10 Longest Matches In WWE History

Royal Rumbles are out, time limit draws are in...

By Andy H Murray /

WWE.com

WWE's average match runtimes have taken a pounding throughout Vince McMahon Jr.'s tenure.

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While epic 40-60 minute main event marathons are still commonplace in promotions like New Japan Pro Wrestling, this is sports entertainment, pal. "Matches are just the entrees to what we're really about: we make movies."

Hour-long main events were the norm under McMahon Sr., but mainstream American wrestling evolved beyond this point a long time ago. Now, the average Universal or WWE Title bout is lucky to break 20 minutes. Multi-man wars often stretch beyond the half hour mark, and Vince's company still deliver plenty of in-ring epics, but the glacial billboard-toppers of old have largely gone the way of the dinosaurs.

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Thus, it should come as no surprise that the bulk of WWE's longest matches took place decades ago, when curfew-induced time limit draws were a regular occurrence. The modern era is represented, but the old WWWF dominates.

Including 60-minute Iron Man matches would be a cop out, and the same goes for Royal Rumbles. Anything else? Fair game, though the lack of Survivor Series elimination bouts (including the 52-minute men's match from 2016) is surprising...

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