The Royal Rumble is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by World Wrestling Entertainment. The event's main featured match is a battle royal-type match, also titled the Royal Rumble. It is usually called one of the "Big Four", as along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series, it was one of the original four annual WWE pay-per-views. As with the other three, this event also brings together the RAW, ECW and SmackDown! brands onto the same card, something that hasn't been true of the remaining pay-per-views of the year since 2003.
The first Royal Rumble took place on January 24, 1988 in Hamilton, Ontario. Jim Duggan won, and the first pay-per-view Rumble occurred a year later. It has been traditionally booked by Pat Patterson, who is credited with "inventing" the match. Since his departure from WWE, the Rumble is booked by WWE's creative team.
Rules
The Royal Rumble is comprised of 30 men; beginning with two men in the ring, and at regular timed intervals (usually, but not always, every 90 seconds), one of the remaining 28 wrestlers enters the ring. Participants must eliminate all other opponents and the winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated.
A wrestler is eliminated when leaving the ring over the top rope, and then having both feet touch the floor (although this latter specification was not specified until the 1995 Royal Rumble, where the "both feet" stipulation played a crucial role in the final moments of the match). An egress between the second and third rope or under the bottom rope is not a valid elimination.
An elimination can also occur when a wrestler is thrown off the top rope by a non-competing opponent, or by one who had already been eliminated, or when the participant deliberately jumps outside the ring, for instance to take out someone who is outside the ring. Other wrestlers can be de facto eliminated due to interference preventing the wrestler from entering the ring, or due to a prolonged absence from the ring.
Rewards for winning
Since the 1991 event, every winner (other than in 1992, 1997, 1999) has gone on to challenge the WWF/E Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania, but this was not made an official stipulation of the match until 1993. This stems from 1992, when the Royal Rumble decided who would win the then-vacant WWF Championship (Ric Flair won the match). This championship match is often the last event on the WrestleMania card according to principles in the WWE that states "Royal Rumble winner gets first class ticket to WrestleMania", which means that the Royal Rumble winner gets to be in the 'first class' top spot in the main event at WrestleMania. In some cases, this can be part of a stipulation for a match between the Rumble and WrestleMania, where the winner may lose his WrestleMania spot by losing another match.
Brand extension
With the brand extension in mid-2002, the 30 entrants consist of 15 wrestlers from the RAW brand and 15 from the SmackDown! brand. This is, therefore, one of the few pay-per-view events (and certain combined non-televised shows held around WrestleMania time) with inter-brand competition on a regular basis. The official declaration for the first post-brand extension event in 2003, the Rumble winner faced their brand's champion at WrestleMania, but starting in 2004, due to a supposed "loophole" in the Rumble's stipulations, the Rumble winner has the option of challenging either brand's champion. Chris Benoit switched brands in 2004 and won the World Heavyweight Championship (which was the basis for a storyline the following year when Batista won the Rumble, but ultimately remained on RAW).
It is not yet known if the ECW brand will be participating in the upcoming Royal Rumble Match in the Royal Rumble Event, or if the ECW World Heavyweight Championship will be an option to the winner.
Royal Rumble dates and venues
Event Date City Venue
Royal Rumble (1988) January 24, 1988 Hamilton, Ontario Copps Coliseum
Royal Rumble (1989) January 15, 1989 Houston, Texas The Summit
Royal Rumble (1990) January 21, 1990 Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena
Royal Rumble (1991) January 19, 1991 Miami, Florida Miami Arena
Royal Rumble (1992) January 19, 1992 Albany, New York Knickerbocker Arena
Royal Rumble (1993) January 24, 1993 Sacramento, California ARCO Arena
Royal Rumble (1994) January 22, 1994 Providence, Rhode Island Providence Civic Center
Royal Rumble (1995) January 22, 1995 Tampa, Florida USF Sun Dome
Royal Rumble (1996) January 21, 1996 Fresno, California Selland Arena
Royal Rumble (1997) January 19, 1997 San Antonio, Texas Alamodome
Royal Rumble (1998) January 18, 1998 San Jose, California San Jose Arena
Royal Rumble (1999) January 24, 1999 Anaheim, California Arrowhead Pond
Royal Rumble (2000) January 23, 2000 New York, New York Madison Square Garden
Royal Rumble (2001) January 21, 2001 New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans Arena
Royal Rumble (2002) January 20, 2002 Atlanta, Georgia Philips Arena
Royal Rumble (2003) January 19, 2003 Boston, Massachusetts Fleet Center
Royal Rumble (2004) January 25, 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wachovia Center
Royal Rumble (2005) January 30, 2005 Fresno, California Save Mart Center
Royal Rumble (2006) January 29, 2006 Miami, Florida AmericanAirlines Arena
Royal Rumble (2007) January 28, 2007 San Antonio, Texas AT&T Center
Royal Rumble winners
Year Winner and Entry #
1988 Jim Duggan 13
1989 Big John Studd 27
1990 Hulk Hogan 25
1991 Hulk Hogan 24
1992 Ric Flair 3
1993 Yokozuna 27
1994 Bret Hart 27 & Lex Luger 23
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 The Undertaker 2
Records and statistics
* Most wins: Steve Austin (3; 1997, 1998, 2001)
* Longest lasting: Rey Mysterio (1:02:15; 2006)
* Shortest lasting: The Warlord (0:02; 1989)
* Longest match: 2002 (1:09:23)
* Shortest match: 1988 (33:00; note that the match only had 20 entrants.)
* Most consecutive appearances: Kane (8; 1999-2006)
* Most appearances in a single Rumble: Mick Foley (3; 1998)
* Most eliminations overall: Steve Austin (36)
* Most eliminations in a single Rumble: Kane (11; 2001)
* Winners entering no.1 Shawn Michaels (1995), Chris Benoit (2004)
* Winners entering no.2 Vince McMahon (1999), Rey Mysterio (2006)
* Win 2 in a row Hulk Hogan (1990,1991),Shawn Michaels (1995,1996), Steve Austin (1997,1998)
* Entry Number with the Most Wins: No. 27 (4 times, drawn by Big John Studd (1989), Yokozuna (1993), Bret Hart (1994), Stone Cold Steve Austin (2001))
* The 2007 Royal Rumble match marked the first time the #30 entrant has won the Royal Rumble.
