6 Original WWE Royal Rumble rules you didn't know existed 

The Royal Rumble has been an annual event for more than three decades and in that time WWE has changed the rules several times.

Whilst the current Rumble rules are relatively well-known, there are a few gray areas. The company has created official rules but has continuously changed them in order to fit a certain storyline.

The following article looks at just six original Royal Rumble rules that you probably didn't know existed. Many of the following list have since been adapted by the company to make the event much more pleasing to modern viewers.

---

#6. An entrant cannot be eliminated from The Royal Rumble via outside interference

In recent years, several WWE Superstars have been eliminated by outside interference or losers from the match itself. It has become common to set up future feuds on the Road to WrestleMania, but this wasn't always the case.

During the 1996 Royal Rumble match, Vader was so annoyed that he was eliminated that he went on to gorilla press Shawn Michaels out of the ring and onto the floor.

Michaels was obviously scripted to win the match so WWE had to change the rules and allow "The Heartbreak Kid" back into the match so that he could finish.

In the years that have followed, WWE has allowed these kinds of eliminations to stand.

---

#5. Self eliminations don't count in The Rumble match

It's hard to forget Andre The Giant being so afraid of Jake The Snake Roberts' pet that he jumped over the top rope and out of the match. Michael Cole was so scared of Kharma that he jumped over the rope in the 2012 Royal Rumble match as well, which was also seen as a self-elimination that counted.

Just three years after Andre's exit in 1992, Randy Savage jumped over the top rope to continue his assault on Jake Roberts. The fact that both his feet touched the floor meant that he was eliminated, but he was allowed back into the match because he eliminated himself.

It's clear that WWE allowed this to cover for a botch by Savage, but it now raises the question as to whether or not self-elimination counts.

#4. There are no disqualifications in The Royal Rumble match

It's clear that there are no disqualifications in The Royal Rumble match since superstars have used weapons in the ring on numerous occasions. Whilst it's not a written rule, it's something that referees have been seen turning a blind eye to, with their only job being to register any legal eliminations.

Despite weapons and a whole host of banned moves being seen as fair game throughout the history of The Rumble, back in 2008 Finlay was disqualified from the match.

The former entered ahead of his designated number in order to save Hornswoggle and brought his trusty Shillelagh with him in order to fight off several superstars. Finlay and Hornswoggle later slid under the ropes to exit the match before it was confirmed that he had been disqualified because he entered the match too early.

It was originally believed that he was disqualified for his use of a weapon, but was later clarified to have been because he entered too early.

It is worth noting that 18 years earlier Rick Rude entered the 1990 Royal Rumble match before his allotted number and was still seen as a legal participant in the match.

#3. There can only be one winner of The Royal Rumble match

Every Royal Rumble match has only had one winner, except the match in 1994.

Lex Luger and Bret Hart were both announced as the winners of the annual Royal Rumble match, which was then factored into storylines moving forward.

More than a decade later, John Cena and Batista were part of one of the biggest botches of all time when they were unable to finish the match the way it had been scripted. Both men tumbled over the top rope and it appears that Batista forgot to hold on and pull himself back into the ring.

Both men hit the ground at the same time, leading to referees awarding both men the win. Vince McMahon charged down to the ring in an angry rage and managed to blow both of his quads on the way, before making it clear that there can only be one winner.

Is this a modern rule? Or was it because there were already plans in place for Batista to be part of the main event scene heading into WrestleMania and WWE were not prepared to change them because of a botch?

#2. Superstars didn't have to go over the top rope to be eliminated from The Royal Rumble

One of the big differences between a battle royal and The WWE Royal Rumble match is the fact that it is clear that superstars have to go over the top rope in order to be eliminated.

This rule has allowed several stars to perform moves on the outside when the ring gets too full in the latter stages of the match, but it isn't a rule that was always in effect.

Back in 1997, Mil Mascaras was able to eliminate himself from the match by going through the middle rope. The Luchador took out two fellow stars on the outside but used the middle rope to get out of the ring and climb the turnbuckle.

The elimination stood and the commentary team was forced to cover for this by noting that the star was still confused about the rules of The Royal Rumble match. This also meant that he had eliminated himself from the match when there was some confusion as to whether or not self eliminations counted at this point as well.

It appears that there are still several questions regarding his elimination more than two decades later.

#1. Elimination from The Royal Rumble can occur if only one foot touches the ground

One of the most exciting parts of The Royal Rumble match is the near misses when WWE Superstars are almost eliminated but then save themselves.

The likes of Naomi and Kofi Kingston have famously had fun with this rule over the years, but it isn't a rule that has always been in effect.

When the Rumble match was first invented, the rules were not as clean cut as present-day This meant that there were several stars eliminated just by being knocked over the top rope.

This led to several stars being eliminated in the early years of the event when they could have actually re-entered if the rules were the same as the modern version of the match.

It has been made clear in recent years that superstars have to go over the top rope and both feet have to touch the floor in order for them to be eliminated. This has obviously been added so that the current crop of stars can find loopholes to avoid being eliminated and keep the WWE Universe entertained throughout.