Royal Rumble

:This article is about the professional wrestling event, for the Xiaolin Showdown episode see Royal Rumble (Xiaolin Showdown).

Facts and trivia

• The Royal Rumble was reportedly created by Pat Patterson, who was inspired by the annual Cow Palace battle royal.
• The first Royal Rumble in 1988 aired on the USA Network. The 1988 Rumble was unusual for two reasons: It featured only twenty competitors rather than what would become the standard thirty, and any egress over the top rope constituted an elimination (regardless of whether that wrestler's feet touched the floor).
• The first two wrestlers to ever compete in a Royal Rumble were Bret Hart and Tito Santana, who in the inaugural 1988 match drew #1 and #2 respectively. The first wrestler ever eliminated in a Royal Rumble was "The Natural" Butch Reed.
• While the #1 draw would appear to be the worst possible numbers of entry, the first entrant has twice won the Royal Rumble: Shawn Michaels in 1995, and Chris Benoit in 2004.
• Despite being ostensibly the best draw possible, no wrestler has ever won the Royal Rumble from the #30 position. The closest was Brock Lesnar in 2003, who entered at number twenty nine.
• The 1991 Royal Rumble was the first to have a WWF Heavyweight Championship Match on the card, featuring The Ultimate Warrior defending the title against Sgt. Slaughter.
• Vince McMahon entered the 1999 Royal Rumble at number two and went on to win the event. He took the victory by rolling underneath the ropes early in the event to lure Stone Cold Steve Austin into an ambush, (a wrestler is eliminated only if they are thrown over the top rope; since McMahon rolled underneath the ropes, he was still alive in the match), joining the commentary team, and then returning to the ring to eliminate the last contestant (Austin) with help from The Rock.
• In 1998, Mick Foley was eliminated three times in the same Royal Rumble, each time as a different one of his three personas (Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love, in order of their respective appearence in the match).
• Chyna was the first woman in WWE History to have entered the Royal Rumble match. She entered in both the 1999 and 2000 Royal Rumble matches, but failed to win either one.