Hulk Hogan is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers in WWE history.
Winning world championships in WWE, WCW and NJPW, he has a more impressive list of accolades than any other wrestler in history.
However, one of the most impressive accomplishments one achieve in WWE in winning the Royal Rumble match.
The Royal Rumble match is one of the best matches of the year. It sees 30 men (and women) competing in an over-the-top rope Battle Royal, with the winner earning a championship match at WrestleMania.
(However, some Royal Rumble winners win something other than a title match).
But did Hulk Hogan ever win the Royal Rumble match? Keep reading to find out.
Did Hulk Hogan Win The Royal Rumble?
Hulk Hogan won the Royal Rumble twice in the WWE. However, when he won the matches, they did not have the same reward for winning it.
Whilst the prize for winning the Royal Rumble match now gives the winner a championship match at WrestleMania, this was not the case in the 1980s/early 1990s.
In fact, during his first Royal Rumble victory, Hulk Hogan was the WWE Champion. The rumble was simply for bragging rights, and not one of the most prestigious matches in wrestling.
Hulk Hogan won his first Royal Rumble match in 1990. He entered the match 25th, toward the end of the 30-man match.
He put on an incredible performance on his way to victory. Hogan eliminated 6 men in the match, including runner-up Mr Perfect, and his WrestleMania 6 opponent Ultimate Warrior.
The six wrestlers Hulk Hogan eliminated from the 1990 Royal Rumble were:
- Haku
- Jimmy Snuka
- The Ultimate Warrior
- The Honkey Tonk Man
- Rick Rude
- Mr Perfect
After winning the 1990 Royal Rumble, Hulk Hogan would go on to defend his WWE Championship against The Ultimate Warrior at Wrestle VI.
With Warrior’s Intercontinental Championship also on the line, he pinned Hogan after an Ultimate Splash to win his first, and only, World Championship in the WWE.
Hulk Hogan won his second Royal Rumble the year later, becoming the first person to not just win two of the matches, but to win them consecutively.
The year running up to the match, Hulk Hogan had been feuding with the monstrous Earthquake. Hogan beat the giant at every turn, making it a rather one-sided affair.
This feud ended once and for all when Hogan eliminated Earthquake, as well as six other men, to win the 1991 Royal Rumble.
En route to winning the 1991 Royal Rumble match, Hulk Hogan entered at number 24 and eliminated 7 men – one more than the year prior.
He eliminated the following men in the 1991 Royal Rumble match;
- Greg Valentine
- Smash
- Crush
- Earthquake
- Brian Knobbs
- Tugboat
- Earthquake
He would go on to beat Sgt Slaughter at WrestleMania VII to win the WWE Championship, which he lost the WrestleMania prior against Ultimate Warrior.
This match is one of the most controversial in WrestleMania history, given the tense nature of the conflict with Iraq at the time.
Hulk Hogan would leave the WWE in 1993, not winning any other Royal Rumble matches. He is one of the few men to win multiple Royal Rumble matches, and you can read below about the rest of the winners below.