With the 2019 Royal Rumble just days away, it makes sense that the Hidden Gems would have a battle royal flavor to them this week. And so, we have 4 matches from 4 promotions and 3 decades. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Starting chronologically, we have a tag team battle royal from the AWA dated 10/21/1984. This lines up perfectly with an event held in St Paul on that date (although there was also an event the night before in Milwaukee with an identical match, right down to the winners). While you’d assume that this was aired at a later date on TV, WWE’s official description makes note of “exclusive” post-match interviews being included and at a runtime of 33:50, it’s unlikely that all of this footage aired in a 1-hour slot. With names like the Hennigs and the Road Warriors involved, the promise of rare interviews may just make it worthwhile in a similar vein to the 1987 “legends battle royal” that was added to the category months ago.

Next, we have a “Bunkhouse Brawl” (according to WWE) match dated 01/01/1987 from the UWF. Trying to pin this one down is a complete mess. Originally, I assumed that the date was referring to a Bunkhouse Stampede match that took place in JCP on that same day. However, none of the participants that WWE lists (including Sting and Ted Dibiase) were involved in the match. To top it all off, there are zero known events for the UWF until 01/09/1987. So, either this is a JCP Bunkhouse Stampede match with a completely wrong participant list or the WWE has managed to unearth something legitimately rare. I’d bet far more on the former but I can’t rule out the latter.

Over to the USWA, as we’re treated to a 12-man “Texas Round-Em-Up”, featuring Jeff Jarrett, Bill Dundee, Tom Prichard and more. Emanating from the legendary Sportatorium, this date also seems to be slightly off, as WWE has this dated 05/12/1991, despite the nearest match for a Dallas event being 05/10/1991. Perhaps the airdate was used. At 12:07, it’s also likely to be joined in progress.

Finally, we come to the most recent of the additions, which highlights the second Grand Royale from WWE’s predecessor to NXT, Florida Championship Wrestling. The Grand Royale is effectively a “reverse battle royal” similar to the ones held in TNA. Thankfully, this one is extremely easy to source, as it aired on FCW TV #120 on 01/16/2011. It’s nice to get an easy one from time to time.

Having done my best to go in-depth on these gems for you guys, I’ll finish up with the official synopses for each:

AWA 10/21/1984 – Over The Top Tag Team Turmoil [Duration: 33:50] Ten top tag teams including The Road Warriors and The Hennig Family compete in a battle royal with exclusive post-match interviews. UWF 01/01/1987 – New Year’s Bunkhouse Brawl [Duration: 11:17] A who’s who of WWE Hall of Famers including Sting, Ted Dibiase, and The Fabulous Freebirds battle it out in a wild Bunkhouse Brawl. USWA 05/12/1991 – Round Em Up [Duration: 12:07] Jeff Jarrett, Superstar Bill Dundee, Dr. Tom Prichard, and more tangle in a 12 Man Texas Roundup match from the legendary Sportatorium. FCW 01/16/2011 – The Grand Royale [Duration: 13:42] Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Xavier Woods, and many more have their sights set on FCW Gold as they compete in the second ever Grand Royale.

As a reminder, these matches will be added to the Hidden Gems category of the Vault section on WWE Network tomorrow between 9 and 10 AM EST.