With Wrestlemania becoming a never ending event (last year’s went around six hours over two nights), I find myself leaning more and more towards the Royal Rumble as my favorite WWE Pay Per View. It’s the most unpredictable WWE match since there are usually a few guys getting a push along with potential surprise debuts and returns. And it has given the semblance of a chance for a shot for the next tier of talent to get in the title picture. Guys like Jake the Snake Roberts, MVP, and Kane may not get many (or any) one on one shots at the title, but the Rumble has given the aura that anyone can step up and be in the title picture.

Every year around Rumble time, we see lists of the best and worst Rumble matches, best individual performances, etc. But I have been unable to find a definitive ranking of everyone who has ever entered the Rumble. These lists leave out the Dino Bravos and Kurrgans of the world, and a full list would represent a nice history of the superstars who have graced the ring for us lifelong fans. It also will kick up memories of guys you may have forgotten, and certainly guys you don’t recognize at all.

I used a blend of stats (total time in the ring, final fours, number of eliminations, among others) and also individually ranked each of the 34 Royal Rumbles since ’88 to come to the overall ranking. I also took away points for 1) cheating 2) guys who re-entered after being thrown out 3) blatant stupidity (like climbing to the top rope) and 4) not understanding the very simple rules of the Rumble. I added points for guys who 1) got screwed over by people who weren’t in the match or were previously eliminated 2) significant eliminations and 3) overall entertainment.

What this ranking shows is some interesting anomalies. Guys like Rick Martel and Bob Holly performed better than you’d expect. Guys like Randy Savage and JBL, not so much. Three key points: 1) I linked it to the performer and not the character, so The Godfather’s ranking also includes his appearances as Papa Shango, Kama Mustafa, and The Goodfather. 2) The one new phrase that I invented and is key is BTNG: Before The Next Guy. This is for someone that got tossed before the next entrant’s buzzer sounded. These are not good. Multiple BTNGs will send you down the list faster than a Bushwhacker Luke elimination. And 3) This list includes only the January Royal Rumble event, so the Greatest Royal Rumble from 2018 in Saudi Arabia is not included.

Lastly, thank you to the Wikipedia angels of the world who tabulated the eliminations and the time in for each wrestler in each Rumble. That’s the hardest work, and was already done for me. Let’s get to ranking all 339 superstars who have entered the Rumble. This is updated through the 2021 match.

Honorable Mention: Funaki and Taka Michinoku

While neither Taka or Funaki ever officially entered a Rumble, both continually came into the 2000 Royal Rumble, only to get tossed immediately. Members of the tag team “Kaientai” at the time, they were apparently pissed they weren’t allowed in. They then proved why they had no business in the match, as each time they ran down, they were dispatched within seconds. Funaki entered four times; Taka only three after he took his infamous bump and landed face first. He wisely chose to not return. But their efforts would have amounted to three and four BTNGs within the same Rumble, respectively, which would be a piss poor performance.

Now let’s get to the official entrants.

339. Bastion Booger (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1994, kinda), total time in: NA, # of eliminations: 0)

When you no show your only Rumble match, you’re going straight to the bottom of the list. This isn’t beer league softball, Bastion. This is for a shot at the championship. Even worse, the excuse was brushed off as him being sick. It wasn’t like he tore his ACL or meniscus. In fairness to Bastion, the real reason they had a non-entrant in the ’94 Rumble was to make it seem like an injured Bret Hart wouldn’t make the match, only to have him dramatically come out a few entrants later. But still, not a good look to not show up for your only Rumble.

338. Spike Dudley (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2004, kinda), total time in: NA, # of eliminations: 0)

Spike barely edges out Bastion Booger since he at least made it to the entrance ramp. But what the lightweight brought to the table in vigor he offset with stupidity: he decided to start shit with a pissed off Kane, who was walking back towards the locker room fresh off his elimination. Spike earned a chokeslam on the ramp and never made it to the ring for his only official Rumble.

337. No Way Jose (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2019), total time in: 0:02, # of eliminations: 0)

No Way Jose was clotheslined out in 2 seconds in 2019, a stint which is tied for the 2^nd shortest in Rumble history. Neither Jose or his caravan seemed too distraught over the quick exit. Hey, a pay day is a pay day.

336. Gillberg (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1999), total time in: 0:07, # of eliminations: 0)

Only one appearance and an immediate BTNG for one of the great mock characters of our time. He did get a decent pop from the crowd, but that was about it before Edge bounced him after seven seconds.

335. Adam Rose (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2015), total time in: 0:08, # of eliminations: 0)

Rose lasted only eight seconds in his only appearance. Worse yet, his rosebuds caught Kofi Kingston during a potential elimination, but did no such thing for their leader.

334. Tazz (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2001), total time in: 0:10, # of eliminations: 0)

Surprisingly, Tazz only entered one Royal Rumble and was part of Kane’s famous 11 elimination performance. He made it only ten seconds and therefore resides in the jobber/unknown section of the rankings. He did get to commentate for three Rumbles by my count, so his legacy with Rumbles is fortunately not just the one quick exit.

333. Tom Brandi (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1998), total time in: 0:12, # of eliminations: 0)

Honestly, in the time it took me to finish watching each Rumble, I forgot all about Tom Brandi (again). His 12 second BTNG was even worse considering they let the ring fill up like crazy in ’98.

332. Epico (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2012), total time in: 0:11, # of eliminations: 0)

Epico crammed a Santino cobra and a Mick Foley socko into his 11 second BTNG.

331. James Ellsworth (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2017), total time in: 0:15, # of eliminations: 0)

Ellsworth lasted only 15 seconds in his only appearance, but credit him for turning a onetime appearance into decent stint with the company. He also gets a shout-out for wearing a shirt with his own face on it.

330. Rick Bognar (Razor Ramon #2) (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1997), total time in: 0:17, # of eliminations: 0)

Even WWE knew having an imposter was stupid, so the second Razor was a BTNG in 17 seconds. Thankfully.

329. Enzo Amore (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2017), total time in: 0:18, # of eliminations: 0)

He was a certified early exit and bona-fide BTNG in his only appearance, which seemed like it would be the first of many given how over he was for a time. Now an appearance would be a complete shock.

328. Sylvan Grenier (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2006), total time in: 0:18, # of eliminations: 0)

Fed to Bobby Lashley for an 18 second BTNG in his only appearance, his Rumble ranking doesn’t fairly represent Sylvan’s WWE run, which spanned several years and four tag title reigns.

327. Timothy Well (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1995), total time in: 0:23, # of eliminations: 0)

If you forgot Timothy Well, you’re not alone. Part of the tag team Well Dunn (get it?), Timothy took part in by far the worst Royal Rumble to date, the 1995 debacle. In a match short on talent, they shrunk the entrance times to 60 seconds, and Well still managed to be a BTNG with plenty of time to spare.

326. Squat Team Member 2 (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1996), total time in: 0:24, # of eliminations: 0)

In the “this guy didn’t even ring a bell category”, Squat Team Member 2 showed up in ’96, only to get tossed in 24 seconds along with his brother, the appropriately named Squat Team Member 1. More on him very shortly.

325. Jamie Noble (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2008), total time in: 0:28, # of eliminations: 0)

What Jamie lacked in Rumble time, he made up for in tenure as a WWE employee. Save a brief hiatus, Jamie has been working for the company since 2001.

324. Sandman (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2007), total time in: 0:13, # of eliminations: 0)

Even though his only appearance was a 13 second BTNG, I bumped Sandman up a couple slots for an entertaining ten seconds or so as he beat the hell out of the whole ring with a kendo stick. Give the guy credit for staying true to his gimmick.

323. Simon Dean (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2005-2006), total time in: 1:05, # of eliminations: 0)

It kills me to list of my favorite gimmicks that never quite made it so low. “Chances are, you’re fat!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBUa4De1vfs. How the heel TV fitness instructor never got over is still a mystery to me. But the numbers don’t lie: two entries, both well under a minute each. Interestingly, only one was a BTNG since it took Dean forever to get to the ring in ’05 when he lasted only 20 seconds. But I dare you to go back and watch him come out in ’06 on the Segway and not laugh.

322. Squat Team Member 1 (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1996), total time in: 1:11, # of eliminations: 0)

I’m not sure which one is which, hence the repeat picture. But Squat Team Member #1 was a BTNG before his brother. He did last over a minute, but loses points for re-entering when his brother came down and getting immediately bounced again within seconds. He basically had 2 BTNGs in the same Rumble within seconds of each other. The brothers were both billed at pushing 400 pounds, but that didn’t slow down either’s capacity to get tossed out with great haste.

321. Bushwhacker Luke (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1989, 1991, 1995) total time in: 3:24, # of eliminations: 0)

I love the Bushwhackers as much as anyone, but Luke sucked at Royal Rumbles. Of his three appearances, two rank among the 25 shortest stints in Rumble history. He had the famous four second spot in ’91 when he Bushwhacked his way both in and out without breaking stride as Earthquake tossed him. He also only made it 12 seconds in the infamous ’95 match. He managed to bring his overall average above a minute by hanging around just past three minutes in ’89. But while the numbers aren’t impressive, Luke always got a reaction and brought some entertainment, so give him credit there.   

320. Hurricane/Gregory Helms (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2002, 2004-05, 2007, 2018, 2021), total time in 10:07, # of eliminations: 0)

Hurricane has gone an abysmal five for six in BTNGs, including four in under a minute (like his surprise returns in ’18 and ‘21). His “long” appearance was just under 7 minutes, and he never mustered up an elimination.

319. Tyler Reks (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2011) total time in: 0:34, # of eliminations: 0)

Reks was a bit unlucky in his only Rumble appearance. He came out to a four on one situation when CM Punk and the rest of Nexus ruled a good chunk of the 2011 Rumble. The result was a short stay and BTNG for Tyler.

318. The Warlord (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989-92), total time in: 11:36, # of eliminations: 0)

You could argue that no one has done less with more in terms of Royal Rumbles than the Warlord. In his four appearances, Warlord drew numbers higher than 20 in three of them. Each of those three times, he was knocked out in under two minutes, including his infamous two second elimination in ’89, a record that stood for 20 years. He drew #29 in ’91 and was gone in 95 seconds, and then drew #30 in 1992 when it was for the title and spit the bit yet again. He had two BTNGs (and was saved from a 3^rd only because he was #30). His best appearance was just over eight minutes when he drew number seven, and despite his size, he never tossed anyone. In his defense, he seemed to be fed to Hogan quite a bit. The Hulkster had a hand in three of the four eliminations. And his other elimination was by Andre the Giant. It’s not like Koko B Ware was tossing him every time. But when you average less than three minutes with great entrance numbers, you have the 2^nd shortest stint in Rumble history, and you’re billed as over 300 pounds, you’re gonna be way down the list.

317. Drew Carey (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2001), total time in: 2:54, # of eliminations: 0)

The comedian’s entrance was a gimmick within a world of gimmicks, and he didn’t end up laying a finger on anyone. He loses major points for eliminating himself. It was probably a wise choice with Kane bearing down but it’s still not a good look. He did rack up nearly three minutes of time as the ring was empty when he came out, but I’m sure someone on the ’01 roster who got bumped in honor of Drew wasn’t too pleased.

316. Zack Ryder (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2010-11, 2013, 2015), total time in 4:23, # of eliminations: 0)

The Long Island Iced Z has three BTNGs of under 45 seconds in his four appearances. His “best” performance was about two and a half mins. Ouch. Sorry, broski. Give credit to Ryder though—he loves the business, and it shows. He had a 15 year run with the company prior to his release in 2020, and I’d vote him to be the superstar most likely to read through this entire list. His Wrestlemania moment winning the IC title was a good one.

315. The Godfather/Kama Mustafa/Papa Shango/The Goodfather (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (1993, 1996, 1998-2002, 2013), total time in: 35:41, # of eliminations: 1)

The Godfather (Charles Wright) is tied with Mick Foley for the most number of gimmicks entered into Rumbles by one man. Sadly, that’s probably his best Rumble stat. Dress this guy up however you want, he was pretty much a guaranteed early exit. In six of his eight Rumbles, Wright was gone in under two minutes. Three of those efforts were BTNGs of less than 30 seconds. He did manage a final four in the watered down ’96 match and helped combine for an elimination, but he’ll be remembered for big crowd pops while walking out with the ho train and then getting tossed soon after.

314. Robert Roode (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2020), total time in 0:41, # of eliminations: 0)

The Glorious One’s only showing came during Brock Lesnar’s historic dominance of the first half of the 2020 Rumble, resulting in a BTNG. 2020 had 12 BTNGs, surpassing even 1995.

313. The Boogeyman (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2015), total time in 0:47, # of eliminations: 0)

An entertaining one on one standoff with Bray Wyatt coupled with the surprise return are only so much to offset the fact that The Boogeyman was sent back under the bed in a 47 second BTNG.

312. Michael Cole (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2012), total time in 1:23, # of eliminations: 0)

Apparently short on talent in 2012, WWE had Cole (and the other commentators) take turns getting bounced quickly after entering directly from ringside. Cole’s was especially bad as he ran from Kharma and basically eliminated himself. Seeing him strap on headgear, wear an amateur wrestling singlet, and flex before entering was a nice touch, though.

311. Otis (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2021), total time in 0:53, # of eliminations: 0)

Despite over 30 years of evidence that you shouldn’t climb the ropes in a Rumble match, Otis said screw that noise and earned himself a BTNG in his first appearance.

310. Muhammad Hassan (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2005), total time in 0:54, # of eliminations: 0)

In one of those rare blissful moments when there is actual strategy applied, the whole ring of seven or eight guys ganged up on Hassan, punctuated by a Rey Mysterio 619, and then tossed him for a BTNG.

309. Ernest the Cat Miller (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2004), total time in 0:56, # of eliminations: 0)

He was a BTNG in less than a minute but he dazzled with the original “Somebody Call my Momma” dance and had his own ring announcer. If you’re only gonna get a minute or so, might as well bring the heat.

308. Scotty Too Hotty (# of Rumbles entered: 4* (2000-02, 2005*), total time in 4:25, # of eliminations: 0)

The former breakdancing superstar turned legit firefighter had BTNGs in his first two appearances. His “long” appearance in his third try was barely two and half minutes. And when he returned to the ’05 Rumble after a couple years away from the match, he was attacked by Muhammad Hassan on his walk back and never picked his ass back up to make it to the ring. Not a strong string of performances, though he usually managed to sneak in a dance or other fun spot.

307. Rico (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2004), total time in 1:06, # of eliminations: 0)

Rico’s run wasn’t half as long as his mutton chops, as he was a BTNG in just over a minute in his only appearance. But here’s a fun fact about Rico via Wikipedia: he won American Gladiators back in the ’90-91 season, and went undefeated in three joust matches vs. Gemini. Don’t let his one quick exit fool you. Rico is a beast.

306. Bull Buchanan/B^2 (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2001, 2003), total time in 2:32, # of eliminations: 0)

Two Rumbles entered. Two different gimmicks. Two quick exits, including one under 30 seconds. For a guy billed as 6’6” and 275 pounds, you’d expect a bigger impact.

