struggling to establish an identity between a revolving door of bookers and mounting debt. And ECW was almost two months out from having its first show at Philadelphia’s Viking Hall, known today as the 2300 Arena.
The Golden Era of the mid-to-late 80s still had some gas in the tank, though, and no show symbolized this better than the 1992 Royal Rumble.
Widely considered by both fans and critics as one of the greatest Rumbles WWE has ever put on, the show and match, itself, is almost the purest distillation of the the late 80s boom. The roster was a who’s-who of stars from across the U.S. wrestling industry from Hulk Hogan to Ric Flair, Kerry Von Erich, Sid Justice, and many more, making for one of the most star-studded Rumble matches in history.
All this is scored with the voices and arguably one of the greatest commentary pairings in history – Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan. Heenan, in particular, has one of his most iconic commentary outings on this show thanks to his chemistry with Monsoon and being paired with Ric Flair when the NWA and WCW icon joined the WWF in the summer of 1991.
But first, there is the undercard.
There is no Royal Rumble undercard that has as many tag team matches as the 1992 show has. Three tag matches dot the opening 46 minutes of the show. The New Foundation of Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart defeated the Orient Express, comprised of Kato and Pat Tanaka and Mr. Fuji serving as their manager. Luke and Butch, The Bushwhackers, would lose in the third match of the main card to The Beverly Brothers, Beau and Blake, who were joined by their manager, ‘The Genius’ Lanny Poffo. And following that, the Legion of Doom, also known as the Road Warriors in the NWA, would remain WWF World Tag Team Champions as they lost to Jimmy Hart’s team of The Natural Disasters, Earthquake and Typhoon, by count-out.
Squeezed in-between all the tag team action, then-WWF Intercontinental Champion The Mountie put his title on the line against the beloved Rowdy Roddy Piper. It was a brief match that was less about the match, itself, and more about giving the ‘Hot Rod’ a long overdue moment as he won his first championship in WWF since he joined in 1984.
He wouldn’t hold it for very long, losing it at April’s WrestleMania VIII to Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart.
And then there is the Rumble which, for the first time, would see the WWF Championship which had been vacant since WWF President Jack Tunney held up the title in the wake of two questionable title changes between The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan.
The match, itself, kicks off with The British Bulldog and ‘The Million Dollar Man’ Ted DiBiase, two staples of late 80s WWF. What follows is one of the most star-studded matches in professional wrestling history that, as mentioned earlier, is able to serve as almost a summary of the entire Golden Era.
This is most obvious in the eventual winner, Ric Flair.
Flair joined the WWF in August 1991 after a falling out with then-WCW President Jim Herd over a request for Flair to take a pay cut and Herd’s ideas to “refresh” Flair, the most infamous being a request for Flair to cut his hair, get a diamond earring, and change his name to Spartacus.
When Flair showed up on WWF television, he arrived with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, known to fans lovingly as “Big Gold.” This was due to the NWA requiring the world champions to put down a $25,000 security deposit while carrying the physical belt in case something happened to it until it changed hands again, and Flair claimed since he was not paid back his deposit when his WCW contract ended, he could retain custody of the physical belt. A lawsuit by WCW would halt use of the physical belt on WWF TV, which was replaced with a spare WWF World Tag Team Championship belt pixelated out until the 1992 Royal Rumble.
Over the Rumble’s remaining hour, fans would be treated to a proverbial all-star team of professional wrestlers for the time. ‘The Texas Tornado’ Kerry Von Erich, Shawn Michaels, Haku, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Rick Martel, Sgt. Slaughter, and Sid Justice are all entrants in this Rumble, all looking to leave with the WWF World Championship.
The match comes down to Hogan, Flair, Savage, and Justice, providing a convenient preview to the “double-main events” of WrestleMania VIII.
It was in this closing stretch that the end of the Golden Era becomes most obvious. The match crescendos after Savage’s elimination as Hogan who, while trying to eliminate Flair, is eliminated by Justice from behind in a move meant to turn the crowd against Justice for eliminating WWF’s ultimate good guy. Instead, Hogan’s elimination was meet with loud cheers from the crowd in a sign they were craving new names on top of the promotion and Hogan’s time in that spot was likely over.
Hogan would then grab Justice’s arm to try and pull him out of the ring, which Flair is quick to help with and win the Rumble. Flair would head to the back while Justice and Hogan traded words in the ring, with the crowd clearly taking Justice’s side in the matter.
In the back, fans are treated to, arguably, Flair’s greatest promo to celebrate his title win. It is here he deliver’s his iconic “With a tear! In my eye!” to mark what he says is the greatest night in his career.
From here, WWF heads to WrestleMania VIII where Flair would face Savage for the WWF World Title in a feud centered around the title and accusations by Flair he had been with Savage’s beloved valet and real-life partner, Miss Elizabeth. Hogan and Justice would main event the show with one of the most infamous WrestleMania main events where Hogan won by disqualification after interference by Papa Shango and Hogan was saved by a returning Ultimate Warrior. However, the first run-in was blown when Shango was late getting out to the ring.
The undercard, by comparison, was a preview of things to come as WWF began to shift away from the older stars and carry-overs from the late 80s, including Hogan. Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker each win their matches, setting the stage for a period in WWF headlined by those three.
Hart, specifically, would be WWF World Champion by the end of 1992 and main event WrestleMania IX in 1993 against Yokozuna in perhaps the most infamous WrestleMania ending ever. Yokozuna would win the title after his manager, Mr. Fuji, threw salt in Hart’s eyes as he attempted to lock in the Sharpshooter. Hogan would then run out to check on Hart and be challenged by Yokozuna to a title match right then and there, which Hogan won. It is often highlighted by fans as a moment that best summarizes Hogan’s infamous backstage politicking to keep himself on top.
And while that was still a year-and-a-half away, the road to get there was seemingly set when the 1992 Royal Rumble ended and the fans in attendance in Albany, New York, filed out. They didn’t realize they were witnessing the end of an era, one that at least got a worthy sendoff that cold night in January.
Minimum Wage Nerd 