(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: The 1992 Royal Rumble Match

The 1992 Royal Rumble is often called the best Rumble match ever and in some circles it’s listed as one of the best-ever wrestling matches in general. That’s high praise, especially for one of the most nontraditional and convoluted matches ever conceived. After all, how can a match involving 30 people be anything but an hour-long display of controlled chaos at best or an utter clusterfuck at worst? Read on to find out.

The story

This marked the first time that the Royal Rumble match had any sort of major prize at stake. Prior to this, it had been an exciting and unique take on the traditional battle royal concept and was sold on that premise alone. But events in late 1991 forced WWE to make this match into something far greater.

Two months earlier at Survivor Series 1991, The Undertaker defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WWE Championship, albeit with help from Ric Flair. At one point during the match the referee got distracted which allowed Flair to insert a chair into the ring. Undertaker took advantage and hit a Tombstone Piledriver onto it and then pinned Hogan to win. The referee never noticed any wrongdoing as Flair managed to pull the chair back out before ‘Taker had begun his cover, so for him this was, for all intents and purposes, a clean pin.

Hogan got his rematch six days later on another concept show called This Tuesday in Texas, which was WWE’s attempt at doing PPVs during the week. The concept failed but it did lead to Hogan reclaiming his world title, albeit with lots of shenanigans involving both Flair and then-WWE president Jack Tunney.

As a result of all the chaos involving so many people, Tunney vacated the WWE title and announced that the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble would become the new world champion.

This was the biggest Rumble match to date and it was built around one person: Flair. He joined WWE in 1991 after an awful falling out with WCW management. This was the biggest star outside WWE finally joining the largest wrestling promotion in the world while he was still in peak physical form.

The match

This match took place on January 19, 1992. It was rated ***3/4 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

This is for the vacant WWF/E Championship. Entrant #1 is “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith and #2 is “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase. The bell rings as the two combatants start brawling. DiBiase drops Bulldog with a clothesline and then hits both a vertical suplex and a gutwrench variation. DiBiase hits a few more big moves before tossing Bulldog out but Bulldog lands on the apron and quickly returns. DiBiase thinks he has won when he gets too close to one set of ropes and Bulldog clotheslines him out, eliminating him. Ted DiBiase is eliminated.

#3 is Ric Flair who gets a huge ovation as he walks down like a boss with Mr. Perfect in tow. Flair tries showboating but Bulldog starts throwing him around with power moves. Flair manages to dodge the odd attack here and there but Bulldog gets more hits than misses. Flair begs for mercy but Bulldog dumps him onto the apron as the next entrant arrives.

#4 is Jerry Sags of the Nasty Boys who starts double-teaming Bulldog alongside Flair. This goes on for a while until Bulldog double clotheslines both of them. Sags survives one elimination by landing on the apron but then Bulldog dropkicks him from behind. Jerry Sags is eliminated.

Bulldog powerslams Flair as entrant #5 Haku arrives. Like Sags, Haku aids Flair to weaken Bulldog. Unlike Sags, however, Haku turns on Flair and starts stalking him until Flair bails to ringside under the bottom rope. Haku lands a piledriver on Bulldog and then Flair goes after him with an eye rake. All three men take turns getting shots in until Bulldog manages to dump Haku out. Haku is eliminated.

#6 is Shawn Michaels who goes after Flair with jabs and a back body drop. He lands a superkick on Flair and charges at Bulldog but Bulldog lands an overhead press slam. Bulldog clotheslines Michaels over the top rope but Michaels lands on the apron and hits another superkick. Michaels goes after both guys but then Bulldog kicks him from the top turnbuckle onto the top rope.

Michaels survives getting crotched on the top rope and another elimination attempt by Flair as #7 Tito Santana enters. Santana gets a short moment to shine and almost eliminates Michaels alongside Bulldog until Flair drops him with a back suplex. Flair hits a low blow on Bulldog but it’s not enough to eliminate him.

Santana punches Flair in a corner as #8 The Barbarian enters. Barbarian and Flair work together to eliminate Bulldog but he escapes elimination once again. A bunch of random stuff happens until #9 The Texas Tornado (Kerry Von Erich) enters. Von Erich goes after Flair with punches which lead to a Flair flop.

Lots of punching, slams, and power moves going on as different men stave off elimination as #10 The Repo Man makes his way to the ring sneakily. He goes after Santana and then different combinations of men take turns hitting double-team moves on each other. #11 is Greg “The Hammer” Valentine who goes after Repo Man and then Flair. Flair and Valentine trade chops and other strikes as Shawn Michaels avoids elimination for the umpteenth time thus far.

#12 is Nikolai Volkoff who starts punching the Barbarian as the commentators make a big deal out of Ric Flair and Bulldog lasting so long (maybe for Bulldog who keeps throwing and lifting people but Flair’s not straining himself at all). Suddenly Valentine locks Flair in the Figure-4 leglock as Repo Man eliminates Nikolai Volkoff.

#13 is The Big Bossman who runs wild on everyone as Repo Man eliminates Greg Valentine. Repo Man attacks both Bossman and Michaels and thinks he’s done something when Bossman fires up and throws him out from behind. The Repo Man has been eliminated.

