[Theo Dious]

Self-explanatory - The Rumble is days away and I intend to review and grade each previous Rumble. Just the match, not the whole card. No I don't expect to be done by Sunday necessarily.

1988
The inaugural Royal Rumble was certainly not the big event it would turn out to be, beginning life as a midcard attraction on a show whose main draw was a contact signing for the Hogan/Andre rematch. The one thing that every Rumble does, and fairly well, is showcase the mid- and lower card wrestlers and this did just that very well. Possibly one of Bret Hart's first chances to shine on his own on a big stage as he entered first and lasted a good long time. Popular names of the day like Jake Roberts, Junkyard Dog, Hillbilly Jim, and an on-the-rise Ultimate Warrior kept the crowd enthused. Classic McMahon/Ventura commentary with Vince at his ham-fisted best and Jessie verbally smacking him around while insisting that he couldn't enter the Rumble because he was wearing his nice clothes. In the end Jim Duggan writes his name firmly in WWE history as the first Rumble winner, ensuring himself some return engagements and eventually having the distinction of competing in Rumbles in 4 different decades. By today's standards, Duggan winning would be akin to R-Truth snagging a victory, but it was a different animal at the time and the creative elimination of the One Man Gang at the end made a good finish.

Match: B
Commentary: B
Winner: C