 Possibly because the event was not televised and a financial failure (drawing only 1,976), this event is not acknowledged.Beginning with the 1989 event, the Royal Rumble has now become an annual January pay-per-view for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE).The 1989 event also began the tradition of having 30 wrestlers in the titular match (with the exception of the 2011 event, which had 40), while beginning with the 1993 event, the winner traditionally earns a world championship match at WrestleMania (with the exception of the 2016 event, in which the title was the prize as the champion defended the title in the match).