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Royal Rumble match

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Royal Rumble match
WWE Royal Rumble match in 2009
Founded1988
FounderPat Patterson
Vince McMahon
Organising bodyWWE
Competitors30[A]
20 (1988)
40 (2011)
50 (GRR)
Most recent
champion(s)
Cody Rhodes (men's)
Bayley (women's)
(2024)
Most titlesStone Cold Steve Austin (three)
Tournament formatStaggered entry battle royal
Notes
^ A: The Royal Rumble match traditionally features 30 competitors, though some exceptions have been made in select matches.

The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor.[1][2] The match is typically the main event of WWE's January pay-per-view and livestreaming event known as the Royal Rumble. The winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated.[1][3] "Stone Cold" Steve Austin holds the record for most victories at three, achieved in 1997, 1998, and 2001, while Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Batista, Triple H, Randy Orton, Edge, Brock Lesnar, and Cody Rhodes have all won the match twice, with Hogan, Michaels, Austin, and Rhodes the only four to win back-to-back matches.

Concept

[edit]

The Royal Rumble differs from the classical battle royal as the contestants do not enter the ring at the same time, but instead are assigned entry numbers, usually via a lottery, although desirable spots are occasionally assigned by other means, the most common being winning a match.[1] The match begins with the two wrestlers who have drawn entry numbers one and two, with the remaining wrestlers entering the ring at regular timed intervals, either 90 seconds or two minutes (60 seconds for the 1995 event), according to their entry number.[1] This format is credited to Pat Patterson.[4] To date, only six wrestlers who have been one of the starting two entrants have won the Royal Rumble: Shawn Michaels in 1995, Vince McMahon in 1999, Chris Benoit in 2004, Rey Mysterio in 2006, Edge in 2021, and Rhea Ripley in 2023. (Michaels, Benoit, Edge, and Ripley were entrant number 1 while McMahon and Mysterio were number 2), while only five wrestlers who have been the final entrant won the Royal Rumble: The Undertaker in 2007, John Cena in 2008, Triple H in 2016, Brock Lesnar in 2022, and Cody Rhodes in 2023. The most common number to win is 30, and 16 eventual winners entered at number 25 or later.

2010 Royal Rumble match

The Royal Rumble match traditionally involves 30 wrestlers and usually lasts an hour (the 2011 edition had a 40-man field). The Greatest Royal Rumble (the only edition to have a 50-man field)[5] was the longest, lasting one hour and 17 minutes of a five-hour pay-per-view event while the first televised Rumble match in 1988 involved only 20 men[6] and lasted 33 minutes of the two-hour broadcast.[7] The 1998 match nominally had the traditional 30-man field, but only 28 individual wrestlers competed as Mick Foley entered the Royal Rumble match three different times as three different gimmicks—first as Cactus Jack, then Mankind and finally Dude Love.[8] The 2018 Royal Rumble PPV was the first to include a women's Royal Rumble match,[9] contested under the same rules as the men's match, including having 30 participants.[10][11]

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin holds the record for most Royal Rumble match wins with three[7]

According to the rules, participants are eliminated from the match if moved over the top rope and both feet touch the floor. Hence, a wrestler who exits the ring without going over the top rope is not eliminated from the contest. For example, during the 1999 match, both McMahon and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin left the ring only to return later in the match.[12] Furthermore, a wrestler who only touches the floor with one foot is not eliminated from the match, a rule which greatly affected the 1995 match, allowing Michaels to re-enter the ring and win the match. Although he has not won a Royal Rumble match, Kofi Kingston has become synonymous with finding various ways to keep at least one of his feet from touching the floor.[13] In the 1994 match, the last two participants (Bret Hart and Lex Luger) were declared co-winners when officials were unable to determine whose feet touched the floor first.[14] Although this was the intended outcome, a similar situation occurred by a legitimate accident in 2005, when Batista and John Cena eliminated each other and hit the ground at exactly the same time. This time, the match was restarted.[15] Though various referees are charged with observing the match, some eliminations have gone unnoticed to allow the eliminated participants to sneak back into the ring to continue. Austin was able to re-enter the ring in this way and win the 1997 match.[16]

Although eliminations are usually caused by active participants, eliminations caused by other means have been ruled legitimate, including self-eliminations (such as André the Giant after seeing a snake in 1989, Mil Máscaras diving out of the ring from the turnbuckle in 1997, Kane in 1999, and Pat McAfee in 2024, although Randy Savage's jump over the top rope in 1992 was not ruled as self-elimination), elimination by previously eliminated participants (such as The Undertaker eliminating Maven in 2002, Kurt Angle eliminating Michaels in 2005 or Sonya Deville eliminating Naomi in 2022) or non-participants (such as Shane McMahon eliminating Shawn Michaels in 2006 and The Miz eliminating John Cena in 2011). Furthermore, an injured wrestler can return to the ring as long as the match is still ongoing (such as Austin in 1999, Roman Reigns in 2016, and Randy Orton in 2021), but not if the match has already ended (such as Spike Dudley in 2004, Scotty 2 Hotty in 2005, Curtis Axel in 2015, R-Truth in 2019 and Rey Mysterio in 2023) and can also be replaced by another wrestler (such as Mick Foley replacing Test in 2004, Sami Zayn replacing Tye Dillinger in 2018, and Nia Jax replacing R-Truth in 2019).