Bulldog goes after Flair once again when suddenly Flair ducks down and lifts Bulldog over the rope. Davey Boy Smith has been eliminated.

Von Erich goes after Flair as well but Flair repeats the same spot and dumps him to ringside. Texas Tornado/Kerry Von Erich has been eliminated.

As all of this was happening Santana and Michaels continue fighting until both of them go over the top rope. Both Shawn Michaels and Tito Santana have been eliminated.

#14 is Hercules (Hernandez) who attacks Flair with a barrage of punches and then goes after Bossman. Flair high-fives Barbarian for some reason and then chops him, which is a big mistake. Barbarian press slams Flair and tries throwing him out when Hercules sneaks up and lifts Barbarian over the top rope. The Barbarian has been eliminated while Flair lands on the apron. Then Bossman clotheslines Hercules, eliminating him from the match.

Flair pokes Bossman’s eye but Bossman fires up and lands a clothesline. Bossman tries another big clothesline but this time Flair ducks down and Bossman’s momentum sends him crashing to the floor. The Big Bossman has been eliminated.

#15 is Roddy Piper and the crowd goes nuts. Piper unleashes on Flair with punches, ignoring his begging. Piper hits a back body drop and a running knee which cause Flair to bail to ringside safely once again, only for Piper to clothesline him. Piper lands corner punches in the ring but Flair counters with a Manhattan drop, only for Piper to poke his eye. Piper follows with an airplane spin followed by a sleeper hold.

This goes on until #16 Jake “The Snake” Roberts enters. At first Roberts lets Piper continue what he’s doing, only to sneak attack at the right moment seconds later. Flair tries allying himself with Roberts only for Roberts to deceive him with a short-range clothesline.

Piper breaks up a DDT on Flair and then a Figure-4 on Roberts, running wild and causing more chaos until #17 “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan comes in, 2×4 in hand. He too runs wild on everyone but especially Flair, before switching to Roberts as Flair hits Piper with a back suplex.

#18 is Irwin R. Schyster who walks down to the ring without any urgency. IRS goes after Flair (make your jokes now people) as Duggan starts manhandling people left and right. Not much happens for the next minute or so aside from both Piper and IRS failing to eliminate Flair.

#19 is “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka who gets a brief shine hitting chops and stomach blows to anyone he can. Roberts gets a near-elimination and then both he and Piper try eliminating Flair but both of them come up short once more.

#20 is The Undertaker who eliminates Jimmy Snuka with a single punch. He chokes the air of Flair’s lungs and then back low blows Duggan who tries to interfere. IRS gets Undertaker to help him attack Duggan for a few seconds, only for ‘Taker to attack IRS seconds later. It takes three men to make the Undertaker more than flinch and then he double-goozles Flair and IRS.

Duggan hits Undertaker with a diving ax handle as #21 “Macho Man” Randy Savage enters and Roberts escapes under the bottom rope. Roberts waits for the ideal moment to attack Macho Man and does, only for Macho Man to reverse his next attack and fire up. Macho Man lands a diving elbow and then hits a running high knee to Roberts’ back, sending him to the floor. Jake “the Snake” Roberts has been eliminated.

Then Macho Man jumps over the top rope and going after Roberts some more. Undertaker, still allies with Roberts, interferes and tries to do more damage to Macho Man in the ring as Piper continues attacking Flair with jabs. The officials rule that Macho Man can continue in the match as Duggan fails to eliminate The Undertaker while Piper puts IRS in a Boston crab.

#22 is The Berzerker who shines for about five seconds before becoming a background character. Flair teases a suplex over the top rope to the outside but Macho Man counters with a suplex back into the ring. Both Piper and Undertaker choke Flair until #23 Virgil runs in. He also gets a short shine until different people take turns beating him up. With eight men in the ring everyone’s paired off either fighting or trying to eliminate someone.

Flair survives elimination at the hands of The Undertaker as #24 Col. Mustafa, better known as The Iron Sheik (RIP) enters and goes after Duggan (again, I’m sure there’s some meaning there). Piper lands corner ten punches on Flair as the Undertaker brushes off one attack from Macho Man after another. #25 is Rick Martel who goes after Flair right away. Both he and IRS try eliminating Flair as Macho Man dumps Mustafa/Sheikie from the match. Col/Mustafa/Iron Sheik has been eliminated.

#26 is Hulk Hogan and the crowd, as expected, goes wild. He runs wild on everyone, knocking heads together wherever he can. Undertaker goes after him for a bit but Hogan hulks up and clotheslines him over the top rope. The Undertaker has been eliminated.

Berzerker charges at Hogan but Hogan ducks, eliminating Berzerker from the match as well.

The camera zooms in on Hogan so we don’t see Duggan eliminate Virgil from the match but he’s gone too.

#27 is Skinner, who starts brawling with Piper as Hogan goes after Flair. Hogan gets Flair over the top rope when IRS interferes, which allows Flair to go after Piper. Flair and Martel fail to eliminate Piper so Flair turns his attention to Hogan, who answers with a clothesline.

