Royal Rumble Fun Facts!

It's my favorite PPV of the year, the Royal Rumble! Every year, I try to rewatch all the Rumbles I either saw live, so that's 1997 to the present. This post is all about the stats and various things about the match itself. It's also to hype me up even further, as if I could get anymore hype with the rumors that AJ Styles has been in negotiations with WWE. It doesn't help when actual WWE superstars like to tease their fans with the various surprises that are sure to be in store for the fans come January 24th. Finn Balor posted the below picture on his Twitter account. Obviously, it won't happen but the fact that they're letting him post it makes me want to believe that the impossible is indeed possible.

Anyway, let's get started!

-The first three spots in the Royal Rumble suck, as you have to basically to last the whole match to reach the end. In a surprising number, the first three numbers have produced almost the same amount of winners as the last three numbers. Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit won from the #1 entry in 1995 and 2004 respectively, Vince McMahon and Rey Mysterio won from the #2 entry in 1999 and 2006 respectively and Ric Flair won the match and the WWE Title from the #3 entry in 1992. The number 28 has been very good to Batista as he won the Royal Rumble in 2005 and 2014 with that number. Brock Lensar and Edge won from #29 in 2003 and 2010 respectively. The Undertaker was the first man to win from the coveted #30 spot in 2007 and John Cena followed up in 2008 winning from the same number. 5 winners from the first three compared to 6 winners from the last three. Odds are good with those numbers!

-#27 gets a lot of credit as being the luckiest number to draw as the most number of winners have come from it. Big John Studd, Yokozuna, Bret Hart and Stone Cold have all won from that entry. Have you ever wondered what's the next best number? That would be #24 as that number has produced 3 different winners in the 28 Royal Rumbles and they are an elite list of superstars. Hogan did it first in 1991 followed by Stone Cold's win in 1998 and then The Rock in 2000. The Mt. Rushmore of professional wrestling! Will another elite star enter 24 and win in 2016?

-Roman Reigns will be chasing history this Sunday. There's a lot to be made. If Reigns is to successfully win the 2016 Royal Rumble match, he will be the 6th man to win two different Rumble matches, joining the elite list of Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, John Cena and Batista. He'll also become the 4th man to do it back-to-back years. As the #1 entrant, he'll be the 3rd man to win from that number. Finally, he would be the first man to successfully defend his title inside the Royal Rumble match. For a man who has already etched his name in Royal Rumble history, eliminating 12 men in 2014 and winning in 2015, it seems Reigns will continue to dominate at the event for years to come. Oh yeah, Reigns is the first man to win the Rumble match after being the runner up the year before. Maybe this should be called the Reigns Rumble from now on.

-History shows that the person who controls the match the most usually doesn't win. Look at some of the great performances in the last couple years as proof. Kane eliminated 11 guys in 2001, only to be the runner up. Likewise, Reigns took out 12 men in 2014, only to lose to Batista. CM Punk had impressive Rumbles in 2010 and 2011, eliminating over 10 stars between the both of them but couldn't win either one. Wyatt had a breakout performance in the Rumble last year but couldn't turn it into a win. If you want to win, be a surprise entrant or don't do too much work.

-The 2010 Royal Rumble is the only one in history where the #30 entrant came out and was automatically apart of the Final Four. Edge, Cena and HBK were already in the ring when Batista came in at #30. That has to be one of the best Final Four in history, in terms of star power.

-All but three of the Rumble winners were World Champions. The only three that didn't win a World Title were Lex Luger, John Studd and Jim Duggan.

-Big Show, Triple H and John Cena are the only men to be the runner up at two different Royal Rumbles. Big Show in 2000 and 2004, Triple H did it BACK TO BACK years in 2008 and 2009 while Cena did it five years apart, once in 2005 the other in 2010.

-From 2005 to 2010, the final four/three/two reflected what the main events were going to be for Wrestlemania. 2005, Batista won by eliminating Cena. They both went on to win titles at Wrestlemania 21. In 2006, Rey Mysterio won by eliminating Triple H and Randy Orton. Mysterio and Orton were involved in a Triple Threat for the title while Triple H went onto main event against John Cena. In 2007, Undertaker won by eliminating HBK. At Wrestlemania 23, HBK and Taker would face their respective brand champions. In 2008. John Cena shocked the world and won the Rumble match by last eliminating Triple H. The two were apart of the WWE Title match at Wrestlemania. In 2009, Orton won by eliminating Triple H last. They WERE the main event at Wrestlemania 25. Lastly, in 2010, the final four of Edge, HBK, Cena and Batista were all in main event matches at Wrestlemania 26; Edge against Jericho, Cena against Batista and HBK VS Taker. It happened also in 2012 when Sheamus won and Jericho would get a shot against Punk at Mania 28.

That's all I got for now! I hope this has hyped you up for Sunday's event!