305. Psicosis (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2006), total time in 1:15, # of eliminations: 0)

Psicosis was one of the many BTNGs in the ’06 Rumble, as Triple H and Rey Mysterio (the first two entrants) kept the ring pretty clear for the first third of the match.

304. Tyler Breeze (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2016), total time in 1:18, # of eliminations: 0)

A BTNG in his only appearance, Breeze was a victim of Roman Reigns and AJ Styles.

303. Gigolo Jimmy Del Ray (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1995), total time in 1:25, # of eliminations: 0)

I’m a mark for the Gigolo. His heat-drawing dance moves were second only to Rick Rude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuV_HHFqxFg. But he spent less than 90 seconds in the ’95 Rumble, and was saved from a BTNG simply because the entry times were shortened.

302. Cibernetico (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1997), total time in 1:26, # of eliminations: 0)

Billed as 20 years old (he was actually 21 at the time), Cibernetico is one of the youngest to ever enter a Rumble. His one appearance 25 years ago was a quick one, but he still wrestles to this day in Mexico.

301. Tyson Kidd (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2011, 2015), total time in 3:34, # of eliminations: 0)

Tyson had two quick exits in as many appearances, including one BTNG at the hands of the formidable duo of John Cena and Hornswoggle. His unfortunate injury will keep his stat line permanent, but glad to see he is coming through it well.

300. Jeff Jarrett (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1994, 1998-99, 2019), total time in 7:23, # of eliminations: 0)

Double J tripled up on BTNGs. He was bounced in under 90 seconds in three of his four appearances, including his great surprise return in 2019 post his Hall of Fame induction. He gave us nice struts in both the ’94 and ’19 Rumbles, which gives him a couple points, and also now holds the record for longest time between Rumble appearances at 20 years.

299. Red Rooster (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1989-90, 1993), total time in 13:39, # of eliminations: 0)

Saddled with arguably the worst gimmick in wrestling history (which is saying a lot), Terry Taylor’s run as the Red Rooster included exits in under two minutes in two of his three appearances. He did last over 11 minutes in ’89, but was basically a whipping boy who spent most of the time flat on the mat. Taylor’s Rumble woes haven’t affected his career in the business. Like Noble, Taylor still works for WWE.

298. Alex Riley (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2011-2012), total time in 4:05, # of eliminations: 0)

Both appearances for Riley were under three minutes, including one BTNG at the hands of the Miz, his nemesis at the time. Assuming the WWE sticks with 30 entrants from now on, he can always claim to be the only #34 in Rumble history.

297. Latin Lover (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1997), total time in 1:47, # of eliminations: 0)

One thing you’ll learn when picking a random Rumble from year’s past—the WWE liked to bring in random Mexican and Japanese wrestlers. Most were in and out as quickly as the Latin Lover. You’d expect someone named for his romantic prowess to last longer.

296. Hakushi (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1996), total time in 1:53, # of eliminations: 0)

Hakushi was one of the many quick exits in the ’96 match. He’s still a central figure in the Japan wrestling scene over 25 years later.

295. Max Moon (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1993), total time in 1:56, # of eliminations: 0)

It was a long way to travel from his home town of “outer space” to get bounced in under two minutes. Fun fact: Paul Diamond, who portrayed the gimmick, was also in the “Orient Express.” Apparently all the other random Japanese wrestlers that the WWE pulled in couldn’t fill this role, so they had Paul don a mask to hide the fact that he’s just a white dude.

294. Primo (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2012), total time in 1:57, # of eliminations: 0)

Not quite two minutes for Primo in his only appearance. He also committed one of the cardinal sins of the Rumble: running full steam ahead at an opponent who was standing next to the ropes. Apparently Primo never played Royal Rumble for Sega or Super Nintendo.

293. Luke Gallows (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2020), total time in 2:00, # of eliminations: 0)

Gallows had a solid draw of number 24 in his only Rumble but was gone in only a couple of minutes.

292. The Brian Kendrick (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2009), total time in 0:15, # of eliminations: 1)

Kendrick holds a dubious Rumble record: the shortest time in the ring while still managing an elimination. I give him credit for running into the ring and knocking Kofi Kingston off the top rope. Someone paid attention to past Rumbles. But still, a 15 second BTNG is what it is.

291. Elijah Burke (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2008), total time in 2:11, # of eliminations: 0)

Elijah drew number 28 in ’08 and barely lasted two minutes. This seems like a good spot to mention that Michael Buffer announced the rules for the ’08 Rumble, which was a nice surprise. The event was at Madison Square Garden and had a big time feel.

290. Bill Demott (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2003), total time in 2:13, # of eliminations: 0)

Surprisingly, the Rumble has had very few instances of weapons in the ring. Unfortunately for Mr. Demott, his run did not come during one of those times. Weaponry helped lead to a quick exit for Bill in his only Rumble.

289. Aiden English (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2018), total time in 2:16, # of eliminations: 0)

Taking time to crow is never advised during the Rumble, and Aiden’s “Rusev Day” bellowing made him a quick exit in his only appearance so far.

288. Santino Marella (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2008-09, 2011-13), total time in 16:49, # of eliminations: 1)

Santino will forever be etched in the record books for the shortest elimination with his one second stay in ’09. Two other appearances were also BTNGs under a minute. His total time in is also inflated, as he laid outside the ring for at least ten minutes in 2011, only to be bounced almost immediately by Alberto Del Rio when he finally re-entered. Still, he was technically the runner up that year, did collect one elimination, and he always had an entertaining spot or two—and that’s the name of the game.

287. Evan Bourne (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2010), total time in 2:26, # of eliminations: 0)

Here’s how empty the ring was kept in 2010: Bourne didn’t quite make it to two and a half minutes, and still lasted longer than 11 of the other entrants that year. Bourne’s WWE career went sideways after a car accident broke his foot, but he’s still very active in the scene.

286. Titus O’Neil (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2013, 2015-16, 2018-19) total time in 22:52, # of eliminations: 1)

Titus has two of the twelve shortest stints in Rumble history with BTNGs of four and five seconds in 2015 and 2019, respectively. He does have an elimination, but his three other stints were all less than ten minutes. His running stumble in Saudi Arabia at the Greatest Rumble (again—not included in these rankings) may be forever tied to his future appearances, so don’t expect a turnaround from this section of the list.

285. Saba Simba (Tony Atlas) (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1991), total time in 2:27, # of eliminations: 0)

While not a flattering gimmick for the Hall of Famer Tony Atlas, he gave an interview in which he credits Saba Simba for saving his life. He had been homeless before getting the call from Vince McMahon. So ridiculous gimmicks and a quick exit aside, Saba Simba’s appearance was actually pretty important.

284. Junkyard Dog (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988), total time in 2:30, # of eliminations: 0)

JYD did his best Warlord impression by drawing the last number (#20 in the inaugural ’88 match) and getting bounced in two and a half minutes. You sometimes wonder if a quick exit in a Rumble is a reward in a way for veterans like the Dog. It’s a nice pay day for next to no action.

283. Doug Gilbert (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1996), total time in 2:59, # of eliminations: 0)

Who? If you can judge a man’s fame by how long it takes him to not be in the top results in a Google Image search, then Doug Gilbert is not very famous. Gilbert won a USWA battle royal to earn his way into the Rumble. His gimmick was Freddy Krueger at the time. Why this was his gimmick a decade after the peak of the Nightmare on Elm Street series is anyone’s guess. Obviously, he couldn’t use the gimmick on the Royal Rumble stage. Damn copyright laws.

282. Tugboat/Typhoon (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1991, 1993), total time in 7:44, # of eliminations: 0)

As Tugboat, he pulled a JYD and lasted two and a half mins after drawing number 30. As Typhoon he lost even more points in the rankings for a simple reason: he stupidly squared off with his partner Earthquake while the ring was filled up with “humanity” as Gorilla Monsoon would say. Why they couldn’t pair up for a bit and worry about each other later is a mystery. Earthquake tossed him and it cost them both a shot at winning. Lack of a coherent strategy will send you right down the rankings.

281. Boris Zhukov (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988), total time in 2:33, # of eliminations: 0)

The heat between the USA and the USSR was so palpable back in the late 80s that WWE had not one, but two Russian heels. More on the other shortly. As a side note, the guy who had Boris’ gimmick is named James and was born in Roanoke, Virginia. I feel so lied to.

280. Colonel Mustafa (Iron Sheik) (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1992), total time in 2:36, # of eliminations: 0)

The Royal Rumble match debuted after the Iron Sheik’s mid 80s peak. Rebranded as an Iraqi sympathizer during the first Gulf War, Mustafa was gone quickly in the ’92 match. Worse, he drew number 24 in a year when the title was on the line, and pretty much wasted the number.

279. Rugged Ronnie Garvin (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1989), total time in 2:39, # of eliminations: 0)

Garvin had the bad luck of running into Andre the Giant in his only Rumble appearance. Needless to say, it didn’t end well.

278. Skinner (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1992-93), total time in 5:18, # of eliminations: 0)

The Alligator Man had back to back years of quick exits and no real damage done.

277. Takao Omori (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1996), total time in 2:48, # of eliminations: 0)

Another random Japanese dude (and another who is still active to this day) with an early exit.

276. Ahmed Johnson (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1997-98), total time in 6:20, # of eliminations: 1*)

Ahmed lasted barely over three minutes in back to back Rumbles. The worst part, though, is that he eliminated himself in ’97 (hence the asterisk) to chase down Faarooq. As Jerry Lawler said on commentary as it happened, “he’s an idiot!” To top it off, he then came back down later in the match to whack Faarooq with a 2×4, leading to Faarooq getting bounced. Again, basic disregard or misunderstanding of the simple Rumble rules will be penalized.

275. The Blue Meanie (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1999), total time in 2:59, # of eliminations: 0)

Meanie lasted about three minutes in his only appearance. I’m actually surprised he even got a cup of coffee with WWE, but give him credit for making it to the show.

274. Jinder Mahal (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2012-13, 2018-19), total time in 7:45, # of eliminations: 2)

Despite his somewhat recent (and fleeting) run with the world title, Jinder’s two latest appearances aren’t much better than his early showings. His 2012-13 resume included a BTNG in one appearance and then barely two minutes (with a number 27 draw) in his other. His last two appearances total barely four minutes and include another BTNG, though he has tallied some eliminations.

273. Yoshi Tatsu (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2010-11), total time in 6:04, # of eliminations: 0)

Mr. Tatsu has appeared twice. His first stint was a 29 second BTNG. He followed that up by picking a fight with Mark Henry the following year, leading to another quick exit. Every year my friends and I do a $10 Royal Rumble pool where you get a random number. We always say, even to this day, “I hope I don’t get Yoshi Tatsu.”

272. Bart Gunn (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1994-95, 1997), total time in 9:15, # of eliminations: 0)

Bart had three short stints, including a 26 second BTNG after which Steve Austin famously looks at his wrist as if it’s a watch. Mike Polchlopek, who portrayed Gunn, had a brief MMA career later and even grabbed a victory. Give him credit for getting back into combat after Butterbean nearly knocked his head off.

271. Great Kabuki (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1994), total time in 2:46, # of eliminations: 1)

Kabuki was brought in as a henchman and given one job: take out Lex Luger. Naturally, Luger came in and tossed him immediately. He does get a couple points for combining on a seven way elimination of Mabel.

270. Paul London (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2005), total time in 3:15, # of eliminations: 0)

London lasted barely three minutes while drawing number 24.

269. The Natural Butch Reed (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988), total time in 3:18, # of eliminations: 0)

The Natural will be forever etched in Rumble history—he was the first man ever eliminated in the history of the match. It’s probably not the way you want to make it into the history books, but hey, at least he made it.

268. Sin Cara (Luis Urive) (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2013), total time in 3:27, # of eliminations: 0)

Mapping the Sin Cara history is pretty confusing, but I believe this was the Luis Urive version. Rest assured, whoever was playing him, he was a guaranteed quick exit.

267. Kenzo Suzuki (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2005), total time in 3:31, # of eliminations: 0)

Random Japanese guy #47, we hardly knew ye.

266. El Torito (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2014), total time in 1:49, # of eliminations: 1)

The little guy was a BTNG but took it to CM Punk and even eliminated Fandango, so give him some credit.

265. Tommy Dreamer (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2003, 2007-08), total time in 9:38, # of eliminations: 0)

Dreamer had three short stints including a BTNG in his three appearances. Tommy did always get a decent reaction from the crowd, and gets a couple points for throwing a trash barrel into the ring during one of his entrances.

264. Jack Gallagher (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2017), total time in 3:20, # of eliminations: 0)

The Gentleman had a short stint in the 2017 Rumble, but made it entertaining with his umbrella, flying out like Mary Poppins with it open.

263. Doink (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1994-95), total time in 6:38, # of eliminations: 0)

Doink had two quick exits, including one in under two minutes. However, I give Doink major credit for one thing: in the ’94 match, he entered while Diesel and Crush were the only two in the ring and were beating on each other. Instead of running in like an idiot, wasting energy, and getting beat on, Doink stood in the corner while pointing and laughing at the two big men. It was not only hilarious, but genius strategy. Sadly, it didn’t quite pay off in the scope of the match.

262. Brodus Clay (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2013), total time in 3:47, # of eliminations: 0)

His only Rumble appearance is shorter than his talking head interviews on Fox News, which are the last pieces of media I ever pictured the “somebody call my mama” superstar doing.

261. Koko B. Ware (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1989-90, 1993), total time in 11:15, # of eliminations: 1)

The Birdman had two BTNGs in three appearances, but gets a couple points for improving in his third appearance and helping combine on an elimination. He also had one the most absurd entrances in Rumble history, hiking up his pants like Steve Urkel and high stepping out in ’93.

260. William Regal (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2001, 2009, 2011), total time in 10:34, # of eliminations: 0)

Regal never reached five minutes in any of his three appearances, and didn’t eliminate anyone either. It’s a pretty disappointing Rumble resume for the otherwise decorated wrestler, who has held four different titles and won a King of the Ring.

259. Barry Horowitz (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1996), total time in 4:15, # of eliminations: 0)

The self back-patting “enhancement” talent entered to a jazzed up version of Hava Nagila. Needless to say, he didn’t last long. As a side note, the Internet and wrestling fans are a match made in heaven, and you can find his entrance music on youtube, along with anything else you wanted to know about Barry.

258. MVP (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2007, 2009-10, 2020), total time in 11:55, # of eliminations: 2*)

It’s worth noting that MVP was getting a lot of crowd support in ’09. A year later, he lasted only seven seconds and eliminated himself (along with the Miz), which is never a good look. He was ambushed on the way out, but self-elimination is still not a wise tactic. He was also a nice surprise return in 2020, which was a quick BTNG but has resulted in a nice second run with the company.

257. Dominik Mysterio (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2021), total time in 2:00, # of eliminations: 1)

Dominik narrowly escaped being a BTNG but also snuck an elimination into his only Rumble so far.

256. JTG (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2009-11), total time in 14:12, # of eliminations: 0)

While racking up a decent 12 minutes in his first appearance, he regressed the following two years by being KO’ed in under two minutes each time, including a BTNG. He also loses points for getting eliminated after climbing the ropes like a dumbass. He did add in a nice touch by flipping a coin vs. his tag partner Shad to see who would get the entry. He called it correctly and Shad then realized it was a two sided coin.

