 WWE Royal Rumble match in 2009 | |
| Founded | October 1987 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Pat Patterson Vince McMahon |
| Organizing body | WWE |
| Competitors | 30[A] 20 (1988) 40 (2011) 50 (GRR) |
| Most recent champions | Roman Reigns &Liv Morgan (2026) |
| Most titles | Stone Cold Steve Austin (three) |
| Tournament format | Staggered entry battle royal |
| Notes | |
| ^ A: The Royal Rumble match traditionally features 30 competitors, though some exceptions have been made in select matches. | |
TheRoyal Rumble match is aprofessional wrestling match based on the classicbattle royal match 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.[1][2] The match is typically the main event ofWWE's Januarypay-per-view and livestreaming event known as theRoyal Rumble. The winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated.[1][3] The Royal Rumble match was created by wrestler andWWE Hall of FamerPat Patterson and was first staged at ahouse show in October 1987.[4]
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin holds the record for most victories at three, achieved in1997,1998, and2001, whileHulk Hogan,Shawn Michaels,John Cena,Batista,Triple H,Randy Orton,Edge,Brock Lesnar,Cody Rhodes,Charlotte Flair, and Roman Reigns have all won the match twice, with Hogan, Michaels, Austin, and Rhodes as the only four to win back-to-back matches.
The term "Royal Rumble" istrademarked by WWE.[5] However, multiple otherprofessional wrestling promotions have introduced their own derivations of the Royal Rumble match, for exampleWorld War 3 inWorld Championship Wrestling, theGauntlet for the Gold inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling, and theCasino Battle Royale inAll Elite Wrestling.
The Royal Rumble differs from the classicalbattle royal as the contestants do not enter the ring at the same time, but instead are assigned entry numbers, usually via alottery, although desirable spots are occasionally assigned by other means, the most common being winning a match.[1] The match begins with the two wrestlers who have drawn entry numbers one and two, with the remaining wrestlers entering the ring at regular timed intervals, either 90 seconds or two minutes (60 seconds for the1995 event), according to their entry number.[1] This format is credited toPat Patterson.[6] To date, only six wrestlers who have been one of the starting two entrants have won the Royal Rumble:Shawn Michaels in1995,Vince McMahon in1999,Chris Benoit in2004,Rey Mysterio in2006,Edge in2021, andRhea Ripley in2023. (Michaels, Benoit, Edge, and Ripley were entrant number 1 while McMahon and Mysterio were number 2), while only five wrestlers who have been the final entrant won the Royal Rumble:The Undertaker in2007,John Cena in2008,Triple H in2016,Brock Lesnar in2022, andCody Rhodes in 2023. The most common number to win is 30, and 16 eventual winners entered at number 25 or later.
The Royal Rumble match traditionally involves 30 wrestlers and usually lasts an hour (the2011 edition had a 40-man field). The2025 men's installment of the match was the longest, lasting one hour and 20 minutes while thefirst televised Rumble match in1988 involved only 20 men[7] and lasted 33 minutes of the two-hour broadcast.[8] The1998 match nominally had the traditional 30-man field, but only 28 individual wrestlers competed asMick Foley entered the Royal Rumble match three different times as three different gimmicks—first as Cactus Jack, then Mankind and finally Dude Love.[9] The 2018 Royal Rumble PPV was the first to include awomen's Royal Rumble match,[10] contested under the same rules as the men's match, including having 30 participants.[11][12]
According to the rules, participants are eliminated from the match if moved over the top rope and both feet touch the floor. Hence, a wrestler who exits the ring without going over the top rope is not eliminated from the contest. For example, during the1999 match, both McMahon and"Stone Cold" Steve Austin left the ring only to return later in the match.[13] Furthermore, a wrestler who only touches the floor with one foot is not eliminated from the match, a rule which greatly affected the 1995 match, allowing Michaels to re-enter the ring and win the match. Although he has not won a Royal Rumble match,Kofi Kingston has become synonymous with finding various ways to keep at least one of his feet from touching the floor.[14] In the1994 match, the last two participants (Bret Hart andLex Luger) were declared co-winners when officials were unable to determine whose feet touched the floor first.[15] Although this was the intended outcome, a similar situation occurred by a legitimate accident in2005, whenBatista and John Cena eliminated each other and hit the ground at exactly the same time. This time, the match was restarted.[16] Though various referees are charged with observing the match, some eliminations have gone unnoticed to allow the eliminated participants to sneak back into the ring to continue. Austin was able to re-enter the ring in this way and win the1997 match.[17]
