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The Royal Rumble, perhaps more than any other WWE match, is driven by numbers. It isn't just about the number of entrants, but the numbers that those entrants rack up during the match. Elapsed time, entry spots, and eliminations can all serve to tell stories and get Superstars over even if they aren't slated to win the big event.
For example, though he's never won a Royal Rumble, Kane's stats are very famous among WWE fans. For many years he was the holder of the record for most eliminations, with 11, in his starring 2001 performance. He still holds the record for the most total combined eliminations, with 44. Roman Reigns broke Kane's 2001 record in 2014 in a huge moment that is rightly seen as the genesis of his massive push.
Eliminations aren't the only record that matter. Who could forget Rey Mysterio's emotional hour-long survival in 2006, or how much total time Chris Jericho has spent in all his Rumble appearances?
With the inaugural women's Royal Rumble soon to come, our thoughts will surely turn to these records. Who will make them on January 28th? Based on current booking, a few standouts come to mind.
First entrant: Becky Lynch
Whose music will we first hear to kick off the festivities? Often, the spot is given to a popular babyface to get the crowd amped for the start of the match.
Becky Lynch fits that description, and though she's probably slated to return before January 28th, it would be a far better idea to stage her comeback as the first woman to ever enter an all women's Royal Rumble.
Regardless of the precise date, Becky Lynch is a strong candidate to draw the kickoff spot.
Longest time in the Rumble: Sasha Banks
Each Royal Rumble match has an iron man that refuses to get eliminated until the end is near. He's often one of the final participants. Even if that performer doesn't pull off a Rey Mysterio, staying in the match for so long, refusing to be eliminated, makes a major impression.
Who could forget Chris Jericho's 50-minute and hour-long stints in the past two Royal Rumble matches?
Sasha Banks has competed in iron woman matches before, but I have a feeling she'll be in for the longest night of her career on January 28th. Sasha's popularity and her ability to put on a strong performance no matter who she's in the ring with makes her an obvious choice to stay in the Royal Rumble for the longest time as the first-ever iron woman.
Look for Sasha to come in early and be one of the last women eliminated.
Shortest time in the Rumble: Lana
It's a tough call, since Dana Brooke is also a strong candidate to claim this ominous record, but Lana strikes me as being a bit more of a comedy jobber at the moment.
Both of them will likely only stay for seconds, but my gut tells me that Lana will accumulate fewer seconds.
Most eliminations: Nia Jax
Nia is the obvious choice to play the role of Kane or Roman Reigns in the first women's Royal Rumble. If Lana and Dana Brooke are only in there for seconds, expect Nia Jax to be the one waiting to toss them out.
The two of them will only be the easiest prey. Nia Jax is tailor-made for entering the Rumble somewhere around #10-15 and demolishing everything in her path, dominating the middle part of the contest.
Nia will probably rack up 10 or so eliminations before finally being taken out by a platoon of her competitors. The opportune time would be when the Rumble's eventual winner enters, usually past #20.
Winner: Asuka
At the end of the match, don't be surprised to find the Empress of Tomorrow smiling up at the WrestleMania sign looming over the ring.
Until and unless Ronda Rousey's status becomes clearer, Asuka must be regarded as the odds-on favourite to win the inaugural women's Royal Rumble. With Ronda filming a movie until February and TMZ saying that, contrary to earlier reports, contract negotiations haven't gotten underway between her and WWE (something which Triple H corroborates), Asuka's odds must be considered very good.
Asuka is perfectly positioned to win the inaugural women's Royal Rumble. With built-in momentum heading into it, a Rumble victory would take that momentum and send her into the stratosphere, which is what a Royal Rumble should do to make a WrestleMania title match mean something, and that would be the biggest gift of all to women's wrestling in WWE.
Look for Asuka to be pivotal in eliminating Nia Jax, clean house, survive, and triumph in Philadelphia.
