WWE Rumor Mill: How much Chris Jericho was paid for his appearance at Greatest Royal Rumble
About WWE Greatest Royal Rumble
The Greatest Royal Rumble was a single PPV event organized by WWE in April 2018. The event was the first WWE event held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a part of WWE's deal with Saudi Arabia in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. The program is a reform program for the country's society and economy.
The event was held on April 27, 2018, at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the event, every main roster male title was defended and a 50 Men Royal Rumble match took place. This is the only time the format has taken place besides the Royal Rumble PPV and the only time when a total of 50 participants entered the match. The eponymous match was the last time when Chris Jericho, The Great Khali, Mark Henry and Hornswoggle wrestled in WWE.
Singles match for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
10:15
Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy defeated Cesaro and Sheamus by pinfall
Tag team match for the vacant WWE Raw Tag Team Championship
08:50
Jeff Hardy (c) defeated Jinder Mahal by pinfall
Singles match for the WWE United States Championship
06:10
The Bludgeon Brothers (Harper and Rowan) (c) defeated The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) by pinfall
Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship
05:05
Seth Rollins (c) defeated The Miz, Finn Bálor, and Samoa Joe
Ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
15:05
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ended in a double countout
Singles match for the WWE Championship
14:25
The Undertaker defeated Rusev (with Aiden English)
Casket match
09:40
Brock Lesnar (c) (with Paul Heyman) defeated Roman Reigns by escaping the cage
Steel Cage match for the WWE Universal Championship
09:15
Braun Strowman won by last eliminating Big Cass
50-man Royal Rumble match for the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Trophy and Championship
01:17:20
WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Background and History
The Royal Rumble match and the PPV both first took place in 1988. Since then, the January-based event is known for its over-the-top timed battle royal match where entrants enter the ring at fixed intervals and can be eliminated only when they are thrown over the top rope. There are no disqualifications and the one who stays in the ring the last gets the win. Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble match has been awarded a world title match at WrestleMania except for the 2016 event, where Roman Reigns was forced to defend his WWE Championship in the Royal Rumble match itself.
In 2018, WWE introduced a Royal Rumble match for its women's roster as well. 2018 was the first year to have two Royal Rumble matches. However, just a few weeks later, it became the only year, thus far, to actually have three Royal Rumble matches. In March 2018, WWE announced an event in Saudi Arabia and that a 50-man Royal Rumble match would be the highlight of the night. Further, all main roster male titles were announced to be defended at the event. No women took part in the event.
WWE Greatest Royal Rumble - Who Won?
Braun Strowman won the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble match.
Some of the biggest names in WWE took part in the event. Multi-time world champions and WrestleMania main-eventers John Cena and Triple H opened the night with a 16-minute fight. This was followed by the NXT Cruiserweight Championship match where Cedric Alexander retained his gold against Kalisto.
Up next, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Vacant WWE Tag Team Championship. Jeff Hardy then retained the United States Championship against Jinder Mahal. In the next three matches, The Bludgeon Brothers, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles retained their SmackDown Tag Team Championship, Intercontinental Championship and WWE Championship. The Undertaker then defeated Rusev in a Casket Match. In the penultimate match, Brock Lesnar retained the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns.
The eponymous 50-Men Royal Rumble match was won by Braun Strowman who eliminated 14 superstars to ensure his victory.
On to the trivia of the event. A total of 26 World Champions had wrestled in the ten matches of the event. Speaking in terms of 2023, these matches involved 14 superstars who have at least once headlined WrestleMania. Further, there were eleven wrestlers in these matches who have won the Royal Rumble match at least once in their careers.
WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Participants and Stats
No.