Although eliminations are usually caused by active participants, eliminations caused by other means have been ruled legitimate, including self-eliminations (such asAndré the Giant after seeing asnake in1989,Mil Máscaras diving out of the ring from the turnbuckle in 1997,Kane in 1999, andPat McAfee in 2024, althoughRandy Savage's jump over the top rope in1992 was not ruled as self-elimination), elimination by previously eliminated participants (such asThe Undertaker eliminatingMaven in2002,Kurt Angle eliminating Michaels in 2005 orSonya Deville eliminatingNaomi in 2022) or non-participants (such asShane McMahon eliminating Shawn Michaels in 2006 andThe Miz eliminating John Cena in 2011). Furthermore, an injured wrestler can return to the ring as long as the match is still ongoing (such as Austin in 1999,Roman Reigns in 2016, andRandy Orton in 2021), but not if the match has already ended (such asSpike Dudley in 2004,Scotty 2 Hotty in 2005, andRey Mysterio in 2023) and can also be replaced by another wrestler (such as Mick Foley replacingTest in 2004,Erick Rowan replacingCurtis Axel in2015,Sami Zayn replacingTye Dillinger in2018,Nia Jax replacingR-Truth in 2019,Becky Lynch replacingLana in 2019 andIShowSpeed replacingAkira Tozawa in 2025).
Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble match is traditionally awarded a title match for WWE'stop championship atWrestleMania—WWE currently promotes two main rosterbrands with a top championship for each and the winner can choose which championship to challenge for, regardless of the brand they belong to. For the men, that is theWorld Heavyweight Championship onRaw and theUndisputed WWE Championship onSmackDown.[18] Similarly, the winner of the women's Royal Rumble match (first contested in 2018) is awarded a match at WrestleMania for their choice of one of WWE's top women's championships: Raw'sWomen's World Championship, SmackDown'sWWE Women's Championship, or theNXT Women's Championship.[10][19] However, it has never been officially confirmed that a man or woman would be barred from challenging a different gender at WrestleMania. It has also not been confirmed, as of yet, if theNXT Championship is an eligible choice for the men's Royal Rumble match winner to face at WrestleMania.
With the firstbrand extension introduced in mid-2002, the 30 male entrants from2003 to 2006 consisted of 15 wrestlers from the Raw and SmackDown brands, respectively. At first, the winner of the match received a shot for their brand's top championship, either theoriginal World Heavyweight Championship or the WWE Championship.[20] Starting in 2004, the Royal Rumble winner had the option of challenging for either brand's top championship. For instance,Chris Benoit switched from SmackDown to Raw after winning the 2004 event to challenge for Raw's top championship at the time.[18] From 2007 to2010, participants from theECW brand competed along with the Raw and SmackDown brands, with theECW Championship added as an option, although no winner ever chose it.[21] During ECW's participation, the entries for each brand were not evenly divided.[22] The ECW Championship was deactivated in 2010, leaving the two remaining titles until they were unified in December 2013 as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. This singular option lasted until the brand extensions' return in 2016, which introduced the Universal Championship, as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship reverted to being called the WWE Championship. Like the first brand extension, the winner of the2017 event earned a match for their brand's top championship, the Universal Championship or WWE Championship, but beginning with the2018 event, the winner has a choice.NXT - WWE'sdevelopmental brand - was elevated to main roster status from September 2019 until September 2021, during that time NXT's top championships (theNXT Championship for men and theNXT Women's Championship for women) were also eligible choices. This ended when NXT reverted back to developmental status in September 2021, though in February 2025, the NXT Women's Championship became a eligible choice once more, but it is yet to be confirmed if the NXT Championship is as well. Since the return of the brand extension, the number of participants from each brand has not been evenly divided, as matches have also featured NXT wrestlers, as well has surprise entrants such asWWE Hall of Famers and/or debuting wrestlers.