Prize

[edit]

Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble match is traditionally awarded a title match for WWE's top championship at WrestleMania—WWE currently promotes two main roster brands with a top championship for each and the winner can choose which championship to challenge for, regardless of the brand they belong to. For the men, that is the World Heavyweight Championship on Raw and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (respresenting both the WWE and Universal Championships) on SmackDown.[17] Similarly, the winner of the women's Royal Rumble match (first contested in 2018) is awarded a match at WrestleMania for their choice of one of WWE's top women's championships: Raw's Women's World Championship, or SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship.[9][18] However, it has never been officially confirmed that a man or woman would be barred from challenging a different gender at WrestleMania.

With the first brand extension introduced in mid-2002, the 30 male entrants from 2003 to 2006 consisted of 15 wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands, respectively. At first, the winner of the match received a shot for their brand's top championship, either the original World Heavyweight Championship or the WWE Championship.[19] Starting in 2004, the Royal Rumble winner had the option of challenging for either brand's top championship. For instance, Chris Benoit switched from SmackDown to Raw after winning the 2004 event to challenge for Raw's top championship at the time.[17] From 2007 to 2010, participants from the ECW brand competed along with the Raw and SmackDown brands, with the ECW Championship added as an option, although no winner ever chose it.[20] During ECW's participation, the entries for each brand were not evenly divided.[21] The ECW Championship was deactivated in 2010, leaving the two remaining titles until they were unified in December 2013 as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This singular option lasted until the brand extensions' return in 2016, which introduced the Universal Championship, as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship reverted to being called the WWE Championship. Like the first brand extension, the winner of the 2017 event earned a match for their brand's top championship, the Universal Championship or WWE Championship, but beginning with the 2018 event, the winner has a choice. NXT - WWE's developmental brand - was elevated to main roster status from September 2019 until September 2021, during that time NXT's top championships (the NXT Championship for men and the NXT Women's Championship for women) were also eligible choices. This ended when NXT reverted back to developmental status in September 2021. Since the return of the brand extension, the number of participants from each brand has not been evenly divided, as matches have also featured NXT wrestlers, as well has surprise entrants such as WWE Hall of Famers and/or debuting wrestlers.

WWE's top championship has been booked as on the line during the Royal Rumble match on two occasions. In 1992, the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship was contested in the Royal Rumble match, which was won by Ric Flair,[22] while in 2016, Roman Reigns was scheduled to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship as a participant of that year's Royal Rumble match as entrant number one. This has thus far been the only time that a reigning champion had to defend his title in the match, which was ultimately won by Triple H, who eliminated Reigns before lastly eliminating Dean Ambrose to win; Reigns would earn a rematch against Triple H at WrestleMania 32 and won back the title. In 2008, ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero entered the Royal Rumble match as entrant number 26 before being eliminated by eventual winner John Cena. This was the first time in which a reigning world champion competed in the match in which the winner could challenge them. In 2020, although he did not defend his title in the match, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar entered the Royal Rumble match as entrant number 1, feeling as if no one on any brand deserved to challenge him at either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. Lesnar's participation was used as a way to set up his WrestleMania challenger, which ended up being Drew McIntyre, who eliminated Lesnar, won the Rumble match and then challenged Lesnar for his title at WrestleMania 36. In 2022, although she did not defend her title in the match, SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair entered the Royal Rumble match as entrant number 17, feeling as if no one on any brand deserved to challenge her at either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. This was the first time in which a reigning women's champion competed in the match in which the champion could choose their opponent; Flair's participation was used as a way to set up her WrestleMania challenger, which ended up being Ronda Rousey, who eliminated Flair, won the Rumble match and then challenged Flair for her title at WrestleMania 38.

The Royal Rumble winner may also choose to put his championship opportunity on the line in a match. This was first done in 1996, when Shawn Michaels risked his WrestleMania XII WWF Championship opportunity in a match against Owen Hart at In Your House 6. The second time was in 2002, when Triple H lost his WrestleMania X8 Undisputed WWF Championship opportunity at No Way Out to Kurt Angle, but regained his spot in a rematch against Angle on the following episode of Raw. The third time was in 2006, when Randy Orton defeated Rey Mysterio at No Way Out for Mysterio's WrestleMania 22 World Heavyweight Championship opportunity, though Mysterio was reinserted into the title match, making it a triple threat match. The fourth time was on the February 25, 2013 edition of Raw, where John Cena successfully defended his WrestleMania 29 WWE Championship opportunity in a match against CM Punk. The fifth time was in 2015 at Fastlane, where Reigns defended his WrestleMania 31 WWE World Heavyweight Championship opportunity against Daniel Bryan. In a reverse case in 2008, John Cena decided that instead of waiting until WrestleMania XXIV, he would use his world championship opportunity and challenge WWE Champion Orton at the preceding No Way Out event, though won the match but not the title when Orton intentionally got himself disqualified; however, after Triple H became Orton's WrestleMania opponent, Cena earned another opportunity and was inserted into that championship match, making it a triple threat match. In another case in 2017, Randy Orton relinquished his WrestleMania 33 WWE Championship opportunity after his stablemate Bray Wyatt won the title, but later turned on Wyatt and reverted his decision; he then defeated AJ Styles, who had become the new title challenger, to re-earn his title shot at WrestleMania.

