Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble | |
---|---|
WWE Royal Rumble logo | |
Created by | Pat Patterson |
Promotion | WWE |
Brands | Raw (2003–2011, 2017–present) SmackDown (2003–2011, 2017–present) ECW (2007–2010) 205 Live (2019) |
First event | 1988 |
Signature match | Royal Rumble match |
Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. After the inaugural 1988 event aired as a television special on the USA Network, the Royal Rumble has been broadcast via pay-per-view since the 1989 event and livestreaming since the 2015 event. From 1988 until 2024, it was held in late January, but will be held in early February in 2025. It is one of WWE's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, referred to as the "Big Five".
The Royal Rumble match is generally held as the main event of the annual event. There are some exceptions, such as the 1988, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2013, and 2023 events. In 1988, the main event was a tag team match, while for all the others, it was a men's world championship match. While originally only for men, a women's version of the Royal Rumble match was held as the main event at the 2018 event, which was also the first event to have two Rumble matches on one card. It subsequently became standard to have both a men's and women's Royal Rumble match at the annual event.
History
Event
The Royal Rumble match was created by wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson and the event was established by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). After the match was first tested at a house show in October 1987,[1] the first Royal Rumble event took place on January 24, 1988, and was broadcast live as a television special on the USA Network.[2] The following year, the event started to be broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV),[3] and thus became one of the "Big Four" annual PPVs, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and SummerSlam, the promotion's then-four biggest shows of the year.[4][5] From 1993 to 2002, it was considered one of the "Big Five", including King of the Ring, but that PPV event was discontinued after 2002 (although it to returned to PPV in 2024).[6] In August 2021, Money in the Bank became recognized as one of the "Big Five".[7][8]
In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) following a lawsuit with the World Wildlife Fund over the "WWF" initialism.[9] In April 2011, the promotion ceased using its full name with the "WWE" abbreviation becoming an orphaned initialism.[10] Also in March 2002, the promotion introduced the brand extension, in which the roster was divided between the Raw and SmackDown brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform on their respective weekly television shows[11]—ECW became a third brand in 2006.[12] The first brand extension was dissolved in August 2011,[13] but it was reintroduced in July 2016 (other brands, including NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live, would also be active during this second brand split).[14] The Royal Rumble, along with the other original "Big Four" events, were the only PPVs to never be held exclusively for one brand during either brand split periods. The 2008 Royal Rumble was the first WWE pay-per-view to be available in high-definition.[15] In 2015, the Royal Rumble began to air on WWE's online streaming service, the WWE Network, which launched in February 2014,[16] and in 2022, the event became available on Peacock as the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock in March 2021.[17]
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that began affecting the industry in March 2020, WWE had to hold its events behind closed doors. The 2021 event was in turn held in WWE's bio-secure bubble called the WWE ThunderDome, which at the time was hosted at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.[18][19] WWE resumed live touring in July 2021 and the 2022 event was held at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, Missouri.[20]
From its inception in 1988 up through the 2024 event, the Royal Rumble was held annually in late January. On June 24, 2024, WWE announced a partnership with the Indiana Sports Corp which would see the 2025 Royal Rumble, as well as a future WrestleMania and a future SummerSlam, held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The date for the 2025 Royal Rumble was announced for February 1, thus marking the first Royal Rumble held outside of January.[21]
Due to the Rumble matches taking up a large amount of time (most Rumble matches last roughly one hour), the Rumble event tends to have a smaller card than most other pay-per-view events, which routinely have six to eight matches per card though with the Royal Rumble expanding to a five-hour show as well as a two-hour kickoff pre-show starting in 2018, the card then mainly featured anywhere from nine to twelve matches with two or three of those matches taking place on the kickoff show. In 2022, however, WWE phased out the pre-shows with the Rumble returning to around six matches on the card and a runtime of around three to four hours. The men's Royal Rumble match is usually located at the top of the card, though there have been exceptions, such as the 1988, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2013, 2018, and 2023 events.[22] In these cases, 1988's main event was a tag team match, while the others were men's world championship matches, except in 2018. The 2018 Royal Rumble was the first to include a women's Royal Rumble match, which was the main event for that year. It was subsequently the first in which two Rumble matches were contested on one card and it is now standard for the event to include both a men's and women's Rumble match.[23]
Match
The Royal Rumble match is based on the classic battle royal, in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. The difference between a Royal Rumble and a standard battle royal is that in a standard battle royal, all participants start the match in the ring at the same time, where in a Royal Rumble match, two participants start and then the rest enter at timed intervals.[24][25] The winner of the match is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated. Since the 1993 event, the prize for winning is a world championship match at WrestleMania, with the exception of the 2016 event, where the prize was the WWE Championship (at the time known as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship) as reigning champion Roman Reigns defended the title in the match.[24][26] According to Hornswoggle, who worked for WWE from 2006 until 2016 and participated in two Rumbles, participants may learn their eliminations by knowing the two wrestlers who are eliminated before them and which wrestlers are entering the Royal Rumble before and after their elimination.[27]
Events and winners
Video box set
In March 2007, WWE released a complete DVD box set titled Royal Rumble: The Complete Anthology, which showcases every Royal Rumble event in its entirety, up to the 2007 Royal Rumble.[105]
References
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- "Royal Rumble Statistics". MondayNightWarriors.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
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- Eric Cohen. "Royal Rumble History". About.com. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- Ian Hamilton (2006). Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition. Lulu.com. ISBN 1-4116-1210-8.[self-published source?]
- Ric Flair (2004). Ric Flair: To Be the Man. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7434-5691-2.
- Brian Shields (2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 1-4165-3257-9.
