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WCW returned to the Tokyo Dome for another cross-promotional event. Out of twelve matches, only six were televised, starting with a six-man tag where Jushin Thunder Liger, Masashi Aoyagi and Akira Nogami beat the trio of Hiro Saito, Norio Honaga and the Super Strong Machine. Two more tag matches followed as Horsemen Barry Windham and Arn Anderson beat the team of Michiyoshi Ohara and Shiro Koshinaka while Dusty Rhodes and his son Dustin beat the team of Masa Saito and Kim Duk.

Big Van Vader and El Gigante went to a double disqualification. Lex Luger successfully defended the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Masahiro Chono and in the main event, Sting and the Great Muta teamed up to beat the Steiner Brothers.


The WWF came roaring into 1992 with one of their most ambitious match yet: The Royal Rumble. While battle royals were something of a staple in wrestling, this match was a bit more creative, with its own unique rules. The rules of the match saw two men start the match and every two minutes, a new wrestler would enter. If a wrestler was thrown over the top rope and both feet touched the floor, they were eliminated. The match would go on until all thirty entrants had entered and would end when only one wrestler was left standing.

While it had been tested on house shows since 1988, this was the first televised Royal Rumble in WWF history and was made all the more important by being made for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship. Before that, the audience was treated to four other matches, most of them tag team matches.

To start off the show was the New Foundation, Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart, beating the Orient Express. In the only singles match, Roddy Piper defeated the Mountie to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Following that, the Beverly Brothers defeated the Bushwhackers while the Natural Disasters beat the Legion of Doom for the WWF Tag Team Championship by count-out.

The Royal Rumble Match began with the British Bulldog and Ted DiBiase as the starting entrants. The two would soon be joined by the Nature Boy, Ric Flair, who aided DiBiase in fighting the Bulldog. Jerry Sags would enter next, only to be quickly eliminated by DiBiase. Haku would join in, making the situation for Davey Boy worse as he was attacked three-on-one. Entrant #6 would be Shawn Michaels, having recently broken up with Marty Jannetty, who jumped through the Barber Shop window in an act of cowardice.

Tito Santana would enter at number 7, saving Bulldog from elimination and allow Davey Boy to toss out Haku, making it 2 vs. 3 in the ring. The Barbarian entered next, taking the place of Haku, followed by the Texas Tornado. After eliminating the Barbarian, Davey Boy and Kerry faced off against Flair and DiBiase while Tito took on the Heartbreak Kid. The Repo Man would enter at #10, aiding DiBiase against Bulldog. Greg Valentine entered next, being eliminated by the Texas Tornado while the Bulldog tossed out the Repo Man. Entrant #12 was Nikolai Volkoff, who would become another elimination for the Bulldog. Unfortunately, the Texas Tornado would get caught in a double team by Flair and DiBiase, getting tossed out.

The Big Boss Man entered at number 13, taking his nightstick to the Bulldog. Hercules joined in next, pounding on Davey Boy. Tito would toss out Michaels, only to be sent out by Flair and DiBiase. The new Intercontinental Champion, Roddy Piper, would arrive at the halfway mark of #15, taking on Ric and Ted while Bulldog would toss Hercules out, though Boss Man proved to be a struggle. Jake Roberts would join in the Rumble by attacking Piper. Hacksaw Jim Duggan would soon charge down the ramp, making motions for Flair before fighting DiBiase. Davey Boy would send out the Boss Man, going for Flair while Piper and Roberts continue to trade blows. As DiBiase nears elimination at the hands of Duggan, IRS would rush in to make the save and get eliminated instead.

Jimmy Snuka turned the tide for the faces by entering at #19 and helping Piper deal with Roberts. Meanwhile, after a long run from #1, the British Bulldog gets tossed out the Nature Boy. The final Hart family wrestler, former IC Champion Bret Hart, entered at #20. Hart targeted Flair in response to Davey Boy's elimination. The heels began to reclaim the match as DiBiase sent out Duggan and the Snake tosses out the Phenom, Jimmy Snuka. The Macho Man Randy Savage would enter the ring as the third leg of the Rumble, helping Bret and Piper with their respective fights against Flair and Roberts before taking on DiBiase. The Berserker came in next, getting quickly tossed out by the Macho Man.

Virgil would enter next, running in to help Piper against Roberts, but ending up in the Hot Rod's sleeper. Piper would let go upon realizing his mistake, only for Virgil to be locked into a Million Dollar Dream before being thrown to Roberts for a DDT. Hart and Flair, exchanging submissions with each other, would stop to put Virgil into a Sharpshooter and a Figure Four in an act of one-upmanship while Savage went up to the top and hit the elbow drop onto Virgil before DiBiase tossed his former manservant out. The Iron Sheik would enter at #24, getting sent out by Savage.

Rick Martel would enter at #25, the arrogant upstart going for former champion Savage. In a major surprise, Andre the Giant entered next, having been gone from the WWF for over five years. While clearly immobile from his constant growth, the New York crowd cheered at the sight of the beloved former WWF Champion as he piefaced several of the heels, bowling them over as helped Savage dump out Martel. Savage and Andre then worked together to send out DiBiase while the Roberts tossed out Piper. Skinner quickly entered before being sent out by Savage, followed by the same happening for Sgt. Slaughter when he comes in.

However, Roberts soon came back and began waving Damien in Andre's face, scaring him out of the ring while Flair tossed out Bret. DiBiase, Flair and Savage are currently the only ones left, with only two more entrants to go. Out came Sid Justice, making an impression by destroying Flair and DiBiase, leaving them vulnerable as the final entrant, the Warlord, makes his way in.

Sid makes quick work of the Warlord while Savage tosses out DiBiase. However, Savage then takes Sid out while his back is turned. After a long exchange between Savage and Flair, Sid runs back in and attacks Savage, hitting him with a powerbomb and leaving him to get thrown out by Flair. With that, starting from the #1 spot, Ric Flair won the first ever Royal Rumble and became the new WWF World Heavyweight Championship.