Brief History of The WWE Royal Rumble
WWE Royal Rumble is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by World Wrestling Entertainment. The Royal Rumble is a thirty man event, which begins with two men in the ring, and 28 other wrestlers entering the ring at every two minutes. A wrestler is eliminated when leaving the ring over the top rope, and then having both feet touching the floor. An egress between the second and third rope or under the bottom rope is not a valid elimination. The winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated. An elimination can also occur when a wrestler is thrown off the top rope by a non-competing opponent, or by one who had already been eliminated, or when the participant deliberately jumps outside the ring, for instance to hit someone who is ringside. every winner (other than in 1992, 1997 and 1999) has gone on to challenge the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania.
When the brand extension started, the 30 entrants consist of 15 wrestlers from WWE RAW and 15 from WWE SmackDown!. Originally, the Royal Rumble winner faced their brand's champion at Wrestlemania, but starting in 2004, due to a supposed "loophole" in the Rumble's stipulations, the Royal Rumble winner had the option of challenging either champion (but not both at the same time). The first Royal Rumble took place on January 24, 1988 in Hamilton, Ontario. Jim Duggan won but did not receive a title shot as a result of his victory.
Royal Rumble Winners
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan wins Royal Rumble in 1988
Big John Studd wins Royal Rumble in 1989
Hulk Hogan wins Royal Rumble in 1990
Ric Flair wins Royal Rumble in 1992. First and only time the WWE Championship was awarded to the winner.
Yokozuna wins Royal Rumble in 1993
Bret Hart Lex Luger both win Royal Rumble in 1994
Shawn Michaels wins Royal Rumble in 1995
Shawn Michaels wins Royal Rumble in 1996
Stone Cold Steve Austin wins Royal Rumble in 1997
Stone Cold Steve Austin wins Royal Rumble in 1998
Vince McMahon wins Royal Rumble in 1999
The Rock wins Royal Rumble in 2000
Stone Cold Steve Austin wins Royal Rumble in 2001
Triple H wins Royal Rumble in 2002
Brock Lesnar wins Royal Rumble in 2003
Chris Benoit wins Royal Rumble in 2004
Batista wins Royal Rumble in 2005
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