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The Royal Rumble is one of the most unique events in wrestling. Throughout its 16-year history, the Rumble has been one of the most anticipated and most entertaining matches in WWF/E history. The 30-man over-the-top Battle Royal-inspired bout has, of course, come with some interesting statistical notes. Here are a few of the highlights of the past Royal Rumble matches.
· The first title to be defended at the Royal Rumble, and one of only two belts that have been defended that are now inactive, was the Women's Tag Team championship. The other, by the way, was the European title, which was defended once.
· The first Rumble consisted of only 20 men. Three other Rumble matches had less than 30 wrestlers compete: 1991, 1994 and 1998. each of those had 29 competitors.
· It may surprise some to know that Steve Austin has the most Rumble match victories. Only two other men have had multiple Rumble wins, those being Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan.
· The only wrestler who could repeat as Rumble winner this year is Rock, if he shows up. Brock Lesnar, HHH and Shawn Michaels, all former winners, are in title matches at the PPV this year.
· This will mark the fifth-straight year that the Dudley Boyz will be in a tag-team title match. None of the Dudleyz, by the way, have ever competed in the Rumble.
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· Other wrestlers who never competed in the Rumble include Dean Malenko, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Taka Michinoku and Razor Ramon. Taka, along with Sho Funaki and the Mean St. Posse, made "run-ins" at one Rumble event. Ramon competed at four consecutive Rumbles, but never in the match itself.
· The first Canadian to enter a Royal Rumble is also the first to ever to enter the ring in a Royal Rumble match. That man would be Bret Hart. Bret is also the only man to be #1 twice. The other time was in 1991.
· Two Canadians share the distinction of being the latest Canuck entries into the Rumble. Both Rick Martel (1989) and Owen Hart (1999) have entered in the 29th spot.
· Is #30 an advantage in the Rumble? Hardly. No wrestler who has drawn the last entry position has ever won the bout. The latest was Lesnar, who was in the 29th spot.
· The most gimmicks by one wrestler in Rumble competition is shared by two wrestlers: Mick Foley (Mankind, Cactus Jack and Dude Love) and Glen Jacobs (Kane, Diesel II and Isaac Yankem). A footnote: Foley did all three gimmicks in one Rumble. In fact, he was only in two Rumbles, period.
· Also of note, Bob Holly is the only wrestler to have the same gimmick under two different names at the Rumble. Those would be Bob "Sparkplug" Holly and Thurman "Sparky" Plugg.
· Anyone who picks up the Ric Flair DVD compilation will want to check out the Rumble match included. During his commentary, Gorilla Monsoon noted that no wrestler who has entered one through five ever one the Rumble match. Since then (including that match), four men in one of those slots have won. They are Ric Flair (#3), Shawn Michaels (#1), Steve Austin (#5) and 1999 Vince McMahon (#2).
· As odd as it may seem, Terry Funk made his Rumble debut in 1997, one year after his brother Dory Funk Jr., made his Rumble debut.
· Interesting notes about the entry spot for some wrestlers: IRS came in at #18 two years in a row (1992, 1993), while Jake Roberts came in at #7 in consecutive years (1996, 1997) and Val Venis came in at #20 two years in a row (2001 and 2002).
· Only one women's match has not involved a title belt of some sort, and that would be the Dawn Marie/Torrie Wilson match last year.
· Chyna is the only woman to compete in the Rumble, and she did it twice.
· The first Rumble where the winner earned a Wrestlemania title shot was in 1993.
· Thanks to a depleted roster, 1994 was the first year in which wrestlers who had a match in the card also competed in the Rumble bout.
· Rikishi Fatu holds the record for most Royal Rumble matches with eight. He wrestled as Fatu in 1994, 1995 and 1996, The Sultan in 1997 and as Rikishi in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. In second place are the Undertaker, Jake Roberts and Jacobs (five as Kane, one as Yankem, one as Diesel II).
· Kane and Test holds the current longest streak of consecutive Rumble matches at five. Roberts also had a run of five-straight Rumbles.
· What does this say about parity - the state of Texas can lay claim to more Rumble victories than countries outside of the U.S. Michaels and Austin account for five Rumble wins, while Yokozuna (Samoa) and Bret Hart (Canada) are the only non-American winners. Bret, it should be noted, can only lay claim to half a victory, since he shared his win with Lex Luger.
· Honky Tonk Man was in more Royal Rumbles in his post-WWE career than his tenure with the company; one during (1989) and two after (1998, 2001). Honky Tonk holds the record for longest span between Rumbles at nine years.
