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The first ever Royal Rumble PPV was held on January 24th, 1988 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The inaugural event wasn't even headlined after the match itself, instead, the main event of the evening was a tag team match between the Islanders against the Stallions in a 2 out of 3 falls match.
Unlike the modern day iterations, the Rumble match lasted 33 minutes and the whole event lasted 2 hours and 23 minutes in total. The event also only saw 1 title defense, that of the Women's Tag Team titles between the Jumping Bomb Angels defeated the reigning champions The Glamour Girls, to win the titles.
The WWF Champion at the time, Hulk Hogan, appeared at the event in a non-wrestling capacity as he and Andre the Giant signed the contracts for their title match for the Main Event show on February the 4th.
Other notable events that occurred during the event was Dino Bravo attempting to bench press 715 pounds, a world record at the time, but was assisted by his spotted Jesse 'The Body' Ventura. However, the highlight of the event was undoubtedly the 20-man Royal Rumble the legacy of which would go on to become the WWE's biggest annual tradition, outside of Wrestlemania.
You can see the other entries in this series below:
Part 1 is here; Part 6 is here; Part 11 is here; Part 16 is here
Part 2 is here; Part 7 is here; Part 12 is here; Part 17 is here
Part 3 is here; Part 8 is here; Part 13 is here; Part 18 is here
Part 4 is here; Part 9 is here; Part 14 is here; Part 19 is here
Part 5 is here; Part 10 is here; Part 15 is here
#5 Michael Cole (2012) - Eliminated 15th - 0 Eliminations
In the 2012 Royal Rumble, all three members of the commentary team participated in the Rumble match itself. Jerry Lawler entered the Rumble first as the 12th entry, lasting 43 seconds before being eliminated by Cody Rhodes. Booker T entered the match as the 17th entry and outlasted both his fellow commentators, lasting 4 minutes and 40 seconds before he was eliminated by Cody Rhodes and Dolph Ziggler.
Finally, at entry 20, Michael Cole entered the 2012 Royal Rumble. Cole managed to walk around the ring as the other competitors in the ring at the time were locked up. Unfortunately for Michael Cole, the next entry into the Royal Rumble was Kharma.
Kharma would hit Cole with a clothesline, and as Cole got up he took himself over the top ropes and on to the ring apron. He was then eliminated by Lawler and Booker T. Cole lasted 1 minute and 23 seconds, longer than Lawler did in the Rumble which Cole would use to make fun of him for.
#4 Al Snow (2000) - Eliminated 24th - 2 Eliminations
Prior to becoming the head trainer of WWE's first ever reality show and recruitment program Tough Enough, Al Snow was a performer on WWE's mid-card, winning the Hardcore and European titles on multiple occasions. During his run as an in-ring performer, Snow participated in several Royal Rumbles, including the 2000 Royal Rumble.
Al Snow would eliminate Edge, with the help of Val Venis and Hardcore Holly. Snow would make it to the final seven of the Royal Rumble, lasting 17 minutes and 17 seconds before he was eliminated by the eventual winner The Rock.
Snow would win his first and only European Championship later that year and would enter the ring being billed from a different European country for each one of his defenses, and his theme music would be sung by the language of that country.
#3 Kane (2008) - Eliminated 27th - 3 Eliminations
Despite his impressive record in the Royal Rumble, the Big Red Machine Kane has never won the Rumble match. Despite this, he has gotten himself close a few times, including a fourth-place finish at the 2008 Royal Rumble.
Kane is the master of eliminations in the Royal Rumble and holds the overall elimination record at 44 eliminations, and at one time held the single Royal Rumble elimination records of 11 in 2001.
Kane came out at the 20th position in the 2008 Royal Rumble match and was able to eliminate both of the legends that had entered in the Royal Rumble before him, in Rowdy Roddy Piper and Jimmy 'Supafly' Snuka. Kane also eliminated John Morrison before making it to the final four.
The 2008 Royal Rumble saw a final four of Kane, John Cena, Triple H, and Batista. Kane would last 17 minutes and 58 seconds before he was eliminated by both Triple H and Batista.
#2 Rob Van Dam (2006) - Eliminated 27th - 4 Eliminations
The ECW legend Rob Van Dam appeared in multiple Royal Rumbles over his career with the WWE. During his tenure in the company, Van Dan participated in the Royal Rumble match 6 times during his time with the WWE, including a special appearance at the 2009 Royal Rumble match.
His best performance was saved for the 2006 Rumble match where he entered as the 20th entry. Van Dam finished 4th overall, lasting 23 minutes and 54 seconds before he was eliminated by Triple H and Rey Mysterio the two superstars that both started and would almost make it to the end. On the way to his best finish, Van Dam would eliminate Road Warrior Animal, Super Crazy, Goldust, and Carlito during his time in the Royal Rumble.
While Van Dam would miss another opportunity to make it to the title match at WrestleMania that year, after losing a number one contenders tournament to Triple H in the final, he would win his first and only Money in the Bank briefcase, which he would cash in on champion John Cena at ECW's One Night Stand PPV later that year.
# 1 John Cena (2018) - Eliminated 28th - 3 Eliminations
The best performance by a participant in the Royal Rumble match coming from the 20th entrant was when John Cena came out as the 20th entrant in 2018. The two-time Royal Rumble winner made it all the way to the final three alongside Roman Reigns and eventual winner Shinsuke Nakamura.
The 16-time World Champion would be eliminated by a Kinshasa from the king of strong style, who would later face AJ Styles at WrestleMania 34. Meanwhile, Cena would begin a program of trying to tempt The Undertaker into one more match at Wrestlemania, only for him to lose the match when the Undertaker did appear within a matter of minutes.
At the 2018 Royal Rumble John Cena would last just short of half an hour, clocking in at 29 minutes and 14 seconds. During his time in the Rumble, John Cena would eliminate Elias, The Hurricane as well as the Ironman of the Royal Rumble, Finn Balor.
As a part of the Rumble, Cena would participate in some of the memorable moments especially towards the end after it was Finn, Roman, and Shinsuke representing the new generation on one side of the ring against Cena, Orton. and Rey on the other representing the Old Guard.
