As of the day this column goes live to the world, we will be five days away from the 2025 edition of the Royal Rumble. It remains one of the biggest events of the pro wrestling year, and many fans continue to say that it is their favorite annual show anywhere.
I’m a big-time stats nerd when it comes to sports, and that certainly extends to pro wrestling. Because of that, I l-o-v-e Royal Rumble season. That’s when you see those statistical breakdown videos on WWE programming leading up to the show, with discussions about who has eliminated the most people through the years, who has lasted the longest in the Rumble, and so on.
With that in mind, I’ve been looking at a whole bunch of Rumble statistics, and I figured this was a pretty good time to talk about them. It sure makes more sense to talk about it now than in, say, July.
Let’s throw a bunch of numbers out there, shall we?
– “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has won the Royal Rumble on three different occasions (1997, 1998, 2001), making him the only person to ever reach that mark. Right now, there are nine men tied at two Rumble wins each. That group consists of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Batista, Triple H, Randy Orton, Edge, Brock Lesnar, and Cody Rhodes. I think we can safely rule out Hogan, Michaels, Batista, Triple H, and Edge winning the Rumble this year. As of the moment I type this sentence, Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar aren’t official entrants in the 2025 Rumble, but I don’t think it would shock the world if either of them were involved. Chances are, Cody Rhodes isn’t going to be in the Rumble, so we can probably eliminate him, pun intended. That leaves one of the betting favorites to be victorious this year… John Cena. I’ve already mentioned that WWE is probably dying to have their choice for the on-screen “GOAT,” Cena, pass Ric Flair’s World Title reign record. Could they also add to it by having Cena tie Austin’s record for most Rumble wins?
– Do you think Rey Mysterio will last more than 44 minutes and 48 seconds in this year’s Rumble? How about Randy Orton entering the match and lasting more than 25:25? If either of those things happen, Rey or Randy will become the record holder for the longest cumulative time spent in Royal Rumble matches during a career. The current record holder is Chris Jericho, with a whopping 4:59:33 spent in Rumbles. Nearly five entire hours of his life spent in these things is crazy. The fact that he remains the record holder, even though he hasn’t wrestled for WWE since 2018, is even crazier. Outside of the three names mentioned here, only Cody Rhodes (4:05:14) and Triple H (4:00:50) have topped the four-hour mark. If Sheamus lasts 33:39 this year, or if CM Punk lasts 50:04, they would reach the four-hour mark. Just for fun… if Kofi Kingston lasts 8:11, John Cena lasts 11:28, Roman Reigns lasts 15:54, Seth Rollins lasts 19:15, or Drew McIntyre lasts 35:14, they will reach the three-hour mark of cumulative time.
– It probably shouldn’t be too surprising to find out that Kane owns the record for most overall eliminations in Rumble history with 46. Actually, that’s Glenn Jacobs, not Kane, as he also has one elimination while he portrayed the Isaac Yankem character. If you’re wondering whether or not we’ll see his record broken this year, I’d say the odds are slim to none, and slim is looking for his car keys so that he can leave. The next three names on the all-time list are The Undertaker (40 eliminations), Shawn Michaels (39), and Steve Austin (36). After that, we have Braun Strowman, with 34 eliminations. I could absolutely see him eliminating at least one or two people this year, but 13? Sure, he eliminated 13 people during the Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, but that match had 50 people in it, and it was nearly seven years and multiple injuries ago for Braun. If Roman Reigns or Brock Lesnar breaks the all-time record for most eliminations in a single year and reach 14 eliminations this year, they will also pass Kane for the cumulative record, but I just don’t see that taking place. I wouldn’t be surprised if Roman eliminated a good amount this year, and then broke Kane’s record in his next Rumble appearance, though.
– While we’re discussing Kane, it’s also worth pointing out that Glenn Jacobs has appeared in a total of 20 Rumble matches, which is the most of anyone ever. That’s a great indicator of the type of luck that goes into being a top-tier pro wrestler. Injuries are a major part of the sport, but to appear in 20 Rumble matches means that, for the most part, you avoided the major injuries… the broken necks, torn knee ligaments, and things of that nature. That type of dependability goes a long way with a wrestling promotion. If you’re wondering if anyone can come close to his record this year, it all depends on your definition of “close.” Kofi Kingston isn’t currently listed as a Rumble entrant for this year, but you have to assume he’ll be in the match. If he does, it will mark his 17th Rumble, putting him in second place. The Miz could be entering his 16th Rumble this year. Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton will hit the 15 Rumble mark with their participation this year. Those are the only people even remotely close to Kane. Well, at least the ones with any sort of realistic chance of being in this year’s Rumble. If you think Shawn Michaels or Big Show are going to be in the match, they’ll hit 13 Rumbles. Actually, I’m going to take back something I just said. There is someone who does have a realistic chance of being in the 2025 Rumble, and if he does, he will also be in the “16 Rumble” Club… the artist-formerly-known-as Dolph Ziggler, Nic Nemeth himself. With WWE and TNA announcing a working partnership recently, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the former longtime WWE wrestler make a return, but I’m guessing that Joe Hendry would be the TNA wrestler in the Rumble this year, if we get one at all.
