Royal Rumble 1992: 5 Reasons Why It’s The Greatest Royal Rumble Match Ever

As of this writing, we’re only a matter of days away from the 2019 Royal Rumble PPV. And while the WWE rightly frame WrestleMania as the biggest show on the wrestling calendar, many a fan views the annual Royal Rumble PPV as their favourite of the year.

Since its inception in 1988, the Royal Rumble has gone on to be a huge success, with so many memorable moments having been served up by the over-the-top extravaganza at the centre of this PPV; from huge wins, to shocking turns, to grin-inducing surprise returns. To many, the Rumble is the must-see wrestling event.

To date, there have been a whopping 31 Royal Rumble PPVs so far, with the 2019 edition of the show looming large as the 32nd outing for the spectacle. Some Royal Rumble PPVs have been great, others have been awful, but the key component of the Royal Rumble PPV is so often the Royal Rumble match itself.

You can make an argument as to why a certain Royal Rumble is the best Rumble in history – some citing 2001 as having the best Royal Rumble match as Steve Austin steamrollered to glory, some claiming The Undertaker eliminating Shawn Michaels to win the Royal Rumble match in 2007 as another “best ever” – but here we’re going to look at just why the 1992 Royal Rumble really is the greatest Royal Rumble match in history.

5) Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon’s Commentary

The Brain and Gorilla at the announce booth

To say that the current WWE product doesn’t have any decent commentators or announcers would be a little harsh, but listening back to some of the commentary teams of yesteryear makes you realise just how much better the commentary often was back then in comparison to today.

Many will rave about Jim Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler as being the greatest duo that the WWE has ever had at the announce booth, while others may hark back to Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon. But for some of us, the absolute greatest commentary team in the history of World Wrestling Entertainment was the pairing of Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. And if you’re for some reason in doubt as to just how good The Brain and Monsoon were together, all you need do is go back and watch the 1992 Royal Rumble.

Bobby and Gorilla were always phenomenal when put together - the duo having the sort of natural chemistry that is impossible to manufacture - but the ’92 Rumble PPV was this pair at their absolute best.

Heenan throws out zingers galore as he continuously champions Ric Flair throughout the Rumble match, while Monsoon does his best to be the well-meaning babyface play-by-play man to The Brain’s quick-witted, desperate heel act.

Most important of all? Heenan and Monsoon made you care and got you invested in the PPV and the Royal Rumble match itself; making each Rumble entrant feel like a big deal who could somehow manage to win the match and become WWF Champion.

4) The Roberts/Savage Rivalry

Randy Savage and Jake Roberts brawl at ringside during the '92 Rumble

By the time January 1992 rolled around, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and “Macho Man” Randy Savage were embroiled in one of the most passionate and intense rivalries that the decade would see.

You see, Savage had actually retired from in-ring competition after losing to Ultimate Warrior at 1991’s WrestleMania VII. From there, despite having already been married in real-life, Macho and Miss Elizabeth’s on-screen characters would get married at SummerSlam ’91. All was going to plan in the Gene Okerlund-dubbed Match Made in Heaven… until that no-good Jake Roberts turned up at the wedding reception with The Undertaker.

It was the Deadman who actually attacked Savage, but it was Roberts who made things personal as he scared Elizabeth with a sinister, hissing snake disguised as a faux wedding present. And from there, Macho Man became laser-focussed on getting his hands on Jake Roberts.

The next few months saw Roberts brutally assault Savage, slap Elizabeth, and even let his cobra sink its fangs into Macho’s arm. Eventually, Savage would convince President Jack Tunney to reinstate him in time for December’s This Tuesday in Texas show.

By the time of the Rumble, this rivalry was white-hot. Even more-so, Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon did all that they could to put over this feud during the Rumble match; Roberts the first to enter the Rumble, constantly, cautiously watching out for Savage to make his grand entrance. But upon Savage’s entrance, there was no pomp and circumstance; just frenzied energy and aggression as the two rivals eventually locked horns once more.