255. Tajiri (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2003-04), total time in 9:20, # of eliminations: 0)

Tajiri’s lack of Rumble strategy is mind boggling. Two years in a row, while out on the apron, he went for his spider web move from outside the ring instead of climbing back into the ring. It led to his demise both times. Reminder: staying in the ring is basically the only key to the Royal Rumble.

254. Nunzio (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2004), total time in 3:48, # of eliminations: 0)

Nunzio got a mouthful of Mr. Socko on his way down the entrance ramp, and then wisely waited outside the ring for a bit. It’s a tactic that I’m surprised more people haven’t used. However, once he entered, he didn’t stay long.

253. Rick Steiner (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1994), total time in 3:57, # of eliminations: 0)

Rick had a surprisingly short stint and weak elimination in his only appearance. Another Wikipedia gem: Rick decided to run for his local school board, but was disqualified for using the Steiner name instead of his real name. He then won as a write in candidate since he was unopposed. If only Royal Rumbles worked that way.

252. Perry Saturn (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2001-02), total time in 7:59, # of eliminations: 0)

When the highlight of your two Rumble appearances is walking down with a basically naked Terri Runnels and Jim Ross saying “what is she NOT wearing?!”, you know it means a couple quick exits.

251. Kenny Dykstra (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2007), total time in 4:05, # of eliminations: 0)

Kenny was only 20 years old for his only performance and recently made a brief return to WWE, and is now a trainer at the Performance Center. Though it’s been over a decade, he may end up in a Rumble again someday, or at least have some proteges make it.

250. Ricardo Rodriguez (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2012), total time in 2:19, # of eliminations: 1)

The announcer by day made a funny parody entrance of Alberto del Rio and then actually helped combine for an elimination. Still, his run was just over two minutes.

249. Xavier Woods (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2017-19, 2021), total time in 16:56, # of eliminations: 0)

Woods’ run of short stints include a 3 second BTNG, tied for 5^th shortest all time. In all four of his appearances, he has been in the ring simultaneously with other New Day members and still has managed no real damage.

248. Rene Dupree (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2004), total time in 0:33, # of eliminations: 1)

Depree was a 33 second BTNG, but he eliminated Matt Hardy and threw in a sweet side to side prance dance, so he gets some points for that. Here’s a sample: https://thumbs.gfycat.com/SpryFlamboyantIcefish-size_restricted.gif

247. Daniel Puder (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2005), total time in 4:09, # of eliminations: 0)

The “Tough Enough” winner drew number three, cut a promo on his way to the ring, and then took a beating from veterans Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, leading to a quick exit in his only appearance.

246. Justin Gabriel (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2011-12), total time in 8:40, # of eliminations: 0)

Gabriel’s two stints include a BTNG in less than a minute. His luck wasn’t much better, as he drew number three in 2011 when there were 40 men, and got number five the next year. Maybe he subconsciously backed off the throttle a bit.

245. Brian Christopher (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2000-01), total time in 8:45, # of eliminations: 0)

Grandmaster Sexay had back to back short stints, including a BTNG. He does dance with Too Cool in an entertaining spot in the ’00 Rumble, but that’s the main highlight for him.

244. Steven Dunn (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1995), total time in 4:29, # of eliminations: 0)

The other half of the aforementioned Well-Dunn tag team, Steven lasted over ten times longer than his partner Timothy Well, which unfortunately only amounts to about four and a half minutes. In fairness, that’s a relative eternity in the ’95 match.

243. Duke the Dumpster Droese (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1995-96), total time in 9:23, # of eliminations: 0)

The Dumpster lasted barely over a minute from the #30 draw in ’96. To his credit, he lasted over eight minutes in the ’95 shitfest, which put him in the top third of durations that year. And yes, this is just another excuse to rip the ’95 Rumble.

242. Hunico/Sin Cara (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2012, 2015), total time in 9:37, # of eliminations: 0)

Again, I’m not 100% sure on the Sin Cara history, but I believe it was the Jorge Arias (Hunico) version who was a BTNG in 2015. As Hunico, he lasted nine minutes in 2012, but the 2015 stint knocks him down quite a bit.

241. Darren Young (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2013), total time in 2:51, # of eliminations: 1)

Young didn’t quite make three minutes in his only appearance, and his one credited elimination was a five way combined job. Still, that’s the name of the game, and shows some strategy.

240. Chris Nowinski (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2003), total time in 4:37, # of eliminations: 0)

The Harvard grad showed up during one of the Boston Royal Rumbles and was a quick exit. His research on concussions and CTE makes him an important figure to this day, and his influence is reaching well beyond WWE.

239. Sergeant Slaughter (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1992), total time in 4:37, # of eliminations: 0)

Slaughter surprisingly only appeared in one Rumble and wasted #28 in the famous ’92 match for the title. His exit at the hands of Sid Justice is a great one though, as he launched out of the ring like a missile (22 second mark): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W7IP_UA5NI

238. Lance Storm (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2002), total time in 4:46, # of eliminations: 0)

The ’02 match had some heavy hitters spread throughout the match, resulting in a bunch of quick eliminations for the also-rans. Storm’s run of less than five minutes was longer than 17 of the other entrants that year.

237. Fandango (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2014-15), total time in 10:52, # of eliminations: 0)

Fandango had two quick exits, including an embarrassing elimination at the hands of El Torito in about three minutes. It was indeed a “short” stint.

236. Tye Dillinger (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2017), total time in 5:27, # of eliminations: 0)

It was a cool moment in the ‘17 Rumble when Dillinger was a surprise entrant, as number ten of course. The crowd went wild. You could argue that his quick exit started the souring of the crowd that worsened as the Rumble went on.

235. Curt Hawkins (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2019), total time in 4:09, # of eliminations: 1)

Hawkins spent much of his four minutes of his only Rumble hiding under the ring, which always blurs the line between brilliant strategy and cowardice. He did account for an elimination in his short time actually in the ring.

234. Sabu (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2007), total time in 5:28, # of eliminations: 0)

In keeping with the theme of his ECW brethren, Sabu was a quick but entertaining exit, as Kane chokeslammed him through a table to punctuate his elimination.

233. Chris Masters (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2006-07, 2010-11) total time in 13:00, # of eliminations: 1)

The Masterpiece had three appearances under four minutes, including a BTNG. But he did help with a big (at least in size) elimination of Viscera, which is nothing to sneeze at.

232. Samu (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1993-94) total time in 8:02, # of eliminations: 0)

Based on actual performance, Samu should probably be a bit lower. But he also provided my favorite Royal Rumble exit ever, so I’ve bumped him up. In ’94 he ran full bore at the Steiner brothers, missed them, and ended up with his head between the ropes, dangling there for seemingly an eternity before Scott finally was kind enough to bounce him. I nearly wore out my old Royal Rumble VHS rewinding this moment. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/6jjtk3/samu_almost_killing_himself_in_the_1994_royal/

231. Kharma (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2012) total time in 1:00, # of eliminations: 1)

Five entrance numbers have gone to ladies over the years and the same story repeats itself all five times—they get an elimination, and then get tossed immediately after. Kharma’s version was an elimination of Hunico, only to get tossed seconds later. More on the other versions shortly.

230. Faarooq (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1997-98, 2000-02) total time in 12:36, # of eliminations: 4)

Four out of Faarooq’s five appearances were BTNGs in less than a minute. That’s pretty terrible. But there are two reasons he isn’t listed even lower. 1. Two of those exits were a result of being ambushed by cheaters who were already eliminated or weren’t even entrants. 2. He turned in a solid performance in ’98 where he had three eliminations and a final four.

229. Adam Bomb (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1994-95) total time in 10:15, # of eliminations: 0)

Adam took over the Warlord role in ’94 and ’95, drawing numbers 30 and 28, respectively, and lasting only about 5 minutes each time. As he came out in ’94, Vince McMahon was on commentary and in his excited announcer voice declared “Adam Bomb is gonna win the Royal Rumble!” Not quite.

228. Tom Prichard (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1995) total time in 5:30, # of eliminations: 0)

Like his teammate Gigolo Jimmy Del Ray, Dr. Tom was a non-factor in the ’95 match. At five and a half minutes, Prichard lasted longer than 16 of the other entrants that year. The eight participants from numbers 11 through 18 combined for 6:15 of total ring time.

227. Steve Blackman (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1998-2001) total time in 17:12, # of eliminations: 0)

Do yourself a favor and Google Image search Steve Blackman. The man knows only one expression. It’s uncanny. His face stayed exactly the same as he karate chopped and nunchucked in his four appearances. It also stayed the same each time he was bounced after a short stint, including a BTNG.

226. Dan Severn (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1999) total time in 5:43, # of eliminations: 0)

The Beast’s only appearance was as underwhelming as his ring attire. He did state later in an interview that he considered calling WCW and turning the ’99 match into a shoot, legitimately tossing people out every 90 seconds. That would’ve been interesting.

225. Apollo Crews (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2017-19) total time in 16:49, # of eliminations: 0)

Apollo has three nearly identical appearances of between five to six minutes and not much damage to speak of.

224. B. Brian Blair (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988) total time in 5:50, # of eliminations: 0)

The man who for some reason causes great angst to the Iron Sheik (even to this day) didn’t quite make it six minutes in the inaugural Rumble.

223. Beth Phoenix (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2010) total time in 1:37, # of eliminations: 1)

The Glamazon was the first female entrant to last over a minute, avoiding a BTNG by mere seconds. She added an elimination of the Great Khali, which is no small feat. Still, she followed the theme of the quick exit right afterwards.

222. Mojo Rawley (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2017) total time in 6:16, # of eliminations: 0)

Rawley had a short stint in the ’17 Rumble, but then went on to win the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal a couple months later. Unfortunately for Mr. Mojo, this list is ranking only Rumbles.  

221. Super Crazy (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2006-07) total time in 12:12, # of eliminations: 0)

Super Crazy was super mediocre in his two stints.

220. Marty Jannetty (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989-90, 1994, 1996) total time in 20:20, # of eliminations: 1)

Jannetty had a BTNG among his four brief stints. On the plus side, he combined for an elimination, and his exit in ’89 is entertaining as he clung on the ropes for a while by his toes.

219. Flash Funk (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1997) total time in 6:12, # of eliminations: 0)

“You might notice no relation to Terry Funk,” Jim Ross proclaimed in the ’97 match. Flash gets points for an entertaining elimination, as Vader caught him during a flying cross body and then threw him up over his head for a nasty looking bump.

218. Adam Cole (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2018) total time in 6:52, # of eliminations: 0)

Adam Cole (baybay) got a nice pop as a surprise entrant in the 2018 match. It’s possible that will be his only appearance, but never say never in the pro wrestling business.

217. Jimmy Uso (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2014) total time in 7:53, # of eliminations: 0)

I feel like we need to start a campaign on “top rope awareness” in the Royal Rumble. But then again, it seems so obvious. Jimmy decided it was good strategy in ’14 and of course was bounced as soon as got up there.

216. Jonathan Coachman (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2005-06) total time in 14:18, # of eliminations: 0)

The commentator turned ESPN/NBC sports commentator had a surprising run of over 13 minutes in ’05 and promptly followed that up with a 30 second BTNG the next year. He gets points for clinging to the ropes whenever someone attacked him and also for wearing an “I’m the Coach” t-shirt, which was amusing for some reason.

215. Keith Lee (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2020) total time in 3:32, # of eliminations: 1)

It was a great moment when Lee entered as a surprise in 2020 and elicited quite the reaction from Brock Lesnar. If you watch it back, see if you can read Lesnar’s lips. Lee went toe to toe with Brock and was one of the few non-BTNGs, and was credited with a shared elimination of Braun Strowman.

214. Nikolai Volkoff (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1988, 1992) total time in 12:43, # of eliminations: 1)

The other USSR heel of the late 80s was a BTNG in ’92. He also loses points for one of the great bonehead moments in Rumble history. In the inaugural match, he ran out on Don Muraco’s heels at number 11 but actually drew number 12. To make things worse, he argued with the refs for two minutes, as they wouldn’t let him in until his actual entry. Apparently Nikolai wanted an extra two minutes of expending energy and taking a beating. Not a very sound strategy. As a side note, Nikolai is not from the USSR either. He was at least from across the ocean, as he was born in Croatia.

213. Ricochet (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2020-21), total time in 14:46, # of eliminations: 0)

Ricochet’s Rumble career is still young, but his low blow of Brock Lesnar helped set up one of the more memorable eliminations in Rumble history.

212. Karl Anderson (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2020) total time in 9:46, # of eliminations: 0)

The good brother hung in the 2020 match for nearly ten minutes, which was actually the seventh longest run in a unique Rumble.

211. Jack Swagger (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2010-12, 2014-16) total time in 40:31, # of eliminations: 0)

Swagger is one of only two men to be tied for an infamous Rumble record: most Rumbles entered without recording an elimination. You would think he could pile on to one of these five way combined jobs at least. Three of his six stints have been under five minutes, including a 15 second BTNG at the hands of Brock Lesnar. It’s a surprisingly poor Rumble resume for the former World Heavyweight and United States Champion.

210. Honky Tonk Man (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989-90, 1998, 2001) total time in 29:24, # of eliminations: 0)

Honky had two appearances of about four minutes back in his heyday, but gets points for two surprise returns years later. More impressive is that he lasted about 20 minutes in ’98 as a surprise. Most nostalgia acts are disposed of quickly, including Honky himself as a BTNG in ’01.

209. Nia Jax (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2019) total time in 3:11, # of eliminations: 1)

Nia’s appearance was certainly a memorable one, as she stole the #30 spot from R-Truth and forced herself into the match. Give her some points for that, her one elimination, and for taking a 619 and an RKO. Still, most anticipated R-Truth would lose the 30^th spot somehow. And there were rumors of returns from injury (Kevin Owens or Bray Wyatt) or even bigger surprises (The Rock or Undertaker), so Nia’s entry was a puzzling one, especially after failing to win the inaugural Women’s Rumble earlier that night from the #29 spot.

208. Jey Uso (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2012, 2014) total time in 11:37, # of eliminations: 0)

Jey’s Rumble career so far includes two pretty quick exits, including one in under five minutes.

207. Prince Albert/A-Train/Tensai (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2000-04, 2013) total time in 47:18, # of eliminations: 0)

Whatever we’re calling Matt Bloom these days, he shares the aforementioned record with Jack Swagger of most Rumbles entered without an elimination. He never made it past 16 minutes and had a BTNG, though he did powerbomb the Undertaker one year at the peak of his push.

206. Chavo Guerrero Jr. (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2003, 2006-08, 2011) total time in 24:07, # of eliminations: 1)

Chavo’s longest stint in five appearances was about seven and a half minutes. Included in these short stints was a BTNG when he climbed to the top rope, which cannot be emphasized enough as a dumb move. On the plus side, he had a nice spot hitting everyone with the three amigos, and once tossed CM Punk, which is legit.

205. Damien Sandow (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2013-15) total time in 19:01, # of eliminations: 0)

Sandow had two very short stints in his three appearances, including an 18 second BTNG. But he gets points for his spot as Mizdow, imitating the Miz as he freaked out about Mizdow’s elimination.

