Royal Rumble

Photo: WWE

Everything you need to know about the Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble has become a popular mainstay on WWE’s calendar, known for its surprises and twists.

Royal Rumble

Photo: WWE

Since its start in January 1988, the Royal Rumble has become a popular mainstay on WWE’s calendar, known for its surprise appearances and unexpected winners. 

With 2023’s Royal Rumble taking place this weekend, Wrestling-World.com provide a fascinating deep dive into the current champions, records, and stats from Royal Rumble history.  

A spokesperson for Wrestling-World.com commented on the findings: “The WWE Royal Rumble is one of wrestling’s most legendary events, kicking off the year and setting the tone for what is to come for WrestleMania season. 

The Royal Rumble has a rich and interesting history since its beginning in 1988, with a lengthy list of legendary wrestlers setting some iconic records along the way. The following facts and statistics offer a fascinating insight into which matches are clear fan favourites and which superstars hold the most records to this day.”
 

The most viewed Royal Rumble matches on YouTube 

WWE’s YouTube channel is currently the 8th most subscribed to channel worldwide, with 92.7 million followers. WWE often upload full matches to YouTube for fans to rewatch, so below are the most popular Royal Rumble matches on the verified WWE channel. 


Currently, the most viewed match on YouTube is the 2017 Royal Rumble, with 128 million views. The 2017 Rumble was a star-studded affair, featuring superstar legends such as The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Goldberg, Randy Orton, and several other top stars from modern-day WWE.  

WWE smackdown Day 1 Brock Lesnar Royal Rumble
Two-time Royal Rumble winner Brock Lesnar. Photo: WWE

The most viewed women’s Royal Rumble match, and the seventh most viewed overall, is the 2019 Royal Rumble won by Becky Lynch, with 33 million views. 

The most viewed Royal Rumble matches on YouTube

Rank Year Views Men’s/Women’s 
1. 2017 128,298,794 Men’s 
2. 2020 89,239,597 Men’s 
3. 2018 80,421,380 Men’s 
4. 2008 74,001,113 Men’s 
5. 2016 57,912,789 Men’s 
6. 2010 36,930,412 Men’s 
7. 2019 33,764,419 Women’s 
8. 2019 31,082,495 Men’s 
9. 2012 27,972,770 Men’s 
10. 2020 24,409,067 Women’s 

The most Googled Rumble year 

  1. 2022 – 310,000 monthly searches.
  2. 2021 – 23,000 monthly searches.
  3. 2020 – 9,400 monthly searches.
  4. 2019 – 5,200 monthly searches.
  5. 2018 – 3,400 monthly searches.
  6. 2016 – 3,200 monthly searches.
  7. 2008 – 3,100 monthly searches.
  8. 2001 and 2023 – 3,000 monthly searches.
  9. 2000 – 2,900 monthly searches.
  10. 2017 – 2,700 monthly searches. 

Based on average monthly searches worldwide, the most Googled Royal Rumble year is 2022, which receives 310,000 average monthly searches worldwide. In second place is Rumble 2021, with 23,000 average monthly searches, and Rumble 2020 in third, receiving 9,400. Some older Rumbles also rank on the list, the oldest being Royal Rumble 2000, which places ninth, still receiving an average of 2,900 monthly searches worldwide. 

Wrestlers with the most appearances in the Royal Rumble 

  1. Kane/Isaac Yankem/Diesel (20 appearances)
  2. Dolph Ziggler (15 appearances)
  3. Kofi Kingston, Randy Orton (14 appearances)
  4. Goldust, The Miz, Rey Mysterio (13 appearances)
  5. Big Show, Shawn Michaels (12 appearances)
  6. Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, The Undertaker (11 appearances)
  7. Mark Henry, Rikishi (10 appearances)
  8. Great Khali, Mabel/Viscera, Sheamus, Triple H (9 appearances) 
  9. Booker T, Cody Rhodes, Edge, Godfather, John Cena, John Morrison, Matt Hardy, R-Truth (8 appearances)
  10. Baron Corbi, Billy Gunn, Bob Holly, Cesaro, Jake Roberts, Rick Martel, Owen Hart (7 appearances)   

Kane unsurprisingly still holds the record for the most Rumble appearances, competing in 20 matches in the event’s history, including appearances from Dr. Isaac Yankhem and Fake Diesel. He also holds the record for cumulative eliminations at 46. Dolph Ziggler ranks in second place with 15 Royal Rumble entries, with Kofi Kingson and Randy Orton following behind with 14 entries each. 

Who holds the record for the most Royal Rumble victories? 

Stone Cold Steve Austin currently holds the record for the most Royal Rumble victories, emerging victorious in 1997, 1998, and 2001. Although technically eliminated from the 1997 Rumble, Austin snook back into the ring while the officials were distracted and eliminated Bret Hart to win the match. 

Just eight wrestlers have won the Rumble twice; Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Batista, John Cena, Randy Orton, and Edge. 

Wrestlers with the most Rumble victories

Wins Wrestler Year 
3 Stone Cold Steve Austin 1997, 1998, 2001 
2 Hulk Hogan 1990, 1991 
2 Shawn Michaels 1995, 1996 
2 Triple H 2002, 2016 
2 Brock Lesnar 2003, 2022 
2 Batista 2005, 2014 
2 John Cena 2008, 2013 
2 Randy Orton 2009, 2017 
2Edge2010, 2021

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