You can excuse us if we’re still trying to catch our breath from Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view. If you’re trying to avoid spoilers … well why did you click on a Rumble by the numbers post, you ding-dong? Regardless, we’ll keep them out of the first paragraph, at the very least.
The Rumble contained everything we expect from the event each year. The thrilling, panic-inducing men’s Royal Rumble match. The Kofi Kingston avoidance of elimination. The earth-shattering surprises. And of course, all the normal number-counting things we need to investigate and dissect every year. You’re welcome.
First up, we have the always-important iron man stat, where WWE lets a Superstar shine for the better part of an hour before being eliminated. The iron man is rarely the same as the Rumble winner, but it’s always, always treated as a very big deal and usually an important show of confidence, to boot.
Here are the top five longest-lasting participants in the 2018 men’s Royal Rumble match:
1. Finn Bálor – 55:31
2. Shinsuke Nakamura – 44:04
3. Rusev – 30:27
4. John Cena – 28:33
5. Andrade “Cien” Almas – 28:20
And here are the iron women from the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble match:
1. Sasha Banks – 54:46
2. Becky Lynch – 30:54
3. Natalya – 25:34
4. Asuka – 19:41
5. Carmella – 18:45
But how about most eliminations? Kane was the reigning single-Rumble elimination holder forever, with his mark of 11 eliminations in a single year finally being toppled by Roman Reigns’ 12 eliminations in 2014. There weren’t any records set in the men’s event this year, but here are the Superstars who eliminated the most men this year. It was a surprisingly even distribution!
1. Roman Reigns – 4
1. Finn Bálor – 4
3. Shinsuke Nakamura – 3
3. John Cena – 3
3. Bray Wyatt – 3
Bálor not only got iron man, he also tied for the most eliminations! I uh … I think that’s pretty good, everyone. Bálor might not be as doomed as fans may have thought just a few months ago. Maybe he’s over after all! (Note: there appears to be contention over Wyatt’s final number of eliminations, but he had two eliminations prior to him and Matt Hardy eliminating each other, so my final word is that counts as three for him.)
And we have a first women’s eliminations record, of course. Here are the most eliminations in the 2018 women’s Royal Rumble match:
1. Michelle McCool – 5
2. Sasha Banks – 4
2. Nikki Bella – 4
2. Nia Jax – 4
5. Natalya – 3
5. Asuka – 3
5. Trish Stratus – 3
Funnily enough, the retired McCool set the first-ever women’s eliminations record. Not Asuka, not Nia Jax. Not anyone active. Michelle McCool. We can’t be too mad about that, of course, because the match completely ruled. (Also worth noting: Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Natalya, Stratus, Asuka, Banks, and Bayley all got credit for eliminating Jax, because there are no partial eliminations in Rumble stats. It’s not like getting half a sack. In the football sense, I mean.)
Finally, we’ll round things out with the shortest-lasting people in the Rumble matches, AKA the Bushwhacker/Warlord/Santino Marella award. The men who didn’t last very long at all:
1. Sheamus – 0:02
2. The Hurricane – 0:24
3. Heath Slater – 0:34
4. Baron Corbin – 0:54
5. Matt Hardy – 1:02
You might think that Heath Slater lasted for a whole long time, due to his repeated outside-the-ring beatdowns, but don’t forget your official Rumble time clock doesn’t start until you step through the ropes and officially enter the match.
And the women who didn’t stay in the match long enough to make an impression:
1. Vickie Guerrero – 0:57
2. Tamina – 1:34
3. Jacqueline – 1:52
4. Beth Phoenix – 2:22
5. Lana – 2:54
A great Rumble event once again, and a new set of stats for the history books. I say we do it again next year.
If you haven’t already, listen to this week’s McMahonsplaining podcast where we preview the Royal Rumble and talk to Diamond Dallas Page.
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