204. King Kong Bundy (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1995) total time in 3:00, # of eliminations: 1)

Billed as one of the favorites in the ’95 mess, Bundy was naturally tossed in only three minutes.

203. Heath Slater (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2011, 2013, 2018) total time in 17:19, # of eliminations: 2)

The One Man Band has bookended BTNGs of under a minute, but also sports a nearly 16 minute run and had a surprise solo elimination of Sheamus in the 2018 match. Slater had a 14 year run with the company and hopefully has saved some of his money for his many offspring. He’s got kids!

202. Chyna (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1999-2000) total time in 1:12, # of eliminations: 2)

Sally Ride was the first woman in space. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first woman Supreme Court Justice. And Chyna was the first woman to appear in the Rumble. Ok, maybe not quite the same, but certainly of note. Chyna lasted less than 40 seconds in both of her appearances, but snuck in an elimination each time. She tossed both Mark Henry and Chris Jericho, two Rumble staples. But she also holds the record for shortest total time in the ring with multiple eliminations.

201. Valdimir Kozlov (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2009, 2011) total time in 3:20, # of eliminations: 3)

The “I love Double Double E” superstar had two very quick exits, including a BTNG. He did clear the ring and eliminate three competitors in ‘09, which is a decent run, but was still out in about two and a half minutes.

200. Mark Jindrak (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2005) total time in 8:15, # of eliminations: 0)

Jindrak didn’t do much in the ’05 Rumble but apparently found his niche in Mexico, where he won a world heavyweight championship and performed until 2018.

199. Kalisto (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2017) total time in 8:17, # of eliminations: 0)

Kalisto went for a little over eight minutes in ‘17. That’s actually respectable for a guy billed as 5’6” in the ring with the likes of Big Cass and Mark Henry.

198. Hornswoggle (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2008, 2011) total time in 35:56, # of eliminations: 1)

Give Hornswoggle credit for this: in each of his two Rumbles, he brought some strategy, which is more than almost every other entrant can say. In ’08, he hid under the ring for most of the Rumble (hence his inflated in ring time). In ’11, he formed an alliance with John Cena, which kept him in the match for nearly ten minutes. In the end he couldn’t fight nature and ended up getting tossed, but at least he gave it some thought.

197. Headbanger Mosh (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1998, 2000) total time in 16:46, # of eliminations: 0)

Mosh turned in a decent 13+ minute run in ’98, but the ring got up to 13 competitors at one point. His only other stint was a short one, and even with a pretty full ring, he couldn’t bounce anyone.

196. Crash Holly (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2000-01) total time in 17:25, # of eliminations: 0)

Crash’s two runs were about 15 minutes and two and a half minutes, respectively. As a side note, in researching these guys, it’s sad to see how many passed away so soon after their last Rumble appearance. Crash passed away in ’03 after appearing in ’01.

195. Mo (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1994-95) total time in 22:49, # of eliminations: 0)

It’s a tale of two Rumbles for Mo. In ’94, he lasted nearly 23 minutes, the fourth longest run of that year. But the following year, he lasted only three seconds in a BTNG. Only six other men have been in the Rumble for less than three seconds, four of which have already been mentioned (Santino, Warlord, No Way Jose, Xavier Woods).

194. Raven (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2001) total time in 8:51, # of eliminations: 0)

Raven got a bit of a raw deal in his only appearance, as he was ambushed by Al Snow during his entrance, softening him up for Kane.

193. Mantaur (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1995) total time in 9:33, # of eliminations: 0)

One of the most absurd gimmicks in WWE history, the half man/half bull lasted nearly ten minutes in ’95, which was a relative eternity compared to his peers.

192. Tiger Ali Singh (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1999) total time in 4:02, # of eliminations: 1)

The 90s version of Jinder Mahal squeaked in an elimination in his brief and only appearance.

191. Eli Blu/Skull (# of Rumbles entered: 2* (1995, 1998) total time in 10:00, # of eliminations: 1)

As Eli Blu, he lasted ten minutes in ’95 and had an elimination. As Skull, he loses points for no-showing the match. In his defense, the story was he was attacked before the match because he looked like Steve Austin. His twin brother somehow avoided the same fate and was able to compete, though.

190. Chainz (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1998) total time in 4:56, # of eliminations: 1)

Chainz, better known as his stint as the imposter Undertaker, drew number 29 in ’98 and mustered an elimination. Still, he was gone in under five minutes from a primo spot.

189. Tully Blanchard (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1989) total time in 8:02, # of eliminations: 1)

Tully had an elimination in his only appearance and took and entertaining (albeit brutal) bump from the Hulkster dropping him neck first on the ropes. Blanchard now gives back as a minister at prisons, according to Wikipedia, and has popped up on AEW.

188. 123 Kid/X-Pac (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1996, 1999-00) total time in 24:56, # of eliminations: 1)

Sean Waltman had pedestrian performances in his first two Rumbles but technically was in the final four of the ’00 match. I’ve docked him points for re-entering that match after he was tossed, though. He eliminated Kane and (in terms of going along with storylines) completely changed the ending.

187. Orlando Jordan (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2005-06) total time in 19:45, # of eliminations: 0)

You always like to see a competitor improve with experience, so credit Jordan for lasting over 16 minutes following a year when he went for only three and a half.

186. Big Cass (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2017) total time in 9:57, # of eliminations: 0)

Big Cass drew number one in the ’17 Rumble and used that chance to give the longest promo in Rumble match history with Enzo during his walkout. He then got tossed in about ten minutes. Gotta back up that talk a little better.

185. Rosey (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2003) total time in 10:16, # of eliminations: 0)

To show you how many people have struggled with Rumbles, Rosey’s unremarkable 10 minute run with zero eliminations puts him ahead of over 45% of Rumble entrants. 

184. Neville (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2016) total time in 10:17, # of eliminations: 0)

The former King of the Cruiserweights didn’t hang too long with the big boys in ’16.

183. Dory Funk, Jr. (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1996) total time in 10:53, # of eliminations: 0)

The black and white photo is for a reason. Funk turned 55 just two weeks after the ’96 Rumble. To put it in perspective, Ric Flair’s oldest performance came at the age of 57. I know I’ve taken several swipes at the ’95 match, but the ’96 match was not much better. Credit Funk for hanging in there for nearly 11 minutes and laying some beatings down, at least.

182. Harley Race (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988) total time in 10:03, # of eliminations: 0)

The King lasted ten minutes in the ’88 Rumble, but I’ve bumped him up a few spots for taking an entertaining beating. Race sat on the second rope, half out of the ring, and see-sawed back up repeatedly, getting punched in the face each time. Points for creativity.

181. Pete Dunne (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2019) total time in 11:13, # of eliminations: 0)

Fresh off a record setting 685-day reign with the NXT UK title, Dunne turned in 11 minutes in his first Rumble.

180. Marc Mero (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1997-98) total time in 23:31, # of eliminations: 0)

The Wild Man was completely upstaged in ’97 by Sable, who was white hot at the time. He lasted only about four minutes in the match, but followed it up the next year by pushing 20 minutes.

179. Jerry the King Lawler (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1993, 1996-97, 2012) total time in 51:24, # of eliminations: 3)

The King’s numbers don’t look too bad on the surface, but here are three reasons why he is ranked so low. 1. Two of his three credited eliminations came after he had been eliminated. 2. His time is inflated from hiding under the ring for much of the ’96 match. 3. He has two BTNGs of under a minute, including a four second appearance in ’97.

178. Damien Demento (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1993) total time in 12:27, # of eliminations: 0)

Demento’s entrance came right after Giant Gonzalez (a non-entrant) came down to face off with the Undertaker. Credit Demento with wisely staying out of the ring and avoiding that clash. It helped keep him around a while in the ’93 match.

177. Droz (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1999) total time in 12:30, # of eliminations: 0)

Droz had a very rare circumstance—he came out to a totally empty ring while Vince McMahon and Stone Cold took their act all over the arena. He had to just wait around for the next entrant, and did stick around for a decent chunk of the match. Side note – Droz has handled his unfortunate injury with grace and has regained some movement. Thumbs up to him.

176. Virgil (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1992-94) total time in 25:09, # of eliminations: 1)

Virgil had a stint of 17 minutes in ’93 and even eliminated a former Rumble champion in Hacksaw Jim Duggan. But he took himself along with Hacksaw and also threw in a 32 second BTNG in ’94. To rub salt in the quick exit, he was specifically called out as an alternate for the ’94 match, replacing Kamala.

175. R-Truth/K-Kwik (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2001, 2009-12, 2014-16) total time in 36:00, # of eliminations: 2)

R-Truth has had a couple shining moments in an otherwise bleak Rumble resume. Of his eight appearances, he lasted over five minutes only twice, and has three BTNGs. That’s not every good. However, he had arguably the single most impressive elimination in history with one maneuver, as he tossed both Big Show and Mark Henry at the same time in ’10. That’s pushing half a ton in poundage. And he once added a nice comedy moment when he pulled out a ladder and began climbing it with a full ring during his stretch with the doofus gimmick.

174. Nasty Boy Jerry Sags (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1992-93) total time in 22:56, # of eliminations: 0)

Sags was a BTNG in ’92 as he stupidly decided to celebrate after “saving” himself on the apron. The British Bulldog dropkicked his ass out for good. He did follow it up the next year with a nearly 22 minute run, the third longest run of that match.

173. Trevor Murdoch (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2006) total time in 13:41, # of eliminations: 0)

Murdoch had the 11^th longest stint in the ’06 match.

172. The Berzerker (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1992-93) total time in 14:21, # of eliminations: 1)

Huss! For those unfamiliar with the Berzerker, his specialty was throwing people over the top rope and winning by count-out. You might surmise that this would translate perfectly to Royal Rumbles, and you’d be wrong. The Berzerker had two short stints, and his only elimination was of Virgil. In his defense, his two eliminations came at the hands of the Undertaker and the Hulkster.

171. Diamond Dallas Page (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2002, 2015) total time in 8:02, # of eliminations: 1)

The yoga guru and friend to wrestlers down on their luck, DDP had two brief stints. He does get points for an elimination and a surprise return in 2015 when he hit much of the ring with the Diamond Cutter.

170. Brutus the Barber Beefcake (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1989) total time in 13:56, # of eliminations: 0)

Brutus is another surprising one time only entrant, lasting about 14 minutes in ’89, the first year to have 30 participants.

169. Kevin Owens (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2016, 2020) total time in 11:57, # of eliminations: 1)

KO has averaged only about six minutes per appearance, but he does own an elimination of AJ Styles. Most recently, he hit stunners on much of the ring in 2020. He seems like a prime candidate for a future early draw and long run (followed by months of crowing about it), which would bump him up the list.

168. Hillbilly Jim (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988) total time in 5:55, # of eliminations: 1)

As a big guy with a good number in the ’88 Rumble, Hillbilly Jim has to be considered a minor disappointment in terms of his only appearance.

167. Kevin Thorn (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2007) total time in 6:15, # of eliminations: 1)

While he did tally an elimination, Kevin is sadly the lowest ranked vampire.

166. Luther Reigns (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2005) total time in 7:13, # of eliminations: 1)           

Reigns helped eliminate Muhammad Hassan, but that was about the extent of his Rumble prowess.

165. Carlos Colon (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1993) total time in 7:25, # of eliminations: 1)

I’m not sure if Gorilla Monsoon was making an inside joke when he proclaimed that there was “a lot of fire in this youngster” as the then 44 year-old Colon (and father of Carlito and Primo) made his way out to the ’93 Rumble. Give him credit for mustering up an elimination as one of the eldest Rumble rookies.

164. Aldo Montoya (Justin Credible) (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1995-96) total time in 15:13, # of eliminations: 1)

“He’s got his jock on the wrong part of his body”, proclaimed Mr. Perfect on commentary. An unfortunate gimmick indeed for Justin Credible, but he did manage an elimination in ‘95.

163. Aleister Black (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2019-20) total time in 11:15, # of eliminations: 1)

The tattooed Dutchman didn’t last particularly long in his two Rumbles, but he does own an impressive spin-kick elimination of Dean Ambrose.

162. Ken Shamrock (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1998-99) total time in 14:05, # of eliminations: 1)

Shamrock had back to back relatively brief stints in the Attitude Era and chipped in on an elimination. An average of about seven minutes just doesn’t fit with the World’s Most Dangerous Man gimmick.

161. Scott Steiner (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1994, 2004) total time in 15:49, # of eliminations: 1)

In the ten years between his two stints, Steiner apparently went on a quest to find the most annoying entrance music in WWE history. He does get points for having a hand in the great Samu elimination.

160. Snitsky (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2005, 2008) total time in 16:04, # of eliminations: 1)

Snitsky had two short appearances, but was also in the ring for (by my count) the most entrants in the ring at any one moment—14 superstars in 2008 (including the hiding Hornswoggle).

159. Paul Roma (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1991) total time in 14:05, # of eliminations: 0)

The forgotten member of the Four Horsemen hung around for a while in his only appearance.

158. Curtis Axel/Michael McGillicutty (# of Rumbles entered: 3* (2011, 2015-16) total time in 16:37, # of eliminations: 4)

The son of Mr. Perfect, Axel’s best appearance actually came as Michael McGillicutty of Nexus. He helped combine for three eliminations and added one of his own. He also has a 90 second BTNG on his resume, though. Most notably, he was attacked by Erick Rowan on his walkout in ’15 and had his spot stolen. He then wisely claimed he was never truly eliminated and was technically in the Rumble for basically a year. So he gets points for claiming to be the longest reigning Rumble entrant and demanding to fight Brock Lesnar.

157. Sam Houston (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988) total time in 14:39, # of eliminations: 0)

The cowboy lasted nearly 15 minutes in the first Rumble.

156. Eugene (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2006) total time in 16:25, # of eliminations: 0)

Eugene hung around for a while in the ’06 match, which had an awesome entrance area complete with giant kingdom-like double doors.

155. Danny Davis (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988) total time in 17:51, # of eliminations: 0)

While mostly just a punching bag, credit the undersized referee for lasting nearly 18 minutes in the first Rumble.

154. Tenryu (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1993-94) total time in 30:38, # of eliminations: 0)

Tenryu is such a legend in Japan that he got not one but two Rumble appearances, averaging about 15 minutes and doling out reverse knife edges like you read about. Still, he didn’t eliminate anyone, including Lex Luger, who was his primary target.

153. Pierroth (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1997) total time in 10:32, # of eliminations: 1)

For a random throw in, lasting past ten minutes and combining for an elimination is pretty damn good. According to Wikipedia, there has been about eight different versions of Pierroth, of whom only about half are actually related to the one who entered the Rumble. The ability to don a mask makes impersonation easy and record keeping a bit of a chore.

152. Bushwhacker Butch (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1989, 1991, 1995) total time in 28:39, # of eliminations: 1)

Cousin Butch was lightyears ahead of his tag team partner. He lasted over 18 minutes in ’89 and even chipped in on an elimination. On the negative side, he had a 19 second BTNG in the ’95 mess. But he gets bonus points for staying true to his Bushwhacker self in ’91 for stomping around the ring right after entering rather than going after anyone.

