Wrestling MarketWatch: Royal Rumble Revisited

Thirty participants. One ring. One winner. The legendary Royal Rumble. The brainchild of the late, great Pat Patterson is once again upon us. Even in the modern era where a lot of the charm of wrestling is gone, the Rumble still brings excitement and enjoyment to countless fans around the world. Three years ago this month we featured Rumble memorabilia in our recurring MarketWatch feature. In this entry we revisit those same five items. Have the prices soared their way to WrestleMania levels or have they plummeted lower than Brawl For All? It's time to find out. As always, prices are for unsigned examples unless otherwise indicated.

*Kicking it off is the program from the first Royal Rumble presented on pay-per-view in 1989. The first televised Rumble was one year earlier and aired on the USA Network. '89 featured the Rumble match itself, a (not very) Super Posedown between The Ultimate Warrior and Ravishing Rick Rude, a six-man tag, a WWF Women's Championship match, and a "King's Crown" match pitting Heenan Family members Haku and Harley Race against each other. It's a solid show even if the Rumble match itself sort of falls flat at one point. The program recently sold for $40 which is $5 more than in 2018.

*There have been several figures and toys with a Royal Rumble theme. In 2002 Jakks released a series of figures featuring stars and looks from that years event. It was a fun set including Ric Flair and Tazz among others. One of the highlights was referee Earl Hebner. Mattel could take a lesson with more referees in their line. The figures were in bright packaging echoing the colors of the 2002 Rumble. In 2018 the famous referee, with picture of twin brother Dave on the box, sold for $26. Recently the price dropped to $18.

*One of the nicest looking DVD sets that WWE has put out was that of the Royal Rumble. Including the events from 1988 to 2007, the master set was later sold individually in collections of four. With the larger outer box and some collectible extras, the big one is still the one to have. It may require some real estate on your shelf, but you'll be thankful the next time that you suddenly can't stream WWE Network. In 2018 the set was selling for $100. Despite the rise in streaming, the set has appreciated with it recently selling on average of $120.

*The arena-only WWF programs are among the rarest. Several Royal Rumble publications can be included in this group including 1995. The oversized program is bright, bold, and has a Floridian theme just as the event itself did. Even though the Rumble match had a surprise appearance from the legendary Dick Murdoch, it's still one of my least favorites from the first ten years of the Rumble. Either more copies have surfaced or the demand has just simply gone down as selling prices have dropped from $100 to $40.

*A holy grail for many collectors is the Hasbro Royal Rumble Mini Ring. It's been featured here on the blog many times as I've been a proud owner since Christmas 1992. A Royal Rumble ring scaled for the standard Hasbro WWF line would've been a blast, but this is what we received. Including Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Sgt. Slaughter, Big Boss Man, and Jake Roberts, some of the best mini figures were only available here. Thankfully for collectors it does appear often. Just as in 2018 it sells for on average of $350.

It will certainly be a different event this year, but the Rumble MUST go on...I declare!

Wrestling MarketWatch: Royal Rumble

As "WrestleMania season" kicks off and the storylines go into high gear for WWE, so goes the Royal Rumble. Arguably still the most exciting match in the company due its unpredictability, 2018's edition will actually feature two versions of the famous match, one for the men and one for the women. It will be interesting to see if this concept stays as that of the whole match has, or if it is a one-off deal like the 40-man Rumble of a few years ago. In any case, the Rumble is full of history and, as we like to point here on the blog, memorabilia. This MarketWatch entry will display some of those items and their recent auction sale prices. As always, prices are for unsigned items unless noted.

*Although you can dial up any Royal Rumble on the WWE Network, there was a time when visiting events past was not so easy. In 2007 fans were treated to the beautiful Royal Rumble Anthology DVD boxed set. Handsomely packaged, the set featured every Rumble up to that point as well as collectible "film cell" cards and more. The square box full of Rumbles may be outdated, but it still featured many of the best examples of the event. Holding its own, the set recently sold for $100.

*The first Rumble event to hit pay-per-view was in 1989. This star studded Rumble featured Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Ted DiBiase, Demolition, The Twin Towers, Big John Studd, and many more. The event also included a "King's Crown" match pitting Haku against Harley Race, and Judy Martin even challenged Rockin' Robin for the WWF Women's Championship. The show did yield a program which previewed much of the action that evening. The program recently fetched $35.

*Even in a Rumble, some order needs to be kept. Jakks knew this, and thus included Earl Hebner in their WWF Royal Rumble figure line back in 2002. The set still holds value today. Interestingly, Earl's twin brother Dave is shown on the packaging. This figure recently sold for $26.

*The most famous Royal Rumble figures were produced by Hasbro in a much smaller form. Infamously, the Hasbro Royal Rumble ring saw limited distribution in 1992. Because of that, it has long been in demand with collectors. With the rabid interest in Hasbro's WWF product in recent years, the value has only sustained or grown. The ring recently sold for $350.