3) The Star Power

The official poster for the 1992 Royal Rumble

Even if you purely go by the law of averages, a 30-man (or 30-woman) Royal Rumble match is going to feature its fair share of heavy hitters. But in the 1992 edition of the Rumble, the talent involved in the match was ridiculous.

Back in ’92, that Rumble match featured a whopping 16 stars who would go on to become WWE Hall of Famers, not to mention eight names who have had the honor of being WWE Champion.

From top to bottom, this was a Royal Rumble match brimming with names such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Jake Roberts, The Undertaker, Ted DiBiase, Jimmy Snuka, Iron Sheik (as Colonel Mustafa), Sgt. Slaughter, Sid Justice, Kerry Von Erich, Tito Santana, and Davey Boy Smith.

Each and every one of those names were at one point or another main event talent in their prime – and that’s only half of the Rumble competitors from 1992.

Sure, many may view the 2001 Royal Rumble as being an all-star bout that featured some of the biggest names in the business – and that may be true – but it’s hard for anybody to argue that the ’92 edition of the Royal Rumble was the most star-studded outing for the January spectacular that we’ve seen to date.

2) It Wasn’t All About Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan moments after being eliminated by Sid Justice

Back in 1992, the then-World Wrestling Federation was still in the midst of Hulkamania. Wherever you turned, whatever big show, you would always find the red ‘n’ yellow visage of The Hulkster, brother.

In both the 1990 and 1991 Royal Rumbles, Hulk Hogan was the dominant force and the figure upon whom those over-the-top-rope bouts were based around. Hell, even the 1989 Royal Rumble was built around Hulk Hogan; despite John, Studd winning that Rumble, Hogan eliminated 10 competitors as his brewing rivalry with Randy Savage took centre-stage.

However, with 1992 we saw something different. Sure, Hulk Hogan in ’92 was still an all-powerful force who was the top guy in the company, but that Royal Rumble was all about Ric Flair. Instead, Hogan felt almost like an afterthought; entering at #26, eliminating only four people, and lasting just over 11 minutes in the match.

To give some perspective, eventual winner Flair entered at #3 and would last over an hour as he strutted his way to victory and the WWF Title.

For the first time in what felt like forever, a big show – be that a PPV or a TV event – didn’t feel as if it was all about Hulk Hogan. And for those of us who were already tired of Hogan’s eating vitamins, training hard, saying prayers shtick, the 1992 Royal Rumble was hugely refreshing – even if Ric Flair was a no-good, underhand bad guy who liked to rub it in everyone’s faces.

1) Fair to Flair

Ric Flair was in the 1992 Royal Rumble for over an hour

To quote the legendary Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, you’ve gotta be fair to Flair.

Throughout the one hour and two seconds he was in the 1992 Royal Rumble match, The Nature Boy proved why he is one of the most effective performers that the professional wrestling business has ever seen.

From the moment he entered the match at the #3 mark to the moment he tossed out Sid Justice to win the Rumble and become the new WWF Champion, Ric Flair had the Albany, New York audience in the palm of his hand. Love him or hate him, Flair made you care about each and every single thing he did during this most famous of Royal Rumble matches.

Interwoven with the story of Ric Flair winning the Rumble, of course, there were plentiful smaller plot points dotted throughout the match for Naitch. For example, Roddy Piper making a beeline for his longtime rival as soon as Hot Rod came out at #15. Then there was the moments where we saw Flair battling the likes of Kerry Von Erich, Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice; all names that he had prior beef with or, in Savage’s case, with whom he was about to feud with leading towards WrestleMania VIII.

Throw in Heenan’s commentary masterclass, add in a sprinkle of Mr. Perfect at Flair’s side before and after the match, and then mix in the post-Rumble promo from Flair and his cronies, and you have arguably the most memorable Royal Rumble performance of all-time.