Battle Royal Types In professional wrestling , a battle royal ( sometimes battle royale ; plural battles royal or battle royals ) is a multi - competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner . Typical battle royals begin with 20 participants in the ring , who are then eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and having both feet touch the venue floor . Variations . Bunkhouse Stampede . The National Wrestling Alliance ' s ( NWA ) Bunkhouse Stampede involved wrestlers wearing what was described as " bunkhouse gear " — cowboy boots , jeans , T - shirts — instead of their normal wrestling tights and not only allowed but encouraged the bringing of weapons . In 1988 the NWA named a pay - per - view after the Bunkhouse Stampede , which featured a Bunkhouse Stampede match held inside a cage . Divas battle royal . A " Divas battle royal " has solely female wrestlers vying to be the last person standing . In contrast to traditional rules , however , participants can be eliminated not only by being thrown over , but through the ring ropes . TNA Knockout Makeover Battle Royal . Match will begin as an over - the - top battle royal . The final two competitors will face each other in a ladder match , where the winner will receive a TNA Knockout Championship match , while the runner - up will have her head shaved . Dragon Scramble . Popularized by Toryumon Japan , two wrestlers start the match , and 2 extra participants enter simultaneously from different corners of the ring at the 1 - minute intervals . Along with over - the - top - rope eliminations , pinfalls and submissions also count in this variation . Gauntlet for the Gold . Gauntlet for the Gold is a variation on the battle royal used by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . In this version two wrestlers begin in the ring , with additional wrestlers entering on a set time period . Wrestlers are eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and to the floor until two wrestlers are left , at which point a standard singles match begins . Last Blood battle royal . A Last Blood battle royal is essentially a multi - competitor First Blood match . The winner is the last wrestler in the match not bleeding . Reverse battle royal . A reverse battle royal begins with wrestlers surrounding the ring instead of inside it . At the start of the match they battle for half of them to get in to the ring , at which point a standard last person standing battle royal begins . Royal Rumble . The World Wrestling Entertainment ' s Royal Rumble is a 30 - person battle - royal with the wrestlers receiving staggered ( generally two minutes ) entrances rather than all beginning at the same time . Team variations . Team variations of battle royals consist of two or more teams of wrestlers , with the number of wrestlers on each team usually being equal . There are different types of such matches : World War 3 . World Championship Wrestling ' s World War 3 ( also III ) was an annual three ring , 60 - man battle royal . The match begins with the wrestlers spread evenly between the three rings , and when 30 remain they are consolidated into the center ring . For the final year the rules were modified to allow pinfall and submission eliminations and change the consolidation point to 20 .