WWE's top championship has been booked as on the line during the Royal Rumble match on two occasions. In 1992, the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship was contested in the Royal Rumble match, which was won byRic Flair,[23] while in 2016,Roman Reigns was scheduled to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship as a participant of that year's Royal Rumble match as entrant number one. This has thus far been the only time that a reigning champion had to defend his title in the match, which was ultimately won byTriple H, who eliminated Reigns before lastly eliminatingDean Ambrose to win; Reigns would earn a rematch against Triple H atWrestleMania 32 and won back the title. In 2008, ECW ChampionChavo Guerrero entered the Royal Rumble match as entrant number 26 before being eliminated by eventual winner John Cena. This was the first time in which a reigning world champion competed in the match in which the winner could challenge them. In2020, although he did not defend his title in the match, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar entered the Royal Rumble match as entrant number 1, feeling as if no one on any brand deserved to challenge him at either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. Lesnar's participation was used as a way to set up his WrestleMania challenger, which ended up beingDrew McIntyre, who eliminated Lesnar, won the Rumble match and then challenged Lesnar for his title atWrestleMania 36. In 2022, although she did not defend her title in the match, SmackDown Women's ChampionCharlotte Flair entered the Royal Rumble match as entrant number 17, feeling as if no one on any brand deserved to challenge her at either the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania. This was the first time in which a reigning women's champion competed in the match in which the champion could choose their opponent; Flair's participation was used as a way to set up her WrestleMania challenger, which ended up beingRonda Rousey, who eliminated Flair, won the Rumble match and then challenged Flair for her title atWrestleMania 38.
The Royal Rumble winner may also choose to put his championship opportunity on the line in a match. This was first done in 1996, when Shawn Michaels risked hisWrestleMania XII WWF Championship opportunity in a match againstOwen Hart atIn Your House 6. The second time was in 2002, when Triple H lost hisWrestleMania X8 Undisputed WWF Championship opportunity atNo Way Out toKurt Angle, but regained his spot in a rematch against Angle on the following episode ofRaw. The third time was in 2006, whenRandy Orton defeatedRey Mysterio atNo Way Out for Mysterio'sWrestleMania 22 World Heavyweight Championship opportunity, though Mysterio was reinserted into the title match, making it a triple threat match. The fourth time was on the February 25, 2013 edition ofRaw, where John Cena successfully defended hisWrestleMania 29 WWE Championship opportunity in a match againstCM Punk. The fifth time was in 2015 atFastlane, where Reigns defended hisWrestleMania 31 WWE World Heavyweight Championship opportunity againstDaniel Bryan. In a reverse case in 2008, John Cena decided that instead of waiting untilWrestleMania XXIV, he would use his world championship opportunity and challenge WWE Champion Orton at the precedingNo Way Out event, though won the match but not the title when Orton intentionally got himself disqualified; however, after Triple H became Orton's WrestleMania opponent, Cena earned another opportunity and was inserted into that championship match, making it a triple threat match. In another case in 2017, Randy Orton relinquished hisWrestleMania 33 WWE Championship opportunity after his stablemateBray Wyatt won the title, but later turned on Wyatt and reverted his decision; he then defeatedAJ Styles, who had become the new title challenger, to re-earn his title shot at WrestleMania.
