| Royal Rumble | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring various WWF wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | World Wrestling Federation | ||
| Date | January 21, 1990 | ||
| City | Orlando, Florida | ||
| Venue | Orlando Arena | ||
| Attendance | 16,000[1] | ||
| Tagline | Every Man for Himself | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Royal Rumble chronology | |||
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The 1990Royal Rumble was the third annualRoyal Rumbleprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on January 21, 1990, at theOrlando Arena inOrlando, Florida. It centered on theRoyal Rumble match, a modifiedbattle royal in which participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time.
Six matches were contested at the event, including onedark match. Themain event was the 1990 Royal Rumble match, which was won byWWF ChampionHulk Hogan, who last eliminatedMr. Perfect. Theundercard matches sawJim Duggan defeatBig Boss Man by disqualification,Ronnie Garvin defeatGreg "The Hammer" Valentine in asubmission match, andThe Bushwhackers (Bushwhacker Butch andBushwhacker Luke) defeatThe Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau andRaymond Rougeau).
TheRoyal Rumble is an annualgimmickpay-per-view (PPV), produced every January by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) since 1988. It is one of the promotion's original four pay-per-views, along withWrestleMania,SummerSlam, andSurvivor Series, which were dubbed the "Big Four".[2] It is named after theRoyal Rumble match, a modifiedbattle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. Theprevious year's event established the tradition of the match generally featuring 30 wrestlers. The 1990 event was the third event in the Royal Rumble chronology and was scheduled to be held on January 21, 1990, at theOrlando Arena inOrlando, Florida.[3][4]
The Bushwhackers (Bushwhacker Butch andBushwhacker Luke) made theirWWF debut inMadison Square Garden on December 30, 1988, defeatingThe Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff andBoris Zhukov).[5] They got involved in afeud with The Bolsheviks, which was to be settled atWrestleMania V. Bolsheviks missed the event, however, so they were replaced byThe Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau andRaymond Rougeau), whom Bushwhackers beat.[6] Bushwhackers and Rougeaus continued to feud with each other for the rest of the year, culminating in atag team match at Royal Rumble 1990.
Greg Valentine andRonnie Garvin had been feuding since a match on December 30, 1988, inMadison Square Garden (MSG) which Valentine won by grabbing the tights for leverage.[7] On the April 22, 1989 episode ofSuperstars, Garvin defeated Valentine in a match.[8] On the following edition ofSuperstars, they both faced each other in aretirement match where the loser could not wrestle anymore in WWF. Valentine won the match, sending Garvin into retirement.[8] In retirement, Garvin took up other positions in the WWF; first he became areferee[9] but he was suspended after disqualifying Valentine in a match againstJimmy Snuka, and later a ring announcer atSummerSlam 1989, a position he used to berate and belittle his erstwhile rival.[10] Valentine was so irate that he demanded for Garvin to be re-instated as a professional wrestler and his request was accepted.[9] AtSurvivor Series, they both battled in a match on opposing teams.[11]
Other wrestlers in World Wrestling Federation – includingWWF World Heavyweight ChampionHulk Hogan and the other champions – were prepared to participate in the 1990 Royal Rumble match. Manytag team wrestlers, mid-card wrestlers andmain event wrestlers were allotted their entry numbers to participate in this match. Prior to the match, it was mentioned that WWF PresidentJack Tunney had allotted "extra security" to the drawing process.Ted Dibiase, who had cheated to obtain a late number in the previous year's event, eventually revealed toGene Okerlund that he had drawn #1. By contrast,Mr. Perfect revealed that he had obtained the "perfect draw" - #30.
