10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 1991 Facts

2. Rick Martel Became The First Entrant To Surpass 50 Minutes

Royal Rumble 1991 Poster
WWE.com

One year after Ted Dibiase became the first man to last longer than 30 minutes in a Royal Rumble (going nearly 45 minutes in all), Rick Martel topped even that mark, demonstrating WWE's continued willingness to have somebody go deep into the competition.

Martel, after drawing number six, lasted 52 minutes and 17 seconds before being eliminated by Davey Boy Smith, coming in fifth place. After 30 Royal Rumbles, Martel's 52 minute marathon performance ranks at the 11th longest duration in Rumble history.

Martel wasn't the only 1991 Rumble participant to show off some respectable endurance - ten different entrants breached the 20-minute mark. Three other wrestlers in addition to Martel topped 30 minutes, including Smith (37 minutes), Hercules (38 minutes), and Greg Valentine (a whopping 44 minutes).

Contributor
Contributor

Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.