151. Mil Mascaras (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1997) total time in 7:28, # of eliminations: 2)

Jerry Lawler claimed during the ’97 match that the then 54 year old Mascaras was around for the Alamo. That age did put him up in the Dory Funk range. Even though the Mexican legend tossed two opponents, he committed the cardinal sin of eliminating himself going after Pierroth. Again: the Rumble rules are quite simple.

150. Texas Tornado (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1991-92) total time in 33:37, # of eliminations: 0)

Von Erich never tossed anyone, but had a solid 24 minute run in ’91.

149. Jumpin’ Jim Brunzell (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988) total time in 12:06, # of eliminations: 1)

Jumpin’ Jim helped combine for an elimination in the very first Rumble.

148. Erick Rowan (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2014, 2016, 2020) total time in 9:48, # of eliminations: 2)

Rowan and the Wyatts combined to eliminate both Mark Henry and Brock Lesnar in ’16, which is impressive. And while he gets points for taking a spot from Curtis Axel (while not listed as an official entrant), he was tossed immediately. His latest appearance was an 8 second BTNG, bringing his average to less than four minutes, a disappointing figure for a man of his size.

147. Matt Riddle (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2020-21), total time in 31:58, # of eliminations: 1)

Broooooo… Riddle rebounded from a debut BTNG to last over a half hour in the latest Rumble. I’m sure we’ll see more flip flop flinging in future Rumbles. 

146. Rhyno (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2004, 2018) total time in 34:06, # of eliminations: 1)

Rhyno, who owns one of the longest gaps between appearances, has turned in two respectable runs well into the double digit minutes. 

145. Jacob Blu/8-Ball (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1995, 1998) total time in 31:00, # of eliminations: 1)

Two gimmicks, two completely different Rumbles for Don Harris. In ’95, he was a 17 second BTNG as Jacob Blu. In ’98, he lasted nearly 31 minutes and combined for an elimination as 8-ball. Points for bouncing back.

144. Matt Morgan (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2004) total time in 12:14 # of eliminations: 1)

The seven footer eliminated Hurricane but did not do much else in his only appearance.

143. Johnny Gargano (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2019) total time in 13:50 # of eliminations: 1)

Gargano’s Rumble debut was a decent run capped by an elimination of Jinder Mahal.

142. Animal (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1991, 2006) total time in 9:28, # of eliminations: 1)

Animal owns the sixth longest time between Rumble appearances at 15 years. He was a quick exit in his most recent appearance, and his ’91 stint was not long either. However, he teamed up with Hawk to bounce the Undertaker, and when you toss an odds-on favorite, that is a big impact.

141. Dick Murdoch (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1995) total time in 5:02, # of eliminations: 2)

Dick Murdoch was another pluck from the scrap heap in the ’95 mess. He didn’t look too good, and in fact sadly died just over a year later of a heart attack. But I’ll give him this—he entered the match and started beating the hell out of people. He helped eliminate both Smoking Gunns and even threw in a rare airplane spin, so Murdoch was actually a bright spot in a rough match.

140. Mason Ryan (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2011) total time in 4:32, # of eliminations: 2)

Mason was not around for very long in the only 40 man Rumble, but had a couple of eliminations, including a toss of The Great Khali.

139. Jeff Hardy (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2001-03, 2007, 2019, 2021) total time in 30:31, # of eliminations: 3)

Jeff started his Rumble career on fire, drawing number one in ’01 and then having a hand in eliminating the next three competitors. One of those was his own brother, and they tossed each other rather than teaming up for the rest of the match. It’s been all downhill from there, with five more short appearances, including a BTNG and getting eliminated when climbing the top rope.

138. Kurrgan (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1998-99) total time in 10:32, # of eliminations: 2)

You know you’re a solid threat when the whole ring bands together to toss you, as happened to Kurrgan in ’98. He did manage two eliminations before he was sent packing, but didn’t do much damage the following year as a member of the Oddities. Since his Rumble appearances, you may have seen Robert Maillet, who played Kurrgan, in movies like 300, Pacific Rim, and Hercules.

137. Bubba Ray Dudley (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2015) total time in 5:22, # of eliminations: 2)

Although he was a part of five other Rumble PPVs (according to JBL on commentary), Bubba’s only appearance in the Rumble match itself came in his most recent run. Philadelphia popped big time for him, and he had some entertaining spots with R-Truth. He did manage two eliminations in his short stint.

136. Gangrel (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1999-2000) total time in 23:45, # of eliminations: 1)

Gangrel was a BTNG in under 30 seconds in his first Rumble, but returned the next year and spent over 23 minutes in the ring and helped eliminate Rikishi.

135. Bobby Lashley (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2006, 2019, 2021) total time in 8:33, # of eliminations: 4)

Lashley has lasted less than four and a half minutes each time, including a 13 second BTNG in 2019. He did toss three in the ’21 Rumble and is trending upwards.

134. David Otunga (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2011-13) total time in 19:35, # of eliminations: 3)

Otunga’s best run came with most of Nexus in the ring together. In each of the following two years, he was bounced in under five minutes.

133. Savio Vega/Kwang (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1994-98) total time in 32:24, # of eliminations: 2)

Savio entered five straight Rumbles in the 90s, twice as Kwang and the rest as Vega. His longest appearance was over twelve minutes and he had two solo eliminations, but also had a 29 second BTNG thrown in.

132. Hawk (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1991) total time in 6:37, # of eliminations: 2)

Hawk had only one short stint, but did some damage, including a double team to bounce Undertaker.

131. Superfly Jimmy Snuka (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1990-92, 2008) total time in 30:19, # of eliminations: 2)

Snuka had a decent showing in ’90 with 17 minutes and two eliminations, but never made it past ten minutes in his next three appearances. However, he gets major points for his ’08 surprise return as he and Roddy Piper came out back to back, 16 years after they each last appeared in a Rumble. It was a nice moment at Madison Square Garden as the crowd went nuts. Even Snuka couldn’t hold back a smile.

130. Ezekiel Jackson (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2011-12) total time in 11:00, # of eliminations: 1)

Both of Ezekiel’s stints were quite short, but his lone elimination was an impressive solo toss of Big Show.

129. JBL/Blackjack Bradshaw (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (1998, 2000-02, 2004, 2014) total time in 1:02:34, # of eliminations: 1)

In three of his six appearances, JBL was a BTNG in under a minute. That’s pretty bad. One of those was due to an ambush of the Mean Street Posse, who was not legally in the match. But that washes out with an all-time goofy Rumble moment of JBL entering from the commentary table and then leaning back over the ropes with his suit coat, leading to his immediate tossing. His best appearance was ironically as Blackjack Bradshaw, lasting over 35 minutes and combining for an elimination.

128. The Miz (# of Rumbles entered: 13 (2007-10, 2012-18, 2020-21) total time in 2:10:19, # of eliminations: 2)

Quite frankly, the Miz is all over the place in terms of performances, making his ranking a bit tricky. He has appearances in the 2nd percentile (7 seconds) and 97^th percentile (nearly 46 minutes). He has five BTNGs and has interfered twice when not in the match, but also brilliantly hopped on commentary for a while to avoid Lesnar and Braun Strowman. Still, in twelve of his thirteen appearances, he has not produced an elimination. So despite his overall time, he resides here in the triple digits.

127. Goldust (# of Rumbles entered: 12 (1997-99, 2002-03, 2006, 2009, 2013-16, 2018) total time in 1:31:00, # of eliminations: 4)

Mirroring his WWE run, Goldust has been a Rumble mainstay, but not a dominant force. The Bizarre One has lasted over 20 minutes just once in 12 appearances and has 2 BTNGs. On the plus side, his eliminations are of Triple H, Mankind, Vader, and Cody Rhodes—not exactly a pack of jobbers.

126. Elias (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2018-21) total time in 44:37, # of eliminations: 2)

Elias put in some solid ring time in his first two Rumbles but had the misfortune of drawing #2 against Brock Lesnar in 2020, resulting in a BTNG. He somehow has had a chance to regale us with musical performances in three of his four appearances, including his surprise short lived duet with Jeff Jarrett in 2019.

125. Big E (# of Rumbles entered: 7 (2014-15, 2017-21) total time in 1:18:32, # of eliminations: 4)

Big E’s numbers had been pretty pedestrian until his 2021 run of roughly a half hour and four eliminations.  He does have a BTNG amid the Lesnar dominance in 2020, and drew number 29 in ’14 and lasted less than three minutes. I’d expect his future appearances to help push him up this list.

124. Dino Bravo (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1988, 1990-91) total time in 17:31, # of eliminations: 2)

Bravo had short stints in ’90 and ’91, but made it up the list quite a bit with a final four and two solid eliminations in the very first Rumble. What made it even more impressive was that he must’ve been exhausted after breaking the world bench press record that very night.

123. Shelton Benjamin (# of Rumbles entered: 10 (2003-10, 2019-20) total time in 1:10:41, # of eliminations: 4)

Shelton entered eight straight Rumbles in the ‘00s, averaging an elimination every other appearance and lasting over ten minutes three times. On the minus side, four of his ten overall appearances have resulted in a BTNG of less than a minute, including a spot when he athletically but stupidly jumped to the top rope and was sent packing in 18 seconds. He did add in some entertaining moments, but drew numbers 20 or higher in half of those early stints and never made a final four. In his recent run, there was a fun moment where it seemed like he’d team up with his old Minnesota teammate Brock Lesnar, only to get tossed, obviously.

122. Val Venis (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1999-02) total time in 37:48, # of eliminations: 1)

The Big Valbowski lasted at least ten minutes in three of his four stints, and even briefly stemmed an avalanche of Steve Austin eliminations by himself.

121. Billy Gunn (# of Rumbles entered: 7 (1994-95, 1999-02, 2004) total time in 40:58, # of eliminations: 3)

The Ass-Man went through several phases over his Rumble career but never made it to ten minutes whether he was a cowboy, in DX, or prepping for a gay marriage. He had a BTNG and tossed his tag team partner in ’00 which is always a puzzling strategy. On the plus side, he was in the final four in ’01, though he did almost default into it by drawing 28.

120. Charlie Haas (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2003-05) total time in 30:30, # of eliminations: 2)

Credit Haas with actually forming an alliance with his then-tag partner Shelton Benjamin in ’03. They eliminated Booker T and Goldust rather than each other, leading to a decent run.

119. Bad News Brown (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1989-90) total time in 22:28, # of eliminations: 2)

“This is a normal Saturday night for him!” The every man for himself style did lend itself to Bad News, though his numbers are not staggering. One of his two eliminations was of Roddy Piper after Bad News had already been tossed by Roddy, so he loses a few points for that.

118. Haku (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1990-92, 2001) total time in 40:37, # of eliminations: 2)

Haku had a BTNG in his four stints, but also had a nice run in ’90 of over 22 minutes and two eliminations, including an awesome crescent kick bounce. He was also a nice surprise return in 2001.

117. Henry Godwinn (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1995-98) total time in 48:47, # of eliminations: 1)

Henry typically put in a decent amount of ring time, including nearly 15 minutes in the ’95 match, which was the fourth longest run of that debacle. 

116. Jim the Anvil Neidhart (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1988, 1990-91) total time in 38:59, # of eliminations: 1)

The Anvil put up some decent times, including about 19 minutes in the inaugural Rumble.

115. Tito Santana (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (1988-93) total time in 1:13:56, # of eliminations: 2)

Tito entered the first six Rumble matches and was pretty consistent, lasting between five and 20 minutes each time and sprinkling in a couple of eliminations. He also seemed to always have a run in with Rick Martel, extending their feud basically forever.

114. Phineas Godwinn (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1997-98) total time in 31:40, # of eliminations: 2)

Phineas coincidentally ended up near his fake cousin in the rankings by turning in a nearly half hour performance in ’98. And even in a short stint in ’97 he tossed Crush, which is solid.

113. Ax (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1989-90) total time in 27:27, # of eliminations: 1)

Ax has a pretty important role in Rumble history. The 1988 inaugural match was very much heels vs. faces, with even the commentators saying the advantage was tipping one way or the other based on the number of good guys vs. bad guys. In 1989, WWE changed that tone to every man for himself by having Ax and Smash (tag champs at the time) draw numbers one and two and beat on each other for two minutes. That mantra has stayed since then. Add in a combined elimination of Andre the Giant, and that’s not a bad Rumble legacy for Ax.

112. D’Lo Brown (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1998-2000) total time in 47:40, # of eliminations: 1)

D’Lo lasted over 32 minutes in one appearance and made a final four in another, tossing Ahmed Johnson along the way.

111. Headbanger Thrasher (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1998) total time in 28:08, # of eliminations: 0)

Ten guys lasted at least 19 minutes in the ’98 Rumble, making it less impressive than usual. Thrasher was one of them.

110. Maven (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2002-03) total time in 11:53, # of eliminations: 1)

Despite pedestrian numbers, Maven jumps way up the list for one of the most famous Rumble eliminations of all time, a shocking and clean solo toss of the Undertaker in ’02: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYZoGACeqt4  He was also screwed over by the Undertaker, who tossed him in a hissy fit afterwards when Maven would’ve have an empty ring to himself. 

109. Shane Douglas (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1991) total time in 26:23, # of eliminations: 0)

Douglas lasted over 26 minutes in his lone appearance, an impressive amount of time in a talented Rumble. He still makes independent appearances to this day.

108. IRS (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1992-93) total time in 43:01, # of eliminations: 0)

The Tax Man averaged over 21 minutes over his two appearances and gave us an entertaining elimination via his tie in ’92.

107. Ron Bass (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1988-89) total time in 22:50, # of eliminations: 2)

The Outlaw averaged double digit minutes and an elimination in the first two Rumbles.

106. Mr. Kennedy (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2008) total time in 13:32, # of eliminations: 1)

If you’re only gonna make it into one Rumble, an opportunistic elimination of Shawn Michaels is not a bad way to make your mark. Kennedy had a decent run in his only showing.

105. Jamal/Umaga (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2003, 2008) total time in 42:12, # of eliminations: 1)

As Jamal, Edward Fatu lasted over 16 minutes. As Umaga, he went for over 26 minutes and added an elimination.

104. Bo Dallas (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2013) total time in 21:42, # of eliminations: 1)

Bo’s only appearance actually came when he was in NXT, as he lasted nearly 22 minutes and tossed Wade Barrett. Barrett then re-entered and screwed over Bo, who did not appear in another Rumble despite being on the main roster the following six years.

103. Mike Knox (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2009) total time in 32:42, # of eliminations: 0)

Knox quietly racked up nearly 33 minutes in his only appearance.

102. Carlito (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2006-10, 2021) total time in 1:16:41, # of eliminations: 2)

Carlito had an impressive 38+ minute run along with two eliminations in his first appearance, but made it into double digit minutes only once in his following five Rumbles. He was a nice surprise in the 2021 match and looked to be in great shape, tallying over eight minutes in a return spot that is often a BTNG.

101. Baron Corbin (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2017-21) total time in 48:44, # of eliminations: 7)

The Lone Wolf turned Constable turned King turned Happy has a mixed bag of appearances. His debut was a run of over a half hour and included a solo KO of Braun Strowman. He also had multiple eliminations in the ’19 and ’21 matches. But he lasted just four minutes in 2020, and also had a BTNG of barely more than a minute in 2018 after which he threw an epic hissy fit and leveled everyone in or near the ring and “might’ve ruined the entire Rumble match!” For that, he loses several spots.