Before the event aired live onpay-per-view (PPV),Paul Roma defeatedThe Brooklyn Brawler in adark match.[12] The first match was atag team match betweenThe Bushwhackers (Bushwhacker Butch andBushwhacker Luke) andThe Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques Rougeau andRaymond Rougeau). Raymond applied asleeper hold on Butch but Butch dropped him in the corner. Raymond tagged Jacques. Butch and Luke bothclotheslined Raymond and went for abattering ram on Jacques but Jacques slipped out. Jacques and Luke tradedpunches with each other until Luke bit him. Jacques ducked a clothesline by Luke and Raymond was instead hit with the move. Jacques began posing until Butch attacked him from behind. The Rougeaus did illegal double-teaming on Luke. Raymond tagged in and got anear-fall on Luke. Luke tried to get a tag but Raymond attacked Butch. The Rougeaus double-teamed Luke again. RaymondIrish whipped Luke into aforearm smash by Jacques to get another near-fall. Jacques tagged in and hit aback elbow on Luke. He hit Luke with twoHotshots. Raymond applied achinlock but Luke bit out. Jacques applied anabdominal stretch on Luke and grabbed the ropes for leverage. Raymond tagged in and applied a chinlock on Luke again. Jacques tagged in and went for adiving splash but Luke hit Jacques with his knees. Butch got tagged in. Rougeaus tried to hit Butch but he sidestepped and they got Irish whipped into each other. The Bushwhackers went for a battering ram on Raymond but the Rougeaus'managerJimmy Hart grabbed Luke's foot. Luke pulled Hart into the ring, causing the distraction. The Rougeaus took advantage and nailed the Bushwhackers withdouble dropkicks. Jacquesrolled up Butch for a near-fall. Raymond slapped theBoston crab on Butch for Jacques to hit aknee drop on Butch. Luke tripped Jacques. Raymond tried to help his brother but the Bushwhackers hit the Rougeaus with the Battering ram and Butch pinned Jacques to win the match.[13][14][15]
The second match was betweenBrutus Beefcake andThe Genius. Genius became serious as the bell rang and he hit Beefcake with aneye rake. Beefcake got up and hit Genius aninverted atomic drop. Genius went down to the floor to recover. As he got back into the ring, he pounded on Beefcake but missed a charge. Beefcake hit Genius anIrish whip. Genius went to the floor but came back into the ring with adropkick for anear-fall. Acrucifix pin on Beefcake got another near-fall for Genius. Beefcake nailed Genius back and applied aBarber's Chair but Genius elbowed out of it. Genius applied a headlock but Beefcake pushed him into the referee. Genius tried to hit an Irish whip on Beefcake but Beefcake reversed it into a Barber's Chair. Genius fell to the mat, but the referee was knocked out, so Beefcake could not be awarded with the win. He got his scissors and tried to cut Genius' hair with it, untilMr. Perfect came out and hit Beefcake with aPerfectplex. Thereferee got up and disqualified both Beefcake and Genius. Perfect brought a chair into the ring and nailed Beefcake in the ribs with it.[13][14][15]
The third match was aSubmission match betweenRonnie Garvin andGreg Valentine. Garvin began hitting Valentine with chops. Valentine hit aheadbuttlow blow on Garvin. They both exchanged blows with each other before Garvin went for apiledriver but Valentinebackdropped out of it. Valentine used aHeart Breaker on Garvin and went for afigure four leglock but Garvin kicked out of it. Garvin did aroll-up but due topinfalls were not counted in this match. Valentine hit anelbow drop on Garvin and applied the figure four leglock. Valentine hit aCanadian backbreaker rack but Garvin didn't submit. Valentine hit another elbow drop and went for the figure four leglock again but Garvin kicked out and chopped him in the corner. Garvin applied theIndian deathlock on Valentine but Valentine caught the ropes. They battled each other on the floor where Garvin went for a piledriver but Valentine backdropped out of it. In the ring, Garvin reversed anIrish whip but missed a charge. Valentine applied Garvin's submission maneuver,Hammer Jammer on Garvin. Valentine pounded in the corner. Garvin fell near Valentine's managerJimmy Hart. Valentine applied the figure four leglock on Garvin. Garvin released the hold but Valentine went for another figure four leglock, but Garvin blocked it with aninside cradle. Garvin slammed Valentine down on the mat. He untied the Heart Breaker but Valentine pulled him outside the ring. Garvin tied Valentine in the ropes and Hart tried to untangle him but got pulled by Garvin. Garvin threatened Hart with the Heart Breaker but instead hit Valentine with it and applied the Hammer Jammer on Valentine, who submitted.[13][14][15]
