Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble is a yearly professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event made by WWE, usually in January. The show's main event is a Battle Royal-type match, named the Royal Rumble match. The pay-per-view is part of WWE's "Big Four", along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p.160) The Royal Rumble is also one of WWE's more popular pay-per-views. Since 1993, the winner of the Rumble match has received a title match at that year's WrestleMania.

History
Match

Similar to a Battle Royal, a wrestler is eliminated when thrown over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. A referee, who is seated at ringside, must see an elimination in order for it to be valid. A wrestler who is eliminated without a referee noticing may sometimes sneak back into the match. For example, Stone Cold Steve Austin was eliminated during the 1997 event, but he re-entered without the referees' seeing and eventually won the match. A wrestler who leaves the ring without going over the top rope is not eliminated from the match. During the 1999 Rumble match, both Vince McMahon and Steve Austin left the ring, only to return later in the match. In the 1994 match, the last two wrestlers, Bret Hart and Lex Luger were named co-winners when it was decided that both of their feet touched the floor at the same time. A similar situation occurred in the 2005 match, however the match was restarted after Batista and John Cena eliminated each other at the same time. Batista eliminated Cena afterwards to win the match.

The reward for the 1992 Royal Rumble was the WWF Championship. This title, now named the WWE Championship, was also the reward for the 2016 Royal Rumble. The tradition of granting a WWF/E Championship match at WrestleMania started in 1993. Beginning in 2004, the winner had their choice of a World Heavyweight Championship or WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. Because of the revival of the ECW Championship as a brand championship in mid-2006, the 2007 Rumble added this championship as a choice to the winning wrestler. From 2001 to 2007 the Royal Rumble match winner has gone on to win a World Championship title at WrestleMania. After winning the 2008 match, John Cena became the first to use his championship opportunity at an event other than WrestleMania. He also became the first man since 2000 to win the Royal Rumble match but fail to win the title in his championship opportunity as a result.

Since 2018 there also is a women's Royal Rumble match, where the winner can challenge for the WWE Women's Championship or the Women's World Championship at that year's WrestleMania. The first one was won by Asuka.

Pay-per-view
The Royal Rumble is a pay-per-view consisting of the Royal Rumble match, championship matches, and various other matches. The first Royal Rumble took place on January 24, 1988 and was broadcast live on the USA Network. The following year, the event became a pay-per-view. It is part of WWE's "classic five" pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, SummerSlam, and King of the Ring.Brian Shields. Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s (p.166)

The Royal Rumble match is usually at the top of the card. However, it is not always the case, as the 2006 event had the match in the middle of the pay-per-view.

The first Rumble match featured only twenty men, and it was called the Rumble Royale.Ric Flair. Ric Flair: To Be the Man (p.161) It lasted about 33 minutes of the 2-hour broadcast. Today, Rumble matches are much longer, with the longest match happening at the Greatest Royal Rumble (the only edition to have 50 men enter the match), lasting one hour and 17 minutes of a five-hour event.

With the brand extension introduced in mid-2002, the 30 entrants from 2003 to 2006 had 15 wrestlers from both the RAW and SmackDown! brands. At first, the winner of the match received a shot at his brand's championship. Starting in 2004, the Rumble winner had the option of challenging either brand's champion. For instance, Chris Benoit switched brands in 2004 and won the World Heavyweight Championship. The 2007 Royal Rumble marked the first year participants from the ECW brand competed along with the RAW and SmackDown! brands. The winner of the Royal Rumble now had the option to challenge for the ECW Championship as well.

The 2008 Royal Rumble was the first WWE pay-per-view to be aired in HD.

