Royal Rumble 1996

Royal Rumble 1996 was the ninth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place on January 21, 1996 at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California.
The main event was The Undertaker versus Bret Hart for the WWF Championship. Featured matches on the undercard were the 1996 Royal Rumble match which was won by Shawn Michaels, who last eliminated Diesel to win the match, making it his second Royal Rumble win, Goldust versus Razor Ramon for the WWF Intercontinental Championship and The Smoking Gunns (Billy and Bart) versus The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip) for the WWF Tag Team Championship.
Duke "The Dumpster" Droese's victory over Hunter Hearst Helmsley on the Free for All prior to the event earned him the coveted number 30 spot in the Royal Rumble match while Helmsley had to enter first.
This was the first Royal Rumble to play the entry music of each wrestler when they entered the Royal Rumble match.
==Results==
;
;
*Free For All Match: Duke Droese defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (6:25)
*Ahmed Johnson defeated Jeff Jarrett by DQ (6:40)
*The Smoking Gunns (Bart & Billy Gunn) (c) defeated The Body Donnas (Skip & Zip( (w/Sunny) to retain the WWF World Tag Team Championship (11:14)
*Goldust (w/Marlena) defeated Razor Ramon (c) to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship (14:17)
*Shawn Michaels won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating Diesel (58:49)
*The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) defeated Bret Hart (c) by DQ to retain the WWF Championship (28:31)
==Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations==
A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.
Entrant	Entrant 	Eliminated by	Eliminated by 	Time
1 	Hunter Hearst Helmsley	19 	Diesel 	48:01
2 	Henry Godwinn 	2 	Jake Roberts 	16:24
3 	Bob Backlund 	1 	Yokozuna 	12:22
4 	Jerry Lawler 	16 	Shawn Michaels 	36:02
5 	Bob Holly 	18 	The Ringmaster 	39:35
6 	King Mabel 	3 	Yokozuna 	12:14
7 	Jake Roberts 	6 	Vader 	14:39
8 	Dory Funk Jr. 	5 	Savio Vega 	10:53
9 	Yokozuna 	11 	Shawn Michaels 	19:14
10 	The 1-2-3 Kid 	13 	Shawn Michaels 	15:40
11 	Takao Omori 	4 	Jake Roberts 	2:48
12 	Savio Vega 	10 	Vader 	12:28
13 	Vader 	12 	Shawn Michaels 	11:04
14 	Doug Gilbert 	7 	Vader 	2:59
15 	Squat Team #1 	8 	Vader 	1:11
16 	Squat Team #2 	9 	Yokozuna 	0:24
17 	Owen Hart 	21 	Shawn Micheals & Diesel	20:43
18 	Shawn Michaels 	 	 	
WINNER 	26:09 	 	 	
19 	Hakushi 	14 	Owen Hart 	1:53
20 	Tatanka 	17 	Diesel 	4:09
21 	Aldo Montoya 	15 	Tatanka 	1:52
22 	Diesel 	29 	Shawn Michaels 	17:51
23 	Kama 	28 	Diesel 	15:57
24 	The Ringmaster 	23 	Fatu 	10:57
25 	Barry Horowitz 	20 	Owen Hart 	4:15
26 	Fatu 	24 	Isaac Yankem 	7:07
27 	Isaac Yankem 	25 	Shawn Michaels 	7:05
28 	Marty Jannetty 	22 	The British Bulldog 	2:35
29 	The British Bulldog 	27 	Shawn Michaels 	3:39
30 	Duke Droese 	26 	Kama & Diesel 	1:10
==Longest Lasting==
This lists the competitors in order of the time they lasted in the Rumble.
Entrant	Entrant 	Time
1 	Hunter Hearst Helmsley	48:01
2 	Bob Holly 	39:35
3 	Jerry Lawler 	36:02
4 	Shawn Michaels 	26:09
5 	Owen Hart 	20:43
6 	Yokozuna 	19:14
7 	Diesel 	17:51
8 	Henry Godwinn 	16:24
9 	Kama 	15:57
10 	1-2-3 Kid 	15:40
11 	Jake Roberts 	14:39
12 	Savio Vega 	12:28
13 	Bob Backlund 	12:22
14 	King Mabel 	12:14
15 	Vader 	11:04
16 	The Ringmaster 	10:57
17 	Dory Funk Jr. 	10:53
18 	Fatu 	7:07
19 	Isaac Yankem 	7:05
20 	Barry Horowitz 	4:15
21 	Tatanka 	4:09
22 	The British Bulldog 	3:39
23 	Doug Gilbert 	2:59
24 	Takao Omori 	2:48
25 	Marty Jannetty 	2:35
26 	Hakushi 	1:53
27 	Aldo Montoya 	1:52
28 	Squat Team #1 	1:11
29 	Duke Droese 	1:10
30 	Squat Team #2 	0:24
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Vince McMahon
*Mr. Perfect
;Interviewers
*Dok Hendrix
*Todd Pettengill	
;Ring announcer
*Howard Finkel
;Referees
*Jack Doan
*Jim Korderas
*Earl Hebner
*Tim White
==See also==
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*WWE Event History
*Royal Rumble
==DVD release==
* Royal Rumble 1996 on VHS.
==External links==
* Royal Rumble 1996 Official Website
* on WWE Network
* Royal Rumble 1996 at CAGEMATCH.net
Royal Rumble 1996
Royal Rumble 1996
Royal Rumble 1996