The fourth match wasJim Duggan vs.Big Boss Man. Boss Man heavily pounded on Duggan in the beginning but Duggan countered with aclothesline to the floor. Boss Man caught Duggan and brought him to the floor. Duggan punched back but was thrown into the ringpost. Boss Man eventually missed a charge and got crashed into the ringpost. Duggan pounded on his hurt shoulder. They both went to the ring where Boss Man reversed anIrish whip by Duggan. Hesplashed Duggan in the corner. Boss Man followed it up with anenzuigiri. He soon began hitting Duggan's head into the turnbuckle but Duggan Irish whipped Boss Man into the corner. Duggan began to take control of the match untilSlick interfered in the match, which gave Boss Man a comeback in the match. Boss Man got a near-fall on Duggan after aknee drop. He locked in abear hug. Duggan tried to escape by hittingheadbutts but Boss Man fell on top of him near the ropes. Boss Man pounded on Duggan in the corner but Duggan clotheslined him. Duggan drove Boss Man into the corner for a ten-count punch but missed a charge in the corner and was clotheslined by Boss Man. Boss Man went for a big splash but Duggan moved out of the way. Slick grabbed Duggan up against the ropes as Boss Man charged Duggan but Duggan moved out of the way and Boss Man accidentally nailed Slick. However, Slick was able to give Boss Man a nightstick. Slick tried to distract the referee, but the referee saw Boss Man hitting Duggan with a nightstick. Referee disqualified Boss Man and Duggan was announced the winner.[13][14][15]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Tony Schiavone |
| Jesse Ventura | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund |
| Sean Mooney | |
| Ring announcer | Howard Finkel |
| Official | Tony Garea |
| Pat Patterson | |
| Referees | Danny Davis |
| Earl Hebner | |
| Joey Marella | |
| Shane Stevens |
Themain event was the 30-manRoyal Rumble match.Ted DiBiase entered at #1 andKoko B. Ware entered at #2. The two began beating each other until DiBiase got the best of Koko by backdropping him over the top rope, leading to Koko's elimination. Next was one half ofThe Rockers,Marty Jannetty but was immediately attacked by DiBiase. Jannetty hit withdropkicks but eventually ran into a boot to the head. DiBiase hit Jannetty with a clothesline. He then climbed the middle rope but was caught by Jannetty. Jannetty tried toroll-up DiBiase but DiBiase held on. Jannetty missed acrossbody on DiBiase, getting eliminated over the top rope.Jake Roberts entered at #4, leading to DiBiase and Roberts hurting each other, due to the hatred with one another."Macho King" Randy Savage drew in #5 and attacked Roberts first. Savage and DiBiase double-teamed Roberts until #6 entrantRoddy Piper came out to help Roberts. Piper and Roberts both began attacking DiBiase and Savage and the two teams saved each other from getting eliminated until one half ofThe Powers of Pain,The Warlord entering at #7 attacked both Piper and Roberts. Warlord beat on Piper for a while until DiBiase and Savage tried to eliminate Roberts. Piper broke free of Warlord and saved Roberts from elimination.
One half ofThe Hart Foundation,Bret Hart entered at #8, attacking Warlord. Piper and Hartdouble clotheslined Warlord while DiBiase and Savage were still trying to eliminate Roberts. Hart began beating Savage and Warlord went to save Savage from Hart. Piper and Roberts double-teamed DiBiase. Warlord tried to eliminate Hart until #9 entrantBad News Brown assaulted Hart. Roberts went for theDDT on DiBiase near the ropes until Savage clotheslined Roberts over the top rope, eliminating him. DiBiase went out for Piper, but Piper got the best of DiBiase, trying to eliminate him until Savage saved DiBiase again.Dusty Rhodes entered at #10 and hit Savage withbionic elbows. Savage tried to charge Rhodes over the top rope but Rhodes countered and eliminated Savage by throwing him over the top rope. A turning point occurred in the match as #11 entrant, one half ofWWF Tag Team ChampionsThe Colossal Connection,André the Giant joined the match. Warlord went after André and was immediately thrown over the top rope, getting eliminated.