– When you think about the “biggest” Royal Rumble matches ever, what criteria are you using to determine what makes them the “biggest?” For me, it’s all about World Title reigns. To be specific, how many World Title reigns are represented by the 30 Rumble entrants in a particular year. Going by the titles that are almost universally referred to as “World Titles,” the “biggest” Royal Rumble of all-time was 2021, when a whopping 76 reigns entered the ring that night. If you’re wondering, the lowest number of World Title reigns in a single Royal Rumble was three, achieved in 1989, 1991, and 1995. 2024’s Rumble match saw a total of 26 World Title reigns in the field, which was the lowest number since 2015 (24), and of the 37 Rumble matches, it would rank 19th. As of this moment, the 2025 Rumble has ten official entrants. Those entrants combine to have 46 World Title reigns, which has everyone excited. Even if the remaining 20 entrants bring zero World Title reigns to the table, the 2025 Rumble would rank 12th all-time. With potential additions like Randy Orton, AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, and The Rock, this could easily end up being the “biggest” Royal Rumble we’ve ever seen.
– What about the women? Obviously, the women’s Rumble doesn’t quite have the same level of hype that the men’s match does, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’ve only seen seven of them. With there only being seven women’s Rumbles, we haven’t seen anyone win more than one. Does that change this year? Asuka is still on the shelf after having knee surgery, but she has been out of action for about nine months now, so I guess it wouldn’t be the biggest shock if she returned, especially with new rumors that the WWE Creative Team has been pitching return ideas for her recently. Becky Lynch is reportedly under WWE contract, although she hasn’t made her return yet. Charlotte Flair has been out of action for a long time, but a recent return vignette had her announcing her return for the Rumble, making her an immediate betting favorite. Bianca Belair hasn’t been a singles champion since she dropped the WWE Women’s Title to Iyo Sky at SummerSlam 2023, but that’s because she has been a tag wrestler in the time since. Ronda Rousey is no longer with the company, and wasn’t exactly making great impressions on the WWE Universe when she was last there, but it’s Rumble time, so surprises are always expected. Rhea Ripley is the current Women’s World Champion, so she isn’t expected to be involved in the Royal Rumble. Bayley is someone that is always a threat as long as she’s around, so she’s looking to win back-to-back Rumble matches. If you read the column I posted last week, I said that I would have Bianca win the Rumble and go on to challenge Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania. That would make her the first two-time women’s Rumble winner, but it’s going to be tough.
– If you’re a degenerate gambler looking to make money on some betting… one, get some help, but two, there are some numbers to look at. It should come as no surprise that more entrants have won the Royal Rumble from the #30 spot than anywhere else. 2007, 2008, 2016, 2022, and 2023 saw the Rumble winners come from that spot. For years, the #27 spot was the place to be, with winners coming from that number in 1989, 1993, 1994, and 2001. The #1 (1995, 2004, 2021) and #24 (1991, 1998, 2000) spots are up next with three winners each. If you’re looking for a “long shot,” there has never been a Royal Rumble winner that entered the match at #4, #6, #7, #9, #11, #12, #17, #20, #21, or #26 spots. Maybe one of those is your lucky number and could help you win big this year.
– Earlier, I discussed Chris Jericho’s cumulative time record. What about the single-year records? Here’s something that I found interesting. In the 37 men’s Royal Rumble matches throughout history, a total of seven men have spent over an hour in a single match… Ric Flair in 1992, Bob Backlund in 1993, Chris Benoit in 2004, Triple H in 2006, Rey Mysterio in 2006, Chris Jericho in 2017, and Gunther in 2023. However, with only seven women’s Rumble matches in history, we’ve already seen four women spend over an hour in a single match… Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley in 2023, followed by Naomi and Bayley in 2024. You can take whatever you want from that. I just find it interesting that there has been more of a focus on the “iron women” in Royal Rumble history.
– It wouldn’t be a Royal Rumble column written by yours truly if I didn’t casually mention the curse of the #14 spot. Very quickly, for those new to my work… I took the baton from former columnist, Sheepster, and helped popularize the “conspiracy theory” that men who have entered Royal Rumble matches in the #14 spot often find themselves dealing with major personal and/or professional setbacks, from the loss of jobs to the loss of life, and everything in between. With 37 Rumbles, you could say that the “curse” has struck on 17 occasions, which is a pretty insane clip. Without fail, I’ll get mentions on social media and in messages every year during the Royal Rumble, generally while #12 or #13 are making their entrance for the match, with people looking forward to seeing who may be the next person to see their lives and/or careers altered in a dramatic way. That’s just something for you to keep in mind as you watch the Rumble this weekend.
This is a beautiful time of year to be a pro wrestling fan. If you’re going to partake in the Rumble festivities, please enjoy the show. I don’t have any specific questions for you this week, but feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s get to my Weekly Power Rankings, before we close things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this very column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Gunther vs Jey Uso: Complain if you want about WWE once again teasing pushing Jey to the top, only to pull the rug out from underneath him, but this match did a really good job making him seem like he was going to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Great match. As I mentioned last week, I’m not only concerned about how many times Jey can lose World Title matches (he’s now 0-6 in those matches on television or pay-per-view), but also with Saturday Night’s Main Event, which is presented as a glorified house show where nothing truly happens.