· Iron Shiek's only Royal Rumble appearance was as Col. Mustafa.
· Sergeant Slaughter, Shawn Michaels and The Rock are the only men to ever win the WWE title in a singles match at the Royal Rumble. HHH is 2-0 in title defences.
· No woman has fought in a Women's title match more than once at the Royal Rumble.
· The most popular gimmick match, outside the Rumble itself, is the two-out-of-three falls match, which was used three times in the first two years of the event.
· Families that have had multiple entrants in the Rumble include the Harts (Bret and Owen), the Hardys (Matt and Jeff), the Funks (Dory Jr. and Terry), and the Lawlers (Jerry and son Brian, aka Grandmaster Sexay), the Runnels (Virgil, aka. Dusty Rhodes and Dustin, aka. Goldust), the Guererros (Eddy and Chavo), the Steiners (Rick and Scott) and of course, the massive inter-related Samoan family (Haku, Tama, Yokozuna, Rock, Rikishi, Samu, Rosey and Jamal).
· What does this say about who the WWF/E has let go. Some of the top TNA stars, including Jeff Jarrett, Ron Killings, D'Lo Brown and Raven, have competed in the Rumble.
· Only three wrestlers to defect from WCW have won the rumble. Those
were HHH, Austin and Luger. Austin is the only winner to have spent time in
ECW.
(Rumble winners in bold)
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1988 Royal Rumble · Steamboat d. Rude (DQ) · Itsuki Yamazaki/Noriyo Tatemo v. Judy Martin/Lelani Kai (Women's tag titles) 2/3 falls · Tama/Haku d. Roma/Powers 2/3 falls |
1989 Royal Rumble · Duggan/Hart/Neidhart d. J. Rougeau/R.Rougeau/Bravo 2/3 falls · Rockin' Robin d. Judy Martin (women's) · Haku d. Harley Race (crown) |
| 1988 Rumble | 1989 Rumble | |
| 1 | Bret Hart | Ax |
| 2 | Tito Santana | Smash |
| 3 | Butch Reed | Andre |
| 4 | Jim Neidhart | Mr. Perfect |
| 5 | Jake Roberts | Ronnie Garvin |
| 6 | Harley Race | Greg Valentine |
| 7 | Jim Brunzell | Jake Roberts |
| 8 | Sam Houston | Ron Bass |
| 9 | Danny Davis | Shawn Michaels |
| 10 | Boris Zhukov | Butch |
| 11 | Don Muraco | Honky Tonk Man |
| 12 | Nikolai Volkoff | Tito Santana |
| 13 | Jim Duggan | Bad News Brown |
| 14 | Ron Bass | Marty Jannetty |
| 15 | B. Brian Blair | Randy Savage |
| 16 | Hillbilly Jim | Arn Anderson |
| 17 | Dino Bravo | Tully Blancahrd |
| 18 | Ultimate Warrior | Hulk Hogan |
| 19 | One Man Gang | Luke |
| 20 | Junkyard Dog | Koko B. Ware |
| 21 | Warlord | |
| 22 | Big Bossman | |
| 23 | Akeem | |
| 24 | Brutus Beefcake | |
| 25 | Terry Taylor | |
| 26 | Barbarian | |
| 27 | Big John Studd | |
| 28 | Hercules | |
| 29 | Rick Martel | |
| 30 | Ted Dibiase |
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1990 Royal Rumble · Luke/Butch d. Jaques/Pierre Rougeau · Genius NC Brutus Beefcake · Ronnie Garvin d. Greg Valentine submission · Jim Duggan d. Bossman (dq) |
1991 Royal Rumble · Michaels/Jannetty d. Tanaka/Kato · Mountie d. Brooklyn Brawler · Bossman d. Barbarian · Sgt. Slaughter d. Ultimate Warrior (WWF title) · Dibiase/Virgil d. Dusty/Dustin Rhodes |
| 1990 Rumble | 1991 Rumble | |
| 1 | Ted Dibiase | Bret Hart |