- Specific
- ^ Burkholder, Denny (January 26, 2017). "The Lost Royal Rumble and how a signature WWE event survived despite early failure". CBSSports. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ Ric Flair. Ric Flair: To Be the Man (p.161)
- ^ "Royal Rumble results". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
- ^ Brian Shields. Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s (p.166)
- ^ Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160)
- ^ Sullivan, Kevin (November 23, 2010). The WWE Championship: A Look Back at the Rich History of the WWE Championship. Gallery Books. p. 124. ISBN 9781439193211.
At the time, SummerSlam was one of WWE's "Big Five" Pay-Per-Views (Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, King of the Ring, and Survivor Series were the others), ...
- ^ News 3 Staff (August 22, 2021). "Las Vegas to host WWE's Money in the Bank in 2022". KSNV. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ WWE.com Staff (January 5, 2023). "Money in the Bank headed to The O2 in London on Saturday, July 1". WWE. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
The O2 is one of the world's premier venues and the perfect home for Money In The Bank. We are excited to bring one of our 'Big 5' events to the UK and look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to London on July 1.
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- ^ Sacco, Justine; Weitz, Michael (April 7, 2011). "The New WWE" (Press release). Connecticut: WWE. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
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- ^ Hooton, Christopher (February 24, 2014). "WWE Network: Price, schedule and everything else you need to know". The Independent. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ WWE.com Staff (March 8, 2021). "WWE Network to launch on Peacock March 18". WWE. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ "WWE ThunderDome will head to Tampa Bay's Tropicana Field beginning Friday, Dec. 11". WWE. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 19, 2020). "WWE ThunderDome Moving To Tropicana Field On December 11". Fightful. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (September 27, 2021). "WWE Announces Date And Location For Royal Rumble 2022". Fightful. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ Gaydos, Ryan (June 24, 2024). "WWE to host 3 major premium live events in Indianapolis, starting with 2025 Royal Rumble". Fox Business. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk (January 29, 2007). "Old guard dominates Rumble". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ WWE.com Staff (December 18, 2017). "The first-ever 30-Woman Over-The-Top Royal Rumble Match". WWE.com. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
- ^ a b "Specialty Matches: Royal Rumble". WWE. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
- ^ Waldman, Jon (February 2, 2005). "Statistical survival – breaking down the Royal Rumble". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk (January 30, 2006). "Mysterio claims Rumble; Cena reigns again". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ YouShoot Swoggle (Hornswoggle). Kayfabe Commentaries. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1988 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1988 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1989 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1989 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1990 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1990 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1991 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1991 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1992 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1992 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1993 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1993 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1994 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1994 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1995 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1995 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1996 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1996 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1997 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1997 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1998 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1998 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Powell, John (January 19, 1998). "Austin wins predictable Rumble". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 1999 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1999 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Gramlich, Chris (January 25, 1998). "McMahon wins Rumble, Rock champ again". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2000 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2000 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Powell, John (January 24, 1998). "Rocky wins the Rumble, A bloody Triple H defeats Cactus Jack". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2001 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2001 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Powell, John (January 22, 1998). "Surprises dominate Rumble 2001". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2002 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
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- ^ Powell, John (January 21, 1998). "Rumble 2002 stumbles, Triple H wins WrestleMania spot". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2003 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2003 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2004 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2004 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 4, 2009. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Powell, John (January 26, 1998). "Benoit wins the 'Rumble'". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2005 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2005 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Plummer, Dale (January 31, 1998). "Batista claims the Rumble". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2006 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2006 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ Plummer, Dale (January 30, 1998). "Mysterio claims Rumble; Cena reigns again". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2007 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2007 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ Plummer, Dale (January 28, 1998). "Old guard dominates Rumble". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 24, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2008 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 2008 Main Event Synopsis". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
- ^ Plummer, Dale (January 28, 1998). "Cena wins Rumble in surprise return". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Royal Rumble 2009 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
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- ^ Powers, Kevin (January 29, 2012). "WWE Champion CM Punk def. Dolph Ziggler (Special Guest Referee John Laurinaitis)". WWE. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
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- ^ Royal Rumble (2015)#Results
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- ^ Powell, Jason (January 31, 2021). "WWE Royal Rumble results: Powell's live review of the Royal Rumble matches, Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg for the WWE Championship, Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens in a Last Man Standing match for the WWE Universal Championship, Sasha Banks vs. Carmella for the Smackdown Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (September 27, 2021). "WWE Announces Date And Location For Royal Rumble 2022". Fightful. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
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- ^ Russell, Skylar (June 24, 2024). "WWE Royal Rumble 2025 To Take Place On February 1 In Indianapolis, City Set To Host Future WrestleMania And SummerSlam Events". Fightful. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
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Further reading
- Harley Race and Gerry Tritz (2004). King of the Ring: The Harley Race Story. Sports Publishing. ISBN 1-58261-818-6.
- Davies, Ross (2002). Kevin Nash. The Rosen Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8239-3492-6.
- Meltzer, Dave (2004). Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-817-8.
- Brian Fritz and Christopher Murray (2006). Between the Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures. ECW Press. ISBN 1-55022-726-2.
- Steve Austin and Jim Ross (2003). The Stone Cold Truth. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-7434-7720-0.
- Scott Keith (2004). Wrestling's One Ring Circus: The Death of the World Wrestling Federation. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2619-X.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- Royal Rumble Official Website
- WWE.com: Royal Rumble match description
- WWE.com: Royal Rumble Facts & Figures
- Royal Rumble History at About.com Archived December 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- WWE Royal Rumble Archived October 31, 2017, at the Wayback Machine