Founded | October 1987 |
---|---|
Founder | Pat Patterson Vince McMahon |
Organising body | WWE |
Competitors | 30[A] 20 (1988) 40 (2011) 50 (GRR) |
Most recent champion(s) | Jey Uso (men's) Charlotte Flair (women's) (2025) |
Most titles | Stone Cold Steve Austin (three) |
Tournament format | Staggered entry battle royal |
Notes | |
^ A: The Royal Rumble match traditionally features 30 competitors, though some exceptions have been made in select matches. |
The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic battle royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the floor.[1][2] The match is typically the main event of WWE's January pay-per-view and livestreaming event known as the Royal Rumble. The winner of the event is the last wrestler remaining after all others have been eliminated.[1][3] The Royal Rumble match was created by wrestler and WWE Hall of Famer Pat Patterson and was first staged at a house show in October 1987.[4]
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin holds the record for most victories at three, achieved in 1997, 1998, and 2001, while Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Batista, Triple H, Randy Orton, Edge, Brock Lesnar, Cody Rhodes, and Charlotte Flair have all won the match twice, with Hogan, Michaels, Austin, and Rhodes as the only four to win back-to-back matches.
The term "Royal Rumble" is trademarked by WWE.[5] However, multiple other professional wrestling promotions have introduced their own derivations of the Royal Rumble match, for example World War 3 in World Championship Wrestling, the Gauntlet for the Gold in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the Casino Battle Royale in All Elite Wrestling.