100. Macho Man Randy Savage (# of Rumbles entered: 6* (1989-94) total time in 58:41, # of eliminations: 8)

I didn’t want to have rank an all-time great so low, but he earned it. It is my opinion that no one either blatantly disregarded or was totally unaware of the Rumble rules more than Savage. He eliminated himself in ’92 while going after Jake Roberts, and by my count is the only person to ever be allowed back in after doing so. He later suplexed Ric Flair back into the ring from the apron in the same match. He tried to pin Yokozuna at the end of the ’93 match. Pin! He pulled a Bastion Booger and no showed the ’91 match with the explanation being his fear of Ultimate Warrior. It’s hard to tell if it was himself or his character that just didn’t give a damn about the Rumble. That more than wipes out his decent elimination total, his runner up in ’93, and his final four in ’92.

99. Finlay (# of Rumbles entered: 3* (2007-09) total time in 1:02:32, # of eliminations: 0)

Finlay may love to fight, but he apparently doesn’t love eliminating people. He holds the record for most total time in the ring without an elimination. He put up about a half hour in each of his two entries, which is solid. His third was an honorable DQ as he ran down early to protect his buddy (or is it son?) Hornswoggle.

98. Joey Mercury (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2006) total time in 29:14, # of eliminations: 1)

If you’re only going to appear once, pushing a half hour and helping with an elimination is not a bad run.

97. Terry Funk/Chainsaw Charlie (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1997-98) total time in 40:37, # of eliminations: 2)

Funk had a couple good runs, including an entertaining hardcore start to the ’98 match with Mick Foley. You don’t see too many Rumble participants ask to be hit with a steel chair, but Funk is no ordinary dude.   

96. Ravishing Rick Rude (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1990) total time in 6:29, # of eliminations: 2)

The Ravishing One had only one appearance, but he made it to the final four and had a hand in eliminating the Ultimate Warrior and Hercules.

95. Arn Anderson (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1989) total time in 10:00, # of eliminations: 2)

Double A helped take out two competitors in his only appearance. Any time you are credited with a crooked number of eliminations in any one Rumble, it’s a good showing. They are harder to come by than you might think.

94. Al Snow (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1999-02) total time in 30:24, # of eliminations: 3)

Only one of Al’s appearances went past ten minutes, with one stint going as a BTNG. But he tallied a few eliminations and gets points for ingenuity for using a bowling ball as a weapon.

93. Andrade (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2018-19) total time 55:54, # of eliminations: 2)

Andrade put in over 20 minutes and tallied an elimination in both of his appearances. Before his departure to AEW, I would’ve ranked him as a favorite to eventually win a Rumble.

92. Sami Zayn (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2016-18, 2021) total time 1:12:08, # of eliminations: 1)

Sami owns the record for longest single appearance without producing an elimination. He lasted 47 minutes and change in the ’17 Rumble. Ironically, he managed to eliminate Kevin Owens with only about five minutes of ring time in the prior year.

91. Greg the Hammer Valentine (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989, 1991-92, 1994) total time in 1:28:46, # of eliminations: 2)

Gorilla Monsoon loved to talk about how Valentine always needed about 20 minutes to warm up, which coincidentally was a number he basically hit in three of his four appearances, including a 44 minute stint in ’91.

90. Smash/Repo Man (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1989-93) total time in 48:14, # of eliminations: 4)

Barry Darsow was part of the aforementioned Demolition beginning in ’89 and had multiple eliminations in two different Rumbles. He helped eliminate both Andre the Giant and Earthquake in ’90, and wisely snuck into the ring as Repo Man at an opportune time rather than run in blindly like 99% of all the other numbskulls.

89. Chuck Palumbo (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2002, 2008) total time in 13:04, # of eliminations: 3)

Palumbo didn’t make it past ten minutes in either of his appearances, but he averaged an elimination roughly every four and a half minutes, which is very efficient by Rumble standards.

88. Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1991, 1993) total time in 13:05, # of eliminations: 3)

Knobbs had a good run in ’91, with a final four and three eliminations. He loses points, though, for launching himself out by jumping in the direction of the ropes in ’93. I have yet to see that strategy work—best case scenario is that you take someone with you.

87. Hercules (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989-92) total time in 47:45, # of eliminations: 3)

About 80% of Hercules’ ring time came in his 37 minute run in ’91. His other three appearances weren’t great, though he managed a final four in ’90 and mustered an elimination in ’92 even though he was a BTNG.

86. Rowdy Roddy Piper (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1990, 1992, 2008) total time in 47:26, # of eliminations: 2)

Hot Rod had a decent run going in ’90 until he was screwed over by Bad News Brown, who pulled him out after being tossed. He also had a fun surprise return after 16 years in ’08 with Snuka but was a nostalgia BTNG. His best appearance came in ’92, when he lasted over 34 minutes but also produced what may be my favorite Rumble moment ever: After Ric Flair had survived the first half of the Rumble and the ring cleared, he kneels in the middle of the ring exhausted while the clock expires. Out comes his longtime rival Piper in a full out sprint, spitting fire while Flair makes an “oh shit” face. A perfectly written moment for two all-time greats.

85. The Great Khali (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2007-14) total time in 20:21, # of eliminations: 10)

Although he is one of only 31 competitors with double digit career eliminations, Khali barely eclipsed 20 total minutes in eight appearances. He made it past four minutes only once and had three BTNGs. On the plus side, he had seven eliminations in ’07, which is elite level for one Rumble. And he always brought a presence and commanded part of the story of each match. So while his total time is short, he always had an impact, so credit him there.

84. Matt Hardy (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2001-04, 2006-07, 2010, 2018) total time in 1:18:46, # of eliminations: 6*)

Hardy’s Rumble career is bizarre: his first three eliminations came in his first five minutes of his Rumble career back in ’01 (two of which came with his brother’s help). His following three came in 2018 when he was in the ring for barely over a minute (and included himself as he took out Wyatt). So he has spent a Finlay amount of time with no eliminations in between, and has two BTNGs thrown in.

83. Damien Priest (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2021) total time in 15:34, # of eliminations: 4)

Priest’s Rumble debut in the most recent match was impressive, as he tallied four solo eliminations in over 15 minutes of ring time.

82. Bob Backlund (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1993-96, 2000) total time in 1:16:29, # of eliminations: 3)

Backlund holds the third longest single Rumble run with over 61 minutes in ’93, a match where he drew number two, eliminated two, and made it to the final four. He followed that great performance up with two BTNGs totaling 57 seconds in the following two years (though one came after being attacked by Bret Hart, a non-participant). His last appearance was a nice surprise in 2000 when he was running for office, and he gave us a great moment when he ran all over the crowd to campaign after being bounced in two minutes.

81. Mark Henry (# of Rumbles entered: 9 (1998-99, 2004, 2008-11, 2016-17) total time in 59:01, # of eliminations: 5)

It seems like every time Henry enters a Rumble, the announcers ask how anyone is going to get rid of him, and then minutes later, he’s gone. Maybe they don’t watch much tape. Henry lasted double digit minutes only once in nine tries, though was often a target of different factions combining against him. On the plus side, he was a BTNG only once and showed impressive career longevity and athleticism, especially when compared to other big men. He was a legit threat for nearly 20 years.

80. Cesaro (# of Rumbles entered: 7 (2013-15, 2017-18, 2020-21) total time in 47:23, # of eliminations: 4)

The Swiss Superman has yet to have a very lengthy run despite his well-established stamina. Still, he once eliminated Daniel Bryan and has brought the entertaining “Big Swing” back into the fold, spinning nearly everyone round and round in the ’17 match.

79. Booker T (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2002-07, 2011-12) total time in 42:04, # of eliminations: 11)

Similar to Khali, Booker was not much for longevity. He lasted past ten minutes only once in eight tries, and had three BTNGs. On the plus side, he managed at least an elimination in six of his eight showings, and twice tossed three entrants. But he also twice tossed people after he was out of the match, which hurts his ranking.  

78. Tatanka (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1993-94, 1996, 2006) total time in 55:59, # of eliminations: 3)

Tatanka went for at least 14 minutes in three of his four appearances, including his nice surprise return in 2006, which usually results in a quick exit.

77. Mabel/Viscera (# of Rumbles entered: 9 (1994-96, 1999-00, 2005-08) total time in 49:31, # of eliminations: 8)

Despite his size, Mabel made it past ten minutes only once in nine tries and had a BTNG. His best match was in ’99, when he stole a spot from one of the Headbangers and then tossed five men in under 90 seconds, an incredible rate. He was cooled off when the Acolytes entered illegally and tossed him. As Viscera, he was typically a quick exit, though it often took a fleet of people or big name to toss him.  

76. Owen Hart (# of Rumbles entered: 7 (1993-99) total time in 47:35, # of eliminations: 7)

The multiple Slammy Award Winner made it past double digit minutes only once in seven tries, but was also attacked twice on his entrance, leading to quick exits (including a three second BTNG). His elimination total is decent given his in ring time.

75. Eddie Guerrero (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2003, 2005) total time in 44:40, # of eliminations: 3)

Eddie had decent runs in his two appearances. His most important Rumble was not an official PPV and thus not in the rankings. He won a secondary Rumble in ’04 with just Smackdown participants, and delivered on the title opportunity by defeating Brock Lesnar.

74. Christian (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2000, 2002-05, 2021) total time in 51:13, # of eliminations: 6)

You could argue that Christian’s 2021 surprise return was his best appearance, as he tallied over 18 minutes, a final four, and a couple of eliminations. Not bad given his 16 year hiatus from the match.

 73. Vince McMahon (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1999) total time in 56:38, # of eliminations: 1, number of wins: 1)

Our lowest ranked winner, Mr. McMahon’s official time is overstated by at least 50 minutes, as he barely spent any time in the match. At the peak of his feud with Steve Austin, he lured Austin out of the ring into a trap, and then spent much of the match doing commentary. His only elimination was of Austin and came with help from The Rock. There’s a fine line between strategy and cowardice, but hey, a win is a win.

72. Test (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1999-03) total time in 1:01:40, # of eliminations: 3)

Test had two stints around two minutes, but had double digit minutes in three others and had some big eliminations.

71. Samoa Joe (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2019-20) total time in 28:30, # of eliminations: 3)

Joe was a force in his first Rumble, last over 24 minutes and adding three solo eliminations. His second stint was a disappointing quick exit from the #29 draw.

70. Dusty Rhodes (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1990) total time in 18:18, # of eliminations: 2)

It’s a bummer we only got to see Dusty in one Rumble. The match was a good fit for him with his elbows and wind up punches. Dusty was a key player in the ’90 match, with solo eliminations of both Randy Savage and Bret Hart.

69. The Barbarian/Sione (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989-90, 1992, 1995) total time in 37:47, # of eliminations: 6)

Compared to his tag partner the Warlord, The Barbarian’s resume doesn’t look too bad. Still, his list of solo eliminations reads more like a who’s not-who, and he was once bounced with a dropkick somehow. He did have three eliminations in one match, though it’s discounted since it was in ’95. 

68. Road Dogg (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1997, 1999-00, 2012) total time in 35:24, # of eliminations: 5)

Road Dogg had a mini dominant streak in the ’99 Rumble with three eliminations and added two more in 2000. On the negative side, he had two appearances under five minutes, including a BTNG.

67. Dolph Ziggler (# of Rumbles entered: 13 (2009-21) total time in 2:26:09, # of eliminations: 9)

Ziggler’s appearance in the 2021 Rumble made it his 13^th straight, tying the longest ever streak of entrances (and breaking his long-standing tie with Kofi Kingston for current longest streak). He has made the final four twice. On the negative side, four of Dolph’s runs have gone less than three minutes, including a BTNG. But he also has had multiple eliminations in three matches, and went nearly 50 minutes from the number one draw to reach the final four in ’13. He did post over 20 minutes in his latest appearance, so shows no signs of slowing.  

66. Alberto Del Rio (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2011, 2014, 2016) total time in 19:35, # of eliminations: 2, number of wins: 1)

Del Rio’s overall numbers are pretty weak as far as winners go. He won the 2011 match while drawing number 38 in the only 40 man Rumble. It took less than ten minutes to win from that draw, though he did eliminate Randy Orton (along with Santino Marella). But his next two appearances went for about three and seven minutes despite drawing numbers in the twenties, and he never produced another elimination.

65. Ted DiBiase, Jr. (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2009-11) total time in 1:11:07, # of eliminations: 2)

In his debut match, DiBiase lasted over 45 minutes, made the final four, and helped eliminate Kane. Credit him with wisely teaming with Legacy, a concept many entrants get away from. In his other two stints, he lasted double digit minutes and tossed William Regal. Not a bad trio of appearances.

64. Don Muraco (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1988) total time in 16:16, # of eliminations: 3)

The Magnificent One had three solo eliminations and was in the final four of the inaugural match.

63. Mustafa Ali (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2019, 2021) total time in 43:23, # of eliminations: 3)

The former police officer had a strong Rumble debut in 2019, lasting a half hour and tossing both Samoa Joe and former winner Shinsuke Nakamura. His stint was the 2^nd longest in the 2019 match. He followed that up two years later with another elimination and double digit minutes.

62. Jake the Snake Roberts (# of Rumbles entered: 7 (1988-92, 1996-97) total time in 1:13:45, # of eliminations: 4)

Roberts lasted double digit minutes in five of his seven appearances but more importantly seemed to always bring a compelling story to the Rumble. Whether he was feuding with Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, or Rick Martel, Jake’s appearance was always exciting. He did cheat by unleashing the snake after getting tossed and had a BTNG in his last showing, but sports some decent overall numbers.

61. Ryback (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2013-16) total time in 36:59, # of eliminations: 5)

The Big Guy started his Rumble career like a house of fire, tossing five people and earning a runner up in 2013. But he fizzled in his next three stints, averaging just under ten minutes and failing to toss anyone else.

60. Wade Barrett (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2011-13, 2015) total time in 52:02, # of eliminations: 5)

Barrett has a final four and two stints over twenty minutes, but he loses points for two short appearances and for re-entering to screw over Bo Dallas in ’13.

59. Luke Harper (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2014-17) total time in 53:15, # of eliminations: 6)

One quick way to analyze a wrestler’s Rumble resume is to see if he or she averages at least one elimination per Rumble entered. Only 37% of entrants who have at least two Rumbles have managed at that pace. Harper finished his Rumble career ahead of that pace. His passing in late 2020 jolted the wrestling world in a similar fashion to Owen Hart’s, as it seems he was a gem of a guy.

58. Andre the Giant (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1989-90) total time in 25:11, # of eliminations: 5)

Credit the Eighth Wonder of the World with lasting double digit minutes in both of his appearances, which came very late in his career. He tossed a few opponents and also was a great number three entrant in ’89 to throw a wrinkle into the Demolition beginning. His stint in that match was also cut short when Jake the Snake interfered and tossed Damien into the ring, causing Andre to understandably bail. 

57. Ultimate Warrior (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1988, 1990) total time in 18:20, # of eliminations: 6)

The Warrior shook off a weak appearance in the very first Rumble to toss six men in his only other showing. He did show questionable strategy, as he turned from helping Rick Martel with an elimination to beating on him. As Jesse Ventura said at the time, “What’s the matter with that idiot?!”

