The 30th edition of the Royal Rumble match has come and gone, and we now have the next winner who will headline a title match at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando this April. That winner is none other than “The Viper” Randy Orton who tossed out Roman Reigns to win the second Royal Rumble match of his career.
His first win would come in 2009 largely thanks to the help of Legacy’s Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, Jr.
The Royal Rumble match wasn’t received well by most of the WWE Universe mainly due to the lack of surprises, and lack of a true impact from the big money players such as Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and The Undertaker.
Many people were hoping a return for Finn Balor at the #30 spot, only for it to turn out to be Roman Reigns after he was screwed out of the WWE Universal title.
One of the great aspects of the Royal Rumble match are the numbers that are associated with it. This article will cover five key numbers that defined the 2017 Royal Rumble match. These numbers will include some history made by Chris Jericho, a “perfect” debut, and the winner joining an elite club.
Continue on to see these five key numbers!
#5 – (10) The perfect debut for the Perfect 10
The WWE Universe was begging for this moment for some time now. When Tye Dillinger grabbed the microphone to cut a promo on NXT a couple weeks ago, the crowd was chanting “Royal Rumble, Number 10” over and over.
Thankfully the WWE Universe had their wish granted and Tye Dillinger made his main roster debut at the 2017 Royal Rumble by appropriately entering the Rumble at number 10.
Also read: 30 Amazing Stats and Facts From 30 Years of the WWE Royal Rumble
Tye Dillinger had the unenviable task of facing off against Braun Strowman when he entered the ring. Dillinger didn’t take the coward’s way out though, he took the fight right to Strowman.
Thankfully he wasn’t immediately thrown out of the match by Strowman and did get to last a little over five minutes much to the delight of the WWE Universe. We will now wait and see if he’s up on the main roster permanently.
#4 – (6) Chris Jericho becomes just the sixth WWE Superstar to last over an hour in the Royal Rumble Match
Chris Jericho had a tall task kicking off the Royal Rumble as the number two entrant and facing off against Big Cass to start the match. When Braun Strowman entered the Royal Rumble at number seven, Jericho did the smart thing and hid on the outside.
The strategy paid off as Jericho would last all the way to the final four with Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Randy Orton.
It was Roman Reigns would eventually Superman Punch Chris Jericho out of the Royal Rumble, and when it was all said and done, Jericho lasted a total of one hour and 13 seconds to barely make it into the exclusive one hour club with Ric Flair, Triple H, Bob Backlund, Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio.
Jericho also becomes the second ever WWE Superstar to last an hour in the Royal Rumble and not win the match, with Bob Backlund being the first.
#3 – (7) Braun Strowman threw the most superstars over the top rope
Ever since the WWE Draft, there has not been any WWE Superstar more devastating than Braun Strowman. Once he was free of the Wyatt Family, he really unleashed his whole arsenal of speed, agility, and strength to impress the WWE Universe.
Strowman would enter the Royal Rumble at number seven and would impressively eliminate seven of the first eight WWE Superstars from the Rumble.
Baron Corbin surprisingly eliminated Braun Strowman with a powerful clothesline, and Strowman would be the ninth person to be eliminated in the match. Though Strowman was eliminated fairly early from the match, he still racked up the most eliminations of anyone in the match this year with seven.
The next closest with the most eliminations was The Undertaker with four.
#2 – (4:56:59) Chris Jericho surpasses Triple H for the most cumulative time in the Royal Rumble match
When Chris Jericho lasted over an hour in the 2017 Royal Rumble, he proceeded to break a record in the process. For a few years, Triple H held the Royal Rumble record for most total time in his career with 3:59:37.
Going into the 2017 Rumble match, Jericho was only a few minutes behind, so he blew by the record and now has a comfortable lead at a cumulative time in the Royal Rumble match of 4:59:59.
After the 2017 Royal Rumble was in the books, Chris Jericho now has nearly an hour lead on Triple H, and the next active competitor is Kane who Jericho has a nearly 80-minute lead on.
Kane may not have been in too many Royal Rumbles (he wasn’t in the 2017 match) and Triple H is just a part-time wrestler now. Jericho is still going strong at age 46 and has had one of his best years in recent memory, so it is safe to say this record could be his for many years to come.
#1 – (7) Randy Orton becomes the 7th WWE Superstar to win multiple Royal Rumble matches
Randy Orton’s career has officially been rejuvenated since joining the Wyatt Family. First, he won the Smackdown Tag Team Championships with Bray Wyatt when they defeated Rhyno and Heath Slater at the Tables Ladders and Chairs PPV.
The next step in returning to the main event scene occurred at the 2017 Royal Rumble when he threw out Roman Reigns to become the last man standing. Orton will take on the winner of the Elimination Chamber at WrestleMania 33.
With the win, Randy Orton made history by joining six other WWE Superstars as the only ones to have won multiple Royal Rumble matches.
Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Batista, and John Cena have all won the match twice; while Stone Cold Steve Austin remains the only WWE Superstar to win three Royal Rumble matches when he did so in 1997, 1998 and 2001.
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