5 Best No. 3 Entries in the Royal Rumble match

Every January the WWE hosts one of it's biggest annual events, the Royal Rumble. In the lead-up and during the fight itself, the WWE loves talking about the numerology of the occasion. The first two entries are generally painted as the unluckiest numbers to draw, as you start in the ring and in order to win, you have to last an hour. However, given that 4 winners have come from the two wrestlers who started in the ring number 3 is seen as the unluckiest entry into the Royal Rumble.

Given that they often interrupt an ongoing fight, they often get attacked by both the wrestlers that started in the ring. As the first two spots often contain wrestlers who are considered good enough to stick around for long periods and perform the ironman role of the match, the third wrestler entering into the match is often the first to be eliminated from it.

Only one winner from the number 3 position has gone on to win the Royal Rumble. The number 3 entry has been eliminated 14 times and has been unable to eliminate anyone in 22 Royal Rumbles. The number 3 entry has eliminated a grand total of 29 superstars.

Outside of Ric Flair's Royal Rumble victory from number 3 in 1992, the number 3 entry has provided some memorable experiences. Butch Reed, the man to enter the first Royal Rumble at the number 3, was the first man ever to be eliminated in a Royal Rumble. Tough Enough winner, Daniel Puder, was thrown into the 2005 Royal Rumble and fed to the likes of stiff veterans like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Hardcore Holly before being eliminated.

You can see the other entries in this series below:

Part 1 is here

Part 2 is here

# 5 Andre the Giant (1989) - Eliminated 5th - 4 Eliminations

Andre the Giant, shortly after eliminating himself from the 1989 Royal Rumble

One of the few wrestlers to make a decent impact from the number three spot was the biggest wrestler to ever step into a WWF ring. Making his Rumble debut at the 1989 Royal Rumble, Andre set the tone for what a giant should do in the rumble. Andre came in at the third entrant after both members of the tag team Demolition, Ax and Smash, started in the ring.

Despite facing a 2 on 1 situation, Andre eliminated Smash. Andre was then targetted by the remaining competitors in the rumble. However, despite his predicament, Andre still managed to eliminate Ronnie Garvin and Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Andre looked dominant and was ready to establish himself as a massive threat in the Rumble.

Unfortunately, Andre would become the first superstar to ever eliminate himself from the Royal Rumble. After Roberts was eliminated he went to retrieve his snake, Damien and threw him in the ring. Andre freaked out due to the snake and climbed out of the ring over the top rope, resulting in him eliminating himself. This would culminate in a match between Roberts and Andre at Wrestlemania V.

# 4 Daniel Puder (2005) - Eliminated 1st - 0 Eliminations

Daniel Puder's performance in the 2005 Royal Rumble didn't last

long,

but was very memorable.

Puder did not make the splash on the 2005 Royal Rumble that others on this list did. Puder was the first person eliminated in the Rumble and did not eliminate anyone for the Rumble. So, what makes Puder's Rumble so memorable? Puder won the $1,000,000 season of Tough Enough, ahead of future WWE stars The Miz and Ryback.

Puder was not liked backstage for multiple reasons, including reportedly having an ego backstage and the shoot fight he had with Kurt Angle on an episode of Smackdown. As a result, Puder was sent out into the Rumble in the third position and cut a promo promising to be the first ever champion to have graduated from the Tough Enough programme.

With veterans Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit already in the ring, Puder was chopped and suplexed around the ring by the two elder statesmen of the WWF. Things went from bad to worse for the Tough Enough champ after the two of them were joined by Hardcore Holly, who also chopped and threw Puder around the ring. Finally, Puder was eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Hardcore Holly, in his first and only Rumble appearance.

# 3 Bubba Ray Dudley (2015) - Eliminated 3rd - 2 Eliminations

At the 2015 Royal Rumble, R-Truth and The Miz started in the ring. The former tag team partners tried to eliminate each other as the countdown started for the number 3 entry. When the siren hit, a familiar firework whistle tore through the Philadelphia crowd. Bubba Ray Dudley had last appeared at the WWE all the way back in 2005. Bubba Ray had spent the last 10 years of his career working at WWE's biggest rival's TNA and went from being a Tag Team wrestler in the WWE to one of the main stars on the TNA roster.

Upon his return, Bubba Ray, sans Devon, would enter the Rumble at number 3 before eliminating both The Miz and R-Truth, before getting eliminated himself later in the match by Bray Wyatt. Bubba's return would see him also re-unite with Devon Duddley later in the year for a series of tag matches, including challenging for the Raw Tag Team titles.

# 2 AJ Styles (2016) - Eliminated 11th - 2 eliminations

In the lead up to the 2016 Royal Rumble, rumors started to spread that the biggest star in New Japan, and former TNA Champion, AJ Styles was heading to the WWE. Rumors began to emerge that there was a chance that Styles would appear at the Rumble, despite the fact that most of WWE's new signings were making their way through NXT, the WWE's developmental program.

When the buzzer went to announce the number three entry, the camera panned to Roman Reigns, the only superstar in the ring. The initial look Reigns gave was one of confusion, and the crowd seemed unsure of who was entering the Rumble next. However, as Styles' name flashed on the screen and the man himself emerged from the back, the crowd response grew louder to a deafening roar.

There is no way anyone could have known the success that Styles would have at the WWE after being overlooked for so long. However, the roar from the crowd when they recognized him was unmistakably one of extreme excitement at seeing the "Phenomenal One" AJ Styles in a WWE ring.

# 1 Ric Flair (1992) - Winner - 5 Eliminations

Who else but the Nature Boy Ric Flair could occupy the top spot on this list? After crossing over from WCW to WWF due to creative differences with Jim Herd and other managers over at WCW. A few months after crossing from WCW, Ric Flair would be the first and only man to win the Royal Rumble from the number 3 position.

Flair's efforts set several landmarks, being the first person to break the hour mark in a Royal Rumble and until today remains the only person to have one from entry 3. The 1992 Royal Rumble also marked the first time that the WWF Championship was on the line, and so Flair, by winning the Rumble also won his first WWF Championship.

On his way to victory, Flair managed to eliminate The British Bulldog, The Texas Tornado, Big Boss Man, Randy Savage, and finally Sid Justice, with the help of Hulk Hogan, for the victory.