5 WWE Royal Rumble rules you didn't know existed

The 2025 WWE Royal Rumble will take place in just five days and kickstart the Road to WrestleMania 41. The premium live event is popular for its over-the-top-rope battle royal, which has featured some of the iconic moments for almost forty years.

The rules for the Rumble match have changed over the years. Initially, there were only 20 men in the bout, which was later changed to 30. However, the 2011 edition featured 40 superstars, and the company reverted back to tradition the following year.

The inaugural Women's Royal Rumble match took place in 2018, and the rules were the same as those for the male stars. However, several of the original rules have become outdated over the years, so the company altered them.

#5. The Royal Rumble is no disqualification

The Royal Rumble is a no-disqualification match, and over the years, several wrestlers have taken full advantage of this. While several have made their way to the ring with weapons, others have interfered to eliminate fellow stars. There seems to be some confusion over this rule since Finlay was actually disqualified from the match for using a weapon.

It is worth noting that despite this, the Rumble is still considered to be No DQ.

#4. WWE stars can be eliminated via outside interference

This is something that WWE has used to their advantage over the years, with several eliminated stars coming back to eliminate their rival or even when Kane eliminated CM Punk back in 2014.

Originally, there was a rule that meant that outside interference was not a legitimate elimination, but the rules have evolved over the years, and now it seems that anyone can be eliminated by people both inside and outside of the match.

#3. Stables are allowed outside of the ring

Several stables and teammates entered the match with their group before exiting on the ramp, but there was no rule that they could not be at ringside and interfere in the bout.

In recent history, Adam Rose went to the ring with the Rosebuds, who remained at ringside and helped Kofi Kingston avoid elimination. It seems that this would be an opportunity for many stables to interfere in the match when needed.

#2. WWE stars can eliminate themselves from the Royal Rumble

It seems strange that stars can eliminate themselves from the match after years of being forced to qualify, but this didn't used to be a rule when the Rumble originally debuted. Over the years, several stars have eliminated themselves, including Andre The Giant back in 1989.

This usually happens by accident if they fall out of the ring, or in Andre's case, he did it to avoid Jake 'The Snake' Roberts' pet, Damien.

#1. WWE stars no longer have to earn their spots in the Royal Rumble

Fans who have been watching WWE over the past few decades will know that there was a time when wrestlers were forced to earn their places in the Rumble match. There would be qualifying matches for the event, and some wouldn't be able to participate if they were unsuccessful.

It's clear that this is no longer a thing since every star who has declared for the match so far has been able to do so without being forced to qualify.