10 Worst WWE Matches Of The 1980s

8. The Islanders vs. The Young Stallions - Royal Rumble 1988

Along with the first SummerSlam, 1988 was also the year of the first televised Royal Rumble, that year’s version airing as a television special, before it became one of WWE’s most anticipated pay-per-view events. 

Considering the event was named after the experimental battle royal, you might expect it to headline, no?

Well…no. The Rumble was only the semi-main event, with a two-out-of-three falls tag team match between The Islanders and the Young Stallions going on last. 

With all due respect to Haku, Tama, Paul Roma and Jim Powers – and especially Haku - their 15-minute effort was a massive comedown after the first-ever televised Royal Rumble. 

The action was just about acceptable, granted, but the production was all over the place and WWE made the strange decision to have an Andre the Giant promo take place in the middle of it. 

That decision ended up robbing the match of what little heat it had and the building couldn’t clear out quick enough when the Islanders made it two falls to zero.