AUDIO VERSION:
The long and storied history of the WWE’s most successful match concept takes another step on Saturday when it will set a new revenue record for the event.
This weekend’s Royal Rumble kicks off WWE’s eight-year partnership with the Indiana Sports Corp. as Lucas Oil Stadium will likely be at capacity with over 62,000 tickets distributed.
Demand is high with TickPick listing the lowest ticketed price for entry at more than $200, it’s a near lock that the stadium will be sold out.
Whatever revenue records are set this week will pale in comparison when Saudi Arabia hosts the event next year and one assumes will be above and beyond the standard fees attached to its ten-year deal that generates approximately $100 million annually.
It’s a far cry from how the show was birthed almost four decades ago and credited as the brainchild of Pat Patterson and overcame the initial dismissal by Vince McMahon.
Patterson, a veteran of Roy Shire’s territory and annual battle royals in January, wanted to build on the yearly concept with added bells and whistles. This came in the form of timed entrances, providing a jolt from the crowd with a participatory countdown and pop for the newest addition to the match.
The more I kept running the idea over in my mind, the more it took shape and I was sure I was onto something, I felt it: every instinct in my body told me it would work.
So I finally took the idea to Vince. He laughed at the concept at first, saying that an hour was way too long to keep fans interested. I didn’t get upset; I knew sometimes he needed time for ideas to sink in. But I made sure to say, “All right, but keep it in mind, will you? Because I know this can work.” (Accepted: How the First Gay Superstar Changed WWE)
It’s a match type that is relatively simple but it’s the stakes and history that have placed it as an appointment event regardless of your current fandom. Over the years, it has become the first building block of the WrestleMania card and creating that year’s big challenger, complimented by surprise appearances, and over the past decade made it the most compatible for fantasy sports nuts with endless pools and gaming among viewing parties.
In 1987, there were no fantasy pools or WrestleMania main events to create out of the match. Instead, it was a concept that Patterson envisioned and was allowed a test drive at an October house show at the Kiel Auditorium. Often dubbed the “Lost” Royal Rumble, the maiden voyage was a bare-bones representation of what the match type would evolve into. It consisted of twelve participants (a full list doesn’t even exist but is believed to consist of all the performers that worked on the undercard) and won by the One Man Gang, setting up a title match with Hulk Hogan when they returned the next month.
The test was whether the concept could draw, and the answer was a solid, ‘No’, as it drew a reported attendance of 1,976, per the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and its lowest attendance among its nine visits to the Kiel Auditorium that year. To its credit, the attendance rose to 4,400 on November 7 for Hogan vs. One Man Gang.
It’s not a flattering origin story and for WWE’s purposes, its genesis is the next January when the event makes its on-screen debut on the USA Network.
Despite McMahon’s closure on the idea after the St. Louis misfire, an idea was needed for its January 24 airing on the cable network opposite Jim Crockett Promotion’s Buckhouse Stampede pay-per-view. McMahon and NBC executive Dick Ebersol consulted with Patterson, who pitched the idea, and Ebersol, who saw a match that was built for television and the match was a ‘go’.
Ebersol loved the concept right away. He immediately imagined the drama of the clock ticking down onscreen and the audience’s anxious anticipation of who was going to enter the ring next being played out every two minutes. “Vince, it’s great TV”, he said. (Patterson)
The cable version was a big success putting over 15,000 people into Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum and drawing an astounding 8.2 rating on the USA Network. While the legacy of the show is the national introduction of the famous match, it was on the backs of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant that the show was structured, as both had a contract signing to set up their February 5 match on NBC’s The Main Event with an audience that shattered this one.
As Howard Finkel explained what would occur over the next half hour, Bret Hart and Tito Santana quietly kicked off the legacy match with both men occupying the ring. It was a reduced count of 20 participants and in a coincidence, The ‘Lost’ Rumble winner One Man Gang was finally eliminated by Jim Duggan.
There was no title shot at stake. Hell, the match didn’t even headline the show, with The Islanders and Young Stallions sent out after Duggan’s win.