Piper and Rhodes fought back on André, while Brown and DiBiase tried to eliminate Hart.Red Rooster entered at #12 and began fighting with Rhodes. Meanwhile, Brown tried to eliminate Piper but was thrown out. This made Brown angry. Although he was eliminated, he came back into the ring and dumped Piper over the top rope. They continued fighting backstage. Dusty Rhodes tried to eliminate Ted DiBiase, butVirgil, Ted DiBiase's manager, pushed him back into the ring.Ax, one half ofDemolition entered at #13 while André eliminated Rooster. Ax pounded on André while Hart and Rhodes double-teamed DiBiase. André was in trouble as he was tied in the ropes by Ax and Rhodes. André's tag team championship partnerHaku entered in #14 and saved André from getting eliminated. Rhodes beat on Haku while entering at #15, Ax's Demolition partner,Smash came out to rescue him. This led to a Demolition and Colossal Connection battle. One half of the Twin Towers,Akeem entered at #16 while Rhodes eliminated Hart. Demolition nailed Haku with adouble shoulder block and did the same to André, eliminating him from the match. They tried to eliminate Haku too, but André punched Ax in the face to stop the elimination and allow Haku to get back into the ring. DiBiase, who had been in the match for 20 minutes, was now going to get eliminated by Demolition but broke free untilJimmy Snuka entered at #17.
Snuka fought with Akeem and eliminated him.Dino Bravo entered at #18. Bravo and Haku attacked Snuka, but Snuka attacked both men in return.The Canadian Earthquake entered at #19, eliminating Rhodes and then Ax. The other half of Hart Foundation,Jim Neidhart entered at #20 and battled with Earthquake, trying to eliminate him. Haku and Smash joined Neidhart to eliminate but was still difficult to eliminate the 400-pounder. DiBiase and Snuka also came out to help. Bravo also joined them. Finally, these six men eliminated Earthquake. Earthquake had a short argument with his tag-team partner Bravo, who was very happy after eliminating him.WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight ChampionThe Ultimate Warrior entered at #21 and the powerhouse began dominating the match. Immediately after entering, Warrior eliminated Bravo and nailed everybody.Rick Martel entered at #22, showing hisnarcissistic attitude. Haku eliminated Smash. Neidhart tried to eliminate Martel, but Martel slid into the ring from under the apron.Tito Santana entered at #23 and immediately nailed Martel. Santana tried to eliminate Martel but Martelraked Santana. Haku was hit with a clothesline by Warrior while DiBiasepiledrivered Snuka.The Honky Tonk Man entered at #24. Martel eliminated Neidhart with some aid by Warrior and DiBiase as well. Warrior reversed anIrish whip by DiBiase and clotheslined him over the top rope. DiBiase brokeMr. Perfect's longevity record of staying in a Royal Rumble match with 44:47.
WWF World Heavyweight ChampionHulk Hogan entered at #25. Immediately after entering, Hogan eliminated Snuka and then Haku. Santana tried to eliminate Martel but Warrior tripped Santana and eliminated him. Honky attacked Hogan but it was for no use as Hogan eliminated Honky. The other half of The Rockers,Shawn Michaels entered at #26. Michaels was immediately eliminated by Warrior, then Warrior threw Martel out. It was now WWF World Heavyweight vs. IC Heavyweight Champion – Hogan vs. Warrior left in the ring. After looking at each other for a little bit, both powerhouses got in each other's faces, then each bounced off the rope and crashed into one another, but nobody moved, then after a criss-cross, Hogan missed a clothesline and they clotheslined each other.The Barbarian entered at #27 and leveled Hogan with abig boot."Ravishing" Rick Rude entered at #28 before the clock went off and went after Warrior. Barbarian and Rude tried to eliminate Hogan, but the Warrior saved Hogan from being eliminated. Then a Hogan clothesline eliminated the Warrior with help from Barbarian and Rude. Warrior then came back into the ring and attacked both Barbarian and Rude before going backstage.Hercules entered at #29 and teamed with Hogan to battle Barbarian and Rude. The last entrant,Mr. Perfect entered and began stomping Hogan.