During the 50 men-Greatest Royal Rumble in April 2018, the winnerBraun Strowman received atrophy and theGreatest Royal Rumble Championship.[24]
| Championship | Victories | Attempts | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| WWE Championship[a] | 11 | 20 | .550 |
| World Heavyweight Championship (2002–2013 version) | 5 | 7 | .714 |
| WWE Universal Championship[b] | 2 | 5 | .400 |
| World Heavyweight Championship (current version) | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Total | 18[c] | 32 | .581 |
| Winner | Event | Year | Championship match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yokozuna | WrestleMania IX | 1993 | Yokozuna defeatedBret Hart to win theWWF Championship, but lost it shortly afterwards toHulk Hogan in a impromptu match. |
| 2 | Lex Luger | WrestleMania X | 1994 | Luger lost toWWF ChampionYokozuna bydisqualification. |
| 2 | Bret Hart | WrestleMania X | 1994 | Hart defeatedYokozuna to win theWWF Championship. |
| 3 | Shawn Michaels | WrestleMania XI | 1995 | Michaels lost toWWF ChampionDiesel. |
| 4 | Shawn Michaels | WrestleMania XII | 1996 | Michaels successfully defended his title shot againstOwen Hart atIn Your House 6. Michaels went on to defeatBret Hart in a 60-minuteIron Man match to win theWWF Championship. |
| 5 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | WrestleMania 13 | 1997 | Austin was declared the winner after eliminatingBret Hart. Hart had actually thrown Austin out of the ring moments earlier, but the officials at ringside were distracted and did not see it. WWF PresidentGorilla Monsoon refused to give Austin the WrestleMania title shot due to his actions; Austin and Hart, along withThe Undertaker andVader, would face off in an elimination match atIn Your House 13: Final Four. The winner was originally to face the WWF Champion at WrestleMania, butShawn Michaels relinquished the title just before the event; the match would instead be contested for the vacant WWF Championship, which was won by Hart. Hart would lose the championship toSycho Sid the night after winning it; Sid would, in turn, lose the title to The Undertaker at WrestleMania. |
| 6 | Stone Cold Steve Austin | WrestleMania XIV | 1998 | Austin defeatedShawn Michaels to win theWWF Championship. |
| 7 | Mr. McMahon | WrestleMania XV | 1999 | The following night onRaw Is War, Mr. McMahon relinquished his opportunity to challenge for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania and promised to name a replacement challenger at his discretion. However, WWF CommissionerShawn Michaels informed him that the rules stated that the runner-up in the Royal Rumble, in this caseStone Cold Steve Austin, would receive the title match in his stead. Austin defended his championship opportunity against McMahon at February'sSt. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House pay-per-view, then defeatedThe Rock in a no disqualification match at WrestleMania. |
| 8 | The Rock | WrestleMania 2000 | 2000 | The Rock was initially declared the winner after last eliminatingThe Big Show. However, Big Show produced a video replay that showed Rock's feet touch the floor before his; after trading victories in matches for the WrestleMania title match against WWF ChampionTriple H, it was decided initially that the three men would face off in atriple threat match for the title; this would lead to afatal four way match at WrestleMania afterMick Foley was added to the match. Triple H won after last eliminating Rock. |
| 9 | "Stone Cold" Steve Austin | WrestleMania X-Seven | 2001 | Austin defeatedThe Rock in aNo Disqualification match to win theWWF Championship. |
| 10 | Triple H | WrestleMania X8 | 2002 | Triple H lost his WrestleMania X8 title shot toKurt Angle atNo Way Out. The following night onRaw, Triple H was given a rematch by WWF co-ownerRic Flair and defeated Angle to win his title shot back. Triple H went on to defeatChris Jericho to win theUndisputed WWF Championship at WrestleMania X8. |