Dates and venues
EventDateCityVenueWinner(s)EntryRoyal Rumble (1988)January 24, 1988Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaCopps ColiseumJim Duggan13Royal Rumble (1989)January 15, 1989Houston, TexasThe SummitBig John Studd27Royal Rumble (1990)January 21, 1990Orlando, FloridaOrlando ArenaHulk Hogan25Royal Rumble (1991)January 19, 1991Miami, FloridaMiami Arena24Royal Rumble (1992)January 19, 1992Albany, New YorkKnickerbocker ArenaRic Flair3Royal Rumble (1993)January 24, 1993Sacramento, CaliforniaARCO ArenaYokozuna27Royal Rumble (1994)January 22, 1994Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence Civic CenterBret Hart
Lex Luger27
23Royal Rumble (1995)January 22, 1995Tampa, FloridaUSF Sun DomeShawn Michaels1Royal Rumble (1996)January 21, 1996Fresno, CaliforniaSelland Arena18Royal Rumble (1997)January 19, 1997San Antonio, TexasAlamodomeSteve Austin5Royal Rumble (1998)January 18, 1998San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose Arena24Royal Rumble (1999)January 24, 1999Anaheim, CaliforniaArrowhead PondVince McMahon2Royal Rumble (2000)January 23, 2000New York, New YorkMadison Square GardenThe Rock24Royal Rumble (2001)January 21, 2001New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans ArenaSteve Austin27Royal Rumble (2002)January 20, 2002Atlanta, GeorgiaPhilips ArenaTriple H22Royal Rumble (2003)January 19, 2003Boston, MassachusettsFleet CenterBrock Lesnar29Royal Rumble (2004)January 25, 2004Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWachovia CenterChris Benoit1Royal Rumble (2005)January 30, 2005Fresno, CaliforniaSave Mart CenterBatista28Royal Rumble (2006)January 29, 2006Miami, FloridaAmericanAirlines ArenaRey Mysterio2Royal Rumble (2007)January 28, 2007San Antonio, TexasAT&T CenterThe Undertaker30Royal Rumble (2008)January 27, 2008New York, New YorkMadison Square GardenJohn Cena30Royal Rumble (2009)January 25, 2009Detroit, MichiganJoe Louis ArenaRandy Orton8Royal Rumble (2010)January 31, 2010Atlanta, GeorgiaPhilips ArenaEdge29Royal Rumble (2011)January 30, 2011Boston, MassachusettsTD GardenAlberto Del Rio38Royal Rumble (2012)January 29, 2012St. Louis, MissouriScottrade CenterSheamus22Royal Rumble (2013)January 27, 2013Phoenix, ArizonaUS Airways CenterJohn Cena19Royal Rumble (2014)January 26, 2014Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaConsol Energy CenterBatista28Royal Rumble (2015)January 25, 2015Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWells Fargo CenterRoman Reigns19Royal Rumble (2016)January 24, 2016Orlando, FloridaAmway CenterTriple H30Royal Rumble (2017)January 29, 2017San Antonio, TexasAlamodomeRandy Orton23Royal Rumble (2018)January 28, 2018Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWells Fargo CenterShinsuke Nakamura
Asuka14
25Greatest Royal RumbleApril 27, 2018Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaKing Abdullah International StadiumBraun Strowman41Royal Rumble (2019)January 27, 2019Phoenix, ArizonaChase FieldBecky Lynch
Seth Rollins28
10Royal Rumble (2020)January 26, 2020Houston, TexasMinute Maid ParkCharlotte Flair
Drew McIntyre17
16Royal Rumble (2021)January 31, 2021St. Petersburg, FloridaWWE ThunderDome at Tropicana FieldBianca Belair
Edge3
1Royal Rumble (2022)January 29, 2022St. Louis, MissouriThe Dome at America's CenterRonda Rousey
Brock Lesnar28
30Royal Rumble (2023)January 28, 2023San Antonio, TexasAlamodomeRhea Ripley
Cody Rhodes1
30Royal Rumble (2024)January 27, 2024St. Petersburg, FloridaTropicana FieldBayley
Cody Rhodes3
15Royal Rumble (2025)February 1, 2025Indianapolis, IndianaLucas Oil StadiumCharlotte Flair
Jey Uso27
20Royal Rumble (2026)January 31, 2026Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaRiyadh Season Stadium at King Abdullah Financial DistrictLiv Morgan
Roman Reigns26
14

Video box set
On March 13, 2007, WWE released a full DVD box-set called Royal Rumble: The Complete Anthology, which showcases every Royal Rumble event in its entirety.

 Footnotes 

References
General

Specific

Further reading

 Other websites 
Official Royal Rumble Website
WWE.com: Royal Rumble match description 
WWE.com: Royal Rumble Facts & Figures 
Royal Rumble History at About.com 

Category:1988 establishments

Category:January events