WWE Royal Rumble: Winners, History, Records, Prize, Top Stories & More

Sid Pullar III | Nov 25, 2024

WWE.com

The WWE Royal Rumble is one of the most iconic events and matches in the company's history. The Royal Rumble Match is the company's premier event that signifies the start of the WrestleMania season. With the winner of the Men's and Women's Royal Rumble facing the world champions at Mania, the show is looked at as one of the most important events of the year. The event has also been the stage for some of the best championship matches of all time.

1. WWE Royal Rumble Winners
2. WWE Royal Rumble 2025
3. WWE Royal Rumble History
4. Royal Rumble Records
5. Royal Rumble Prize
6. WWE Royal Rumble Top Stories
7. Videos

WWE Royal Rumble Winners

Date	Winner	Location
1988	Hacksaw Jim Duggan	Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
1989	Big John Studd	Houston, Texas
1990	Hulk Hogan	Orlando, Florida
1991	Hulk Hogan	Miami, Florida
1992	Ric Flair	Albany, New York
1993	Yokozuna	Sacramento, California
1994	Bret Hart Lex Luger	Providence, Rhode Island
1995	Shawn Michaels	Tampa, Florida
1996	Shawn Michaels	Fresno, California
1997	Stone Cold Steve Austin	San Antonio, Texas
1998	Stone Cold Steve Austin	San Jose, California
1999	Vince McMahon	Anaheim, California
2000	The Rock	New York City, New York
2001	Stone Cold Steve Austin	New Orleans, Louisiana
2002	Triple H	Atlanta, Georgia
2003	Brock Lesnar	Boston, Massachusetts
2004	Chris Benoit	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2005	Batista	Fresno, California
2006	Rey Mysterio	Miami, Florida
2007	The Undertaker	San Antonio, Texas
2008	John Cena	New York City, New York
2009	Randy Orton	Detroit, Michigan
2010	Edge	Atlanta, Georgia
2011	Alberto Del Rio	Boston, Massachusetts
2012	Sheamus	St. Louis, Missouri
2013	John Cena	Phoenix, Arizona
2014	Batista	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2015	Roman Reigns	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2016	Triple H	Orlando, Florida
2017	Randy Orton	San Antonio, Texas
2018	Shinsuke Nakamura Asuka	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2019	Becky Lynch Seth Rollins	Phoenix, Arizona
2020	Charlotte Flair Drew McIntyre	Houston, Texas
2021	Bianca Belair Edge	St. Petersburg, Florida
2022	Ronda Rousey Brock Lesnar	St. Louis, Missouri
2023	Cody Rhodes Rhea Ripley	San Antonio, Texas
2024	Bayley Cody Rhodes	St. Petersburg, Florida

MORE: Shawn Michaels' 10 Best WWE Matches Of All Time

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WWE Royal Rumble 2025

WWE Royal Rumble 2025 will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2025 from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The show will stream live on Peacock and WWE Network worldwide. No matches have been announced as of this writing.

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WWE Royal Rumble History

On January 24, 1988, WWE presented the first annual Royal Rumble event. This was a television special airing on the USA Network on the same night as Jim Crockett Promotions' Buckhouse Stampede pay-per-view. Hacksaw Jim Duggan was the winner of the first Royal Rumble Match that consisted of 20 competitors.

In 1989, the Royal Rumble Match was changed from 20 stars to 30 for the first time, while 1990 was the first year that the event became its own standalone pay-per-view. In 1990 and 1991, Hulk Hogan became the first competitor to win back-to-back Royal Rumble matches.

1992 was the first year that the WWE Championship was on the line in the Royal Rumble Match, which was won by Ric Flair. The following year, Yokozuna became the first winner to get a guaranteed world title shot at WrestleMania for his Rumble win.