Wrestler
Brand
Elimination Order
Eliminated by
Time
Elimination(s)
1
Daniel Bryan
SmackDown
48
Big Cass
1:16:05
3
2
Dolph Ziggler
Raw
12
Kurt Angle
21:44:00
3
3
Sin Cara
SmackDown
1
Dolph Ziggler
1:18:00
0
4
Curtis Axel
Raw
2
Mark Henry
2:00:00
0
5
Mark Henry
HOF
5
Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler
3:27:00
3
6
Mike Kanellis
Raw
3
Mark Henry
0:03:00
0
7
Hiroki Sumi
Free Agent
4
Mark Henry
0:46:00
0
8
Viktor
Raw
6
Daniel Bryan
0:51:00
0
9
Kofi Kingston
SmackDown
14
Elias
16:34:00
1
10
Tony Nese
205 Live
9
Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods
7:13:00
1
11
Dash Wilder
Raw
7
Daniel Bryan and Hornswoggle
1:26:00
0
12
Hornswoggle
Free Agent
8
Dolph Ziggler and Tony Nese
1:00:00
1
13
Primo
SmackDown
11
Kurt Angle
5:10:00
0
14
Xavier Woods
SmackDown
15
Elias
9:56:00
1
15
Bo Dallas
Raw
10
Kurt Angle
1:34:00
0
16
Kurt Angle
Raw
16
Elias
7:59:00
3
17
Scott Dawson
Raw
19
Bobby Roode
11:44:00
0
18
Goldust
Raw
18
Bobby Roode
10:04:00
0
19
Konnor
Raw
13
Elias
2:25:00
0
20
Elias
Raw
41
Bobby Lashley
34:04
5
21
Luke Gallows
SmackDown
20
Rey Mysterio
9:16:00
0
22
Rhyno
Raw
25
Roderick Strong
16:22:00
0
23
Drew Gulak
205 Live
17
Tucker Knight
1:47:00
0
24
Tucker Knight
NXT
23
Big E
10:08:00
1
25
Bobby Roode
Raw
29
Baron Corbin
17:44:00
2
26
Fandango
Raw
21
Mojo Rawley
3:42:00
0
27
Chad Gable
Raw
24
Apollo Crews
8:17:00
0
28
Rey Mysterio
Free Agent
37
Baron Corbin
20:25:00
1
29
Mojo Rawley
Raw
27
Randy Orton
8:52:00
2
30
Tyler Breeze
Raw
22
Mojo Rawley
0:16:00
0
31
Big E
SmackDown
33
Braun Strowman
13:59:00
1
32
Karl Anderson
SmackDown
26
Randy Orton
4:25:00
0
33
Apollo Crews
Raw
28
Randy Orton
3:26:00
1
34
Roderick Strong
NXT
30
Baron Corbin
6:00:00
1
35
Randy Orton
SmackDown
39
Elias
10:58:00
4
36
Heath Slater
Raw
34
Braun Strowman
7:38:00
0
37
Babatunde
NXT
31
Braun Strowman
5:53:00
0
38
Baron Corbin
Raw
38
Randy Orton
7:08:00
3
39
Titus O'Neil
Raw
35
Braun Strowman
4:42:00
0
40
Dan Matha
NXT
32
Braun Strowman
2:01:00
0
41
Braun Strowman
Raw
—
Winner
22:14:00
13
42
Tye Dillinger
SmackDown
36
Braun Strowman
0:29:00
0
43
Curt Hawkins
Raw
40
Braun Strowman
0:20:00
0
44
Bobby Lashley
Raw
45
Braun Strowman
14:38:00
2
45
The Great Khali
Free Agent
42
Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley
0:31:00
0
46
Kevin Owens
Raw
47
Braun Strowman
10:43:00
0
47
Shane McMahon
SmackDown
44
Braun Strowman
8:07:00
0
48
Shelton Benjamin
SmackDown
43
Chris Jericho
4:23:00
0
49
Big Cass
SmackDown
49
Braun Strowman
7:23:00
1
50
Chris Jericho
SmackDown
46
Braun Strowman
3:18:00
1
FAQs
The one-off 2018 WWE Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia had 50 participants.
The Greatest Royal Rumble is one of the grandest event of WWE to kickstart its working relationship with Saudi Arabia, the land Vince McMahon now considers to be the new home of WWE.
Yes. 50 Men entered the 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble match in April 2018. Unlike the conventional Royal Rumble, the winner was not awarded a WrestleMania match. Instead, the winner Braun Strowman was awarded the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Championship.
A total of 50 men entered the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018.
Braun Strowman eliminated 13 wrestlers in the Greatest Royal Rumble.
Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman are tied at 13 for the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match. While Strowman did so in the 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble, Lesnar threw off 13 men in the traditional Royal Rumble in 2020.