10 Longest Matches In WWE History
Royal Rumbles are out, time limit draws are in...
WWE's average match runtimes have taken a pounding throughout Vince McMahon Jr.'s tenure.
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.
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...