| 2 | Koko B. Ware | Dino Bravo |
| 3 | Marty Jannetty | Greg Valentine |
| 4 | Jake Roberts | Paul Roma |
| 5 | Randy Savage | Kerry Von Erich |
| 6 | Roddy Piper | Rick Martel |
| 7 | Warlord | Saba Simba |
| 8 | Bret Hart | Butch |
| 9 | Bad News Brown | Jake Roberts |
| 10 | Dusty Rhodes | Hercules |
| 11 | Andre | Tito Santana |
| 12 | Terry Taylor | Undertaker |
| 13 | Ax | Jimmy Snuka |
| 14 | Haku | Davey Boy Smith |
| 15 | Smash | Smash |
| 16 | Akeem | Hawk |
| 17 | Jimmy Snuka | Shane Douglas |
| 18 | Dino Bravo | --- |
| 19 | Earthquake | Animal |
| 20 | Jim Neidhart | Crush |
| 21 | Ultimate Warrior | Jim Duggan |
| 22 | Rick Martel | Earthquake |
| 23 | Tito Santana | Mr. Perfect |
| 24 | Honky Tonk Man | Hulk Hogan |
| 25 | Hulk Hogan | Haku |
| 26 | Shawn Michaels | Jim Neidhart |
| 27 | Barbarian | Luke |
| 28 | Rick Rude | Brian Knobbs |
| 29 | Hercules | Warlord |
| 30 | Mr. Perfect | Tugboat |
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1992 Royal Rumble · O. Hart/Neidhart d. Kato/Tanaka · Roddy Piper d. Mountie (IC) · Beau/Blake Beverley d. Luke/Butch · Earthquake/Typhoon d. Hawk/Animal (tags) |
1993 Royal Rumble · Rick/Scott Steiner d. Beau/Blake Beverly · Shawn Michaels d. Marty Jannetty (IC) · Bam Bam Bigelow d. Bossman · Bret Hart d. Razor Ramon (WWE) |
| 1992 Rumble Winner gets title |
1993 Rumble *First winner gets title shot |
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| 1 | Davey Boy Smith | Ric Flair |
| 2 | Ted Dibiase | Bob Backlund |
| 3 | Ric Flair | Papa Shango |
| 4 | Jerry Sags | Ted Dibiase |
| 5 | Haku | Brian Knobbs |
| 6 | Shawn Michaels | Virgil |
| 7 | Tito Santana | Jerry Lawler |
| 8 | Barbarian | Max Moon |
| 9 | Kerry Von Erich | Tenryu |
| 10 | Repo Man | Mr. Perfect |
| 11 | Greg Valentine | Skinner |
| 12 | Nikolai Volkoff | Koko B. Ware |
| 13 | Big Bossman | Samu |
| 14 | Hercules | Berzerker |
| 15 | Roddy Piper | Undertaker |
| 16 | Jake Roberts | Terry Taylor |
| 17 | Jim Duggan | Damien Dimento |
| 18 | IRS | IRS |
| 19 | Jimmy Snuka | Tatanka |
| 20 | Undertaker | Jerry Sags |
| 21 | Randy Savage | Typhoon |
| 22 | Berzerker | Fatu |
| 23 | Virgil | Earthquake |
| 24 | Col. Mustafa | Carlos Colon |
| 25 | Rick Martel | Tito Santana |
| 26 | Hulk Hogan | Rick Martel |
| 27 | Skinner | Yokozuna |
| 28 | Sgt. Slaughter | Owen Hart |
| 29 | Sid | Repo Man |
| 30 | Warlord | Randy Savage |
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1994 Royal Rumble · Tatanka d. Bam Bam Bigelow · Jacques Rougeau/Pierre Ouellet d. Owen/Bret Hart (tags) · Razor Ramon d. IRS (IC) · Yokozuna d. Undertaker (casket) |
1995 Royal Rumble · Jeff Jarrett d. Razor Ramon (IC) · Undertaker d. IRS · Bret Hart NC Diesel (WWE) · 1-2-3 Kid/Bob Holly d.Bam Bam/Tatanka (tags) |
| 1995 Rumble | 1996 Rumble *First to have previous match wrestlers in rumble |
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| 1 | Scott Steiner | Shawn Michaels |
| 2 | Samu | Davey Boy Smith |
| 3 | Rick Steiner | Eli Blu |
| 4 | Kwang | Duke Drose |
| 5 | Owen Hart | Jimmy Del Rey |
| 6 | Bart Gunn | Barbarian |