#28 is Sgt. Slaughter, who doesn’t enter the ring until after Rick Martel eliminates Skinner. Several near-eliminations occur, including on Flair, Macho Man, and IRS, all while Hogan and Piper fight in the middle of the ring.

#29 is Sid who goes after IRS but doesn’t manage to eliminate him. IRS helps Flair weaken Hogan but then Flair has to deal with Sid.

Finally, #30 is The Warlord, who enters the ring as Flair pulls Hogan under the bottom rope. Hogan reverses a suplex on the ringside mats while Sid reverses a corner whip with so much force it sends Sgt. Slaughter over the top rope. Sgt. Slaughter has been eliminated.

Hogan and Flair return to the ring and Hogan boots Flair as IRS tries eliminating Piper. But Piper lands on the apron and pulls IRS over and down by his tie. Irwin R. Schyster has been eliminated.

Alliances start and finish in the span of seconds as Sid and Hogan eliminate The Warlordand then shift to different people. Hogan lands the corner punches on Flair as Sid eliminates both Rick Martel and Roddy Piper singlehandedly.

Four men left.

Hogan has Flair in one corner and Sid has Macho Man in the opposite one to them. Flair boots Hogan, charges across the ring, and knees Sid in the back. That momentum causes Sid to drop Macho Macho Man, eliminating him from the match.

Three men left.

Hogan and Flair have another heated exchange when Sid surprises everyone by throwing Hulk out. Hulk Hogan has been eliminated.

Two men left: Ric Flair and Sid.

Hogan and Sid argue until Hogan grabs Sid’s arm. This keeps Sid in place long enough for Flair to hoist Sid over the tope rope and dump him out. Ric Flair wins the match from the #3 spot!

Winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble match and NEW WWF/E Champion after 1:00:02 in-ring time: Ric Flair

Post-match, Sid and Hogan get back into the ring once Flair bails and almost get into a fight when officials stop them from doing so. Soon afterwards, Flair cuts his iconic “WITH A TEAR IN MY EYE” promo and you can just feel the elation seeping off of him. He, Bobby Heenan, and Mr. Perfect are all overjoyed over this win.

Review

Re-watching a Royal Rumble match can be hit or miss depending on how much you know going into it. Anyone that goes back in time knows that Flair won this match, what with his famous promo referenced and replayed countless times over the past thirty years. Knowing the result ahead of time, the only thing left to ask is whether the journey to that conclusion was/is exciting. In this case it was, though it wasn’t without its slow and dull moments as well.

The two-minute interval between entrants really brought this match down to a crawl at times, especially with some of the entrants either doing nothing of note or having no chance of winning. Guys like Volkoff, The Warlord, The Barbarian, and a past his prime Col/ Mustafa/Sheik were either nice little surprises or just brought in to fill the numbers. Because of that, the first half of the match was uneventful. It wasn’t until the end that things really started picking up with heavy-hitters like Hogan, Undertaker, Sid, Piper, and Macho Man coming in to possibly sell the idea that Flair might get eliminated.

But try as they might, they couldn’t out-do Flair. He lasted an hour, during which he took one hell of a beating from pretty much everyone who entered the ring. He got thrown around, chopped, slammed, locked in his own Figure-4 finisher, and so much more, only to keep surviving. At times he had to bail to ringside, either to escape a specific wrestler or to dish out more damage. And it’s not like Flair was sleeping or selling exhaustion; he was always doing something during that entire hour, which really sold the sixty-minute-man reputation Flair had. And when he won, everyone went nuts: Flair, the crowd, and especially Bobby Heenan, whose match-long career-best performance peaked at the end. He was on Flair’s side from the start and the way he carried the audience through the match’s slower points highlighted what a proper commentator is supposed to do.

That said, it’s not like Flair won this match decisively, even though he should have. The ending was a bit stupid with Hogan acting as a sore loser for being eliminated fair and square and then shoehorned his way into the final moment and even tried to overshadow Flair’s big moment by having the cameras on him after Flair’s initial moment of happiness ended. But I guess Hogan’s gotta Hogan. That whole interaction between Hogan and Sid could’ve been saved for a different show without overshadowing a monumental happening.

In some ways this was the precursor to the 2018 Royal Rumble when Ronda Rousey overshadowed Asuka winning the first-ever women’s Rumble match: a bigger star overshadowing someone else’s accomplishment in a big Rumble match for…some reason.

Final Rating: ****1/4

While I don’t think this as outstanding as others have noted, I still think this is one of the best Rumble matches ever. There was something for different people to enjoy. There was Flair’s match-long quest to win the title. Even though he was the favorite, he didn’t have a clear-cut path to victory, so when he finally won it came across like an earned moment and not just blatant and predictable wrestling booking. There were also plenty of mini-stories between different wrestlers. Allegiances formed and broke in the span of seconds. Some people, like Jake Roberts and Macho Man threw the rules of the match aside to continue their own feuds. And for those that may not have been watching WWE that much at the time, this match was the perfect introduction to who the wrestlers were and what kind of wackiness the company was showcasing at the time.

Thanks for reading.