By Tevon King
The Royal Rumble entry numbers to produce the most victories are a mixed bag. Some are early numbers while others came near the end of the bout.
Kicking off the WWE PPV calendar in January is the Royal Rumble. Fans are excited for the Rumble as the suspense of seeing nostalgia acts, and unexpected returns create euphoria. WWE has made the Rumble a bigger deal from 2017-2020 (excluding 2018) since they havetaken placein bigger stadiums.
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Whilst, the number 27 position is the most successful spot with four winners coming from that number, there have been nine other numbers that have produced multiple winners. Moreover, Batista's lucky number is 28 as he is the only person to win a repeat Rumble from the same spot. Without further ado, let's delve into the most successful numbers to draw in Royal Rumble history!
10 29
The number 29 is the penultimate entrant in a Royal Rumble match, which is a significant number to draw. However, no one managed to win from that spot until Brock Lesnar in 2003. The Next Big Thing had to qualify for the Rumble by defeating Big Show in the opening match that night. Lesnar did not pass up on the opportunity presented to him as he lastly eliminated The Undertaker to win the Royal Rumble at the first attempt.
Seven years later, Edge made his triumphant return from a severe Achilles injury which ruled him out of action for six months. The Rated-R Superstar drew 29 and he received a huge pop when he threw over John Cena for his maiden Rumble victory in 2010.
9 22
On January 7th, 2002, Triple H made his long-awaited return to the WWE after he sustained a quadriceps injury, which ruled him out of the entire Invasion angle in 2001. The Game was the odds-on favorite to win the Royal Rumble match, and he became the first man to win from the 22nd spot by eliminating Kurt Angle.
There would not be another Rumble winner from the 22nd position for another decade. Sheamus eliminated Chris Jericho to punch his ticket to WrestleMania XXVIII. However, the good news for both winners from that spot is that Triple H and Sheamus converted their Rumble victories into WrestleMania World Championship victories.
8 19
Arguably two of the most unpopular Royal Rumble winners in history entered 19th. John Cena won his second Royal Rumble match in 2013, which was obvious as he was going to headline WrestleMania 29 with The Rock for the WWE Championship. Fans did not care one single iota as they have seen it all before with Big Match John.
WWE had issues choosing the wrong Rumble winners for the majority of the 2010s, which fans did not like. Just a couple of years later, Roman Reigns improved from his runner-up finish by triumphing in 2015. Reigns was hated and booed out of the building. Not even The Rock's appearance could salvage this moment.
7 23
History was made at the 1994 Royal Rumble. Lex Luger's rich vein of form continued as he was crowned as the co-winner alongside Bret Hart as both participants' feet hit the floor simultaneously. Luger was the 23rd entrant which was the first time someone won from that spot. Unfortunately, Lex was unable to wrestle the WWF Championship away from Yokozuna at WrestleMania X.
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It must be an omen that it would take 23 years for another winner to arise from the 23rd spot at the 2017 Royal Rumble. It was stacked from top to bottom with former Rumble winners and world champions aplenty. Ultimately, Randy Orton emerged as the last man standing with his second Rumble victory by eliminating Roman Reigns to a raucous ovation.
6 1
There should be no surprises that the Royal Rumble has only produced two winners in history from the number one spot. It is a monumental effort to try and outlast 29 other superstars (39 in 2011) to win from that unenviable position. Nonetheless, Shawn Michaels proved his credentials as an Iron Man as he overcame the British Bulldog for his first of two back-to-back Rumble victories in 1995.
Chris Benoit joined HBK as the second Rumble winner in 2004 by lasting over an hour. Understandably, the Rabid Wolverine's triumphant is not mentioned on WWE programming, and rightfully so, after his heinous acts in June 2007. Nonetheless, Michaels failed to win the WWF Championship from Diesel at WrestleMania XI, and Benoit captured the World Heavyweight Championship from Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the main event of WrestleMania XX.
5 2
The number one spot has produced just two winners and so has the number two entrant. For sure, winning the Rumble as the number one entrant sounds a lot better than winning in second but the same effort is required. Mr. McMahon was hellbent on thwarting Stone Cold Steve Austin's dreams of regaining the WWF Championship in 1999. Despite spending large portions of the match outside of the ring, McMahon tossed over Austin to win thematch.
Sadly the wrestling world mourned the untimely death of Eddie Guerrero in November 2005. Rey Mysterio paid tribute toEddie at the 2006 Royal Rumble. Mysterio entered second with former Rumble winner Triple H as number one. The master of the 619 put in a sublime performance and he set the record for the longest in a Rumble match at 62 minutes, en route to eliminating Randy Orton for his Rumble victory.
4 24
Winning the Royal Rumble match as the 24th participant means that you are in good company. Hulk Hogan became the first man to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches by winning in 1990-91 with his 1991 triumphant coming after entering 24th. While it was not for a title shot, he regained the WWF Championship from Sgt. Slaughter at WrestleMania VII.
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Stone Cold Steve Austin was public enemy number one at the 1998 Royal Rumble but he joined Hogan and Shawn Michaels to achieve the remarkable feat of becoming the only back-to-back Rumble winners. In 2000, The Rock entered the fray at number 24 and he eliminated Big Show for his sole Royal Rumble victory.
3 28
Batista's rise to the top can be credited for his first Royal Rumble victory in 2005. The scenario of Batista and John Cena being crowned as co-winners was a possibility as both men were eliminated simultaneously. Nonetheless in 2014, the Animal became the first man to win the Royal Rumble match from the 28th spot once again. He received a chorus of boos for eliminating Roman Reignsafter fans desperately wanted Daniel Bryan to appear in the match.
In the second women's Royal Rumble match in 2019, Becky Lynch was reeling from her Smackdown Women's Championship defeat to Asuka. However, she stole Lana's spot and eliminated Charlotte Flair en route to winning both Raw and Smackdown Women's Championships in the main event of WrestleMania 35.
2 30
Theoretically, the 30th entrant should have produced the most winners but it has not. The Undertaker finally banished his Rumble demons by winning his first Rumble on the 20th anniversary of the show in 2007 by eliminating Shawn Michaels.
A year later, a returning John Cena capped off his return with a Royal Rumble victory. History was made as Undertaker and Cena's victories ensured back-to-back winners from the same number which never was done before. Triple H made it a formidable trio in 2016 by capturing his 14th World Championship after eliminating the reigning WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose.
1 27
When you think about the most successful number in Royal Rumble history, you automatically think 30. Think again as 27 has produced the most Royal Rumble winners in history. Big John Studd overcame Ted DiBiase in the 1989 Royal Rumble match to become the first winner in a 30-man Royal Rumble match.
Yokozuna's Rumble win in 1993 had historical significance as it was the first time that the Rumble winner was awarded a WWF Championship match in the main event of WrestleMania. A year later, Bret Hart entered 27th and he was the co-winner alongside Lex Luger. The fourth and most recent winner of the Royal Rumble as the 27th participant was Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2001. The Texas Rattlesnake has a record three Royal Rumble victories to his name which is an astounding achievement. More importantly, Yokozuna, Bret, and Austin all won their WWF Championship matches at WrestleMania.
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