| 7 | Diesel | Tom Pritchard |
| 8 | Bob Backlund | Doink |
| 9 | Billy Gunn | Kwang |
| 10 | Virgil | Rick Martel |
| 11 | Randy Savage | Owen Hart |
| 12 | Jeff Jarrett | Timothy Well |
| 13 | Crush | Luke |
| 14 | Doink | Jacob Blu |
| 15 | Bam Bam Bigelow | King Kong Bundy |
| 16 | Mabel | Mo |
| 17 | Thurman "Sparky" Plugg | Mabel |
| 18 | Shawn Michaels | Butch |
| 19 | Mo | Lex Luger |
| 20 | Greg Valentine | Mantaur |
| 21 | Tatanka | Aldo Montoya |
| 22 | Great Kabuki | Henry Goddwinn |
| 23 | Lex Luger | Billy Gunn |
| 24 | Tenryu | Bart Gunn |
| 25 | --- | Bob Backlund |
| 26 | Rick Martel | Steven Dunn |
| 27 | Bret Hart | Dick Murdoch |
| 28 | Rikishi Fatu | Adam Bomb |
| 29 | Marty Jannetty | Fatu |
| 30 | Adam Bomb | Crush |
| (co-winners) | ||
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1996 Royal Rumble · Ahmed Johnson d. Jeff Jarrett (dq) · Billy/Bart Gunn d. Skip/Zip (tags) · Goldust d. Razor Ramon (IC) · Undertaker d. Bret Hart (dq) (WWF) |
1997 Royal Rumble · HHH d. Goldust (IC) · Ahmed Johnson d. Faarooq (dq) · Undertaker D. Vader · Perro Aguayo/Canek/Hector Garza d. Heavy Metal, Jerry Estrada/Fuerza Guererra · Shawn Michaels d. Sid (WWF) |
| 1996 Rumble | 1997 Rumble | |
| 1 | HHH | Crush |
| 2 | Henry Goddwinn | Ahmed Johnson |
| 3 | Bob Backlund | Razor II |
| 4 | Jerry Lawler | Phineas Goddwinn |
| 5 | Bob Holly | Steve Austin |
| 6 | Mabel | Bart Gunn |
| 7 | Jake Roberts | Jake Roberts |
| 8 | Dory Funk Jr. | Davey Boy Smith |
| 9 | Yokozuna | Pierroth |
| 10 | 1-2-3 Kid | Sultan |
| 11 | Ohmari | Mil Mascaras |
| 12 | Savio Vega | HHH |
| 13 | Vader | Owen Hart |
| 14 | Doug Gilbert | Goldust |
| 15 | Headhunter #1 | Cibernetico |
| 16 | Headhunter #2 | Marc Mero |
| 17 | Owen Hart | Latin Lover |
| 18 | Shawn Michaels | Faarooq |
| 19 | Hakushi | Savio Vega |
| 20 | Tatanka | Jesse James |
| 21 | Aldo Montoya | Bret Hart |
| 22 | Diesel | Jerry Lawler |
| 23 | Kama | Diesel II |
| 24 | Ringmaster | Terry Funk |
| 25 | Barry Horowitz | Rocky Maivia |
| 26 | Rikishi Fatu | Mankind |
| 27 | Isaac Yankem | Flash Funk |
| 28 | Marty Jannetty | Vader |
| 29 | British Bulldog | Henry Goddwinn |
| 30 | Duke Droese | Undertaker |
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1998 Royal Rumble · Vader d. Goldust · Max Mini/Nova/Mosaic d. Battallion/Tarantula El Torito · Rock d. Ken Shamrock (dq) · LOD d. NAO (dq) |
1999 Royal Rumble · Bossman d. Road Dogg · Shamrock d. Gunn (IC) · X-Pac d. Gangrel (Euro) · Sable d. Luna (Women's) · Rock d. Mankind (WWE, I Quit) |
| 1998 Rumble | 1999 Rumble | |
| 1 | Cactus Jack | Steve Austin |
| 2 | Terry Funk | Vince McMahon |
| 3 | Tom Brandi | Golga |
| 4 | Rock | Droz |
| 5 | Mosh | Edge |
| 6 | Phineas Goddwinn | Gillberg |
| 7 | 8-Ball | Steve Blackman |
| 8 | Bradshaw | Dan Severn |
| 9 | Owen Hart | Tiger Ali Singh |
| 10 | Steve Blackman | Blue Meanie |
| 11 | D-Lo Brown | Mabel |
| 12 | Kurrgan | Road Dogg |
| 13 | Marc Mero | Gangrel |
| 14 | Ken Shamrock | Kurrgan |
| 15 | Thrasher | Al Snow |
| 16 | Mankind | Goldust |