During the 50 men-Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018, the winner Braun Strowman received a trophy and the Greatest Royal Rumble Championship.[23]

Dates, venues, and winners

[edit]
List of Royal Rumble dates, venues, and winners
Event Date City Venue Winner Ref.
Men No. Women No.
1988 January 24, 1988 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Copps Coliseum Jim Duggan 13 [24][25]
1989 January 15, 1989 Houston, Texas The Summit Big John Studd 27 [26][27]
1990 January 21, 1990 Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena Hulk Hogan 25 [28][29]
1991 January 19, 1991 Miami, Florida Miami Arena Hulk Hogan 24 [30][31]
1992 January 19, 1992 Albany, New York Knickerbocker Arena Ric Flair 3 [32][33]
1993 January 24, 1993 Sacramento, California ARCO Arena Yokozuna 27 [34][35]
1994 January 22, 1994 Providence, Rhode Island Providence Civic Center Lex Luger 23 [36][37]
Bret Hart 27
1995 January 22, 1995 Tampa, Florida USF Sun Dome Shawn Michaels 1 [38][39]
1996 January 21, 1996 Fresno, California Selland Arena Shawn Michaels 18 [40][41]
1997 January 19, 1997 San Antonio, Texas Alamodome Stone Cold Steve Austin 5 [42][43]
1998 January 18, 1998 San Jose, California San Jose Arena Stone Cold Steve Austin 24 [44][45][46]
1999 January 24, 1999 Anaheim, California Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim Mr. McMahon 2 [47][48][49]
2000 January 23, 2000 New York City, New York Madison Square Garden The Rock 24 [50][51][52]
2001 January 21, 2001 New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans Arena Stone Cold Steve Austin 27 [53][54][55]
2002 January 20, 2002 Atlanta, Georgia Philips Arena Triple H 22 [56][57][58]
2003 January 19, 2003 Boston, Massachusetts FleetCenter Brock Lesnar 29 [59][60]
2004 January 25, 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wachovia Center Chris Benoit 1 [61][62][63]
2005 January 30, 2005 Fresno, California Save Mart Center Batista 28 [64][65][66]
2006 January 29, 2006 Miami, Florida American Airlines Arena Rey Mysterio 2 [67][68][69]
2007 January 28, 2007 San Antonio, Texas AT&T Center The Undertaker 30 [70][71][72]
2008 January 27, 2008 New York City, New York Madison Square Garden John Cena 30 [73][74][75]
2009 January 25, 2009 Detroit, Michigan Joe Louis Arena Randy Orton 8 [76][77]
2010 January 31, 2010 Atlanta, Georgia Philips Arena Edge 29 [78][79]
2011 January 30, 2011 Boston, Massachusetts TD Garden Alberto Del Rio 38 [80]
2012 January 29, 2012 St. Louis, Missouri Scottrade Center Sheamus 22 [81][82][83]
2013 January 27, 2013 Phoenix, Arizona US Airways Center John Cena 19 [84][85]
2014 January 26, 2014 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Consol Energy Center Batista 28 [86][87]
2015 January 25, 2015 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wells Fargo Center Roman Reigns 19 [88]
2016 January 24, 2016 Orlando, Florida Amway Center Triple H 30 [89][90]
2017 January 29, 2017 San Antonio, Texas Alamodome Randy Orton 23 [91]
2018 January 28, 2018 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wells Fargo Center Shinsuke Nakamura 14 Asuka 25 [92][93][94]
Greatest Royal Rumble April 27, 2018 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah International Stadium Braun Strowman 41 [95][96]
2019 January 27, 2019 Phoenix, Arizona Chase Field Seth Rollins 10 Becky Lynch 28 [97]
2020 January 26, 2020 Houston, Texas Minute Maid Park Drew McIntyre 16 Charlotte Flair 17 [98]
2021 January 31, 2021 St. Petersburg, Florida WWE ThunderDome at Tropicana Field Edge 1 Bianca Belair 3 [99]
2022 January 29, 2022 St. Louis, Missouri The Dome at America's Center Brock Lesnar 30 Ronda Rousey 28 [100]
2023 January 28, 2023 San Antonio, Texas Alamodome Cody Rhodes 30 Rhea Ripley 1 [citation needed]
2024 January 27, 2024 St. Petersburg, Florida Tropicana Field Cody Rhodes 15 Bayley 3 [101]

Men's Royal Rumble winner's championship opportunity

[edit]
Championship Victories Attempts Success rate
WWE Championship[a] 11 20 .550
World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013 version) 5 7 .714
WWE Universal Championship[b] 1 4 .250
World Heavyweight Championship (current version) 0 0 0
Total 17 31 .548
  – WrestleMania victory
  – WrestleMania loss
  – Did not receive title match
Winner Event Year Championship match
1 Yokozuna WrestleMania IX 1993 Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart to win the WWF Championship, but lost it shortly afterwards to Hulk Hogan in a impromptu match.
2 Lex Luger WrestleMania X 1994 Luger lost to WWF Champion Yokozuna by disqualification.
2 Bret Hart WrestleMania X 1994 Hart defeated Yokozuna to win the WWF Championship.
3 Shawn Michaels WrestleMania XI 1995 Michaels lost to WWF Champion Diesel.
4 Shawn Michaels WrestleMania XII 1996 Michaels successfully defended his title shot against Owen Hart at In Your House 6. Michaels went on to defeat Bret Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match to win the WWF Championship.
5 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin WrestleMania 13 1997 Due to Austin re-entering the Rumble match when the referees did not see when he was thrown out of the ring, WWF President Gorilla Monsoon ruled that he would not be receiving his WWF Championship match at WrestleMania 13. A match at February's In Your House event was scheduled to determine who would challenge the champion at WrestleMania, but after Shawn Michaels forfeited the title, plans were changed.

