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We are getting closer to the 2021 Royal Rumble event with each passing day. Fans are beyond excited to find out who's going to punch their tickets to compete for WWE's top prizes at WrestleMania 37. The Royal Rumble match has been around for more than three decades and has given the WWE Universe a long string of memorable moments and spots.
The Royal Rumble match usually lasts more than an hour, but the presentation is done in such a manner that fans are glued to the screen throughout its duration. In this slideshow, we will take a look at the seven men who have spent more than three hours in the ring across all of their Royal Rumble appearances.
Note: A special thanks to SmarkOutMoment for the data used in this article.
#7 Cody Rhodes (3:06:45)
Cody Rhodes is currently a big name in All Elite Wrestling. Before he turned into one of the most famous babyfaces in all of pro wrestling, he was a regular mid-card act in WWE. Cody Rhodes spent the entirety of his WWE run as a mid-card Superstar, despite showing promise on various occasions during his stint. Rhodes entered the 2009 Royal Rumble match while he was affiliated with The Legacy, and along with Ted Dibiase, helped Orton win the free-for-all.
Cody Rhodes has never won a Royal Rumble match
Cody went on to compete in several Royal Rumble matches, but his big moment came in 2012 when he lasted over 40 minutes and eliminated a total of six wrestlers, before being thrown out by Big Show.
#6 Kane (3:17:49)
At No. 6, we have The Big Red Machine, Kane, who is considered by many to be one of the greatest competitors in Royal Rumble history. Kane made his way to WWE in 1997 and kicked off a feud with his storyline brother, The Undertaker. Kane went on to appear in the match almost every year until he switched careers. His moment of glory came during the 2001 Royal Rumble match, in what is regarded by the WWE Universe as one of the most dominant performances in Royal Rumble history.
Kane eliminated 11 wrestlers in the match, before being thrown out by eventual winner Stone Cold Steve Austin. The record remained intact for 13 years before Roman Reigns broke it during the 2014 Royal Rumble match by eliminating 12 Superstars.
#5 Randy Orton (3:33:19)
WWE legend Randy Orton is a Royal Rumble veteran and is one of the very few wrestlers who have won the match on two occasions. Orton lasted almost 50 minutes in the match at the 2009 Royal Rumble event, which makes up a big chunk of his overall time in the match. He eventually won that match by last eliminating Triple H.
Randy Orton is a two-time Royal Rumble winner
Orton would go on to win the 2017 Royal Rumble match as well, by last eliminating Roman Reigns. Orton came in at No. 23 and spent 20 minutes in the match. Interestingly, he didn't eliminate anyone else on that night.
#4 Shawn Michaels (3:47:32)
WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels had become a megastar by the time 1995 came around. He won the 1995 Royal Rumble match by coming in at No. 1 and lasting almost 40 minutes, till the very end. Michaels wasn't done here, as he went on to win his second Royal Rumble match the next year.
Michaels spent 26 minutes in the Royal Rumble match that year and eliminated eight Superstars in the process. He would go on to deliver some stellar performances in the match over the next decade or so, with his 2007 outing being dubbed one of the very best. On that night, Michaels came very close to winning it all but was eliminated by The Undertaker in the end.
#3 Triple H (4:00:50)
WWE EVP Triple H is no stranger to Royal Rumble matches. His first Royal Rumble win came in 2002. He had come back to WWE after healing from an injury that had kept him out for months. Triple H won the Royal Rumble by last eliminating Kurt Angle, and spent 23 minutes in the match. He went on to defeat Chris Jericho to win the top prize at WrestleMania 18.
Triple H won the WWE World Heavyweight title by winning the 2016 Royal Rumble match
Triple H would win his next Royal Rumble match in 2016, which was contested for Roman Reigns' WWE World Heavyweight title. Triple H was a surprise entrant in the match and came in at No. 30. He didn't even spend 10 minutes in the match and eliminated Dean Ambrose in the end to win the title.
Triple H went on to lose the WWE World Heavyweight title to Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 32. His total time spent in the match is just above the 4-hour mark. Triple H came close to winning the 2006 and 2009 Royal Rumble matches, with Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton winning those respective bouts.
#2 Rey Mysterio (4:01:54)
In 2006, Rey Mysterio was on a quest to win the Royal Rumble as well as the World title to honor the memory of his late friend, Eddie Guerrero. Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match even though the odds were heavily stacked against him. He came in at No. 2 and lasted till the very end, marking an incredible time figure of 1:02 hours. He eliminated Randy Orton to win the match and went on to win the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania 22.
Rey Mysterio gave the performance of a lifetime in the 2006 Royal Rumble match
Rey Mysterio's performance in the Royal Rumble match was certainly one for the ages, and it would take 12 years for someone to break it. Daniel Bryan lasted around 1:16 hours in The Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, thus breaking Rey Mysterio's record.
Mysterio won the World title as well as the WWE title in his latter years, but never won another Royal Rumble bout. At Royal Rumble 2014, he was booed out of the building by the fans, who were expecting Daniel Bryan to come in and win the whole thing. Bryan, unlike Mysterio, has never won a Royal Rumble match.
#1 Chris Jericho (4:59:33)
It's pretty ironic that the guy who has spent the most collective time in the Royal Rumble match has never won one in his career. Chris Jericho is one of the biggest Superstars this industry has ever seen and is still as relevant as he's ever been. Jericho has spent almost five hours in the Royal Rumble match, which consists of a few very close calls which he failed to turn into wins. He spent almost 40 minutes in the 2003 Royal Rumble match, but failed to win it, courtesy of an attack by Shawn Michaels.
Chris Jericho will probably never win a Royal Rumble match
Jericho came close to winning the whole thing in 2012. He lasted just over 11 minutes and had an incredible back-and-forth with Sheamus when the two wrestlers were the only ones left in the match. Sheamus eventually eliminated Jericho to win the match. Jericho would go on to challenge CM Punk for the WWE title at WrestleMania 28, in a losing effort.
Jericho will seemingly end his career in AEW, and it looks like his Royal Rumble record will stay at five hours unless he comes back for a special appearance down the line.
