Royal Rumbleis aprofessional wrestlingevent, produced annually since 1988 byWWE,the world's largestprofessional wrestling promotion.It is named after theRoyal Rumble match,a modifiedbattle royalin which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring at the same time. After the inaugural1988 eventaired as atelevision specialon theUSA Network,the Royal Rumble has been broadcast viapay-per-viewsince the1989 eventandlivestreamingsince the2015 event.From 1988 until 2024, it was held in late January, but will be held in early February in 2025. It is one of WWE's five biggest events of the year, along withWrestleMania,SummerSlam,Survivor Series,andMoney in the Bank,referred to as the "Big Five".
Royal Rumble | |
---|---|
Created by | Pat Patterson |
Promotion | WWE |
Brands | Raw(2003–2011, 2017–present) SmackDown(2003–2011, 2017–present) ECW(2007–2010) 205 Live(2019) |
First event | 1988 |
Signaturematch | Royal Rumble match |
The Royal Rumble match is generally held as the main event of the annual event. There are some exceptions, such as the 1988,1996,1997,1998,2006,2013,and2023events. In 1988, the main event was atag team match,while for all the others, it was a men'sworld championshipmatch. While originally only for men, a women's version of the Royal Rumble match was held as the main event at the2018 event,which was also the first event to have two Rumble matches on one card. It subsequently became standard to have both a men's and women's Royal Rumble match at the annual event.
History
Event
TheRoyal Rumble matchwas created by wrestler andWWE Hall of FamerPat Pattersonand the event was established by theWorld Wrestling Federation(WWF, now WWE). After the match was first tested at ahouse showin October 1987,[1]thefirst Royal Rumbleevent took place on January 24, 1988, and was broadcastliveas atelevision specialon theUSA Network.[2]The following year, the event started to be broadcast onpay-per-view(PPV),[3]and thus became one of the "Big Four" annual PPVs, along withWrestleMania,Survivor Series,andSummerSlam,the promotion's then-four biggest shows of the year.[4][5]From 1993 to 2002, it was considered one of the "Big Five", includingKing of the Ring,but that PPV event was discontinued after 2002 (although it to returned to PPV in2024).[6]In August 2021,Money in the Bankbecame recognized as one of the "Big Five".[7][8]
In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) following a lawsuit with theWorld Wildlife Fundover the "WWF" initialism.[9]In April 2011, the promotion ceased using its full name with the "WWE" abbreviation becoming anorphaned initialism.[10]Also in March 2002, the promotion introduced thebrand extension,in which the roster was divided between theRawandSmackDownbrands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform on their respective weekly television shows[11]—ECWbecame a third brand in 2006.[12]The first brand extension was dissolved in August 2011,[13]but it was reintroduced in July 2016 (other brands, includingNXT,NXT UK,and205 Live,would also be active during this second brand split).[14]The Royal Rumble, along with the other original "Big Four" events, were the only PPVs to never be held exclusively for one brand during either brand split periods. The2008 Royal Rumblewas the first WWE pay-per-view to be available inhigh-definition.[15]In 2015, the Royal Rumble began to air on WWE's online streaming service, theWWE Network,which launched in February 2014,[16]and in 2022, the event became available onPeacockas the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock in March 2021.[17]
As a result of theCOVID-19 pandemicthat began affecting the industry in March 2020, WWE had to hold its eventsbehind closed doors.The2021 eventwas in turn held in WWE'sbio-secure bubblecalled theWWE ThunderDome,which at the time was hosted atTropicana FieldinSt. Petersburg, Florida.[18][19]WWE resumed live touring in July 2021 and the2022 eventwas held atThe Dome at America's CenterinSt. Louis,Missouri.[20]
From its inception in 1988 up through the2024 event,the Royal Rumble was held annually in late January. On June 24, 2024, WWE announced a partnership with the Indiana Sports Corp which would see the2025 Royal Rumble,as well as a future WrestleMania and a future SummerSlam, held at theLucas Oil StadiuminIndianapolis, Indiana.The date for the 2025 Royal Rumble was announced for February 1, thus marking the first Royal Rumble held outside of January.[21]
Due to the Rumble matches taking up a large amount of time (most Rumble matches last roughly one hour), the Rumble event tends to have a smallercardthan most other pay-per-view events, which routinely have six to eight matches per card though with the Royal Rumble expanding to a five-hour show as well as a two-hour kickoff pre-show starting in 2018, the card then mainly featured anywhere from nine to twelve matches with two or three of those matches taking place on the kickoff show. In 2022, however, WWE phased out the pre-shows with the Rumble returning to around six matches on the card and a runtime of around three to four hours. The men's Royal Rumble match is usually located at the top of the card, though there have been exceptions, such as the 1988,1996,1997,1998,2006,2013,2018,and2023events.[22]In these cases, 1988's main event was a tag team match, while the others were men's world championship matches, except in 2018. The 2018 Royal Rumble was the first to include a women's Royal Rumble match, which was the main event for that year. It was subsequently the first in which two Rumble matches were contested on one card and it is now standard for the event to include both a men's and women's Rumble match.[23]
Match
The Royal Rumble match is based on the classicbattle royal,in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor. The difference between a Royal Rumble and a standard battle royal is that in a standard battle royal, all participants start the match in the ring at the same time, where in a Royal Rumble match, two participants start and then the rest enter at timed intervals.[24][25]The winner of the match is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated. Since the1993 event,the prize for winning is a world championship match at WrestleMania, with the exception of the2016 event,where the prize was theWWE Championship(at the time known as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship) as reigning championRoman Reignsdefended the title in the match.[24][26]According toHornswoggle,who worked for WWE from 2006 until 2016 and participated in two Rumbles, participants may learn their eliminations by knowing the two wrestlers who are eliminated before them and which wrestlers are entering the Royal Rumble before and after their elimination.[27]
Events and winners
Video box set
In March 2007, WWE released a complete DVD box set titledRoyal Rumble: The Complete Anthology,which showcases every Royal Rumble event in its entirety, up to the 2007 Royal Rumble.[105]
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Further reading
- Harley Race and Gerry Tritz (2004).King of the Ring: The Harley Race Story.Sports Publishing.ISBN1-58261-818-6.
- Davies, Ross (2002).Kevin Nash.The Rosen Publishing Group.ISBN0-8239-3492-6.
- Meltzer, Dave (2004).Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers.Sports Publishing LLC.ISBN1-58261-817-8.
- Brian Fritz and Christopher Murray (2006).Between the Ropes: Wrestling's Greatest Triumphs and Failures.ECW Press.ISBN1-55022-726-2.
- Steve Austin and Jim Ross (2003).The Stone Cold Truth.Simon and Schuster.ISBN0-7434-7720-0.
- Scott Keith (2004).Wrestling's One Ring Circus: The Death of the World Wrestling Federation.Citadel Press.ISBN0-8065-2619-X.
External links
- Royal Rumble Official Website
- WWE: Royal Rumble match description
- WWE: Royal Rumble Facts & Figures
- Royal Rumble History at AboutArchivedDecember 8, 2008, at theWayback Machine
- WWE Royal RumbleArchivedOctober 31, 2017, at theWayback Machine