Bret Hart won a repurposed match at In Your House 13 to become the new champion, but lost the title to Sycho Sid on an episode of Raw Is War. The Undertaker then became the number one contender and defeated Sid for the championship at WrestleMania 13.

6 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin WrestleMania XIV 1998 Austin defeated Shawn Michaels to win the WWF Championship.
7 Mr. McMahon WrestleMania XV 1999 The following night on Raw Is War, Mr. McMahon renounced his title opportunity to challenge WWF Champion The Rock at WrestleMania XV. WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels awarded the title opportunity to the runner-up, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who defeated Mr. McMahon in a Steel Cage match to retain his opportunity. Austin went on to defeat The Rock in a No Disqualification match to win the WWF Championship.
8 The Rock WrestleMania 2000 2000 Video footage later showed Rock's feet hit the floor first before runner-up Big Show. After multiple attempts to name a rightful number one contender failed, both The Rock and Big Show were added to the main event along with Mick Foley to make it a fatal four-way match for the WWF Championship. At WrestleMania 2000, Triple H retained the championship.
9 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin WrestleMania X-Seven 2001 Austin defeated The Rock in a No Disqualification match to win the WWF Championship.
10 Triple H WrestleMania X8 2002 Triple H lost his WrestleMania X8 title shot to Kurt Angle at No Way Out. The following night on Raw, Triple H was given a rematch by WWF co-owner Ric Flair and defeated Angle to win his title shot back. Triple H went on to defeat Chris Jericho to win the Undisputed WWF Championship at WrestleMania X8.
11 Brock Lesnar WrestleMania XIX 2003 As a member of the SmackDown! brand, Lesnar earned a match for his own brand's WWE Championship and defeated Kurt Angle to win the title; had Angle gotten counted out or disqualified, he would have lost the title per the stipulation.
12 Chris Benoit WrestleMania XX 2004 Benoit won the Rumble as a SmackDown! wrestler, but switched to the Raw brand to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Shawn Michaels, who was feuding with Triple H, later added himself to the match to make it a triple threat match. At WrestleMania XX, Benoit defeated Triple H and Michaels to win the title.
13 Batista WrestleMania 21 2005 Batista from Raw chose to challenge for his own brand's World Heavyweight Championship and defeated Triple H to win the title.
14 Rey Mysterio WrestleMania 22 2006 Mysterio from SmackDown! chose to challenge for his own brand's World Heavyweight Championship, but lost his title shot to Randy Orton at No Way Out. On the following episode of SmackDown!, General Manager Theodore Long re-added Mysterio to the World Heavyweight Championship match, making it a triple threat match. At WrestleMania 22, Mysterio defeated champion Kurt Angle and Orton to win the title.
15 The Undertaker WrestleMania 23 2007 The Undertaker from SmackDown! chose to challenge for his own brand's World Heavyweight Championship and defeated Batista to win the title.
16 John Cena No Way Out 2008 Instead of waiting until WrestleMania XXIV, Cena from Raw used his championship shot at No Way Out to challenge for his own brand's WWE Championship. Cena defeated champion Randy Orton by disqualification, thus Orton retained as titles do not change hands by disqualification unless stipulated. Cena would nevertheless challenge for the title at WrestleMania XXIV in a triple threat match also featuring Triple H, with Orton again retaining.
17 Randy Orton WrestleMania 25 2009 Orton won the Rumble as a Raw wrestler, but chose to challenge for SmackDown's WWE Championship, but lost to Triple H; had Triple H gotten counted out or disqualified, he would have lost the title per the stipulation.
18 Edge WrestleMania XXVI 2010 Edge from SmackDown chose to challenge for his own brand's World Heavyweight Championship, but lost to Chris Jericho.
19 Alberto Del Rio WrestleMania XXVII 2011 Del Rio from SmackDown chose to challenge for his own brand's World Heavyweight Championship, but lost to Edge.
20 Sheamus WrestleMania XXVIII 2012 Sheamus chose to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship and defeated Daniel Bryan to win the title.
21 John Cena WrestleMania 29 2013 Cena chose to challenge for the WWE Championship and successfully defended his title shot against CM Punk on the February 25 episode of Raw. At WrestleMania 29, Cena defeated The Rock to win the title.
22 Batista WrestleMania XXX 2014 After months of feuding, Triple H agreed to face Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX, with the stipulation that whoever won would be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between champion Randy Orton and Rumble winner Batista to make it a triple threat match. Bryan defeated Triple H in the opening match and went on to defeat Orton and Batista to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
23 Roman Reigns WrestleMania 31 2015 Reigns successfully defended his title shot against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane. At WrestleMania 31 during Reigns' match against champion Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, converting the singles match between Reigns and Lesnar into a triple threat match. Rollins then defeated Lesnar and Reigns in the impromptu triple threat match by pinning Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
24 Randy Orton WrestleMania 33 2017 As a member of the SmackDown brand, Orton earned a match for his own brand's WWE Championship. After his fellow Wyatt Family member Bray Wyatt won the championship at Elimination Chamber and retained it on the following SmackDown, Orton relinquished his championship opportunity. On the next episode of SmackDown, however, Orton reverted his decision and turned on Wyatt. The following week, Orton defeated AJ Styles, who had become the new number one contender for the title, to re-earn his title shot. At WrestleMania 33, Orton defeated Wyatt to win the title.
25 Shinsuke Nakamura WrestleMania 34 2018 Nakamura from SmackDown chose to challenge for his own brand's WWE Championship, but lost to AJ Styles.
26 Seth Rollins WrestleMania 35 2019 Rollins from Raw chose to challenge for his own brand's WWE Universal Championship and defeated Brock Lesnar to win the title.
27 Drew McIntyre WrestleMania 36 2020 McIntyre from Raw chose to challenge for his own brand's WWE Championship and defeated Brock Lesnar to win the title.
28 Edge WrestleMania 37 2021 Edge won as a free agent and chose to challenge for SmackDown's WWE Universal Championship. After a controversial finish in the main event of Fastlane, which saw champion Roman Reigns retain the title against Daniel Bryan in a match where Edge served as the special guest enforcer, a decision was made to add Bryan to the match at WrestleMania, making it a triple threat match. At WrestleMania 37, Reigns defeated Edge and Bryan to retain the Universal Championship.
29 Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 38 2022 Lesnar, who came into the Royal Rumble event as Raw's WWE Champion and lost the title to Bobby Lashley in the opening match, came back in the main event as the surprise #30 entrant in the Rumble match, won the Rumble, and chose to challenge for SmackDown's WWE Universal Championship. Lesnar would go on to win back the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber in an Elimination Chamber match. It was then announced that the match between Lesnar and Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38 would be a Winner Takes All match for both the WWE and Universal Championships. At WrestleMania 38, Reigns defeated Lesnar to retain his Universal Championship and win Lesnar's WWE Championship, subsequently becoming recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
30 Cody Rhodes WrestleMania 39 2023 Rhodes won the Rumble as a Raw wrestler, but due to Roman Reigns simultaneously holding Raw's WWE Championship and SmackDown's WWE Universal Championship as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, Rhodes earned a match against Reigns for the Undisputed title. At WrestleMania 39, Reigns defeated Rhodes to retain.
31 Cody Rhodes WrestleMania XL 2024 Rhodes won the Rumble as a Raw wrestler, but chose to challenge for SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and defeated Roman Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match to win the title.
  1. ^ The WWE Championship has had various names due to company name changes and title unifications. Since the 1993 Royal Rumble, these include the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, the WWF Championship, the Undisputed WWF Championship, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (in tandem with the WWE Universal Championship).
  2. ^ Since April 2022, the WWE Championship and Universal Championship have been held and defended together as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, thus both titles together have since been a singular choice as the Undisputed title.