56. Bob Holly/Sparky Plugg (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (1994, 1996, 2000-01, 2005, 2007-08) total time in 1:53:06, # of eliminations: 5)

Enjoying beating on people makes you a natural fit for the Rumble. Holly amassed nearly two hours of ring time over his career, making it into double digit minutes in seven of his eight appearances. Even his stint as Sparky Plugg went over twenty minutes and had a couple eliminations. While he never was in the mix at the end of the match, he did some damage over the course of fifteen years.

55. Daniel Bryan (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2011, 2013, 2015, 2021) total time in 1:08:16, # of eliminations: 6)

Bryan has a couple of lengthy runs, but his most impactful appearance was most likely in ’15 when he returned to a huge pop, only to be bounced in about ten minutes, turning off the crowd. It would’ve been interesting to see what a live crowd would have thought about Bryan getting tossed in 2021.

54. Rick Martel (# of Rumbles entered: 7 (1989-95) total time in 1:43:53, # of eliminations: 9)

Similar to Bob Holly, Martel had a knack for Rumbles and an even better eye for eliminations. He was in the final four in ’89 and most famously lasted over 52 minutes in ’91, a year when he tossed four competitors.

53. Vader (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1996-98) total time in 23:25, # of eliminations: 6)

Vader was a much needed presence in the mid to late 90s Rumbles. He tossed four in the ’96 match and made the final four in ’97, but lasted barely two minutes from the 30 spot in ’98.

52. Mankind/Dude Love/Cactus Jack/Mick Foley (# of Rumbles entered: 5* (1997-98, 2004, 2008, 2012) total time in 50:27, # of eliminations: 10)

Mick Foley is another Rumble anomaly that helps give the match its charm. He is the only person to be legally granted multiple entries in the same match, as he showed up under three different gimmicks in ’98. He technically has seven appearances but only five years entered. While he did manage a final four in the ’98 match, he had three tries and combined for less than twenty minutes. Still, he piled up some solid eliminations in number and stature and was always entertaining. Whether it was his quick BTNG taking Randy Orton out in ’04 with the crowd losing it, or his surprise returns later in his career, Foley always got the crowd going.

51. John Morrison/Johnny Nitro (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2006-11, 2020-21) total time in 1:54:24, # of eliminations: 3)

Morrison lasted double digit minutes in five of eight tries, and left his mark on the Rumble by extending his stays in entertaining fashions, including his parkour save in 2011. He helped add another dimension to the Royal Rumble, a torch Kofi Kingston has picked up. That outweighs his low eliminations and one BTNG.

50. Big Boss Man (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1989, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2002) total time in 52:41, # of eliminations: 8)

Boss Man always did some damage, eliminating multiple entrants in three of his five appearances and tallying a final four. He was also screwed over by Hogan in ’89 after combining to toss the Hulkster.

49. Kurt Angle (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2002, 2004-05, 2019) total time in 49:05, # of eliminations: 4)

The Olympic hero has a runner up and final four on his resume, and his four eliminations are big ones: Kane, Goldberg, Austin, and Shawn Michaels. He does lose points for tossing Michaels after Shawn made him a 37 second BTNG, setting up their great feud. And his latest stint in 2019 added only about three minutes to his career time.

48. Rob Van Dam (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2002-04, 2006-07, 2009) total time in 1:36:53, # of eliminations: 8

RVD had a couple of long stints, including 33 minutes in ’03 and a final four in ’06. He tallied some decent eliminations, though many of them stretched belief since they came from spin kicks. He did get a nice reaction as a surprise return in ’09. 

47. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1988, 1991-92, 2009, 2012) total time in 44:00, # of eliminations: 4, number of wins: 1)

Hoooo! Hacksaw’s overall numbers aren’t great, but he gets major points for winning the inaugural Rumble. Granted, it was easier since there were only 20 participants, but it’s a nice feather in his cap. I also bumped him up for having the second longest stretch between appearances at 17 years apart and giving us two nice surprise returns in the 2000s. One thing you’ll learn from going back and watching these: Hacksaw was over with the crowd, big time. 

46. AJ Styles (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (2016, 2020-21) total time in 47:14, # of eliminations: 2)

Styles surprise debut and reaction could stand on its own, so lasting nearly a half hour and tossing a couple was just the cherry on top in his Rumble debut It’s worth a revisit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuBVcsPVPyQ. His second stint didn’t come until four years later, as Styles was actually in a world title match in the following three Rumble PPVs.

45. Rusev (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2014-2018) total time in 1:37:15, # of eliminations: 6)

Rusev was the runner up in the infamous ’15 match in Philadelphia when the crowd was pissed. His time is inflated somewhat by him waiting outside for a chunk of the match. All of his six eliminations came in that match, which is impressive. But it also means he did little else in his other three matches, including a BTNG in ’16 and zero eliminations in ’18 despite lasting a half hour from the number one spot.

44. Crush (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1991, 1994-95, 1997) total time in 58:45, # of eliminations: 8)

Crush tossed three opponents in ’94 and then five more in the watered down ’95 match en route to a final four. Perhaps his most impressive feat is the number of complete gimmick changes he had without ever having to change his name. Demolition, Kona, Nation of Domination, weird purple/black/grey guy…his name stayed the same.

43. One Man Gang/Akeem (# of Rumbles entered: 3 (1988-90) total time in 27:57, # of eliminations: 8)

George Gray entered the first three Rumbles with the Gang and Akeem gimmicks. His best showing was as runner up in the first Rumble as One Man Gang, tossing six guys along the way. He also helped eliminate the Hulkster in ’89, but was gone in under three minutes in the ’90 match.

42. Goldberg (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (2004, 2017) total time in 5:28, # of eliminations: 6)

Goldberg has spent barely five total minutes in the Rumble, but managed six eliminations in that tight timeframe. He was also screwed over by Brock Lesnar in ’04, who was not in the match but entered and F5-ed him anyway. Goldberg got his revenge thirteen years later by tossing Lesnar, and despite his short ring time was a major presence in his two showings.

41. Earthquake/Golga (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1990-91, 1993, 1999) total time in 38:10, # of eliminations: 8)

Earthquake tallied multiple eliminations in three of his four appearances, including four in the ’91 match when he was runner up to Hogan. He does lose points for taking on his tag partner Typhoon in ’93 with a full ring and for his 15 second BTNG as Golga in ’99.

40. Big John Studd (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1989) total time in 12:21, # of eliminations: 2, number of wins: 1)

You can only beat who is in front of you, I guess. Studd won the first 30 man Rumble, though many of the big boys had already been taken care of when he entered at number 27. It was Studd’s only appearance, and while it should not be discounted, it’s tough to call him a dominant Rumble force based on numbers alone.

39. Kofi Kingston (# of Rumbles entered: 12 (2009-20) total time in 2:16:29, # of eliminations: 7)

Prior to an injury in 2021, Kofi had entered the previous twelve Rumbles, becoming a Rumble mainstay and pushing himself up this list by being a guaranteed entertaining spot. He has walked on his hands, bounced back to the ring with JBL’s chair, landed on pancakes, and used the barricade, among other Rumble saves. He has lasted over two hours total and sprinkled in some eliminations, and though has never made a final four, his Rumble legacy is already solidified.

38. Mr. Perfect (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1989-91, 1993, 2002) total time in 1:12:17, # of eliminations: 6)

Mr. Perfect was the runner up in ’90 and made the final four as a surprise return in ’02, hanging in there with some big names. Three of his appearances went at least 15 minutes, and his ability to sell punishment made him an entertaining Rumble participant.

37. Fatu/Rikishi/Sultan (# of Rumbles entered: 10 (1993-97, 2000-04) total time in 1:26:13, # of eliminations: 12)

Solofa Fatu entered ten Rumbles with three different gimmicks. His best success came as Rikishi, which accounted for half of his appearances but 83% of his eliminations, including seven in ’00 and the Undertaker in ‘01. Still, six of his ten appearances were about seven minutes or less, mostly during the Fatu years. And he loses points for tossing his tag team partners in ’00 when the three of them could’ve just tossed every guy who came down until the end.

36. Dean Ambrose (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2014-17, 2019) total time in 1:55:55, # of eliminations: 6)

Before his departure for AEW, Ambrose had entered five of the last six Rumbles, with his strongest finish going as a runner up in 2016. Three of his stints have gone about a half hour, which is some solid ring time. He has also wisely teamed up when the situation calls for it, showing some solid strategy in a match often lacking it.

35. Bam Bam Bigelow (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1994) total time in 30:12, # of eliminations: 5)

Bam Bam had only one appearance but made it a good one, lasting over a half hour and getting credited with five eliminations. What made it even more impressive was that he had already wrestled a singles match earlier in the night.

34. Sid Justice (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (1992) total time in 5:55, # of eliminations: 6)

Nuts and bolts – Sid got screwed! Sid entered the ’92 match and immediately started tossing big names, including Savage, Piper, Slaughter, and even Hulk Hogan. It was down to Sid and Ric Flair, who had taken a full Rumble worth of beatings. Sid was prime for the victory and title, only to have the Hulkster grab him from the outside and pull him out. Surprisingly, with his comings and goings, we did not see him in a Rumble match again. But one thing you can’t take away from Sid—whenever he was around, he always worked the top of the card.

33. Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989-90, 1992-93) total time in 1:17:27, # of eliminations: 9)

DiBiase gave us the first long run in Rumble history, lasting nearly 45 minutes in ’90 and opening the door for the hour long runs we’ve seen since. He also was the main story line in ’89 for buying number 30, a year when he was the runner up. He was a BTNG in ’92, but had a couple long appearances and piled up a solid number of eliminations.

32. Finn Balor (# of Rumbles entered: 1 (2018) total time in 57:38, # of eliminations: 3)

Balor was impressive in his debut in the 2018 Rumble, lasting nearly an hour and notching three eliminations en route to a final four from the number two slot.

31. Bray Wyatt/Husky Harris (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2011, 2015-18) total time in 1:59:31, # of eliminations: 12)

As Husky Harris, Windham Rotunda lasted over 15 minutes and helped combine for three eliminations. But he has done even more damage as Bray Wyatt, including his ’15 run when that went over 47 minutes and included six solo eliminations. His run rate of nearly 25 minutes and over two eliminations per entrance are a nice batting average.

30. Diesel/Kevin Nash (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1994, 1996, 2011, 2014) total time in 40:53, # of eliminations: 12)

Nash had solid runs in the 90s. He dominated the first half of the ’94 match with seven eliminations, and then tossed five more en route to a runner up in ’96. While his surprise returns were fun in the 2010s, he lasted less than three minutes in both of them.

29. British Bulldog (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (1991-92, 1995-97, 2000) total time in 2:06:02, # of eliminations: 12)

The Bulldog apparently won a battle royal in London one year, which gave the announcers (and his promos) legs for all of his appearances. For the most part, he lived up to them, lasting over 15 minutes in four of his six tries and garnering at least one elimination in each of his matches. His best showings were as runner up in ’95, lasting nearly 39 minutes from the two draw, and his final four in ’91 when he went nearly 37 minutes. He had a couple clunkers later in the 90s, but ended up combining for over two hours of ring time. And he threw in a couple impressive dropkick eliminations of people sitting on turnbuckles, which is impressive.

28. Shinsuke Nakamura (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2018-21) total time in 1:24:45), # of eliminations: 4, number of wins: 1)

Shinsuke’s Rumble stock started sky high, as he won the first Rumble he entered in 2018. In that match, he lasted nearly 45 minutes from the 14 spot and added three impressive solo eliminations, including two all time greats. But he dropped a few spots following his 20 second BTNG in 2020, which is sandwiched in between two ~20 minute showings.

27. Braun Strowman (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2016-17, 2019-21) total time in 55:21), # of eliminations: 21)

The Monster Among Men was on pace to be an all-time Rumble great before his surprising departure from the company. He tossed at least three opponents in four of his five showings, a run mirroring Kane’s first appearances. His eliminations include big names that are even higher up this ranking. 2019 was his first time reaching the final four, and he failed to win from his #30 draw in 2021. Perhaps we haven’t seen the last of him in the Rumble, and he can find his way into the top 10 at some point.

26. Drew McIntyre (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2010-11, 2013, 2019-20) total time in 1:15:56, # of eliminations: 10, # of wins: 1)

Drew’s Rumble resume is a mirror image of his two runs with WWE—the first a bit of floundering with no eliminations and two exits of under five minutes; the second at or near the top, with ten eliminations in his last two Rumbles. In his most recent Rumble, he dispatched of Brock Lesnar, who looked poised to toss all 29 other entrants. He went on to win a stacked Rumble match and then the title at Wrestlemania. It has been quite a second run for McIntyre after leaving and going back through NXT, and his lesson may be a valuable one for those toiling away on the lower part of the card.

25. Bret Hart (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1988, 1990-91, 1994, 1997) total time in 1:38:51, # of eliminations: 7, number of wins: 1)

The Hitman was the very first entrant in the inaugural Rumble, and lasted at least 15 minutes every time he entered, which is notable. He tied for the win in ’94 and was runner up in ’97, a year when he was tossed by Steve Austin after he had clearly eliminated Stone Cold but the refs didn’t see it. Hitman’s elimination total is low for his star power and ring time, but he loses even more points for attacking not one but two actual threats in the ’95 match. He basically took out Owen Hart and Bob Backlund before they got into the ring in a year that was desperate for contenders.

24. Yokozuna (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1993, 1996) total time in 34:07), # of eliminations: 10, number of wins: 1)

Yokozuna took over the Rumble in ’93, eliminating seven opponents from the 27th slot and winning despite the entire ring trying to toss him at one point. He appeared only one other time but added three more solo eliminations.

23. Lex Luger (# of Rumbles entered: 2 (1994-95) total time in 40:49), # of eliminations: 10, number of wins: 1)

Luger split the ’94 crown with Bret Hart while tossing six opponents, including Bam Bam and Shawn Michaels. He continued the Lex Express the following year, tallying a final four and eliminating four more guys. It’s a solid duo of showings for the former Narcissist turned American hero. 

22. Cody Rhodes/Stardust (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2008-10, 2012-16) total time in 3:06:45), # of eliminations: 12)

Rhodes has totaled over three hours of ring time in his Rumble career, with five of his eight showings lasting over 20 minutes. He had a final four in ’09 and lasted nearly 42 minutes in ’12, tossing five opponents. Most importantly, and especially for a guy his size, he has teamed up, strategized, and had an eye for eliminations. If Jesse Ventura was still commentating, he’d call him a “thinking wrestler”, and it’s nice to see someone consistently apply strategy to the Rumble match. It doesn’t seem like we’ll be seeing him a Rumble match any time soon again given the rise of AEW.

21. Sheamus (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2011-14, 2016-18, 2021) total time in 2:18:34), # of eliminations: 13, number of wins: 1)

Sheamus is trending in the wrong direction after a strong start to his Rumble career. In four of his first five Rumbles, Sheamus reached the final 4, including his victory in the 2012 match when he and Jericho had a lengthy and entertaining battle at the end. He was arguably better the following year, eliminating five and going for over 37 minutes. However, he nearly tied the record for shortest BTNG in 2018 with a 2 second stint, his first match without at least one elimination. He has given us some entertaining moments, like beating on Hornswoggle in ’11, and his earlier runs are also a good reminder of just how popular he was in the early 2010s.

