10 Incredible WWE Royal Rumble Facts & Figures You Need To Know

10. The Genesis Of It All

We owe our enjoyment of the Royal Rumble to one man: Pat Patterson.

The first Intercontinental Champion and Vince McMahon’s righthand man devised the concept of a battle royal where participants didn’t all start in the ring at the same time, but rather entered the match at regular intervals, with the last person remaining in the ring after everyone had entered being the winner.

But here’s the kicker: Vince wasn’t too thrilled with the concept. An early attempt at the Rumble in October 1987 with 12 men didn’t go over well, and it might not have gone any further if not for TV executive producer Dick Ebersol. The WWF was counterprogramming NWA’s upcoming Buckhouse Stampede PPV with a free TV event on USA Network. But Ebersol wasn’t wild about the card.

Patterson pitched the Rumble idea, and Ebersol ran with it, complete with the countdown clock, and a winter wrestling tradition was born. The Royal Rumble was a huge success from the jump, and the first Rumble PPV followed in 1989.

The initial Rumble featured 20 wrestlers, and every other Rumble except the 2011 (40 men) and 2018’s Greatest Royal Rumble (50 men) has featured 30 superstars.