This made Hogan, Rude, Barbarian, Hercules and Perfect, the final five men. Meanwhile, a miscommunication problem occurred between Barbarian and Rude. Hercules took advantage and eliminated Barbarian. This made it the final four – Hogan, Rude, Hercules and Perfect. Hercules was eliminated by Rude, leading to Hogan, Rude and Perfect as the final three. Rude and Perfect double-teamed Hogan. Perfect held Hogan for a Rude forearm but Hogan ducked and Perfect was sent out to the apron. While on the apron Hogan Irish whipped Rude and as Perfect was pulling himself back up he accidentally pulled the ropes down, letting Rude fly down to the floor. After a short argument between Rude and Perfect, Rude went backstage. This led to the final two – Hogan and Perfect. Hogan grabbed Perfect back in the ring but received a clothesline by Perfect. Perfect hit Hogan with aPerfect-Plex but Hogan"hulked up" and threw Perfect into the ring post. Hogan connected with clotheslines and threw Perfect over the turnbuckle and across the ring post to the floor, to win the 1990 Royal Rumble match.[16][13][14][15]
Several of the Royal Rumble events were used to build interest inWrestleMania VI, the WWF's next big supercard. Gaining the most interest was a confrontation betweenWWF World Heavyweight ChampionHulk Hogan andWWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion theUltimate Warrior; both men agreed each had something to prove following their encounter, and a match was signed for WrestleMania VI, to be held at the Toronto Skydome. Both wrestlers agreed to a title vs. title match, where one wrestler could walk out with both titles. Prior to then, Hogan focused on his feud with Mr. Perfect, while Ultimate Warrior defended his Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship primarily against Dino Bravo, with Hogan frequently appearing in the Ultimate Warrior-Bravo matches to nullify Earthquake's appearances in Bravo's corner.
WWF Tag Team Champions the Colossal Connection (André the Giant andHaku) continued to defend their titles, largely againstDemolition (Ax andSmash), the team they won the belts from; the Hart Foundation and the Rockers were occasional opponents. During this time, Haku was doing most of the wrestling as André's health was declining and he only entered the ring usually only for the finish. A final rematch was scheduled for WrestleMania VI.
Following the confrontation between Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire, and "Macho King" Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri during "The Brother Love Show", an inter-gender match between the two was signed. Prior to that, Savage made one final bid for Hogan's WWF World Heavyweight Championship, facing his sometimes friend and more frequent enemy onThe Main Event, aired in February; with Buster Douglas as the referee, Hogan gained a pinfall victory in their last WWF match against each other, with Hogan gaining a further parting shot when Douglas slugged Savage following a post-match argument.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper andBad News Brown's encounter in the Royal Rumble match led to a one-on-one match between the two atWrestleMania VI, which resulted in a double count-out. The Royal Rumble was the last pay-per-view event where The Big Boss Man competed as a heel; shortly after the Royal Rumble, Bossman refused to assist"Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase in his feud withJake "The Snake" Roberts, fired Slick as his manager and made former rival Hogan his closest ally.