20. CM Punk (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2007-11, 2014) total time in 2:38:11), # of eliminations: 18)

Punk did his best to combat some bad luck—he drew a number greater than 15 only once, and his draws included the number one spot twice and a number three spot. Still, he lasted at least 22 minutes in five of his six appearances, including a 49 minute run in ’14. He also tallied some solid elimination numbers, including five in ’10 and seven in ’11 as part of Nexus. Much of these were the flotsam and jetsam typical of the early Rumble numbers, but they still had to be thrown out. As a result of his poor draws, Punk made the final four only once. But he had some dominant streaks, including the early part of the ’10 Rumble when he kept the ring clear and jumped on the mic quite a bit. It’s nice to see him back in action, even if a Royal Rumble is out of the question.

19. Seth Rollins (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2014, 2018-21) total time in 2:02:37, # of eliminations: 15, # of wins: 1)

Rollins has appeared five times and is quickly climbing the ranks as a Rumble great. Two of his stints went well over 40 minutes, including his victory in the 2019 Rumble when he bested Braun Stroman at the end. He has 15 impactful eliminations along the way, though hasn’t fully capitalized on the last two years where he’s drawn #30 and #29 respectively. 

18. Rey Mysterio, Jr. (# of Rumbles entered: 11 (2003, 2005-06, 2009, 2011, 2013-14, 2018-21) total time in 3:45:16), # of eliminations: 14, number of wins: 1)

Mysterio holds the record for longest single appearance with over 62 minutes in his wire to wire victory in ’06, one of the most impressive performances in Rumble history and a nice tribute to Eddie Guerrero, who had passed away only about two months prior. He had some other solid performances, including two final fours and stints of over 38 and 49 minutes that helped push his total Rumble time over three hours. His elimination total is a little low given his ring time, and he did have a couple short runs, including barely two minutes from the 30 draw in ’14. But his ’06 alone puts him among the Rumble elite.

17. The Rock (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1997-98, 2000-01) total time in 1:58:16), # of eliminations: 9, number of wins: 1)

The Rock went three for four in final fours, including a runner up in ’98 and his win in ’00. He averaged nearly a half hour in each appearance and had to take out Big Show by himself in his victory. The Rock’s Rumble history is a nice snapshot of his transition, as he went from Maivia in ’97 to morphing into The Rock in ’98 (while tallying over 51 minutes). By the time he won in ’00, he was the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. He did interfere in ’99 to help Vince win, but it was a crucial part of his longstanding feud with Austin.  Though his elimination total isn’t huge, he was often in the title match during the Rumble, which speaks to his star power.

16. Ric Flair (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (1992-93, 2005-07) total time in 1:27:38), # of eliminations: 8, number of wins: 1)

Woooo! The Nature Boy had arguably the best appearance in Rumble history, lasting an hour and winning the ’92 match from the number three spot in what my book is the best written Rumble. If I ever want to show someone who has never watched wrestling what it should be about, I throw on the ’92 Rumble. With the title up for grabs and the story telling throughout the duration, Flair’s WWE legacy is forever tied to that Rumble, and it’s a lesson on how to draw heat.  The rest of his appearances aren’t much to write home about. He lasted nearly 19 minutes the following year and nabbed a couple more eliminations after ‘92, but he had quick exits in the 2000s, including a BTNG. But Flair’s Rumble resume needs no enhancement after the ’92 title win.

15. Chris Benoit (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2004-07) total time in 2:37:24), # of eliminations: 14, number of wins: 1)

It’s impossible to separate Benoit from the horrible end of his and his family’s life at his own hands. I suspect his clear case of CTE has a part in it, though it’s no excuse. But in terms of Rumbles, much like his overall career, his performances cannot be ignored. He lasted over an hour in his win in ’04, tossing six opponents from the number one slot. He averaged over 39 minutes per Rumble, a record for anyone entering at least four matches. He eliminated multiple opponents in each appearance, and his shortest stint went nearly 18 minutes in 2007. It was only about six months after his final Rumble when the infamous weekend took place.

14. Chris Jericho (# of Rumbles entered: 10 (2000, 2003-05, 2009-10, 2012-13, 2016-17) total time in 4:56:44), # of eliminations: 18)

The Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah has lasted nearly five total hours in the Rumble, including five appearances of over 37 minutes. This is nearly over a half hour more than any other competitor in history. He has three final fours, including his runner up stint in ’12. He has shown some ingenuity, like in ’03 when he had Christian fake his entrance as he snuck in the back and attacked Shawn Michaels. While he has never won a Rumble, he has given us great moments like his surprise return in ’13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H50UqhAtjM. Maybe we’ll get another surprise return in the future, though Jericho seems to be thriving in AEW.

13. Big Show (# of Rumbles entered: 12 (2000-02, 2004, 2006, 2009-12, 2015-17) total time in 1:20:16), # of eliminations: 32)

The Big Show’s Rumble history is littered with short stints but major damage. He has lasted double digit minutes in only two of his twelve tries, yet is tied for the fifth most eliminations in Rumble history. He has eliminated at least four competitors on five separate occasions, including some major names. He has four final fours, including two runner ups, but also has lasted under two minutes four times, including a BTNG. While it’s a bit disappointing that he has never won a Rumble given his stature and number of entries, his eliminations have given a push to many.

12. Batista (# of Rumbles entered: 5 (2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2014) total time in 1:18:27), # of eliminations: 16, number of wins: 2)

Batista is probably the luckiest Rumble participant in history. In his five matches, he drew number 28 three times and number 30 once. He drew number eight in ’08, the only time he did not draw one of the last three numbers. He made good on his luck though—he was in the final four all five times, including two wins in ’05 and ‘14. He tallied some strong eliminations numbers given his relatively low ring time. And credit him for being a part of the incredibly timed ending in ’05 with John Cena in which they had to restart the match and Vince McMahon blew out his quads in a fit of rage.

11. Roman Reigns (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (2014-2018, 2020) total time in 2:44:06), # of eliminations: 32, number of wins: 1)

The numbers don’t lie—Reigns is on pace to potentially take over the top spot on this list one day. He has been in the final two in five of his six entries, including his win in ’15. His other appearance was a final four, and he is fifth in most average eliminations at 5.3. He is second in most single eliminations in one match with 12. He has averaged nearly a half hour, including a stint of nearly an hour after being appointed the number one draw in ’15. While the crowd was pissed about his entry as number 30 in ‘17 and 28 in ’18, his resume continues to build as his character morphs.

10. Brock Lesnar (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (2003, 2016-17, 2020) total time in 49:24), # of eliminations: 24, number of wins: 1)

Lesnar has at least three eliminations in each appearance so far, including his victory in ’03 when he had to toss Undertaker at the end. But his 2020 appearance places him in the top 10. After requesting the #1 spot as the current champion, Lesnar broke the record for most eliminations in one Rumble with 13, of which 12(!) were BTNGs. It was truly the most dominant stretch in Rumble history, and one of the most entertaining runs as the crowd wondered who would break up the party. Drew McIntyre (with an assist from Ricochet) did the deed and arguably was the catalyst to Drew’s pandemic championship run. 

9. Hulk Hogan (# of Rumbles entered: 4 (1989-1992) total time in 55:14), # of eliminations: 26, number of wins: 2)

The Hulkster was an elimination machine in the Rumble, and was incredibly efficient at it, not wasting much time at all. He averaged an elimination every two minutes or so. The only other performer in history under three minutes is The Big Show. His average of 6.5 eliminations is the highest of all time. He won half of the matches he entered, as he took the crown in back to back years (’90 and ’91). He had a bit of Batista luck, drawing numbers 18, 24, 25, and 26. He does lose points for completely screwing up the two matches he was eliminated in. He threw hissy fits both times he was legitimately tossed, re-entering to throw out Bossman in ’89 and pulling Sid out from the floor in ’92. Still, his presence was always huge, and his “accidental” eliminations of both Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior (made better with Jesse Ventura on commentary) helped set up two of the biggest feuds of the Golden Era. Hogan and WWE are forever linked, and it’s nice to see him getting along with WWE again.

8. Kane/Isaac Yankem/Diesel #2 (# of Rumbles entered: 20 (1996-97, 1999-2011, 2013-16, 2021) total time in 3:36:27), # of eliminations: 46)

Glen Jacobs has technically entered under three different gimmicks, but let’s call a spade a spade: he makes the top ten of this list purely as Kane, as 45 of his record 46 eliminations have come as the Big Red Machine. He’s a blend of Cal Ripken (most consecutive appearances) and Dan Marino (big time stats with no title, with his stats either passed or likely to be passed by newcomers). He held the single elimination record of 11 for 13 years. On the minus side, he was not much for longevity. Only two of his appearances went longer than 20 minutes, and he has five appearances under two minutes, including a few BTNGs.  He has six final fours, including a runner up, which is not a great percentage, but has also twice been eliminated by people who were already tossed. But credit him for garnering an elimination as Isaac Yankem, and lasting nearly 18 minutes as imposter Diesel when imposter Razor got tossed in 17 seconds. More importantly, he’s forever linked to the Rumble. His 20 appearances are seven more than any other competitor, and he’s basically synonymous with the match. You know when his music hits that the ring is gonna get messed up.

7. Randy Orton (# of Rumbles entered: 12 (2004, 2006-07, 2009, 2011-13, 2017-21) total time in 4:20:23), # of eliminations: 23, number of wins: 2)

The Viper is a two-time winner and longtime Rumble force. He had a nice win from the number eight spot in 2009 that went over 48 minutes when he was at the peak of his “losing his mind” phase. He also won the 2017 match, which prevented a probable crowd riot after Roman Reigns seemed poised for the victory. He is an impressive eight for twelve in final fours and is second for overall total time. And while not an official statistic, I would estimate he has hit his finisher on more Rumble participants than any competitor in history. The RKO makes for a perfect Rumble move given its surprise element, and it has helped Orton tally 23 total eliminations and over four hours of ring time.

6. Triple H (# of Rumbles entered: 9 (1996-97, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2008-10, 2016) total time in 4:00:54), # of eliminations: 31, number of wins: 2)

Triple H lasted 48 minutes in his very first appearance over 20 years ago and has been a Rumble disruptor ever since. He won in both ’02 and ’16, the latter of which was a surprise in-ring return in a match for the actual championship belt for only the second time in Rumble history. He was the runner up twice and added another final four. Along the way, Triple H compiled impressive statistics across all the Rumble categories. Besides his wins and final fours, he has the third most total time in the ring at just over four hours, the seventh most eliminations, and the fourth longest stint in history at just over 60 minutes (’06).

5. Edge (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (1999-00, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2020-21) total time in 3:31:53), # of eliminations: 23, number of wins: 2)

Edge’s Royal Rumble career was solid before his first retirement and has only catapulted upwards since his return. He has reached the final four in five of his eight appearances. In the most recent Rumble, Edge went nearly an hour from the 1 spot for the victory in an all-time showing. But even that Thunderdome dominance will be overshadowed by his stunning return in 2020 to one of the loudest ovations in Rumble history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrLt2KGRMPs Nine years after a teary, hastened retirement speech, Edge shocked the wrestling world in a way that only the Rumble could set it up for. In many ways, that’s what the match is all about.

4. John Cena (# of Rumbles entered: 8 (2003-05, 2008, 2010-11, 2013, 2018) total time in 2:48:32), # of eliminations: 25, number of wins: 2)

Cena is a two time winner (’08 and ’13), but with a little luck could’ve easily been a three or four time winner. If using the Bret Hart/Lex Luger tie rule, Cena would have an ’05 title as well. He was also tossed in ’11 by the Miz, who was not in the match. Cena had already eliminated seven before getting screwed in the match that Del Rio won in a cakewalk. And he was runner up in ’10 to Edge. But then again, if a chicken had lips it could whistle. Still, Cena’s major surprise return in ’08 to get the win in Madison Square Garden was a great moment. And his 25 eliminations and five final fours came in his latest six appearances, a strong rate after taking a couple lumps in his younger years. His appearance number is actually low given his tenure with the company since he was often in the title picture during the Rumble.

3. The Undertaker (# of Rumbles entered: 11 (1991-93, 1997, 2001-03, 2007-09, 2017) total time in 2:28:04), # of eliminations: 39, number of wins: 1)

Like his kayfabe brother, The Dead Man has a lengthy Rumble tenure with lots of victims. Undertaker is tied for the second most eliminations of all time. He has three final fours, including his victory in ’07, and he was very consistent—he holds the record with nine Rumbles with at least three eliminations. He has also fallen victim to outside interference, like Giant Gonzalez in ’93, but offsets that bad luck with a couple Hogan-like hissy fits after being tossed, destroying the likes of Maven and Snitksy on separate occasions. What adds to his aura is the 26 years between his first and last appearances. His Rumble resume spans nearly the entire lifetime of the match itself, and he has been in the ring with every generation and era of the list. And he was a threat to toss every last one of them.

2. Shawn Michaels (# of Rumbles entered: 12 (1989-90, 1992, 1994-96, 2003, 2005-08, 2010) total time in 3:47:34), # of eliminations: 39, number of wins: 2)

The Showstopper’s Rumble career is a reflection of his overall resume—a long span of big time performances at or near the top. Michaels is tied for second most eliminations and owns the fourth longest overall time in the ring. He won back to back Rumbles in ’95 and ’96 (though they were arguably the thinnest Rumbles talent-wise). His win from the number one draw in ’95 took less than 39 minutes as they rushed through the ham-and-egg field. But he added three other final fours, including his runner up to The Undertaker in ’07. Michaels’ was also screwed over by Kurt Angle and the McMahons in separate outside attacks in prime years where he was a favorite, potentially costing him more titles. His superkick, agility, and stamina made him the prototypical participant, and his resume shows it.

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin/The Ringmaster (# of Rumbles entered: 6 (1996-99, 2001-02) total time in 2:25:04), # of eliminations: 36, number of wins: 3)

Stone Cold whooped many of the asses on this list on his way to being the only three time winner in Rumble history. He won the ’97, ’98, and ’01 matches. He had no business winning the ’97 match after Bret Hart had clearly tossed him, but that is offset with his runner up in ’99 when Vince McMahon put a bounty on him and The Rock distracted him at the end. He basically had that one in the bag after lasting over 56 minutes and having everyone trying to cash in on him. He was in the final four in five of his six matches and tallied nearly as many eliminations as Michaels and the Undertaker despite being in roughly half as many matches. Four times he tossed at least seven, which may well be the hardest Rumble record to break. Austin gave us some great moments, like keeping the ring clear in ’97 and looking at his “watch”, or in ’98 when he entered from the far side of the ring to surprise everyone, or just the simplicity of the glass shattering and the crowd losing it. Ironically, one of the memories that sticks out from Austin’s Rumble stretch was his first appearance as The Ringmaster. Mr. Perfect was on commentary “putting him over” as they say in the business. Perfect is an all-time great in his own right, and saw something in Austin as he tallied his first of many eliminations on his way to being the greatest Rumble participant in history.