The Outbreak Flashback 2-Royal Rumble '88

We come back from the commercials and it is time for the Royal Rumble. There are only 20 participants in this one. The man who drew number 1 is Bret Hart, and number 2 is Tito Santana. They fight back and forth pretty even for the two minutes, with Santana having the slight edge. Number 3 is Butch Reed, though, so he and Hart double team Santana. They are too much for Tito and pound on him. Just as he is about to get an advantage, Jim Neidhart hits the ring and he, Hart, and Reed tripleteam Santana. They are about to eliminate Tito when Jake "The Snake" Roberts hits the ring and makes the save. He throws out Butch Reed, and then takes care of the Hart Foundation until Tito can help him. Tito and Jake control until Neidhart uses a thumb to the eyes. Harley Race is the next man to enter the Rumble. He and Neidhart doubleteam Roberts, almost eliminating him. "Jumping" Jim Brunzell enters next and takes all of the heels down. It is now even (heels to faces), but the faces are in control for the two minutes. Sam Houston hits the ring next and pounds on Neidhart. The Hart Foundation then team up to throw out Tito Santana. The heels have the advantage as "Dangerous" Danny Davis enters the ring. Davis and Houston immediately go at it. Roberts, meanwhile, is battling Race, and the crowd is chanting "DDT!" Race and Hart team up to eliminate Brunzell, but don't succeed. Boris Zhukov is the next rumbler. The heels now have total control for the first minute. Then Race attacks Zhukov. Don Muraco now takes to the ring, with Nikolai Volkov following him. It seems that Volkov has come two minutes early. Brunzell and Roberts throw out Zhukov while Volkov is being held back. He is finally let in after the two minutes are up and goes to work on Sam Houston. Meanwhile, Don Muraco clothelines Harley Race out of the Rumble. Bret Hart almost gets Jake Roberts out, and Volkov is ever so close to getting Brunzell. Race refuses to leave the ringside area, so when the next competitor, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan" comes down the aisle, Race nails him. Jesse says, "What's he (Duggan) gonna do, beat everyone with the 2 x 4?" Duggan then takes care of Race. When Hacksaw enters the ring, he instills some life into the crowd. "Outlaw" Ron Bass, 14th competitor to hit the ring, goes over and clocks Muraco. Volkov, meanwhile, throws Brunzell over his shoulder and to the floor. That prompts the next man, B. Brian Blair, his tag team partner, to fill the void. As he enters, he is doubleteamed by the Hart Foundation. Jake Roberts almost eliminates Danny Davis, but Ron Bass makes the save. Hillbilly Jim is next, and he starts to trade blows with Jim Neidhart, and then throws him over the top and to the floor. Bass throws Blair over the top, but he lands on the apron and rolls back in. Dino Bravo is number 17, but as he enters, Hillbilly Jim attacks. Sam Houston sits on Ron Bass's shoulders, but Ron goes by the ropes and dumps him to the floor, wherer Houston nails his head Hard! The Ultimate Warrior hits the ring as Don Muraco throws out Bret Hart, who had been in it from the start. One Man Gang comes in and starts brawling with Jake Roberts. The Gang isn't just a One Man Gang, he is a one man eliminator, as he throws out Blair, and then Roberts. The Junk Yard Dog is the last man to enter, and he goes right after Dino Bravo. Jim Duggan is able to throw out Nikolai Volkov, and then the One Man Gang throws Hillbilly Jim. After that, "Hacksaw" gets Danny Davis out with the three point stance clothesline. Vince says that they kept him in there to beat on him. The Ultimate Warrior, who probably go the biggest pop of all the competitors, is in for a relatively short time as Dino Bravo and One Mag Gang team up to chuck him over the top rope. Ron Bass is able to toss out The Junk Yard Dog, and then Don Muraco eliminates Bass. Muraco, Duggan, Bravo, and Gang remain. Frenchy Martin gets on the apron, and receives a dropkick from Muraco for it. That prompts Bravo and the Gang to eliminate him. Duggan puts the fists to Bravo and OMG, but they team up and beat on him. As Dino holds Duggan for the Gang, Hacksaw moves, causing the Gang to clothesline Bravo out of the Rumble. Now OMG goes to work on Duggan now, choking him on the ropes. As the Gang goes for a clothesline, Duggan pulls the top rope down and the One Man Gang goes over the top. Hacksaw Jim Duggan is the winner of the first ever Royal Rumble. It's now time for a commercial break.