| 11 | Brock Lesnar | WrestleMania XIX | 2003 | As a member of theSmackDown! brand, Lesnar earned a match for his own brand'sWWE Championship and defeatedKurt Angle to win the title; had Angle gotten counted out or disqualified, he would have lost the title per the stipulation. |
| 12 | Chris Benoit | WrestleMania XX | 2004 | Benoit won the Rumble as aSmackDown! wrestler, but switched to theRaw brand to challengeTriple H for theWorld Heavyweight Championship.Shawn Michaels, who was feuding with Triple H, later added himself to the match to make it atriple threat match. At WrestleMania XX, Benoit defeated Triple H and Michaels to win the title. |
| 13 | Batista | WrestleMania 21 | 2005 | Batista fromRaw chose to challenge for his own brand'sWorld Heavyweight Championship and defeatedTriple H to win the title. |
| 14 | Rey Mysterio | WrestleMania 22 | 2006 | Mysterio fromSmackDown! chose to challenge for his own brand'sWorld Heavyweight Championship, but lost his title shot toRandy Orton atNo Way Out. On the following episode ofSmackDown!, General ManagerTheodore Long re-added Mysterio to the World Heavyweight Championship match, making it atriple threat match. At WrestleMania 22, Mysterio defeated championKurt Angle and Orton to win the title. |
| 15 | The Undertaker | WrestleMania 23 | 2007 | The Undertaker fromSmackDown! chose to challenge for his own brand'sWorld Heavyweight Championship and defeatedBatista to win the title. |
| 16 | John Cena | No Way Out | 2008 | Instead of waiting untilWrestleMania XXIV, Cena fromRaw used his championship shot atNo Way Out to challenge for his own brand'sWWE Championship. Cena defeated championRandy Orton by disqualification, thus Orton retained as titles do not change hands by disqualification unless stipulated. Cena would nevertheless challenge for the title at WrestleMania XXIV in atriple threat match also featuringTriple H, with Orton again retaining. |
| 17 | Randy Orton | WrestleMania 25 | 2009 | Orton won the Rumble as aRaw wrestler, but chose to challenge forSmackDown'sWWE Championship, but lost toTriple H; had Triple H gotten counted out or disqualified, he would have lost the title per the stipulation. |
| 18 | Edge | WrestleMania XXVI | 2010 | Edge fromSmackDown chose to challenge for his own brand'sWorld Heavyweight Championship, but lost toChris Jericho. |
| 19 | Alberto Del Rio | WrestleMania XXVII | 2011 | Del Rio fromSmackDown chose to challenge for his own brand'sWorld Heavyweight Championship, but lost toEdge. |
| 20 | Sheamus | WrestleMania XXVIII | 2012 | Sheamus chose to challenge for theWorld Heavyweight Championship and defeatedDaniel Bryan to win the title. |
| 21 | John Cena | WrestleMania 29 | 2013 | Cena chose to challenge for theWWE Championship and successfully defended his title shot againstCM Punk on the February 25 episode ofRaw. At WrestleMania 29, Cena defeatedThe Rock to win the title. |
| 22 | Batista | WrestleMania XXX | 2014 | After months of feuding,Triple H agreed to faceDaniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXX, with the stipulation that whoever won would be inserted into theWWE World Heavyweight Championship match between championRandy Orton and Rumble winner Batista to make it atriple threat match. Bryan defeated Triple H in the opening match and went on to defeat Orton and Batista to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. |
| 23 | Roman Reigns | WrestleMania 31 | 2015 | Reigns successfully defended his title shot againstDaniel Bryan atFastlane. At WrestleMania 31 during Reigns' match against championBrock Lesnar,Seth Rollins cashed in hisMoney in the Bank contract, converting thesingles match between Reigns and Lesnar into atriple threat match. Rollins then defeated Lesnar and Reigns in the impromptu triple threat match by pinning Reigns to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. |
| 24 | Randy Orton | WrestleMania 33 | 2017 | As a member of theSmackDown brand, Orton earned a match for his own brand'sWWE Championship. After his fellowWyatt Family memberBray Wyatt won the championship atElimination Chamber and retained it on the followingSmackDown, Orton relinquished his championship opportunity. On the next episode ofSmackDown, however, Orton reverted his decision and turned on Wyatt. The following week, Orton defeatedAJ Styles, who had become the new number one contender for the title, to re-earn his title shot. At WrestleMania 33, Orton defeated Wyatt to win the title. |