In March 1988, they tried out the match on a pair of house shows when the company was at its highest output averaging three shows per day. On March 14, Jake Roberts won a 22-man version with ninety-second intervals followed by a March 16 version in in Hartford won by Rick Rude.
ESTIMATED PAY-PER-VIEW BUYS (Pro Wrestling Only)
1989: 165,000
1990: 260,000
1991: 440,000 (Ultimate Warrior vs. Sgt. Slaughter)
1992: 260,000
1993: 300,000 (Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon)
The event graduated to pay-per-view the next year and remained so until the modern streaming era when it moved to four pay-per-view events per year.
The 1989 version was an upgrade in most ways, including the number of participants to the traditional thirty and the star power featuring both sides of that year’s WrestleMania main event—WWF champion Randy Savage and challenger Hulk Hogan. Neither won the match but added to the prestige of the battle royal. Big John Studd won the match, punching his ticket to WrestleMania…as a guest referee.
The 1990 version was a perfect usage of the concept as a tease for the larger match, in that instance, Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan coming face-to-face and allowing the audience to envision the showdown of the company’s top babyfaces. The next year, Hogan was in the challenger’s role, winning the Rumble in the middle of the Gulf War where the company came under scrutiny for its marketing of Hogan and exploitation of the war for the program with Sgt. Slaughter. The 1991 show is also highlighted by one of the best pay-per-view openers of the decade as The Rockers faced The Orient Express.
For most, the 1992 version is the best representation of the match. It’s a Tour de Force from Ric Flair with support from Bobby Heenan for an hour of drama centered around the largest stakes the Rumble had held with the vacant WWF Championship going to the winner. Over 60+ minutes, Flair interacts with everyone and runs the table after entering third and outlasting Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, and Sid Justice to take the championship. It’s the first time that the Rumble itself is just a really great match and Heenan as the soundtrack is one of his crowning performances.
You had the drama of the perennial NWA champion trying to prove that he was really the greatest, going against everyone in the World Wrestling Federation. It was the best I ever announced, the only time I ever felt that a match I was calling was one hundred percent real. (Bobby Heenan in Ric Flair: To Be The Man)
They attempted a similar story with Flair the next year, this time entering first and Heenan playing cheerleader but this time, he was gone in less than twenty minutes and set the stage for Flair’s promotional departure. It’s in 1993 when the stipulation is set that the winner earns the WrestleMania title shot. With business cold, it rallied around a heel presence in Rodney Anoa’i, trading his Samoan roots to play a Japanese Sumo, as the 500+ pound performer eliminates Randy Savage and would challenge and defeat Bret Hart. WWF fans were also introduced to the fire of ‘this youngster’ Carlos Colon, as the 44-year-old had a cameo appearance.
An experimental ending to the match was featured in 1994, with its top babyface stars, Lex Luger and Bret Hart, having a double finish. They landed simultaneously and were ruled co-winners, both receiving title matches at WrestleMania 10.
It was critical to the storyline leading into WrestleMania X that our feet touched the ground at the exact same second, even when watched on instant replay and in slow motion by fans around the world. Lex controlled how we went over, and it was a testament to his skill and professionalism that it came off so well.
For the next several minutes, WWF officials debated who was the real winner of the rumble. Vince’s popularity contest culminated in this moment. Pumping my fist in the air it was obvious to me that the crowd was mine. (Hitman: My Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling)
That same year saw the Royal Rumble concept applied to a pair of house show events. On January 17, Owen Hart won a 30-man Royal Rumble in front of 9,000 fans at Madison Square Garden as a preview for the following week’s pay-per-view. On May 9, the match type was utilized in Osaka, Japan where The Undertaker won a 22-man battle royal. (History of WWE)
ESTIMATED PAY-PER-VIEW BUYS (Wrestlenomics)
1994: 200,000 (Yokozuna vs. The Undertaker)
1995: 225,000 (Diesel vs. Bret Hart)
1996: 269,000 (Bret Hart vs. The Undertaker)
1997: 196,000 (Sycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels)
1998: 325,000 (Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker)
In 1995, it was a thin roster, and the choice was made to condense the intervals resulting in a sub-forty-minute match won by Shawn Michaels. It was the first time they had someone win from the #1 position with Michaels and Davey Boy Smith starting and ending together. This year’s event would also be the answer to the trivia question, ‘What year did Dick Murdoch enter the Royal Rumble?’