We come back and Vince and Jesse are talking about what happened between Hogan and Andre, and then show the replay of what Andre did to Hogan. That leads us to an interview with the Hulkster. He looks pumped up, and says sure, Andre was sending a message, but it's just adding fuel to the fire. He tears his shirt off and says that he has been waiting for this rematch as long as Andre has. He also tells Andre that to beat him, he has to beat the Hulkamaniacs, and he can't do that. He is ready to destroy Andre The Giant. Then of course, Hulk Hogan poses.

After more commercials, the show returns for the final match of the day. The Islanders are taking on the Young Stallions in a two out of three falls matchup. The Islanders had been banned from wrestling until The British Bulldog's mascot, Matilda, was found. She was, and so they were allowed to participate in this matchup. The Stallions have the early control. Vince mentions that Bobby Heenan is hiding in Barbados, and says he can stay there. Meanwhile, Jesse mentions that the official weight of the bar that Dino Bravo benchpressed was 712 lbs. Back in the ring, Haku gains conrol for the Islanders, until Paul Roma catches him with a cross bodyblock. He tags out to Jim Powers who works on Haku's arm. Haku is able to tag Tama who regains control for The Islanders. They continue to make quick tags and do a good job of keeping Powers in their corner. Soon Haku and Powers are caught in a double clothesline and it is a race for the tag. Powers make the tag and Roma comes, doing a good number on Tama. Finally, Tama throws Roma toward the ropes, which Haku has pulled down, so Roma flies to the outside and injures his knee. The Islanders take the first fall by countout because Roma's knee is too injured for him to return to the ring. That sends us to some advertisements.

We return and find out that the Young Stallions are in the locker room and hope to return for the next fall. To pass the time, Jesse and Vince hype the Hogan-Andre match some more. Then we go to an interview with Andre The Giant, and Ted DiBiase. Ted says that Andre did more than make a statement. He showed Hogan the future, February 5th to be exact. He also says that we saw the contract signing which signaled the end of Hulkamania. They can defeat the Hulkamaniacs, Ted always gets what he wants, and he wants the belt. Then Ted asks Andre to tell him how he'll do it. The Giant says he's still undefeated. On February 5th he'll make history by destroying Hulkamania. Andre gets really hard to understand at this point, but he basically says that Giantamania will be born, and the world will have a new champion in Ted DiBiase. DiBiase ends the interview by saying,"Can you see the belt Hogan, it's right her in my hands."

The Young Stallions are now headed back to the ring. Roma's knee is all taped up, and on top of that, he has to start the fall. Tama goes right after his leg. Paul is able to make the tag after he put his legs up when Tama attempted a splash. Powers controls Haku, and keeps trying for the quick pins. It's only a matter of times before The Islanders dominate Powers, though. They continue to take him apart, so he tries to tag Paul Roma. Roma wants to tag in too. He finally makes the tag, but a leg sweep takes Roma down. A splash to the knee, a half crab, and a submission by Roma gives The Islanders the second fall and the match.
Vince and Jesse wrap up the show saying the first Royal Rumble was interesting. Jesse can't emphasize enought how much the luck of the draw matters. Vince gives kudos to "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan the winner, and Jesse is still impressed with Bret Hart (who stayed in the longest) and Danny Davis, for how long he stayed in. They then talk about Dino Bravo's unofficial world record. Jesse says that Bravo locked out at 715 lbs., but Vince doesn't agree. McMahon believes that the record will remail unofficial. Then, of course, they talk about the big contract signing again. Jesse says Hogan wouldn't have signed it if he wasn't in front of 20,000 people. They then show Andre throwing the table over one more time, in slow motion, before leaving.

This was an interesting card, and I believe that it showed the REAL way to hype a major matchup. Unlike the Hulk Hogan-Roddy Piper hype, Andre and Andre alone was attacking and beating up Hogan. He didn't have people helping him, so he was very over for a heel. The Hulkamaniacs knew he could kick ass, and that Andre could win, as well as Hogan. I enjoyed this tape, and the women's tag match was very good. The Steamboat-Rude matchup was pretty slow until the end, with a lot of rest holds. I still can't believe that Duggan won the Rumble either. All in all it was very good considering what they wanted to accomplish (hyping Hogan-Andre) and when it happened.
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