| 25 | Shinsuke Nakamura | WrestleMania 34 | 2018 | Nakamura fromSmackDown chose to challenge for his own brand'sWWE Championship, but lost toAJ Styles. |
| 26 | Seth Rollins | WrestleMania 35 | 2019 | Rollins fromRaw chose to challenge for his own brand'sWWE Universal Championship and defeatedBrock Lesnar to win the title. |
| 27 | Drew McIntyre | WrestleMania 36 | 2020 | McIntyre fromRaw chose to challenge for his own brand'sWWE Championship and defeatedBrock Lesnar to win the title. |
| 28 | Edge | WrestleMania 37 | 2021 | Edge won as a free agent and chose to challenge forSmackDown'sWWE Universal Championship. After a controversial finish in the main event ofFastlane, which saw championRoman Reigns retain the title againstDaniel Bryan in a match where Edge served as thespecial guest enforcer, a decision was made to add Bryan to the match at WrestleMania, making it atriple threat match. At WrestleMania 37, Reigns defeated Edge and Bryan to retain the Universal Championship. |
| 29 | Brock Lesnar | WrestleMania 38 | 2022 | Lesnar, who came into theRoyal Rumble event asRaw'sWWE Champion and lost the title toBobby Lashley, came back in the main event as the surprise #30 entrant in the Rumble match, won the Rumble, and chose to challenge forSmackDown'sWWE Universal Championship. Lesnar would go on to win back the WWE Championship atElimination Chamber in anElimination Chamber match. It was then announced that the match between Lesnar and Universal ChampionRoman Reigns at WrestleMania 38 would be aWinner Takes All match for both the WWE and Universal Championships. At WrestleMania 38, Reigns defeated Lesnar to retain his Universal Championship and win Lesnar's WWE Championship,unifying the titles and subsequently becoming recognized as theUndisputed WWE Universal Champion. |
| 30 | Cody Rhodes | WrestleMania 39 | 2023 | Rhodes won the Rumble as aRaw wrestler, but due toRoman Reigns simultaneously holding Raw'sWWE Championship andSmackDown'sWWE Universal Championship as theUndisputed WWE Universal Championship, Rhodes earned a match against Reigns for the Undisputed title. At WrestleMania 39, Reigns defeated Rhodes to retain. |
| 31 | Cody Rhodes | WrestleMania XL | 2024 | Rhodes won the Rumble as aRaw wrestler, but chose to challenge forSmackDown'sUndisputed WWE Universal Championship and defeatedRoman Reigns in aBloodline Rules match to win the title. |
| 32 | Jey Uso | WrestleMania 41 | 2025 | Uso fromRaw chose to challenge for his own brand'sWorld Heavyweight Championship and defeatedGunther to win the title. |
| Championship | Victories | Attempts | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmackDown/Women's World Championship | 2 | 4 | .500 |
| WWE (Raw) Women's Championship | 2 | 3 | .667 |
| NXT Women's Championship | 1 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Total | 5 | 8 | .625 |
| Winner | Event | Year | Championship match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asuka | WrestleMania 34 | 2018 | Asuka won the Rumble as aRaw wrestler, but chose to challenge for theSmackDown Women's Championship, but lost toCharlotte Flair. |
| 2 | Becky Lynch | WrestleMania 35 | 2019 | Lynch won the Rumble as aSmackDown wrestler, but chose to challenge for theRaw Women's Championship. Lynch was removed from the match and suspended after continuously attacking the McMahon family and was replaced by Rumble runner-up,Charlotte Flair. AtFastlane, Lynch defeated Flair thanks to interference from championRonda Rousey, and as per the stipulation of that match, she was reinserted into the match at WrestleMania, making it atriple threat match. Flair then won theSmackDown Women's Championship on the March 26 episode ofSmackDown, leadingStephanie McMahon to announce that both titles would be on the line in aWinner Takes All match. At WrestleMania 35, Lynch defeated Rousey and Flair to win both titles. |