Women's Royal Rumble winner's championship opportunity

[edit]
Championship Victories Attempts Success rate
SmackDown/Women's World Championship 2 4 .500
WWE (Raw) Women's Championship 2 2 1.000
NXT Women's Championship 1 1 1.000
Total 5 7 .714
  – WrestleMania victory
  – WrestleMania loss
Winner Event Year Championship match
1 Asuka WrestleMania 34 2018 Asuka won the Rumble as a Raw wrestler, but chose to challenge for the SmackDown Women's Championship, but lost to Charlotte Flair.
2 Becky Lynch WrestleMania 35 2019 Lynch won the Rumble as a SmackDown wrestler, but chose to challenge for the Raw Women's Championship. Lynch was removed from the match and suspended after continuously attacking the McMahon family and was replaced by Rumble runner-up, Charlotte Flair. At Fastlane, Lynch defeated Flair thanks to interference from champion Ronda Rousey, and as per the stipulation of that match, she was reinserted into the match at WrestleMania, making it a triple threat match. Flair then won the SmackDown Women's Championship on the March 26 episode of SmackDown, leading Stephanie McMahon to announce that both titles would be on the line in a Winner Takes All match. At WrestleMania 35, Lynch defeated Rousey and Flair to win both titles.
3 Charlotte Flair WrestleMania 36 2020 Flair won the Rumble as a Raw wrestler, but chose to challenge for the NXT Women's Championship, and defeated Rhea Ripley to win the title.
4 Bianca Belair WrestleMania 37 2021 Belair from SmackDown chose to challenge for her own brand's SmackDown Women's Championship, and defeated Sasha Banks to win the title.
5 Ronda Rousey WrestleMania 38 2022 Rousey won as a free agent and chose to challenge for the SmackDown Women's Championship, but lost to Charlotte Flair.
6 Rhea Ripley WrestleMania 39 2023 Ripley won the Rumble as a Raw wrestler, but chose to challenge for the SmackDown Women's Championship, and defeated Charlotte Flair to win the title.
7 Bayley WrestleMania XL 2024 Bayley from SmackDown chose to challenge for her own brand's WWE Women's Championship, and defeated Iyo Sky to win the title.

Royal Rumble records

[edit]

Men's Royal Rumble

[edit]

Most victories

[edit]
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin holds the record for having the most Rumble victories at 3.
Wrestler Royal Rumble wins Year
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin 3 1997, 1998, 2001
Hulk Hogan 2 1990, 1991
Shawn Michaels 1995, 1996
Triple H 2002, 2016
Brock Lesnar 2003, 2022
Batista 2005, 2014
John Cena 2008, 2013
Randy Orton 2009, 2017
Edge 2010, 2021
Cody Rhodes 2023, 2024

Winners by entry number

[edit]
No Year
30 2007, 2008, 2016, 2022, 2023
27 1989, 1993, 1994, 2001
1 1995, 2004, 2021
24 1991, 1998, 2000
23 1994, 2017
19 2013, 2015
28 2005, 2014
22 2002, 2012
29 2003, 2010
2 1999, 2006
15 2024
16 2020
10 2019
14 2018
38 2011
8 2009
5 1997
18 1996
3 1992
25 1990
13 1988
41 GRR