*Do you remember being bored by the Rumble? Sure there have been some that were not as great as others, but I can't say that I've ever been bored by one. Pamela Anderson can! The buxom '90s star appeared to be bored to tears at ringside throughout the match where the likes of Shawn Michaels, Davey Boy Smith, and even Dick Murdoch did battle. The program from the event has always been scarce, but it recently sold for $100.

It's wild, it's unpredictable, and so are the going prices of its collectibles! The Royal Rumble has it all, which is why it remains a favorite to most any wrestling fan. It's time to Rummmmmmble...

It's Time To RRRRRRRumble!

Ask any longtime WWF/WWE fan what their favorite pay-per-view event of the year is.  Chances are is that it's the Royal Rumble.  Although WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series are still around, all three no longer resemble what they originated as.  WrestleMania and SummerSlam put a higher emphasis on entertainment than actual in-ring action while the Survivor Series usually only has one or two "traditional" elimination tag team matches.  The four or five-man tag matches that do make it to the show usually have little importance as far as storylines or star power.  The Rumble still thrives where the others fall short.

Always said to be the brainchild of Pat Patterson, the Royal Rumble is based upon the huge annual January battle royals held in San Francisco's Cow Palace from the early 1970's to the 1980's.  Stars from around the country would be booked for these battle royals, including the "King of Battle Royal" himself, Andre the Giant.  Patterson himself was a huge star in the territory, so it's no wonder that the Royal Rumble concept is on his long list of concepts and accomplishments in the wrestling world.

With thirty men entering the ring at random intervals and the excitement of "who's behind the curtain?" building with each entry, it's no wonder that the concept has captivated so many fans.  Reports suggest that the idea flopped in the tryout stages on a house show basis.  Once the 1988 Rumble burst upon the USA Network, those opinions quickly changed.

It's a relatively simple concept, which most good ideas in the wrestling world are.  From the most rabid member of the "WWE Universe" to the sometimes cynical and jaded fans of times past (I resemble that remark), the Royal Rumble is the one match that everyone can agree is an hour or so full of fun.  Even more fun can be had by looking at some of the great memorabilia that has come from the event.  Everyone wants to "book" their own Royal Rumble and know just who's entering the fray next.  Over the years several games and toys have enabled us to do just that.

In the past, the Royal Rumble name has been emblazoned on a number of video games, both home console and arcade.  In modern times the match itself has become a stalwart feature on the many video games produced under the WWE banner.  These latter examples have enabled Rumble fun-seekers to produce a more genuine version with as many, or sometimes more, stars as the real events have.  A pinball machine was even produced in the 1990's entitled Royal Rumble and featuring Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, and other stars of the era.

Perhaps no collectible based on the annual event is better remembered than the Hasbro Royal Rumble ring toy.  The toy was the centerpiece of a line of Hasbro mini figures released as a counterpart to their larger regular action figure line.  The figures were solid plastic but could be attached to round top-like pieces.  This enabled the figures to "Rumble" when pounded with plastic plungers situated under the ring.  Due to reasons often speculated but never ultimately confirmed, the ring itself with the six "main eventer" mini figures had a very short shelf-life.  Arriving to stores very early in the 1992 Christmas buying season, the ring came and went leaving the extra figure four packs unsold for years.

Full-sized action figures have felt the Rumble as well.  Mattel has released several Royal Rumble Heritage sets featuring stars in the outfits that they wore at the event.  The second Sheamus figure, released while it was a very hot item, was in one of these series.  It was actually a decade ago when Jakks produced my favorite Rumble figures.  The six figure series was based upon the 2002 Royal Rumble and sold very well at the time.  The best of the set was one of the few figures ever made of Earl Hebner.  A great item to take along for signings at TNA events, the photo on the packaging is actually that of Earl's twin brother Dave, despite the figure being marketed as Earl.

Many of the early Rumble's had programs specific to the event.  These programs, as well as issues of the regular WWF Magazine from the time, often offer an interesting glimpse into what may have been.  Due to publication deadlines and the ever-changing world of professional wrestling, some of these publications list superstars slated to have been in specific Rumble's that never actually showed up in the match.  The most famous example of this is the 1991 Royal Rumble where Andre the Giant, The Honky Tonk Man, and Playboy Buddy Rose were originally booked for the big match.

Perhaps the oddest example of Royal Rumble merchandise is one that most fans have never even seen.  Posted to our Facebook Fanpage last year, the 1990 Royal Rumble hot chocolate packet is indeed strange even for the WWF marketing machine.  Offbeat items were often made to promote the event and distributed to cable companies and other similar establishments.  Seeing as that a 1990 Royal Rumble mug also exists, it's my own theory that since the Rumble is held in the winter, the WWF saw a perfect tie-in.  Have a mug of Rumble cocoa while enjoying the pay-per-view extravaganza.  Thankfully, the original owner of this strange collectible must have not been a hot chocolate fan (like myself), thus it still exists unused some twenty-three years later.

Giants, pinball, mini figures, and hot cocoa.  What's not to like?  The Royal Rumble has brought all of that and more to wrestling fans for a quarter of a century.  Will your favorite win this year?  If your favorite isn't John Cena, I'm thinking you're out of luck.  One never knows, though, it is the Royal Rumble...where it's every man for himself!