Sam Houston On The Booking Of The 1988 Royal Rumble, His Stiff Elimination, The Event's Significance
Earlier this week former WWE Superstar Sam Houston joined The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling for podcast episode #224. Houston shares with Chad and John Poz his intense journey through many territories in the wrestling industry as well as his greatest ring battles and more importantly personal triumphs. In this excerpt Sam Houston shares his memories of the very first WWE Royal Rumble match in 1988 and the impact the event has now on the company. The full episode is available for download at this link. Please subscribe to Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling on Podomatic, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Spreaker, Player FM, Tune In Radio or by visiting our OFFICIAL web site tmptofwrestling.com
Memories of the first Royal Rumble in 1988 and his stiff elimination by Ron Bass:
When I first got moved to the prison I was telling you about before, that was the year that they iducted Hacksaw Duggan into the Hall of Fame. I had just settled down in my dorm and they were watching Monday Night Raw and I sat down and everybody knew who I was and all of a sudden they played the video of the Royal Rumble while announcing Duggan and I was on TV for about four seconds.
The first couple of seconds I was doing real well but the third second you saw me fly through the air (laughing) and that fourth second when I landed on the concrete and I've got to tell ya'll something that it hurt me then just seeing it as much as it hurt way back when I hit the concrete. I was looking at it and said ohhh that hurt. I remember walking back down the aisle just trying to loosen my back up. Nobody understood just how big the Royal Rumble would get because everybody just used to a battle royal. But over the years it has come off really well and it is one of their major deals.
The Rumble match itself having a stipulation now instead of the original concept:
They've made it now that when you win the Rumble you get the title shot. So they've made it mean something. When you put an importance on the things you want to push just look at the impact of the Royal Rumble. Look at the opportunities that there are out of things through the Royal Rumble. You never have to have anything confusing for the fans. You never have to have anything more than six or eight people in the ring at a time and you can get a whole bunch in there and there is so much that can be done than through just a battle royal. At the CAC (Cauliflower Alley Club) I was in two battle royals and one was like a Royal Rumble type battle royal and the other just a regular type and when you put thirty guys in the ring there is no room to do anything.
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