Runners Up

[edit]
Wrestler Times Year
Roman Reigns 4 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020
Big Show 2 2000, 2004
Shawn Michaels 1994, 2007
Triple H 2008, 2009
John Cena 2005, 2010
Randy Orton 2006, 2021

Longest time spent in a single Royal Rumble

[edit]
Gunther holds the record for the longest time spent in a traditional 30-man Royal Rumble match at 1:11:40.
No. Wrestler Time Year
1 Daniel Bryan 1:16:05 GRR
2 Gunther 1:11:40 2023
3 Rey Mysterio 1:02:12 2006[102]
4 Chris Benoit 1:01:35 2004[102]
5 Bob Backlund 1:01:10 1993[102]
6 Triple H 1:00:16 2006
7 Chris Jericho 1:00:13 2017
8 Ric Flair 1:00:02 1992[102]
9 Roman Reigns 59:48 2016
10 Edge 58:30 2021
Randy Orton 58:30 2021

Bold indicates the winner of that year's match.

Longest cumulative time

[edit]
Chris Jericho holds the record for the longest cumulative time spent in all Rumble appearances at 4:59:33.
No. Wrestler Time[103]
1 Chris Jericho 4:59:33
2 Randy Orton 4:34:08
3 Rey Mysterio 4:14:45
4 Cody Rhodes 4:05:14
5 Triple H 4:00:50
6 Shawn Michaels 3:47:32
7 Edge 3:32:55
8 Sheamus/King Sheamus 3:26:21
9 Kane/Diesel/Isaac Yankem, DDS 3:19:40
10 CM Punk 3:09:56

Shortest time spent in a single Royal Rumble

[edit]
Santino Marella was the quickest to be eliminated from a single Royal Rumble match by Kane at 1.9 seconds in 2009.
Wrestler Time Year
Santino Marella 0:00:01.9 2009[102]
The Warlord 0:00:02 1989[102]
Sheamus 2018[102]
No Way Jose 2019
Mo 0:00:03 1995
Owen Hart
Mike Kanellis GRR
JD McDonagh 2024
Bushwhacker Luke 0:00:04 1991
Jerry Lawler 1997
Titus O'Neil 2015

Shortest time spent in a single Royal Rumble each year

[edit]
Wrestler Time Year
Junkyard Dog 02:30 1988
The Warlord 00:02 1989
Shawn Michaels 00:12 1990
Bushwhacker Luke 00:04 1991
Hercules 00:56 1992
Terry Taylor 00:24 1993
Billy Gunn 00:14 1994
Mo 00:03 1995
Owen Hart
Squat Teamer #2 00:24 1996
Jerry Lawler 00:04 1997
Tom Brandi 00:12 1998
Gillberg 00:06 1999
Faarooq 00:18 2000
Tazz 00:10 2001
Booker T 00:33 2002
B-2 00:24 2003
The Hurricane 00:19 2004
Simon Dean 00:20 2005
Booker T 00:18 2006
Sylvan
The Miz 00:07 2007
Shelton Benjamin 00:18 2008
Santino Marella 00:01 2009
Montel Vontavious Porter 00:07 2010
Tyler Reks 00:34 2011
Epico 00:12 2012
The Godfather 00:05 2013
The Great Khali 00:24 2014
Titus O'Neil 00:04 2015
Jack Swagger 00:29 2016
James Ellsworth 00:15 2017
Sheamus 00:02 2018
Mike Kanellis 00:03 GRR
No Way Jose 00:02 2019
Erick Rowan 00:08 2020
Hurricane Helms 00:30 2021
Kofi Kingston 00:21 2022
Baron Corbin 00:07 2023
JD McDonagh 00:03 2024

Most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble

[edit]
Braun Strowman (left) is tied with Brock Lesnar (right) for the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match at 13.
Wrestler No. of eliminations Year
Braun Strowman 13 GRR
Brock Lesnar 2020
Roman Reigns 12 2014
Kane 11 2001[102][104]
Hulk Hogan 10 1989[102][105]
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin 1997[102][106]
Shawn Michaels 8 1995, 1996
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin 1999

Bold indicates the winner of that year's match.

Most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble per year

[edit]
Wrestler(s) Eliminations Year
One Man Gang 6 1988
Hulk Hogan 10 1989
Hulk Hogan 6 1990
The Ultimate Warrior
Hulk Hogan 7 1991
Sid Justice 6 1992
Yokozuna 7 1993
Diesel 1994
Lex Luger
Shawn Michaels 8 1995
1996
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin 10 1997
7 1998
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin 8 1999
Rikishi 7 2000
Kane 11 2001
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin 7 2002
The Undertaker
Chris Jericho 6 2003
Chris Benoit 2004
Batista 2005
Rey Mysterio 2006
Triple H
The Great Khali 7 2007
Triple H 6 2008
The Big Show 2009
Triple H
Shawn Michaels 2010
CM Punk 7 2011
John Cena
Cody Rhodes 6 2012
Ryback 5 2013
Sheamus
Roman Reigns 12 2014
Bray Wyatt 7 2015
Braun Strowman 5 2016
Roman Reigns
Braun Strowman 7 2017
Finn Bálor 4 2018
Roman Reigns
Braun Strowman 13 GRR
Braun Strowman 6 2019
Brock Lesnar 13 2020
Big E 4 2021
Damian Priest
Seth Rollins
AJ Styles 6 2022
Cody Rhodes 5 2023
Gunther
Bron Breakker 4 2024
Cody Rhodes

Bold indicates the winner of that year's match.