Bret Hart and Lex Luger were eliminated at the same time and were then named co-winners of the 1994 Royal Rumble Match. 1995 saw Shawn Michaels avoid elimination by barely having only one foot touch when thrown over the top rope to become the first number one entrant to win the Rumble. HBK then became the second man to win back-to-back Royal Rumbles in 1996.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was eliminated and then came back in the ring behind the referees' backs to win the 1997 Royal Rumble Match. This led to his back-to-back wins when Austin won the '98 Rumble. Stone Cold became the only man to win three Royal Rumbles in 2001.

The late 90s into the 2000s featured memorable bouts outside the titular match at the Royal Rumble event. In 1998, The Undertaker faced Shawn Michaels in a Casket Match for the WWE Championship. The stakes were even higher in a brutal I Quit Match between The Rock and Mankind. 2000 featured Triple H versus Cactus Jack in a Street Fight for the WWE Title and the first ever Tables Match.

Preceded by Vince McMahon, The Rock, Triple H and Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit became the second man to win the Royal Rumble from the first spot in 2004. Rey Mysterio then broke Benoit's record for longest time in a Rumble match in 2006. Top stars like Batista, The Undertaker, John Cena and Randy Orton rounded out the 2000s.

Edge kicked off 2010 with a return in the Royal Rumble Match to earn the victory, while Alberto Del Rio won the first ever 40-Man iteration of the stipulation in 2011. After Sheamus' first win and Cena's second, WWE gave fans two of the most polarizing Rumble winners with Batista in 2014 and Roman Reigns in 2015.

After Triple H and Randy Orton got their second wins, Shinsuke Nakamura won the 2018 Royal Rumble, while Asuka made history with a victory in the first ever Women's Royal Rumble. Married couple Becky Lynch and Seth Rollins earn their shots at WrestleMania 35 with Rumble wins in 2019.

For the women, Charlotte Flair won in 2020, while Bianca Belair set the record for longest time in a Women's Rumble with a victory in 2021. Meanwhile, Drew McIntyre pulled out a memorable win in 2020, while Edge got his second Rumble victory in 2021.

After another pair of poorly received winners in Ronda Rousey and Brock Lesnar in 2022, WWE gave fans back-to-back Cody Rhodes Royal Rumble victories in 2023 and 2024. Then for the women, Rhea Ripley and Bayley broke the record for match duration in a Women's Rumble with their wins.

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Royal Rumble Records

Record	Holder
Most Royal Rumble Wins	Stone Cold Steve Austin (3)
Most Royal Rumble Eliminations All-Time	Kane (45)
Most Royal Rumble Eliminations In One Match	Brock Lesnar (13 - Men) Bianca Belair, Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler (8 - Women)
Most Time In A Single Royal Rumble Match	GUNTHER (1:11:25 - Men) Bayley (1:03:03 - Women)
Most Cumulative Time In The Royal Rumble All-Time	Chris Jericho (4:59:33 - Men) Bianca Belair (3:05:25 - Women)
Most Appearances In The Royal Rumble	Kane (20 - Men) Liv Morgan & Natalya (7 - Women)
Women To Appear In A Men's Royal Rumble	Chyna (1999), Chyna (2000), Beth Phoenix (2010), Kharma (2012), Nia Jax (2019)
Men To Appear In A Women's Royal Rumble	Santino Marella as Santina Marella (2020)
Shortest Time In A Single Royal Rumble Match	Santino Marella (1.9 seconds in 2009 - Men) Chelsea Green & Valhalla (5 seconds in 2023 & 2024 - Women)

*These stats do not include the Greatest Royal Rumble Match, which took place at the titular event from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on April 27, 2018.

Bryan Danielson set the record for longest duration in a single Rumble match with 1:16:05, while Braun Strowman broke the record for most eliminations with 13 to win the match.

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Royal Rumble Prize

The winner of the Men's and Women's Royal Rumble matches get a shot at the world title of their choosing at WrestleMania.

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WWE Royal Rumble Top Stories

John Cena Officially Confirmed For Major WWE Event In 2025

WWE Royal Rumble 2025 To Have Special Start Time

WWE Bringing WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and the Royal Rumble to Indianapolis

Cody Rhodes Wins Royal Rumble

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Videos

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