WWE.com
The 1989 Royal Rumble was a historic show because it was the first time the Rumble was a pay-per-view show. The previous year’s Rumble was a three hour event on USA Network that was done as a counter to an Nwa PPV on the same night. After the success of that show in 1988, WWE decided to make it an annual PPV event.
With the launch of the Rumble as an annual January PPV event, it meant that WWE would have four standard PPVs every year with the Rumble starting the year off, then WrestleMania in late March or early April, SummerSlam in August and Survivor Series in November. They became known as the “big four” events in the WWE year until King of the Ring started in 1993 and monthly PPVs began in 1995.
The WWE Champion going into the show was Randy Savage, who held the title for nearly ten months at this point.
The 1989 Royal Rumble was a historic show because it was the first time the Rumble was a pay-per-view show. The previous year’s Rumble was a three hour event on USA Network that was done as a counter to an Nwa PPV on the same night. After the success of that show in 1988, WWE decided to make it an annual PPV event.
With the launch of the Rumble as an annual January PPV event, it meant that WWE would have four standard PPVs every year with the Rumble starting the year off, then WrestleMania in late March or early April, SummerSlam in August and Survivor Series in November. They became known as the “big four” events in the WWE year until King of the Ring started in 1993 and monthly PPVs began in 1995.
The WWE Champion going into the show was Randy Savage, who held the title for nearly ten months at this point.
- 1/2/2015
- by John Canton
- Obsessed with Film
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.