In 1997, they booked the Alamodome in San Antonio and while the attendance was a record for the Rumble with 60,477, the gate told a better story of $480,013 with approximately 48,000 paying for cheap tickets. When business is down, you throw many things against the wall and this event saw WWF lean on AAA to draw from the Hispanic audience in San Antonio. Hector Garza teamed with Perro Aguayo & El Canek against Heavy Metal, Fuerza Guerrera & Jerry Estrada on the undercard. Mil Mascaras added a memorable Royal Rumble elimination while joined by Pierroth Jr. and Latin Lover among the thirty entrants.
Steve Austin won his first of three Royal Rumble matches in 1997 and kicked off the WWF’s revival with the Attitude Era and the performer would be the centerpiece of the event over those years. He repeated in 1998 with Mike Tyson on hand to kick off one of the best celebrity tie-ins the WWF ever invested in. This year’s show nearly ended Shawn Michaels’ career when taking an errant bump onto the edge of a casket with The Undertaker and damaged his back nearly beyond repair.
The 1999 edition was one of the weakest in the history of Rumble matches. The story was Vince McMahon placing a $100,000 bounty on Steve Austin to whoever eliminated him. The two began the Rumble in the #1 and #2 slots but were both removed for much of the match but never eliminated. Austin was beaten and taken away while McMahon assumed commentary duties until Austin returned. It ended with Austin being distracted and dumped out by winner McMahon. The next night, the result was overturned, and Austin was given the win while setting up his first official match with McMahon on the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre pay-per-view in February.
ESTIMATED PAY-PER-VIEW BUYS
1999: 650,000 (Mankind vs. The Rock)
2000: 590,000 (Triple H vs. Cactus Jack)
2001: 625,000 (Kurt Angle vs. Steve Austin)
2002: 670,000 (Chris Jericho vs. The Rock)
2003: 585,000 (Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit)
The next era of Rumble matches leaned heavily on surprise appearances from a non-memorable one involving Bob Backlund in 2000 and several that ran the gamut one year later with Drew Carey, the Honky Tonk Man, and Haku. The latter raised eyebrows as the performer had just wrestled on the WCW Sin pay-per-view one week earlier and was its Hardcore Champion but not contractually bound.
Sensing a clever idea, the next year featured advertised returns of Curt Hennig, The Godfather, and Goldust as part of the nostalgia, which the Rumble will benefit from for years to come. The 2002 edition was the most successful on pay-per-view, for Triple H’s return and victory in the match.
The next era of Rumble matches sought to find its next star with Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit, and Dave Bautista, and its own unique story in Rey Mysterio after the death of Eddy Guerrero. All four would see their Rumble wins turn into titles at WrestleMania and varying success as main event stars.
As a star-making vehicle, the Royal Rumble was not relied upon as that function until 2011 when they made the ill-fated choice to expand the field to 40 participants, allowing Alberto Del Rio to win the “biggest” Royal Rumble to date. They pushed Del Rio exceptionally hard that year but didn’t materialize to the level of headliner envisioned. A similar objective was attempted with Sheamus the next year.
ESTIMATED PAY-PER-VIEW BUYS
2004: 500,000 (Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels)
2005: 575,000 (Triple H vs. Randy Orton)
2006: 585,000 (Kurt Angle vs. Mark Henry)
2007: 525,000 (John Cena vs. Umaga)
2008: 575,000 (Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy)
The WWE Network changed the game in 2014 making its premium events more widely accessible while maintaining a pay-per-view presence. However, the Rumble match had a series of misses over consecutive years. Given its history, fanfare, and excitement, it became almost impossible to screw up…almost.
