A History of The Royal Rumble – By The Numbers
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are just days away from the greatest WWE Pay-Per-View of the Year, as the Royal Rumble is coming up on January 26th. Over the previous weeks, leading to the 27th Annual Royal Rumble, I’ve taken a look at some of the top moments, years, and wrestlers, AND we’ll have a contest for this year’s event (details on that in the coming days). Today, after a couple of us have been creating an extensive Excel file of Royal Rumble stats, I take a look at some of the top statistics of the Royal Rumble match.
Catch Up On the History of the Royal Rumble: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
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Most Rumble Victories
Only four competitors have won more than one Royal Rumble over their careers. Here are the four multi-time winners in Rumble history:
Stone Cold Steve Austin – 3
John Cena – 2
Hulk Hogan – 2
Shawn Michaels – 2
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Most Rumble Appearances
26 wrestlers have appeared in six or more Royal Rumble matches. Here are the wrestlers who have appeared in the most matches over the years:
1. Kane – 16
2. Shawn Michaels – 12
3. The Undertaker – 10
3. Rikishi – 10
5. The Big Show – 9
5. Big Daddy V – 9
7. The Godfather – 8
7. Triple H – 8
7. Goldust – 8
7. Chris Jericho – 8
7. Booker T – 8
7. Shelton Benjamin – 8
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Most Rumble Eliminations (Combined)
With as many wrestlers that have been in eight or more Royal Rumbles, some of them have been able to also succeed in eliminating more wrestlers than anyone else. Here are the wrestlers who have made the most eliminations over the first 26 years:
1. Shawn Michaels – 39
2. Kane – 37 (Holds Record for most elims. in one Rumble – 11)
3. Steve Austin – 36
4. The Undertaker – 35
5. Triple H – 28
6. Hulk Hogan – 27 (10 Eliminations in 1989)
7. Big Show – 25
8. John Cena – 22
9. Randy Orton – 19
10. Edge – 17
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Longest Single Rumble Performance
There is a reason that those wrestlers who enter the Royal Rumble at #1 or #2 average almost 15 minutes more total time in the Rumble match than ANY OTHER entrant number, as they usually get to be the wrestlers who can run the gauntlet. Here are the five longest lasting wrestlers in Royal Rumble history:
1. Rey Mysterio (2006) – 1:02:12 – Entrant #1 – WINNER
2. Chris Benoit (2004) – 1:01:30 – Entrant #1 – WINNER
3. Bob Backlund (1993) – 1:01:10 – Entrant #2 – THIRD PLACE
4. Triple H (2006) – 1:00:09 – Entrant #1 – THIRD PLACE
5. Ric Flair (1992) – 59:36 – Entrant #3 – WINNER
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Shortest Single Rumble Performance
Some wrestlers try really hard to win the Royal Rumble, others, just don’t get that opportunity as they’re eliminated so quickly, they might as well never have entered the match. Here are the wrestlers who were eliminated the fastest in Rumble history: (Also: 30 minute video).
1. Santino Marella (2009) – :01
2. The Warlord (1989) – :02
3. Mo (1995) – :03
4. Owen Hart (1995) – :03
5. Bushwhacker Luke (1991) – :04
6. Jerry Lawler (1997) – :04
7. The Godfather (2013) – :05
8. Gilberg (1999) – :07
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Most Winners By Entry Number
As we found out in last night’s Monday Night Raw, CM Punk will enter this year’s Royal Rumble as the #1 entrant, a spot you would think would be less likely to win the Royal Rumble. However, two wrestlers have won from the #1 spot. Check out the best numbers to enter from and win the Royal Rumble:
#27 – Four (Big John Studd, Yokozuna, Bret Hart, Steve Austin)
#24 – Three (Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock)
#1 – Two (Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit)
#2 – Two (Vince McMahon, Rey Mysterio)
#22 – Two (Triple H, Sheamus)
#29 – Two (Brock Lesnar, Edge)
#30 – Two (Undertaker, John Cena)
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Women in the Royal Rumble
In four different Royal Rumbles, a woman has been an entrant in the field. Chyna was an entrant in 1999 and 2000, eliminating Mark Henry and Chris Jericho. Beth Phoenix entered in 2010, eliminating the Great Khali. In 2012, Kharma made a surprise return to the Rumble, eliminating Hunico. Will we see another in 2014?
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Misc. Facts
– Of the 30 entrance positions in the Royal Rumble, excactly half have never produced a winner: 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 25, 26.
– Tensai (Albert/Prince Albert/A-Train) has appeared in the most Royal Rumbles (6) without ever eliminating anyone.
-Viscera (Mabel, Big Daddy V) holds the record for having to have the most people used to eliminate him with eight in the 2007 Rumble (Edge, Shelton Benjamin, CM Punk, Benoit, RVD, Johnny Nitro, Kevin Thorn, Hardcore Holly).
– Brock Lesnar holds the record for the youngest Royal Rumble winner, picking up the 2003 victory at age 25.
-Booker T is the only wrestler to have the shortest time in a single rumble on two occasions. In 2002, he lasted 33 seconds. In 2006, he was in the ring for just 18 seconds.
– Eight people have eliminated themselves from the Royal Rumble: Andre the Giant, Ahmed Johnson, Farooq, Mil Mascaras, Kane, Mick Foley, MVP, and DREW CAREY!
– Macho Man once forgot the rules in 1992, accidentally eliminating himself, but it was played off like it never happened.
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We are just five days away from away from the Royal Rumble. There have been 20 entrants named to the Rumble so far, with more to be named over the remaining week. Also, there are sure to be some surprise entrants, along with Michael Cole going “Oh My” every time they are introduced. You can head over to YouTube and find most of the full Royal Rumble matches to catch up over there. Again, I’ll let you know about the 2014 Royal Rumble contest over the next couple of days, as details are still being finalized. Join me on Sunday on Twitter @rbramblet to discuss all things Royal Rumble! Here are some more Royal Rumble facts aired on Monday Night Raw last night:
