In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Royal Rumble Match, WWE takes a look back through the previous 24 Rumbles to bring you some unique statistics you might not have noticed.
24: Most Rumble Match Wins: Stone Cold Steve Austin – 3 (1997, 1998, 2001)
23: Number of Superstars to win consecutive Royal Rumble Matches: 3
Winning one Royal Rumble is a Herculean task in and of itself. To do it two years in succession is almost unthinkable. Yet three of WWE’s most decorated Superstars have done the unimaginable, winning back-to-back Rumble matches on their way to becoming WWE Hall of Famers. Hulk Hogan was the first, claiming victory in 1990 and 1991. No. 1 entrant Shawn Michaels came one foot away from elimination in 1995, but rebounded to win that year's contest and the following. The last Superstar to outlast 29 combatants in consecutive years was “Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, winning the 1997 and 1998 Royal Rumble Matches
22: Number of Rumble Winners to win a World Title at WrestleMania: 11
21: Most all-time eliminations: Shawn Michaels (38)
20: Most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble: Kane (11, 2001)
19: Most times being the last eliminated Superstar in a Royal Rumble Match: Triple H (2)
18: Superstars who eliminated themselves: 9
For reasons mostly known only to themselves, nine Superstars have the dubious distinction of having eliminated themselves in the Royal Rumble Match, and some of the names might surprise the WWE Universe: Andre the Giant tossed himself in 1989, “Macho Man” Randy Savage made a self-imposed exit in 1992 that was later ignored; Faarooq (a.k.a. Ron Simmons), Ahmed Johnson and Mil Máscaras sent themselves over the top rope in 1997; Kane, Mick Foley and MVP did the same in 1999, 2004 and 2010, respectively, and celebrity entrant Drew Carey made a quick exit from the match in 2001 after Kane made his entrance into the contest.
17: Most Final Four Appearances: 5
Shawn Michaels and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin each have a solid case for the title of greatest Royal Rumble Superstar.
16: Number of Superstars who won their Royal Rumble Match debut: 9
Beginner’s luck sometimes makes all the difference. Incredibly, nine Superstars have won the Royal Rumble Match in their very first entry into the melee. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Big John Studd, Yokozuna, Lex Luger, Mr. McMahon, and Brock Lesnar all won the Rumble match on their first try. The most successful Royal Rumble rookie, arguably, is Ric Flair, who won the 1992 Royal Rumble Match, and with it, the WWE Championship. The most recent Superstar to triumph in his first Rumble appearance was Alberto Del Rio in 2011, just months after his WWE debut.
15: Entry number with the most Rumble victories: 27 (4 times)
It’s easy to see that drawing a number toward the end of the Royal Rumble Match has its advantages. One could just as easily assume that the last Superstar in, No. 30, would have the best opportunity to win the whole thing. However, the number with the most success in the 25-year history of the Royal Rumble is 27. Four Superstars have entered in that position and gone on to win the match. In 1989, Big John Studd was the first No. 27 to claim Royal Rumble victory. Yokozuna was the next Superstar to win after drawing 27 in 1993. The following year, No. 27 was future WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hit Man” Hart, who went on to become co-winner of the Rumble. The most successful Superstar in Royal Rumble Match history, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, won his final Rumble contest in 2001, entering the fray at No. 27.
14: Superstars who won the Rumble at No. 2: 2
A big deal is made when a Superstar draws No. 1 and goes on to win the Royal Rumble Match. But the No. 2 entrant has to last just as long to claim victory. In fact, the second Superstar in the Royal Rumble Match has gone on to win the whole shebang just as often as the first. In 1999, Mr. McMahon drew No. 2 and went on to win, eliminating the No. 1 entry, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin last. Rey Mysterio entered second in 2006 and set a record for longest time in the Rumble before claiming victory. These two Superstars show that, at least when it comes to the Royal Rumble, No. 2 doesn’t have to have a bad connotation.
