Smark Out Moment

Here are some statistics and records for the WWE Royal Rumble event over the years. If I've made any oversights and any of this information is inaccurate, let me know and I'll change it.

*NOTE: I'm currently looking for someone to help out with adjusting this for the 40-man style layout. If you'd like to lend a hand, use the Contact form and send me a message. Any help is appreciated!

Table of Contents

Winners
Eliminations
Time
Heel/Face Entrance Breakdown
Standard Events and Occurrences



ROYAL RUMBLE WINNERS (by year):
1988 = Hacksaw Jim Duggan (#13)
1989 = Big John Studd (#27)
1990 = Hulk Hogan (#25)
1991 = Hulk Hogan (#24)
1992 = Ric Flair (#3)
1993 = Yokozuna (#27)
1994 = Lex Luger (#23) / Bret Hart (#27)
1995 = Shawn Michaels (#1)
1996 = Shawn Michaels (#18)
1997 = Steve Austin (#5)
1998 = Steve Austin (#24)
1999 = Vince McMahon (#2)
2000 = The Rock (#24)
2001 = Steve Austin (#27)
2002 = Triple H (#22)
2003 = Brock Lesnar (#29)
2004 = Chris Benoit (#1)
2005 = Batista (#28)
2006 = Rey Mysterio (#2)
2007 = Undertaker (#30)
2008 = John Cena (#30)
2009 = Randy Orton (#8)
2010 = Edge (#29)
2011 = Alberto Del Rio (#38)
2012 = Sheamus (#22)

*Steve Austin holds the record for most Royal Rumble wins at 3.

*Number 27 is the lucky number with the most Royal Rumble winners at 4.

*When finding the average winning entrance number, a few factors come into play. Counting both Luger and Bret gives you an extra number. Duggan's #13 entrance was out of 20 wrestlers, not 30, so a translation of inflation is needed (bringing his winning number to the equivalent of #19.5 by today's standards, rounded up to #20). The same transition needs to be taken into account for Alberto Del Rio winning at #38/40. This results in an equivalent position of #28.5 or #29 when rounded up. The end result, figuring out the average out of these 26 Royal Rumble victories (when adjusted) is a winning entry of roughly 19.5 (rounded up to #20).

However, statistics show that entries #1-10 have produced 7 winners, entries #11-20 have only produced 2 winners, and entries #21-30 have produced 17 winners. Therefore, 65% of the time the winner will be from 21-30, 8% of the time the winner will be from 11-20, and 27% of the time they'll be in the first 1-10 entrants. Judging by that, the #20 entrance will NOT be the winner of this next Royal Rumble most likely, but the safe bet is 21-30.

If you compensate for repetition, I don't think the likely option will be #30. I think your better bet is somewhere around the #26 spot.



MOST ELIMINATIONS (by year): (average = 7)
1988 = One Man Gang (6)
1989 = Hulk Hogan (9)
1990 = Ultimate Warrior (6)
1991 = Hulk Hogan (7)
1992 = Sid Justice (6)
1993 = Yokozuna (7)
1994 = Lex Luger (7) / Diesel (7)
1995 = Shawn Michaels (8)
1996 = Shawn Michaels (8)
1997 = Steve Austin (10)
1998 = Steve Austin (7)
1999 = Steve Austin (8)
2000 = Rikishi (7)
2001 = Kane (11)
2002 = Undertaker (7) / Steve Austin (7)
2003 = Chris Jericho (6)
2004 = Chris Benoit (6)
2005 = Batista (5) / Edge (5)
2006 = Rey Mysterio (6)
2007 = The Great Khali (7)
2008 = Triple H (6)
2009 = Triple H (6) / Big Show (6)
2010 = Shawn Michaels (6)
2011 = CM Punk (7) / John Cena (7)
2012 = Cody Rhodes (5)

MOST ELIMINATIONS (total): Shawn Michaels (41)

MOST ELIMINATIONS (in a single match): Kane (11)



LONGEST TOTAL ROYAL RUMBLE TIME: Shawn Michaels (2:49:03)

LONGEST SINGLE ROYAL RUMBLE TIME: Rey Mysterio (1:02:12) in 2006

SHORTEST ROYAL RUMBLE TIME: Santino Marella (1.9 seconds) in 2009

AVERAGE IRON MAN TIME: Roughly 43 minutes.

AVERAGE IRON MAN ENTRANCE NUMBER: #5



To get an estimate of who will show up when, I've broken down the past few years, writing down all the entrances and cataloging whether they were a babyface or a heel at the time.


As you can see, some trends occur. Entry #18 is more than likely going to be a somewhat important babyface. Entry #28 is likely going to be a heel. #30 is an important main event star.

Some of these trends don't hold up with older events, but I felt as though that was unnecessary to study, seeing as how this better reflects their current mindset and the writers they use now. Back in 1988, there were only 20 people and they hadn't worked out the bugs of the system yet, but now they seem to have it down to a science in some respects.


The following is a list of things that typically happen during the Royal Rumble match every year.

1) Quick Elimination = A competitor is eliminated within 10 seconds of entering the ring.

2) Comic Relief Segment = Something happens that is intended solely for comedic value and nothing else. Drew Carey's interaction with Kane in 2001 is an example, as is Ernest 'The Cat' Miller's "somebody call my momma" segment in 2004.

3) The Action Stops = For one reason or another, the action simply stops and there is only one person left in the ring. Rikishi took this time to dance in 2000. Austin used it to check his watch several times. CM Punk cut some promos in 2010.

4) Post-Elimination Elimination =  Someone that has previously been eliminated will orchestrate the elimination of someone else, normally the one who just threw them out.

5) Attacked Before Entrance = Before someone can make it to the ring, they get attacked. Oftentimes, this person will return later on to eliminate said person when THEY come out, hearkening back to #4.

6) Shock Entrance = A superstar nobody was expecting to show up is one of the participants, whether they were thought to be injured or a retiree or legend making a special appearance/return. Nobody expected RVD in 2009 or John Cena in 2008.

7) Nostalgia Competitor = A relic who isn't from the current roster competes. Oftentimes, this overlaps with #6. A great example is Piper and Snuka from 2008.

8) Tag Team Succession = Frequently, a tag team member isn't too far off from his partner in terms of entrance number. Most of the time, they're the next person or two people away.

9) Spawned Feud = This hasn't happened lately as much as it used to, but a wrestler gets eliminated by someone, then that sparks a feud between the two.

10) The Big Man Team-Up = In order to eliminate one of the giants, several people gang up on him.

11) The House Cleaner = A wrestler thins the ring out by eliminating multiple people at once. The average seems to be 3 or 4 within the span of a minute.

12) Shockingly Quick = Not necessarily the fastest elimination, but this is when someone who should have lasted much longer gets the short end of the stick and doesn't.

13) Friend or Foe = An ally turns on his friend.