Top Rope Talk: WWE Royal Rumble Match…Know Your History

By: Jay Nelson a.k.a. Denzel Snipes 

In about a few hours time, the World Wrestling Entertainment is about to kick off it’s 39th Edition of WWE Royal Rumble, live from Lucas Oil Stadium In Indianapolis, IN. But before we indulge in the unpredictable tonight, let’s take a look at some historical facts spanning decades of this event.

The late Pat Patterson, who is widely recognized as the inaugural WWE Intercontinental Champion, is also credited for inventing the Royal Rumble Match. Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon initially hated the idea. Once it was given a chance, it turned out to be a signature event, even having been labeled one of the “Big Five” pay-per-views/premium live events (alongside WrestleMania, King Of The Ring then Money In The Bank. Summerslam and Survivor Series). The inaugural Royal Rumble winner was “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan in the 1988 edition.

Traditionally, the winner of the Royal Rumble Match earned a World Championship match at WrestleMania. The first winner with this rule instituted was Yokozuna in 1993 (even though Hogan won in 1991 and faced WWE Champion Sgt. Slaughter at WrestleMania VII, this was more of a personal feud). 

Nine Superstars have won multiple Royal Rumbles throughout the years (Hogan, Michaels, Austin, HHH, Lesnar, Edge, Batista, Orton, Rhodes). Four of these have won back-to-back Rumbles (Hogan, Michaels, Austin & Rhodes. Rhodes became the first in 26 years in 2024). Stone Cold Steve Austin is the winningest Rumble winner with three.

Only once, in 1994, were there “co-winners” of the Royal Rumble Match (Bret “Hitman” Hart & Lex Luger). Both “eliminated” themselves with both men hitting the floor simultaneously. Instead of re-starting the match with just those two, WWE opted to have both men earn a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania X. Only one other instance were both of the last two men simultaneously eliminated…John Cena & Batista in 2005. Vince McMahon ordered the match restarted, with Batista winning. 

Only twice has the WWE Championship been put on the line IN the Royal Rumble Match (1992 & 2016). The championship was vacant in 1992, and was decided in the Rumble Match, with Ric Flair winning. 2016 saw the first time the WWE Title DEFENDED in the match itself, by Roman Reigns, with Triple H winning. 

Of all the Men’s Royal Rumble Winners, 15 times saw the winner fail to capture a World Championship (WWE, Universal, World Heavyweight Title) at WrestleMania: Michaels (1995), Austin (1997), Vince McMahon (1999), The Rock (2000), Cena (2008), Orton (2009), Edge (2010), Del Rio (2011), Batista (2014), Reigns (2015) Triple H (2016, only because he won the championship IN the Rumble Match, however, he did defend the title that WrestleMania), Nakamura (2018), Edge (2021), Lesnar (2022, lost “Title Vs. Title” main event to Reigns), Rhodes (2023). The “Rated R Superstar” Edge is the unfortunate one of the bunch, being the only multi-time winner that failed to capture gold at the Grandest Stage (went 0-2 in World Title Matches at WrestleMania following a Rumble win. 

Now of course, I can’t forget about my ladies in the house!! The inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble Match took place in 2018, with it’s first winner being Asuka. Becky Lynch followed with a 2019 victory and went on to take part of the first-ever women’s main event at WrestleMania where she captured both the WWE Raw & WWE Smackdown Women’s Championships in a two-title triple threat match. Charlotte Flair won in 2020, and became the first Rumble winner, male or female, to challenge for an NXT Championship at WrestleMania (def. NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley). Belair, Rousey, Ripley & Bayley round out the list of winners.

Last, but not least, only four Superstars have won the Rumble Match as the #1 entrant: Michaels (1995), Benoit (2004), Edge (2021), Ripley (2023, first woman to win from #1 entrant).

I could go on and on. But truth is, the WWE Royal Rumble has been quite the staple for generations and all I can say is to buckle up tonight because, as usual, we are in for a ride. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)