Most consecutive eliminations

[edit]
Kane holds the record for the most Royal Rumble match eliminations at 46
Wrestler No. of eliminations in a row Year
Brock Lesnar 13 2020
Hulk Hogan 8 1989
Diesel 7 1994
Rikishi 2000
The Great Khali 2007
CM Punk 2011
Braun Strowman 2017
Kane 6 2001
The Undertaker 2002
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Shawn Michaels 2010
John Cena 2011
Bray Wyatt 2015
Braun Strowman GRR

Bold indicates the winner of that year's match.

Total eliminations

[edit]
Wrestler No. of eliminations Royal Rumbles entered Average
Kane/Isaac Yankem, DDS 46 20[102][107][108] 2.3
The Undertaker 40 11 3.64
Shawn Michaels 39 12 [109] 3.41
The Ringmaster/"Stone Cold" Steve Austin 36 6[102] 6
Braun Strowman 34 7 4.86
Triple H 32 9 3.66
Big Show 32 12 2.67
Roman Reigns 32 6 5.33
Brock Lesnar 32 6 5.33

Highest number of wrestlers in a single elimination

[edit]
Wrestler No. of wrestlers involved in elimination Year
Mabel/Viscera 9 2007
7 1994
Rikishi 6 2000
Muhammad Hassan 2005
Omos 2022
The Canadian Earthquake 5 1990
Diesel 1994
Kurrgan 1998
Brodus Clay 2013
Crush 4 1994
John Morrison 2011
Mark Henry
Alexander Rusev 2014
Bobby Lashley 2021

Wrestlers who eliminated themselves

[edit]
Wrestler Year
André The Giant 1989
Ahmed Johnson 1997
Mil Máscaras
Kane 1999
Drew Carey 2001
Mick Foley 2004
Montel Vontavious Porter 2010
Matt Hardy 2018
Pat McAfee 2024

Most Rumble appearances

[edit]
Wrestler Royal Rumbles entered First Last
Kane/Diesel/Isaac Yankem, DDS 20 1996 2021
Kofi Kingston 16 2009 2024
Dolph Ziggler 15 2022
The Miz 2007 2024
Randy Orton 2004 2022
Rey Mysterio 2003 2023
Goldust 13 1997 GRR
Shawn Michaels 12 1989 2010
Big Show 2000 2017
The Undertaker 11 1991
Chris Jericho 2000 GRR
Shelton Benjamin 2003 2020

Wrestlers who have competed multiple times in the same night

[edit]

These wrestlers have competed more than once in either the same Rumble match..

Wrestler Times entered Year
Mick Foley 3 1998

Female entrants in Men's Royal Rumble matches

[edit]
Wrestler Royal Rumbles entered
Chyna 2 (1999, 2000)[48][51]
Beth Phoenix 1 (2010)[79]
Kharma 1 (2012)
Nia Jax[a] 1 (2019)
  1. ^ Since the inception of the Women's Royal Rumble in 2018, Jax is the only wrestler to ever take part in both the men's and women's Royal Rumble matches on the same card, and one of two, along with Beth Phoenix, to score eliminations in both.

Women's Royal Rumble

[edit]

Most victories

[edit]
Wrestler Times Year
Bayley 1 2024
Rhea Ripley 2023
Ronda Rousey 2022
Bianca Belair 2021
Charlotte Flair 2020
Becky Lynch 2019
Asuka 2018

Winners by entry number

[edit]
No Year
3 2021, 2024
28 2019, 2022
1 2023
17 2020
25 2018

Runners Up

[edit]
Wrestler Times Year
Charlotte Flair 2 2019, 2022
Liv Morgan 2 2023, 2024
Rhea Ripley 1 2021
Shayna Baszler 1 2020
Nikki Bella 1 2018
Bayley holds the record for the longest time spent in a women's Royal Rumble match at 1:03:03

Longest time spent in a single Royal Rumble

[edit]
No Wrestler Time Year
1 Bayley 1:03:03 2024
2 Naomi 1:02:10
3 Rhea Ripley 1:01:08[110] 2023
3 Liv Morgan 1:01:08
5 Bianca Belair 56:52 2021
6 Natalya 56:01 2019
7 Sasha Banks 54:46 2018
8 Ember Moon 52:23 2019
9 Charlotte Flair 50:01
10 Bianca Belair 47:46 2024

Bold indicates the winner of that year's match.

Longest cumulative time

[edit]
No. Wrestler Time
1 Bianca Belair 3:05:28
2 Natalya 2:38:39
3 Naomi 2:27:34
4 Charlotte Flair 2:21:30
5 Rhea Ripley 2:19:08
6 Bayley 2:18:51
7 Liv Morgan 1:57:28
8 Becky Lynch 1:17:28
9 Shayna Baszler 1:13:39
10 Zelina Vega 1:10:08

Shortest time spent in a single Royal Rumble

[edit]
Chelsea Green (left) and Sarah Logan (Valhalla) (right) hold the record for the shortest time spent in a single women's Royal Rumble match at 5 seconds.
No Wrestler Time Year
1 Chelsea Green 00:05 2023
Sarah Logan/Valhalla 2024
3 Liv Morgan 00:08 2019
4 Chelsea Green 00:12 2020
5 Molly Holly 00:20 2022
6 Ivory 00:25
7 Sarah Logan 00:28 2020
8 B-Fab 00:36 2023
9 Tamina 00:39 2020
10 Sarah Logan 00:43 2022

Shortest time spent in a single Royal Rumble per year

[edit]
Wrestler Time Year
Vickie Guerrero 00:57 2018
Liv Morgan 00:08 2019
Chelsea Green 00:12 2020
Carmella 00:47 2021
Molly Holly 00:20 2022
Chelsea Green 00:05 2023
Valhalla 00:05 2024

Most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble

[edit]
Wrestler No. of eliminations Year
Shayna Baszler 8 2020
Bianca Belair
Nia Jax 2024
Rhea Ripley 7 2021, 2023
Bayley 2024
Shayna Baszler 6 2021
Michelle McCool 5 2018
Charlotte Flair 2019, 2022
Bayley 2023
Iyo Sky
Dakota Kai

Bold indicates the winner of that year's match.