| 17 | Goldust | Godfather |
| 18 | Jeff Jarrett | Kane |
| 19 | Honky Tonk Man | Shamrock |
| 20 | Ahmed Johnson | Gunn |
| 21 | Mark Henry | Test |
| 22 | --- | Bossman |
| 23 | Kama | HHH |
| 24 | Steve Austin | Val Venis |
| 25 | Henry Goddwinn | X-Pac |
| 26 | Savio Vega | Mark Henry |
| 27 | Faarooq | Jeff Jarrett |
| 28 | Dude Love | D-Lo Brown |
| 29 | Chainz | Owen Hart |
| 30 | Vader | Chyna |
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2000 Royal Rumble · Tazz d. Kurt Angle · Hardyz d. Dudleyz (tags, Tables) · Chris Jericho d. Chyna, B. Holly (triple-threat, IC) · NAO d. APA (tags) · HHH d. Cactus Jack (WWF) |
2001 Royal Rumble · Dudleyz vs. E&C (tags) · Chris Jericho d. Chris Benoit (IC) · Ivory d. Chyna (women's) · Kurt Angle d. HHH (WWE) |
| 2000 Rumble | 2001 Rumble | |
| 1 | D'Lo Brown | Jeff Hardy |
| 2 | Grandmaster Sexay | Bull Buchanan |
| 3 | Mosh | Matt Hardy |
| 4 | Christian | Faarooq |
| 5 | Rikishi | Drew Carey |
| 6 | Scotty II Hottie | Kane |
| 7 | Steve Blackman | Raven |
| 8 | Viscera | Al Snow |
| 9 | Bossman | Perry Saturn |
| 10 | Test | Steve Blackman |
| 11 | Davey Boy Smith | Grandmaster Sexay |
| 12 | Gangrel | Honky Tonk Man |
| 13 | Edge | Rock |
| 14 | Bob Backlund | Godfather |
| 15 | Chris Jericho | Tazz |
| 16 | Crash Holly | Bradshaw |
| 17 | Chyna | Albert |
| 18 | Faarooq | Bob "Hardcore" Holly |
| 19 | Road Dogg | K-Kwik |
| 20 | Al Snow | Val Venis |
| 21 | Val Venis | William Regal |
| 22 | Albert | Test |
| 23 | Bob "Hardcore" Holly | Big Show |
| 24 | Rock | Crash Holly |
| 25 | Billy Gunn | Undertaker |
| 26 | Big Show | Scotty II Hottie |
| 27 | Bradshaw | Steve Austin |
| 28 | Kane | Billy Gunn |
| 29 | Godfather | Haku |
| 30 | X-Pac | Rikishi |
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2002 Royal Rumble · Tazz/Spike d. Bubba/D-Von · William Regal d. Edge (IC) · Trish d. Jazz (Women's) · Ric Flair d. Vince McMahon · Chris Jericho d. Rock (United) |
2003 Royal Rumble · Brock Lesnar d. Big Show · Dudleyz d. Regal/Storm (tags) · Torrie Wilson d. Dawn Marie · HHH d. Scott Steiner (World) · Kurt Angle d. Chris Benoit (WWF) |
| 2002 Rumble | 2003 Rumble | |
| 1 | Rikishi | Chris Jericho |
| 2 | Goldust | Shawn Michaels |
| 3 | Bossman | Chris Nowinski |
| 4 | Bradshaw | Rey Mysterio |
| 5 | Lance Storm | Edge |
| 6 | Al Snow | Christian |
| 7 | Billy Gunn | Chavo Guererro Jr. |
| 8 | Undertaker | Tajiri |
| 9 | Matt Hardy | Bill DeMott |
| 10 | Jeff Hardy | Tommy Deamer |
| 11 | Maven | Bull Buchanan |
| 12 | Scotty II Hottie | RVD |
| 13 | Christian | Matt Hardy |
| 14 | DDP | Eddie Guererro |
| 15 | Chuck Palumbo | Jeff Hardy |
| 16 | Godfather | Rosie |
| 17 | Albert | Test |
| 18 | Saturn | John Cena |
| 19 | Steve Austin | Charlie Haas |
| 20 | Val Venis | Rikishi |
| 21 | Test | Jamal |
| 22 | HHH | Kane |
| 23 | Hurricane | Shelton Benjamin |
| 24 | Faarooq | Booker T |
| 25 | Mr. Perfect | A-Train |
| 26 | Kurt Angle | Maven |
| 27 | Big Show | Goldust |
| 28 | Kane | Batista |
| 29 | RVD | Brock Lesnar |
| 30 | Booker T. | Undertaker |
Jon Waldman, resid