The Royal Rumble is one of the biggest shows in WWE, but when it started in 1988, it was just a special TV program.

Since the rival NWA was presenting its Bunkhouse Stampede pay-per-view, the WWF (at the time) countered with the first Rumble on the USA Network.

Two months earlier, the WWF had pulled a similar trick by scheduling the first Survivor Series against the NWA’s biggest show of the year, Starrcade 87.

READY TO RUMBLE

Bret Hart and Tito Santana drew the first two numbers in the inaugural 20-man Rumble. Bret lasted all the way until The Ultimate Warrior showed up at No. 18.

Jake “The Snake” Roberts made the first elimination by tossing out Butch Reed.

The final four were Ted DiBiase, Don Muraco, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and One Man Gang. Duggan threw out DiBiase and Gang for the historic victory.

Want to enjoy the first Rumble match? Check it out here on the WWE Vault YouTube channel.

GIANT CONFRONTATION

In addition to the Rumble match, the show featured a contract signing between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. Predictably, Andre dumped the table onto Hogan.

This contract was for their title match on the live Main Event. Andre ended Hulk’s four-year title reign with an evil twin referee before handing over the belt to Ted DiBiase.

OTHER MATCHES

Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat beat “Ravishing” Rick Rude in the opener by disqualification. Rude pulled the referee into the path of a Steamboat dive.

Dino Bravo claimed to break the world bench press record, even though Jesse “The Body” Ventura clearly helped him lift the barbell.

The Jumping Bomb Angels (Noriyo Tateno & Itsuki Yamazaki) won the WWF women’s tag team title from The Glamor Girls (Judy Martin & Leilani Kai).

After the Rumble match, The Islanders (Haku & Tama) beat The Young Stallions (Paul Roma & Jim Powers) in two straight falls.