Royal Rumble, the third-longest-running annual WWE premium dwell occasion, returns on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN Unlimited). The occasion, which can happen at KAFD in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, began in 1988 and is historically the first PLE of every yr.
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The present will characteristic a males’s and girls’s Royal Rumble match, with the winners incomes a chance to problem for a world championship at WrestleMania 42 in April in Las Vegas. Also on the card, Undisputed WWE champion Drew McIntyre will look to defend his title in opposition to Sami Zayn and AJ Styles will put his in-ring profession on the line in opposition to Gunther.
As the street to WrestleMania begins, here is a take a look at the historical past of its first cease.
Former WWE champion Roman Reigns declared he will probably be a participant in the 2026 Royal Rumble. Rich Wade/Getty Images
Men’s Royal Rumble match
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WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan received the first Royal Rumble match in 1988. He recorded three eliminations in the match, together with the ultimate elimination of One Man Gang. The first Royal Rumble elimination occurred when Jake “The Snake” Roberts despatched “The Natural” Butch Reed over the high rope.
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This weekend, Jey Uso will look to turn into the subsequent wrestler to win back-to-back Royal Rumble matches. That feat has been completed 4 instances: Hulk Hogan (1990, 1991), Shawn Michaels (1995, 1996), “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (1997, 1998) and Cody Rhodes (2023, 2024).
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The Miz has the most Royal Rumble match appearances amongst the energetic roster (16). The all-time chief in Rumble match entries is Kane with 18 (he had two extra appearances below totally different personas). Kane additionally holds the file for many eliminations with 45.
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Gunther set the file for the longest time spent in a single Royal Rumble match in 2023. He entered first and was the runner-up, spending over 1 hour, 11 minutes in the ring. Conversely, the shortest period of time spent in a Royal Rumble match was 1.9 seconds by Santino Marella in 2009.
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Whereas 10 superstars have received two males’s Royal Rumble matches, there’s just one with three victories — Austin. He received the 1997, 1998 and 2001 Rumble matches. The different multiple-time winners are Hogan, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Batista, Triple H, Randy Orton, Edge, Brock Lesnar and Rhodes.
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Roman Reigns will probably be in his eighth Royal Rumble match. He has just one Rumble victory (2015), however nobody has completed as the runner-up extra instances (4).
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No one has accrued extra ultimate 4 finishes in Royal Rumble matches than Orton (8). Two of these have been wins (2009 and 2017).
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Only one famous person has accrued over 5 hours of complete time spent in Royal Rumble matches — Chris Jericho. He appeared in 11 Rumble matches, was the runner-up as soon as and reached the ultimate 4 thrice.
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As one would anticipate, being the final entrant in the males’s Royal Rumble match (No. 30) is the fortunate quantity. Five superstars (Lesnar, The Undertaker, Rhodes, Cena and Triple H) have received after getting into final. Only three superstars (Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Edge) have entered the match first and gone the distance for a win.
2:04
Seth Rollins: Anything can occur at the Royal Rumble
WWE famous person Seth “Freakin'” Rollins joins “Get Up” to preview the Royal Rumble and who he thinks might come out on high this yr.
Women’s Royal Rumble match
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The first girls’s Royal Rumble match occurred in 2018 and was received by Asuka, whose ultimate elimination was of Nikki Bella. The win earned Asuka a SmackDown Women’s Championship match in opposition to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 34.
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Liv Morgan and Natalya are tied for the most ladies’s Royal Rumble appearances. Both took half of their eighth Rumble match in 2025.
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In the 2025 Rumble, Nia Jax eradicated 9 wrestlers, giving her 27 complete eliminations, the most of all time.
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Jax is the solely lady in historical past to enter each the girls’s and males’s Royal Rumble matches in the identical yr. In 2019, after competing in the girls’s match, Jax ambushed authentic entrant R-Truth and entered the males’s match at No. 30. She recorded an elimination (Mustafa Ali) before being eradicated by Rey Mysterio.
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Roxanne Perez’s 1 hour, 7 minutes in the ring throughout the 2025 Rumble is the longest time spent in a girls’s Rumble match.
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Flair is the solely multiple-time girls’s Royal Rumble match winner (2020, 2025). She has taken half in 5 Rumble matches and has been amongst the ultimate 4 individuals in all of them.
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In 2023, Rhea Ripley grew to become the solely famous person to win the girls’s Royal Rumble match as the first entrant. In truth, the match got here down to Ripley and the second entrant, Morgan. Both wrestlers spent over an hour in the ring.
Undisputed WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sami Zayn
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The first WWE championship match to happen at a Royal Rumble occurred in 1991. Sgt. Slaughter defeated The Ultimate Warrior to win his solely championship in what was then often called the WWF.
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This will not be McIntyre’s first WWE championship title protection at a Royal Rumble. He defeated WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg in below three minutes to retain the title in 2021.
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Zayn has by no means defeated McIntyre in a singles match. Starting in 2023, they’ve had six one-on-one bouts on tv.
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Zayn will probably be on the lookout for his first win at a Royal Rumble. Seven of his eight losses have been in Royal Rumble matches. The exception was in 2018, when he and Kevin Owens teamed up in a handicap match vs. AJ Styles for the WWE championship.
0:41
Brock Lesnar publicizes participation in Saturday’s Royal Rumble
Brock Lesnar calls in to “The Pat McAfee Show” to announce his participation in Saturday’s Royal Rumble.
Singles match: Gunther vs. AJ Styles (Styles’ profession on the line)
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It has been over three years since Styles received a match at a WWE PLE. His final PLE win occurred in 2022 at Survivor Series: WarGames over Finn Bálor. During that point span, Gunther accrued 10 PLE victories. His most up-to-date was over Pat McAfee at Backlash in 2025.
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Styles’ WWE in-ring profession might finish at the identical occasion the place it began. Styles made his debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble. He was the third entrant in the Royal Rumble match, lasting practically half-hour and eliminating two superstars before being eradicated by Kevin Owens.
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This is not going to be the first career-threatening match to happen at a Royal Rumble. In 2008, Ric Flair’s profession was on the line in opposition to MVP. Flair received the match.
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Gunther might finish a second profession in as many months. At “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in December, he submitted Cena in his ultimate match.
