St. Louis hosts the 1st Royal Rumble

[cawthon777 0]

This issue has been bothering me for a while.

 

A few years ago I was reading a column written by one of the hosts of the LAW. In it, the author made mention of a Royal Rumble taking place prior to 1988 and Hamilton, Ontario.

 

For years, ever since I began collecting results, I had been looking for more info regarding this. I heard stories about JYD winning one in St. Louis and Terry Funk being involved in one in Chicago.

 

I e-mailed Dave Meltzer about it several minutes ago. He confirmed that JYD did win the St. Louis version and didn't indicate that there were any others. Using deductive reasoning, I'm guessing that this card took place at the tail end of 1986 or sometime in 1987 ... my St. Louis info from that time is lacking.

 

So ... I was wondering if anyone out there could help me place a date on this historic event.

 

... It's times like these where I wish I had some Observers from the 80s ...

[Guest Choken One]

im sure they were trial runs for the TV airing.

[Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes]

From what I've read somewhere, they did a trial one in the fall of 86 (not 100% sure), but it just bombed completely, since no one knew what the fuck it was all about.

 

I'm pretty sure I read/heard this from a Pat Patterson interview. There were a few more in 87, but I have no idea about them.

[cawthon777 0]

Someone on the KM message board indicated that an Observer from the time period said this was the first Rumble and, in it, Dave compared the concept to a battle royal / blood-less Wargames.

 

WWF @ St. Louis, MO - October 4, 1987

WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan pinned the One Man Gang

The Junkyard Dog won a Royal Rumble match (the first ever Royal Rumble)

 

No clue of the participants or how many were involved.

[JHawk 0]

You learn something new every day, I guess.

 

At least the St. Louis crowd got something better than Hogan-Gang to make the show worth their money.

[Guest Man Of 1,004 Modes]

Proof Pat Patterson lost his mind...unless that was a different Rumble.

 

<< Still has no clue about how many happend pre-1988.

[cawthon777 0]

I think life on the road makes the years blend together for a lot of the guys so don't hold it against Patterson. I think in most cases, we as fans have a better idea of who they've faced in their career than they do.

[Guest theoldxpac]

I had never heard of this before, so thanks.

[alfdogg 0]

I remember hearing that Bigelow won one of these as well.

[cawthon777 0]

I remember hearing that Bigelow won one of these as well.

Fairly certain there was only one prior to the live telecast in 88. Bigelow won a battle royal on Superstars in the fall of 87, though.

[cawthon777 0]

An update on that night's card, courtesy the Observer Newsletter

 

WWF @ St. Louis, MO – Arena – October 4, 1987

Nikolai Volkoff pinned Hillbilly Jim

Don Muraco pinned Bob Orton Jr.

The One Man Gang pinned the Junkyard Dog

Davey Boy Smith & Billy Jack Haynes defeated Demolition via disqualification

Billy Jack Haynes defeated King Kong Bundy via count-out

Paul Orndorff defeated Rick Rude via count-out

WWF Women's Champion Sensational Sherri pinned Velvet McIntyre

The One Man Gang won a Royal Rumble when both he and the Junkyard Dog went over the top at the same time after 12 minutes; pre-match stipulations stated the winner would earn a world title shot for the next show in St. Louis on 11/7 but OMG's title shot was announced during intermission, angering fans

 

 

The newsletter indicated that JYD won a previous Rumble in 1986 but no specifics were named.

[JHawk 0]

The One Man Gang won a Royal Rumble when both he and the Junkyard Dog went over the top at the same time after 12 minutes; pre-match stipulations stated the winner would earn a world title shot for the next show in St. Louis on 11/7 but OMG's title shot was announced during intermission, angering fans

Nothing like protecting the business, huh?

Edited May 24, 2004 by JHawk

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

A 12 minute Royal Rumble?

[cawthon777 0]

According to the blurb on the match, the 2-minute interval was more like 1 minute. So I'm guessing 10 guys involved? It didn't state for certain.

[landy1987 0]

was the match definitely referred to as a "Royal Rumble"? Because they were still planning on calling the first Royal Rumble event the "Rumble Royal" until mid-January and then changed it with no explanation

[cawthon777 0]

Yep, it was called the Royal Rumble.