It's Rumble season, you guys!
The Cageside Seats Live Retro Blog returns after a short (long) hiatus with a tradition unlike any other.
No, I'm not talking about the Masters. I'm talking about the Royal Rumble. This month's Retro Live Blogs will focus on the Royal Rumble as we do three Royal Rumbles from years gone by.
But which ones? You will decide. Now, before I give you the choices, there are a few we're not doing because they've already been done (I've even linked them for you for your convenience): 1991 (the one where Hogan won again), 1992 (the one with Ric Flair and a tear in his eye), 1994 (the one where two people won), and 2001 (Austin winning his third Rumble).
With that out of the way, here are your options:
1988. The first Rumble. Only 20 participants, but the show had a pair of two-out-of-three falls matches and the contract signing for Hogan-Andre II.
1990. Hulk Hogan wins the Rumble, but a fleeting confrontation sets up an epic main event for Wrestlemania VI.
1995. Shawn Michaels wins from #1 in the shortest 30-man Rumble ever, but you do get a pretty good Diesel-Bret Hart match for the WWF title.
1996. Shawn goes back-to-back, plus The Undertaker and Bret Hart for the WWF title, and Goldust vs. Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental title.
1997. The roster was so thin in 1997, WWF put in a call to AAA to fill out the field. The one where Austin won, but shouldn't have, the cheaty mccheatcheat. Plus Shawn Michaels challenges Sid for the WWF title in his hometown of San Antonio.
1998. Austin goes back-to-back with a much more legit win. Plus Undertaker burns and Shawn Michaels blows out his back. Plus a Mike Tyson cameo.
1999. Vince McMahon wins from #2, but does almost nothing to win the match. Plus Rock and Mankind go way too hard in an "I Quit" match.
2000. The Rock wins the Rumble (he probably shouldn't have), but you do get Triple H's main-event cementing performance against Cactus Jack in a bloody street fight.
2002. Arguably the greatest Rumble of the 21st century (and definitely the longest), featuring the return of Triple H, a thrilling Jericho-Rock title match, and Vince McMahon and Ric Flair in a street fight.
2003. Brock Lesnar wins the Rumble on his first try, plus one of the best world title matches in WWE history (Angle-Benoit)...and one of the worst (Triple H-Scott Steiner).
This poll will be done over the next three weeks. The high mark of course will be the show that's done on Saturday, but like Major League Baseball, the low marks (two of them) will be banished from the poll and replaced with other shows. The rest can try again next week.
Anyway, poll closes at 9pm ET Friday, with the winner to be announced at 1am ET early Saturday. Oh, and come back here at 8pm ET Saturday night for our Live Retro Blog.