In the world of professional wrestling, there is not one match that is more anticipated each year than the Royal Rumble match. Sure the main event of WrestleMania may be a bigger deal, but most years the main event is not known until after someone wins the Royal Rumble match. The Royal Rumble represents the one match guaranteed each year, that generates interest from even the most casual fan.
The Royal Rumble has always been my favourite pay-per-view. Since the 80s, the Royal Rumble has been the most exciting event. The premise of the Royal Rumble is where you have 30 superstars going at it to headline WrestleMania.
30 superstars enter, and the common goal for a superstar is to win the match. There are a few records that are also made in the match.
One of such records is which superstar gets the most number of eliminations in the match. In this article, we will take a look at 5 superstars who are the record holder for the most number of eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match.
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#5 Hulk Hogan, 1989: 10 Eliminations
The year was 1989 and the event was the second ever Royal Rumble match. The ring was stacked with a roster of Legendary WWE wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, André the Giant, Randy Savage, Shawn Michael and Ted DiBiase.
The event gave WWF a chance to present a match that included all the big names in the company without giving away any specific matchups.
Hulk Hogan arrived on the scene as entrance number 18. Hogan instantly went on the Hulkster mode and started eliminating people in short order, first taking out Koko B Ware before clotheslining both Brain Busters over the top and knocking Warlord out of the ring within 2 seconds of his entrance.
The eliminations nearly led to the implosion of Hogan's tag-team with Randy Savage as Hogan shoved Brown over the top but in the process, Savage also went down with him since both guys were balanced on the top rope.
Hogan was eventually taken out by his sworn enemies Akeem and Big Boss Man. Hogan battles bravely but can't withstand the double attack and is eliminated, but not before he takes out 10 people in just 11 minutes of ring time which was a record that would not be matched till 1997.
#4 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, 1997: 10 Eliminations
Steve Austin matched the record for most eliminations which was previously held by the Hulkster in the 1997 Rumble match.
At the 1996 King Of The Ring, “Austin 3:16” was born. It started to take off in late 1996 when Bret Hart came back to the WWF and had an awesome feud going with Austin.
This Rumble’s winner was supposed to face the world champion at WrestleMania, but that was a swerve because the finish of this match was in place to set up the last match between Bret and Austin.
Austin wasn’t the guy just yet, but this match really went a long way to make that happen. This was the first time Stone Cold would win the Royal Rumble as he now holds the record of most Rumble victories.
The Rumble was built around Austin eliminating a bunch of guys to be the only man in the ring and have an old rival come out to face him.
At the time Austin was still a heel, but the seeds were being planted for his turn at that year's WrestleMania.
He eliminated ten men in this match and lasted forty-five minutes to win in controversial fashion as he was tossed over the top rope during the match by Bret but the officials never saw it as they were busy with a brawl going on outside of the ring.
#3 Kane, 2001: 11 Eliminations
The 2001 Royal Rumble was filled with the biggest names in the entire industry, you had pretty much every main eventer in this match including The Rock, Undertaker, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Kane, and Rikishi.
This is widely regarded as one of the greatest Royal Rumbles of all time. It is the road to WrestleMania 17, which generated the biggest buy rate at the time.
The MVP of the match was obviously Kane. He went over fifty minutes, coming in at number six, and was the last man eliminated. He was the guy that had the most memorable moments in there, especially scaring Drew Carey to the point that he eliminated himself from the match.
Kane set the record for most eliminations in a single Rumble match which was simultaneously held by Austin and Hogan until it was broken by our next entry.
#2 Roman Reigns, 2014: 12 Eliminations
Roman Reigns was destined to become the next top face of the WWE and to do that, the WWE put him in a place to dominate the 2014 Royal Rumble match.
Reigns eliminated 12 people, including his Shield-brothers Rollins and Ambrose, and broke the record previously held by Kane.
Although Reigns had an incredible performance, it was overshadowed by the WWE not allowing Daniel Bryan in the match. The booking of the Rumble match itself was mostly fine but that was all forgotten.
What people remember the most about it is Daniel Bryan not being a part of it. His absence overshadowed everything else and the people hijacked the match with boos reigning down all over the arena.
In my opinion, had he been put in in place of Rey Mysterio, the fans would have been satisfied. They’d have had the man they wanted in the match. He never really had to win, he just needed to be given the opportunity to.
#1 Braun Strowman, Greatest Royal Rumble: 13 Eliminations
For the first time, the WWE went live from the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it presented the Greatest Royal Rumble in history.
Fifty men competed in the elimination match, with the winner earning a magnificent trophy and the right to brag about winning the biggest Royal Rumble in the history of the WWE.
Braun Strowman made history this night as he outlasted 49 other men to win the Greatest Royal Rumble trophy while setting a record in the process by eliminating 13 Superstars by last eliminating Big Cass.
Strowman wasn't the only man to break a record that night. The former leader of the 'Yes Movement', Daniel Bryan broke the record for the most time spent in the Rumble match.
The former WWE Champion set a record by lasting a whopping 76 minutes, a record previously held by Rey Mysterio (62 minutes and 12 seconds).