This was the last WWF pay-per-view event commentated byTony Schiavone, as he left the company shortly afterwards. He went on to work forWorld Championship Wrestling, which became WWF's chief rival during the 1990s, until its demise in 2001, and had a short-lived stint withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003 before leaving the sport until 2019, when he became an announcer forAll Elite Wrestling.Gorilla Monsoon would resume the lead announcing duties at the WWF's following pay-per-view, WrestleMania VI.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D | Paul Roma defeatedThe Brooklyn Brawler | Singles match | — | ||
| 2 | The Bushwhackers (Luke andButch) defeatedThe Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques andRaymond) (withJimmy Hart) | Tag team match | 13:35 | ||
| 3 | Brutus Beefcake vs.The Genius ended in adouble disqualification | Singles match | 11:07 | ||
| 4 | Ron Garvin defeatedGreg Valentine (with Jimmy Hart) | Submission match | 16:55 | ||
| 5 | Jim Duggan defeatedBig Boss Man (withSlick) by disqualification | Singles match | 10:22 | ||
| 6 | Hulk Hogan won by last eliminatingMr. Perfect | 30-manRoyal Rumble match | 58:46 | ||
| |||||
A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.
| Draw | Entrant | Order | Eliminated by | Time[17] | Eliminations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ted DiBiase | 18 | The Ultimate Warrior | 44:47 | 4 |
| 2 | Koko B. Ware | 1 | Ted DiBiase | 01:36 | 0 |
| 3 | Marty Jannetty | 2 | Ted DiBiase | 01:35 | 0 |
| 4 | Jake Roberts | 3 | Randy Savage | 10:03 | 0 |
| 5 | Randy Savage | 4 | Dusty Rhodes | 10:10 | 1 |
| 6 | Roddy Piper | 7 | Bad News Brown | 12:20 | 1 |
| 7 | The Warlord | 5 | André the Giant | 08:16 | 0 |
| 8 | Bret Hart | 9 | Dusty Rhodes | 16:16 | 0 |
| 9 | Bad News Brown | 6 | Roddy Piper | 06:04 | 1 |
| 10 | Dusty Rhodes | 12 | The Canadian Earthquake | 18:18 | 2 |
| 11 | André the Giant | 10 | Ax & Smash | 10:16 | 2 |
| 12 | The Red Rooster | 8 | André the Giant | 01:58 | 0 |
| 13 | Ax | 13 | The Canadian Earthquake | 12:50 | 1 |
| 14 | Haku | 20 | Hulk Hogan | 22:31 | 2 |
| 15 | Smash | 16 | Haku | 15:01 | 2 |
| 16 | Akeem | 11 | Jimmy Snuka | 02:31 | 0 |
| 17 | Jimmy Snuka | 19 | Hulk Hogan | 17:03 | 2 |
| 18 | Dino Bravo | 15 | The Ultimate Warrior | 06:13 | 1 |
| 19 | The Canadian Earthquake | 14 | Jim Neidhart, Haku, Smash, Jimmy Snuka, Dino Bravo & Ted DiBiase | 02:31 | 2 |
| 20 | Jim Neidhart | 17 | The Ultimate Warrior, Ted Dibiase, & Rick Martel | 08:42 | 1 |
| 21 | The Ultimate Warrior | 25 | Hulk Hogan, The Barbarian & Rick Rude | 14:29 | 6 |
| 22 | Rick Martel | 24 | The Ultimate Warrior | 08:14 | 2 |
| 23 | Tito Santana | 21 | The Ultimate Warrior & Rick Martel | 05:09 | 0 |
| 24 | The Honky Tonk Man | 22 | Hulk Hogan | 04:01 | 0 |
| 25 | Hulk Hogan | - | Winner | 12:49 | 6 |
| 26 | Shawn Michaels | 23 | The Ultimate Warrior | 00:12 | 0 |
| 27 | The Barbarian | 26 | Hercules | 05:47 | 1 |
| 28 | Rick Rude | 28 | Hulk Hogan & Mr. Perfect | 06:29 | 2 |
| 29 | Hercules | 27 | Rick Rude | 03:02 | 1 |
| 30 | Mr. Perfect | 29 | Hulk Hogan | 03:32 | 1 |