13: Longest time spent in the ring: Rey Mysterio, 1:02:12 (2006)
12: Shortest time in the ring spent to win a Rumble Match: Edge, 7:19 (2010)
Edge is known as The Ultimate Opportunist. Having been out of action for much of 2009 due to injury, The Rated-R Superstar made his return to the ring as the 29th entrant in the 2010 Royal Rumble Match. He took advantage of his weary competition, Spearing the rest of the field in a little more than seven minutes and eliminating John Cena to cement his main event spot on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
11: Fastest elimination: Santino Marella, 1.9 seconds (2009)
The Warlord was infamous for having the shortest Royal Rumble spell ever in 1990, entering the battle at No. 21, then being knocked out two seconds later by Hulk Hogan. Nearly two decades passed before another Superstar would knock one half of the Powers of Pain off his dubious throne. Santino Marella dashed into the ring in 2009 at No. 28 and was dumped out almost instantly by Kane. The Italian Superstar lasted 1.9 seconds, claiming the record for shortest time in a Rumble match.
10: Longest Royal Rumble Match: 1:10 (2011)
The biggest Royal Rumble in history was also the longest. With the addition of 10 more hungry competitors, the 40-Superstar melee in 2011 lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes, nearly a minute longer than the 2002 edition of the Rumble. CM Punk drew No. 1 and turned out to be the marathon man of the contest, lasting 35 minutes. Former World Champions Booker T and Kevin Nash shocked the WWE Universe, making their surprise returns during the massive Rumble. Ultimately, the No. 38 entry, Alberto Del Rio, took advantage of a tired field to come out on top and earn a World Title Match at WrestleMania.
09: Shortest Rumble Match: 33 minutes (1988)
The first Royal Rumble is also the shortest, clocking in at just more than 30 minutes. It should be noted that there were only 20 Superstars in the inaugural edition, won by WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. The Rumble contest would expand to include 30 Superstars the following year, all but ensuring the first Royal Rumble Match would hold on to this record for years to come.
08: First Masked Royal Rumble Winner: Rey Mysterio
07: Shortest Superstar to participate in the Royal Rumble: Hornswoggle (4’4”)
06: Number of Divas to compete in Royal Rumble Matches: 2
The Royal Rumble Match has only had two Diva competitors in its storied history, most notably Beth Phoenix in 2010. The Glamazon pulled off one of the biggest Rumble match surprises ever by eliminating The Great Khali from that contest, hauling The Punjabi Warrior over the ropes after distracting him with a kiss. If nothing else, this proves Matt Striker’s commentary was correct: “You can never trust a woman!” (notice the WWE doesn't even make mention of Chyna lol).
05: Most consecutive Rumble Match apperances: Kane (13)
04: Most Superstars in a single Rumble: 40
03: Number of WWE Hall of Famers to be eliminated first: 4
The Royal Rumble Match is truly every man for himself. And sometimes, even the great ones are a little bit off their game. Ask Shawn Michaels, “Million Dollar Man,” Koko B. Ware and Ric Flair, the only four WWE Hall of Famers to be eliminated first in a Rumble Match (Koko in ’90, DiBiase in ’92, HBK in 2003 and Flair in 2007).
02: Most appearances by one Superstar in a single Rumble Match: 3
It’s extremely rare that a Superstar makes numerous entrances into the Rumble Match, but Mick Foley, in what might be the greatest loophole exploitation of all time, entered the 1998 Rumble contest as Cactus Jack (No. 1), Mankind (No. 16) and Dude Love (No. 28). A crafty strategy to be sure, though it does beg the question: what if one of the “faces of Foley” hadn’t been eliminated before another was called?
01: Number of times first two entrants were World Champions going into the next Rumble: 1
The first two entrants in the Rumble Match are often thought of as the most disadvantageous. But sometimes, destiny has a plan in the long run: CM Punk and Daniel Bryan began the 2011 Rumble Match as the Nos. 1 and 2 entrants, respectively. In 2012, they go into the Rumble pay-per view as the incumbent WWE and World Heavyweight Champions. Since the brand extension, it is the only time this has happened.
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