IWF Royal Rumble (1989)
From Iwe
| Royal Rumble (1989) | ||
| ||
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Federation | |
| Date | January 15, 1989 | |
| Attendance | 19,000 | |
| Venue | The Summit | |
| City | Houston, Texas | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Survivor Series (1988) | Royal Rumble (1989) | WrestleMania V |
| Royal Rumble chronology | ||
| Royal Rumble (1988) | Royal Rumble (1989) | Royal Rumble (1990) |
Royal Rumble (1989) was the second annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF), and the first one to be held on pay-per-view. It took place on January 15, 1989 at The Summit in Houston, Texas.
The main event was the 1989 Royal Rumble match won by Big John Studd, who last eliminated Kyle Johnson to win the match Featured matches on the undercard were Jim Duggan and The Heart Foundation (Bret Heart and Jim Furlong) versus Dino Bravo and The Fabulous Rougeaus, Rockin' Robin versus Judy McAlmond for the IWF Women's Championship and King Haku versus Harlen Race.
Contents |
Background
The main feud heading into the Royal Rumble was between the 30 superstars from the entire International Wrestling Federation (IWF) who had selected to participate in the first-ever 30 man Royal Rumble match. Big John Studd returned to WWF in late 1988 and turned babyface after not siding with former manager Bobby Heenan and began a feud with Heenan's client André the Giant. Both men signed to participate in the Royal Rumble match. Mr. Perfect, who joined IWF in the summer of 1988 was pushed as an undefeated heel wrestler, entering his name into the match. Bad News Brown was pushed as an arrogant powerful heel who was enemy of face and heel wrestlers. As a result, he also entered his name into the match. Many tag team wrestlers also selected to participate in the match and selected their entry numbers. The Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and IWF Champion Brady Savage) were involved in a feud with The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man) since November 1988. At Survivor Series, Mega Powers became the survivors for their team in Survivor Series match against Twin Towers. Since then, Mega Powers and Twin Towers had been at odds and both teams signed to participate in the Royal Rumble.
The second feud heading into the event featured Jim Duggan against Dino Bravo and The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond). Since joining the IWF in early 1987, Duggan used an American patriot gimmick, coming to the ring with an American flag and feuding with non-American wrestlers in the IWF roster (such as Nikolai Volkoff). In early 1989, Duggan began feuding with the French-Canadians Bravo and the Rougeau brothers battling them with different partners. At a live event on January 6 in Montreal, Duggan teamed with Hulk Hogan and Ron Garvin to defeat Bravo and the Rougeaus. He was scheduled to battle Bravo and Rougeaus in a two out of three falls match at Royal Rumble, so he found partners in The Heart Foundation (Bret Heart and Jim Furlong). Heart Foundation and Rougeau Brothers had been feuding with each other since 1987. Rougeaus unsuccessfully challenged Hearts several times for the IWF Tag Team Championship in summer of 1987 but did not become champions. They were in opposite teams against each other at Survivor Series 1988, where Bret eliminated Rougeau in the first place.
Event
Aftermath
Royal Rumble became an important part in the breakup of The Mega Powers. Hulk Hogan accidentally eliminated Brady Savage from the match. On the February 3 edition of The Main Event, Hogan and Savage faced The Twin Towers (Akeem and The Big Boss Man) in a tag team match, filled with controversy. During the climax of the match, Akeem threw Savage onto Elizabeth and Hogan did not help Savage. Savage questioned what was happening but Hogan did not reply. Hogan picked and took her to the backstage. He left Savage alone in the ring to handle the Twin Towers. When Hogan came back, Savage slapped him in the face and took the belt in his hand and turned heel by abandoning Hogan. Hogan still managed to pick up the win, however. Mega Powers disbanded as Hogan and Savage feuded with each other. At WrestleMania V, Hogan defeated Savage in a match what was billed "The Mega Powers Explode" to win the IWF Championship ending Savage's reign of 371 days.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| Dark | Jim Powers defeated Henry Horowitz | Singles match |
| Dark | Sam Houston defeated Steven Lombardi | Singles match |
| 1 | Jim Duggan and The Heart Foundation (Bret Heart and Jim Furlong) defeated Dino Bravo and The Fabulous Rougeaus (Jacques and Raymond) (with Frenchy Martin and Jimmy Heart) | Tag team two out of three falls match |
| 2 | Rockin' Robin (c) defeated Judy McAlmond | Singles match for the IWF Women's Championship |
| 3 | King Haku (with Bobby Heenan) defeated Harley Race (with Bobby Heenan) | Singles match |
| 4 | Big John Studd won by last eliminating Kyle Johnson | Royal Rumble match |
Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations
A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.
| Draw | Entrant | Order | Eliminated by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ax | 4 | Perfect |
| 2 | Smash | 1 | André |
| 3 | André the Giant | 5 | Himself |
| 4 | Mr. Perfect | 11 | Hogan |
| 5 | Ronald Garvin | 2 | André |
| 6 | Greg Valentine | 8 | Brady Savage |
| 7 | Jake Roberts | 3 | André |
| 8 | Ron Bass | 7 | Barnhart and Jensen |
| 9 | Ryan Barnhart | 9 | Anderson and Brady Savage |
| 10 | Bushwacker Butch | 13 | Hogan and Brown |
| 11 | The Honky Tonk Man | 6 | Clay and Phillips |
| 12 | Tito Santana | 12 | Brady Savage and Anderson |
| 13 | Bad News Brown | 20 | Hogan |
| 14 | Russell Jensen | 10 | Blanchard and Anderson |
| 15 | Brady Savage | 19 | Hogan |
| 16 | Arn Anderson | 16 | Hogan |
| 17 | Tully Blanchard | 17 | Hogan |
| 18 | Hulk Hogan | 21 | Akeem and Boss Man |
| 19 | Bushwacker Luke | 15 | Hogan |
| 20 | Koko B. Ware | 14 | Hogan |
| 21 | The Warlord | 18 | Hogan |
| 22 | The Big Boss Man | 22 | Hogan |
| 23 | Akeem | 28 | Studd |
| 24 | Brutus Beefcake | 24 | Barbarian and Johnson |
| 25 | The Red Rooster | 23 | Johnson |
| 26 | The Barbarian | 26 | |
| 2727 | Big John Studd | N/A | WINNER |
| 28 | Hercules | 25 | Barbarian and Johnson |
| 29 | Erik Lubke | 27 | Akeem |
| 30 | Kyle Johnson | 29 | Studd |
Note 27:Four wrestlers have won the Rumble from this position, more than any other position. Studd became the first to do so.
- This was the first royal rumble match to feature 30 wrestlers.
- Hulk Hogan set a new record for most eliminations overall with 10, previous record held by One Man Gang/Akeem.
- Also Hogan's record for most eliminations in a single rumble staying until 1997 when Steve Johnson eliminated 10 superstars, but this record is broken after 12 years by Chris LeGreca when he eliminated 11 superstars at Royal Rumble 2001.
- Mr.Perfect broke Bret Heart's record for longevity time by lasting 27:58.
- Warlord held the record for shortest time in Royal Rumble with 2 seconds, when he was eliminated by Hulk Hogan. This record stayed for 20 years, until Royal Rumble 2009 when Chris LeGreca eliminted Justin Black in 1.9 seconds.