The 2014 edition was peak “fans upset at the product” who voiced their displeasure and chose Dave Bautista as their target. The burgeoning film star was returning for that year’s WrestleMania season, and it started by winning the Rumble, an outcome the audience detested because it was not their chosen candidate, Daniel Bryan. While never advertised as a participant, Bryan wrestled Bray Wyatt on the undercard it was assumed he would enter the match, at least that was the audience’s desire. When the #30 entrant was Rey Mysterio and not Bryan, the audience unleashed its fury on the unsuspecting Mysterio and eventual winner, Batista in a poorly received match and felt that the company was out of sync with its fans.
It was a dress rehearsal for the 2015 version where WWE’s new project was Roman Reigns, but the audience was still with Bryan. After a neck injury halted Bryan’s championship reign the previous year, Bryan made a surprise announcement that he was returning to the Rumble and giving fans hope in the former champion, who never lost his belt and recreating last year’s WrestleMania story. When Bryan was eliminated, the audience tore apart Reigns, who was en route to victory, and even a surprise cameo by The Rock to endorse his cousin was met with jeers. For the second year in a row, the Rumble was wholly rejected by the Pennsylvania crowd.
In hindsight and foresight, if Bryan was not going to win the match, his return should have been delayed. Given the reaction one year prior, this was not an unforeseen circumstance.
ESTIMATED PAY-PER-VIEW BUYS
2009: 450,000 (Jeff Hardy vs. Edge)
2010: 465,000 (The Undertaker vs. Rey Mysterio)
2011: 476,000 (The Miz vs. Randy Orton)
2012: 483,000 (CM Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler)
2013: 579,000 (CM Punk vs. The Rock)
2014: 517,000 (Randy Orton vs. John Cena)
By 2018, the Rumble expanded to two versions – one for the men and one for the women. They had already branched into multiple Elimination Chamber and Hell in a Cell matches in one night, but two 60+ minute matches were another beast to tackle.
Year one of the expanded format saw Asuka crowned the winner leading to the unannounced arrival of Ronda Rousey to close the show and absorb most of the attention and her involvement in that year’s WrestleMania.
That year included the launch of a ten-year deal with the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, which expanded to include two events per year in the country at astronomical fees. To kick off the deal, it staged ‘The Greatest Royal Rumble’ event in April with a record-setting 50-man battle royal. Daniel Bryan entered first and lasted 76 minutes before his elimination, and Braun Strowman won the match. In 2026, the actual event will be staged in Saudi Arabia.
Surprises have been a hallmark of the match for well over two decades, but a sizable one occurred in 2020 with the return of Adam Copeland after nine years on the sidelines due to spinal stenosis and further neck damage. A similar shocker was Christian’s return in the 2021 match, albeit in a ThunderDome environment due to the pandemic, which stole some of the moment away.
The 2022 version was another flat reception after Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey won the respective matches and the audience groaned, clamoring for something new. It was a year when WWE would undergo massive change after the Wall Street Journal uncovered various NDAs coordinated by Vince McMahon with former female employees. It led to his temporary ouster from its board of directors, although keeping tabs and input on the creative process.
The 2024 show was the first one truly under the TKO and Paul Levesque creative vision but was marred by the lawsuit filed by Janel Grant two days prior against WWE, Vince McMahon & John Laurinaitis. Slim Jim pulled its sponsorship of the Rumble and forced McMahon’s hand to resign from his duties at TKO and the most powerful promoter in the industry’s history was gone. The show’s legacy was the news surrounding the event and Levesque’s poor handling of the subject matter at the post-show press conference.
This year, the Rumble will exceed the total attendees of the 1997 show at The Alamodome, the gate figure will demolish any past editions, and it will set the pieces in place for what will be the most lucrative WrestleMania ever when they head to Las Vegas for two nights at Allegiant Stadium.
It comes as WWE is riding a major popularity wave and a red-hot month coming off its launch on Netflix and routinely filling arenas above 10,000 fans per show.
What began as a failed experiment in St. Louis has grown into the most popular match invention in WWE’s history. It has graduated from arenas to stadiums, one match to two, and is a star-creating machine when executed precisely.