Jacob Fatu: Since Solo Sikoa lost to Roman Reigns during the Raw debut on Netflix, WWE has allowed Jacob Fatu to show more of a personality, and it has worked out tremendously well for the man. There is nobody more believable on the microphone in the entire sport than Jacob Fatu. The man isn’t playing a character on television, and you can FEEL it during his promos. I don’t know if this is leading to anything in particular, but I do think Solo is in trouble. Fatu looks like an absolute monster right now, but… again, I don’t know if this is leading to anything… I think “The Samoan Werewolf” could become a HUGE face for the company if things continue down this path.
Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre: Another big-time pay-per-view type of match on Raw. They’re good for at least one of those every week now. Hopefully, they don’t run out of matches, as they try to keep from ruining too many potential WrestleMania and SummerSlam type bouts.
“Timeless” Toni Storm: Everyone knew Toni was “acting” when it came to her recent return to her original character, but it was still really cool to see her slip back into being “Timeless” again. Her upcoming match against Mariah May in Australia feels like a huge deal.
Bron Breakker vs Sheamus: Another Intercontinental Title shot for Sheamus, and another loss for the man. It’s really starting to look like what I mentioned in last week’s column… Sheamus will be so desperate to win the title that he puts his career on the line for one final shot, probably at WrestleMania. That should be a ton of fun.
Konosuke Takeshita vs Katsuyori Shibata: I’m aware that Shibata has wrestled a ton of matches for AEW and Ring Of Honor, but it’s still crazy to see him back in the ring after what was a life-threatening subdural hematoma in 2017 that led to him suffering partial paralysis. I’m loving the opportunity to continuously see something most people never thought we’d be able to see again.
Jimmy Uso vs Kevin Owens: This was one of Jimmy’s best singles outings in a long time, and has made people want to see him get the chance to shine as a singles wrestler just like his brother has been able to do. I dig the idea, honestly, but he might need some tweaks to the presentation. For too long, he has been the completely unserious character in the entire Bloodline story, but we’ll see.
Damian Priest vs Carmelo Hayes: It’s good to see Priest move to Smackdown, keeping him as far away from The Judgment Day as physically possible. There are a lot of fresh matches and feuds that he could have on Friday nights. I’m excited for the possibilities.
Bobby Lashley & Shelton Benjamin: While the entire thing didn’t do much for the former champions, Private Party, it’s cool to see Bobby and Shelton as the new AEW Tag Team Champions. They’re great, and have been great for a long time. I’m not saying they should be the longest-reigning AEW Tag Team Champions of all-time (the record is currently 302 days, held by The Young Bucks during their first reign), but I’m not NOT saying it, either. They shouldn’t be losing to some “lesser” duo on a random episode of Dynamite or Collision.
Penta vs Pete Dunne: WWE really does seem to be high on Penta, and it looks like he could be a major star in the not-too-distant future. This is going to be a fun ride to go on.
Swerve Strickland vs AR Fox: Yes, you could say that Fox had no business lasting as long in the ring with someone of Swerve’s stature, and you’d probably be right, but at least the match was a good one. I guess that counts for a lot.
Rhea Ripley vs Nia Jax: Rhea doesn’t exactly get a ton of opportunities to participate in a match that doesn’t see her as the biggest and strongest woman involved. Those types of situations allow for wrestlers to change their style up a bit, and it usually ends up being really cool, just like this was.
Bayley vs Nia Jax: Easy peasy idea… Nia needed a good performance to build her up for her title shot against Rhea, and that’s what she had her. Bayley is good enough to have these performances, lose, and not be hurt too much by it.
Jamie Hayter vs Julia Hart: For completely different reasons, these two women are trying to fight their way back up from very low stretches, and it led them to working extra hard here. Needless to say, I’m okay with that.
This Week’s Playlist: “Not Your Man” by Teddy Swims… “Your Kind Of Crazy” by Teddy Swims… “Bad Dreams” by Teddy Swims… “Backseat Driver” by Kane Brown… “Rescue” by Kane Brown & Khalid… “Haunted” by Kane Brown & Jelly Roll… “Gorgeous” by Kane Brown… “When You Forget” by Kane Brown… “Slow Motion” by Alessia Cara… “Holy Ground” by BigXThaPlug & Jessie Murph… “I Believe” by Killswitch Engage… “A Hope In Hell” by Bleed From Within… “Atonement” by Employed To Serve & Will Ramos… “Shabba” by A$AP Ferg & A$AP Rocky… “Residuals” by Chris Brown… “Top Back (Remix)” by T.I., Jeezy, Young Dro, BG & Big Kuntry… “Pose” by Daddy Yankee… “You Got It All” by The Jets… “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me)” by LISA… “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” by Fall Out Boy… “Outstanding” by The Gap Band… “I’m Your Puppet” by James & Bobby Purify… “Ooh Baby Baby” by Ralfi Pagan… “Come On, Let’s Go” by Ritchie Valens… “Donna” by Ritchie Valens