Unfortunately, for all his time in the match, Hart was largely ineffective, as he only managed a single elimination, tossing the #2 entrant, Tito Santana, in concert with his partner Jim Neidhart. Admittedly, that mark would quickly be surpassed, and isn’t even close to the longevity record these days, but given that the first Rumble contained only 20 Superstars, and the whole match lasted just 33 minutes total, that’s an incredible accomplishment for someone who, at the time, wasn’t really that important to the WWF’s plans. Hart, then still a tag team specialist and a few years away from becoming a main eventer, would be the very first Superstar to enter a Rumble match, and set the original Iron Man mark for the Rumble, lasting just over 25 minutes. In service of that fact, we’ve gathered some of the greatest and most memorable individual performances in Royal Rumble history right here for your enjoyment.Īt the very first Royal Rumble in 1988, it was Bret Hart who would receive two singular honors for his participation.
Whether by managing incredible feats of longevity, eliminating more opponents than anyone else, or some combination of the two, many Superstars have used the Rumble match to showcase their skills on a big stage, potentially setting themselves up for future success, even if not all of them actually managed to win the Rumble itself. Brief alliances may take place, but in the end, only one Superstar can win, and that leads to some wrestlers going to extreme lengths to make sure that they are the one left standing at the end. The Royal Rumble match is all about individual greatness, as evidenced by its motto of “Every Superstar for themselves”.