WWE Royal Rumble: Ranking Every Winner After Lynch, Rollins Wins

Credit: WWE.com

29. Hulk Hogan (1990)

1990’s WWE Royal Rumble was the first installment of the match that could in good conscience be called a classic. The match featured a veritable who’s who of 1990 WWE and was ultimately won by its standard bearer of the time, Hulk Hogan.

Hogan entered at Number 25 and managed to eliminate six superstars on his way to victory, with Mr. Perfect being the final foe vanquished. The match is perhaps best remembered for an intense confrontation between Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior that generated an absolutely electric response from those in attendance. This, ultimately served as a prelude of things to come, as the two would face off at WrestleMania VI in a match intended to serve as Hogan’s passing of the torch to the younger star.

As an interesting aside, this match is the only time in WWE history that a reigning WWE Champion has been victorious in a Royal Rumble Match, a distinction that will likely stand so long as the rule remains that the winner earns a title shot at WrestleMania.

A Hogan victory in 1990 showed that WWE was beginning to view the Royal Rumble as a bigger deal and wanted it associated with the company’s top star. Still, the awkward early years of the Royal Rumble featured no real stakes beyond bragging rights, so Hogan’s win here serves as a fairly minor accomplishment in his career.