Most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble per year

[edit]
Wrestler(s) Eliminations Year
Michelle McCool 5 2018
Charlotte Flair 5 2019
Bianca Belair 8 2020
Shayna Baszler
Rhea Ripley 7 2021
Charlotte Flair 5 2022
Rhea Ripley 7 2023
Nia Jax 8 2024

Bold indicates the winner of that year's match.

Total eliminations

[edit]
Rhea Ripley shares the record for the most eliminations in total at 20.
Wrestler No. of eliminations Royal Rumbles entered Average
Nia Jax 20 6 3.33
Rhea Ripley 4 5
Bayley 17 6 2.83
Charlotte Flair 15 4 3.75
Shayna Baszler 5 3
Bianca Belair 14 4 3.5

Highest number of wrestlers in a single elimination

[edit]

Highest number of wrestlers working together to eliminate one wrestler

Wrestler No. of wrestlers involved in elimination Year
Nia Jax 11 2023
6 2018
Vickie Guerrero 4

Wrestlers who eliminated themselves

[edit]
Wrestler Year
Santina Marella 2020
Carmella 2021

Most Rumble appearances

[edit]
Wrestler Royal Rumbles entered First Last
Liv Morgan 7 2018 2024
Natalya
Naomi 6
Dana Brooke 2023
Tamina
Bayley 5 2024
Carmella 2022
Nia Jax 2024
Sonya Deville 2023
Nikki Cross/Nikki A. S. H. 2019
Shayna Baszler 2020 2024

Male entrants in Women's Royal Rumble matches

[edit]
Wrestler Royal Rumbles entered
Santina Marella 1 (2020)

Other Royal Rumble matches

[edit]

WWE has also booked several Royal Rumble matches outside of pay-per-view events:

List of Royal Rumble dates, venues, and winners
Event Date City Venue Winner Ref. Note
1 House show October 4, 1987 St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena One Man Gang [111][112] 12-man Royal Rumble
2 House show March 14, 1988 East Rutherford, New Jersey Brendan Byrne Arena Jake Roberts [113] 22-man Royal Rumble
3 House show March 16, 1988 Hartford, Connecticut Hartford Civic Center Rick Rude [114][115] 22-man Royal Rumble
4 House show January 17, 1994 New York City, New York Madison Square Garden Owen Hart [116] 30-man Royal Rumble
5 House show May 9, 1994 Osaka, Japan Castle Hall The Undertaker [116] 18-man Royal Rumble
6 Raw June 15, 1998 San Antonio, Texas Freeman Coliseum Kane and Mankind [116] 10-tag team Royal Rumble
7 Raw January 11, 1999 Houston, Texas Compaq Center Chyna [116] 10-person Corporation vs. DX corporate Royal Rumble for the number 30 spot in the 1999 Royal Rumble
8 SmackDown September 16, 1999 Las Vegas, Nevada Thomas & Mack Center The Undertaker [117] 5-man Royal Rumble to determine the number one contender for the WWF Championship later that night
9 SmackDown January 8, 2004 Huntsville, Alabama Von Braun Center Chris Benoit [118] 4-man Royal Rumble
10 SmackDown January 29, 2004 Washington, D.C. MCI Center Eddie Guerrero [119] 15-man SmackDown! Royal Rumble to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship at No Way Out
11 Raw January 22, 2007 Lafayette, Louisiana Cajundome The Great Khali [120] 7-man Royal Rumble
12 Raw January 14, 2008 Mobile, Alabama Mobile Civic Center Hornswoggle [121] Mini Royal Rumble; 6-man, all participants were midget wrestlers, with the exception of The Great Khali.
13 SmackDown January 28, 2011 Cincinnati, Ohio U.S. Bank Arena Kofi Kingston [122] 5-man Royal Rumble
14 Raw January 31, 2011 Providence, Rhode Island Dunkin' Donuts Center Jerry Lawler [123] 7-man Raw Rumble to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber
15 House show October 27, 2017 Sanford, Florida Sanford Civic Center Shayna Baszler [124] 15-woman costumed Halloween Rumble
16 Royal Rumble January 28, 2018 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wells Fargo Center Ric Flair[kfc 1] [125][126] KFC Colonel Rumble (9-man)
17 House show October 27, 2018 Orlando, Florida Orlando Live Events Stacey Ervin Jr. [127] 20-man costumed Halloween Rumble
18 House show October 31, 2019 Orlando, Florida Orlando Live Events Shayna Baszler [128] 16-woman costumed Halloween Rumble
19 Bronson Reed 13-man costumed Halloween Rumble
  1. ^ AJ Styles won the SmackDown dark match; the end of the match was subsequently re-recorded for the advert prior to the Royal Rumble event.

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