| 3 | Charlotte Flair | WrestleMania 36 | 2020 | Flair won the Rumble as aRaw wrestler, but chose to challenge for theNXT Women's Championship, and defeatedRhea Ripley to win the title. |
| 4 | Bianca Belair | WrestleMania 37 | 2021 | Belair fromSmackDown chose to challenge for her own brand'sSmackDown Women's Championship, and defeatedSasha Banks to win the title. |
| 5 | Ronda Rousey | WrestleMania 38 | 2022 | Rousey won as a free agent and chose to challenge for theSmackDown Women's Championship, but lost toCharlotte Flair. |
| 6 | Rhea Ripley | WrestleMania 39 | 2023 | Ripley won the Rumble as aRaw wrestler, but chose to challenge for theSmackDown Women's Championship, and defeatedCharlotte Flair to win the title. |
| 7 | Bayley | WrestleMania XL | 2024 | Bayley fromSmackDown chose to challenge for her own brand'sWWE Women's Championship, and defeatedIyo Sky to win the title. |
| 8 | Charlotte Flair | WrestleMania 41 | 2025 | Flair fromSmackDown chose to challenge for her own brand'sWWE Women's Championship, but lost toTiffany Stratton. |
WWE has also booked several Royal Rumble matches outside of pay-per-view events:
| Event | Date | City | Venue | Winner | Ref. | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | House show | October 4, 1987 | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis Arena | One Man Gang | [105][106] | 12-man Royal Rumble |
| 2 | House show | March 14, 1988 | East Rutherford, New Jersey | Brendan Byrne Arena | Jake Roberts | [107] | 22-man Royal Rumble |
| 3 | House show | March 16, 1988 | Hartford, Connecticut | Hartford Civic Center | Rick Rude | [108][109] | 22-man Royal Rumble |
| 4 | House show | January 17, 1994 | New York City, New York | Madison Square Garden | Owen Hart | [110] | 30-man Royal Rumble |
| 5 | House show | May 9, 1994 | Osaka, Japan | Castle Hall | The Undertaker | [110] | 18-man Royal Rumble |
| 6 | Raw | June 15, 1998 | San Antonio, Texas | Freeman Coliseum | Kane andMankind | [110] | 10-tag team Royal Rumble |
| 7 | Raw | January 11, 1999 | Houston, Texas | Compaq Center | Chyna | [110] | 10-personCorporation vs.DX corporate Royal Rumble for the number 30 spot in the1999 Royal Rumble |
| 8 | SmackDown | September 16, 1999 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Thomas & Mack Center | The Undertaker | [111] | 5-man Royal Rumble to determine the number one contender for the WWF Championship later that night |
| 9 | SmackDown | January 8, 2004 | Huntsville, Alabama | Von Braun Center | Chris Benoit | [112] | 4-man Royal Rumble |
| 10 | SmackDown | January 29, 2004 | Washington, D.C. | MCI Center | Eddie Guerrero | [113] | 15-manSmackDown! Royal Rumble to determine the number one contender for theWWE Championship atNo Way Out |
| 11 | Raw | January 22, 2007 | Lafayette, Louisiana | Cajundome | The Great Khali | [114] | 7-man Royal Rumble |
| 12 | Raw | January 14, 2008 | Mobile, Alabama | Mobile Civic Center | Hornswoggle | [115] | Mini Royal Rumble; 6-man, all participants weremidget wrestlers, with the exception ofThe Great Khali. |
| 13 | SmackDown | January 28, 2011 | Cincinnati, Ohio | U.S. Bank Arena | Kofi Kingston | [116] | 5-man Royal Rumble |
| 14 | Raw | January 31, 2011 | Providence, Rhode Island | Dunkin' Donuts Center | Jerry Lawler | [117] | 7-manRaw Rumble to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship atElimination Chamber |
| 15 | House show | October 27, 2017 | Sanford, Florida | Sanford Civic Center | Shayna Baszler | [118] | 15-woman costumed Halloween Rumble |
| 16 | Royal Rumble | January 28, 2018 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | Ric Flair[kfc 1] | [119][120] | KFC Colonel Rumble (9-man) |
| 17 | House show | October 27, 2018 | Orlando, Florida | Orlando Live Events | Stacey Ervin Jr. | [121] | 20-man costumed Halloween Rumble |
| 18 | House show | October 31, 2019 | Orlando, Florida | Orlando Live Events | Shayna Baszler | [122] | 16-woman costumed Halloween Rumble |
| 19 | Bronson Reed | 13-man costumed Halloween Rumble |
Stone Cold was actually eliminated during the match, but the referees failed to detect it, so he sneaked back in.