5 records that could be broken in the 2018 Men's Royal Rumble

The 2018 Royal Rumble promises to be one of the most exciting pay-per-views that WWE has produced in a very long time.

Not only will there be a first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, but the winner of the Men’s Royal Rumble is less predictable than it has been in recent years and nobody knows who will walk out of Philadelphia as the two Rumble victors.

As ever with the Rumble, fans don’t just remember the winners of the event – they also remember the records that get set along the way.

In this article, from the least likely to the most likely, we take a look at five records that could potentially be broken in 2018.

#5 Most number of eliminations

Kane held the elimination record between 2001 and 2014

Kane’s long-standing record of 11 eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match was broken in 2014 when Roman Reigns threw 12 men over the top rope on his debut appearance in a Rumble.

We had to wait 13 years for somebody to surpass Kane’s tally, but will we have to wait that long again for somebody to break Reigns’ record?

Braun Strowman is the obvious contender to get close to it but he will be preoccupied with the Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar and Kane at this year's event. While his inclusion isn't impossible, Braun isn’t expected to be involved in the 2018 Rumble match itself.

This is the least likely record to be broken in our list, which is why it’s at #5, but you can never put it past WWE to spring a surprise in a Rumble match!

#4 Roman Reigns to break his own record?

Roman Reigns is the only WWE Superstar in history to finish runner-up in a Royal Rumble match (2014) and go on to win the event the following year (2015).

In 2017, “The Big Dog” was the unpopular – and unadvertised – 30th entrant in the match. Just as it looked like he could be set to pull off a shock win, he was eliminated by Randy Orton and he finished second.

Fast forward a year and there’s a chance, albeit a slim one, that Reigns could win the 2018 Rumble to set up his inevitable WrestleMania match with Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship.

If that does happen, he’ll extend the record that he already owns of winning the Rumble the year after finishing second.

Disclaimer: Shawn Michaels was the last man to be officially eliminated in 1994 and he went on to win in 1995. However, as the Rumble had 'co-winners' in 1994, Bret Hart and Lex Luger, it's widely recognised that Michaels finished third as opposed to second.

#3 Most Royal Rumble victories

Okay, so technically we’re cheating here, as it’s impossible for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s Royal Rumble record of three victories (1997, 1998 and 2001) to be broken in 2018.

However, there’s a very good chance that his standalone record will go and that he will soon have to share the all-time record with a current-day performer, most probably John Cena.

Austin currently leads the way with three Rumble triumphs, with Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan all tied on two wins.

Unless Orton springs a surprise in Philadelphia, Cena is the only realistic contender who can catch Austin in the near future.

#2 Longest time spent in a Royal Rumble

Entering at #2, Rey Mysterio defied the odds in 2006 when he spent 62 minutes and 15 seconds in the Royal Rumble to outlast 29 other men and emerge victorious.

Since then, only one person – Chris Jericho, aka “The 61-Minute Man” – has spent over an hour in the Rumble match, with Roman Reigns falling short by just 12 seconds in 2016.

There are multiple current WWE Superstars who have ‘Royal Rumble Ironman’ written all over them, from Finn Balor and Seth Rollins to Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Of course, this record is largely dependent on what number Superstars enter at, but it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see someone surpass 60 minutes and beat Rey’s record in 2018.

#1 Least amount of time spent in a Royal Rumble

Santino Marella being eliminated by Kane

Since Santino Marella was eliminated after 1.9 seconds by Kane in 2009, four WWE Superstars have lasted less than 10 seconds in a Royal Rumble match.

The most recent example of someone ‘doing a Santino’ came in 2015 when Titus O’Neil, entering at #26, was eliminated by Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose after just four seconds.

Of all the records that could be broken in the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble, we reckon this one is the most likely. Being eliminated early, or not appearing at all (Curtis Axel, for example), isn’t necessarily a bad thing and can lead to a storyline further down the line.

As for potential record-breakers, we needn't look any further than the man with the longest losing streak in modern-day WWE, Curt Hawkins.