10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 1997 Facts
3. Austin Became The Only Winner To Make 10+ Eliminations
Only four times in Royal Rumble history has a wrestler made ten or more eliminations. In 1989, Hulk Hogan dominated the middle-third of the match, throwing out exactly ten. Twelve years later, Kane made a then-record 11 eliminations en route to the match's duration title. In 2014, Roman Reigns set the current record of 12 eliminations.
However, none of those men won. The only person to make ten eliminations and win that particular Rumble match was Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1997.
Austin threw out exactly ten men during his 45 minute stay in the match. That group of toss-outs included Phineas Godwinn, Bart Gunn, Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, Owen Hart, Savio Vega, Jesse James, and through illegal means, The Undertaker, Vader, and Bret Hart. Austin's also the only man to throw out both Hart brothers in the same Rumble match.