10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 2002 Facts

1. It Was The Most Bought Royal Rumble Ever

Steve Austin Triple H Royal Rumble 2002
WWE

Maybe it was Triple H's looming comeback. Maybe it using Kid Rock's popular song "Cocky" as the theme. Maybe it was the hope of seeing The Rock defeat Chris Jericho to become the Undisputed Champion. Whatever the case was, the 2002 Royal Rumble set a mark that no Rumble has matched before or since.

The 2002 show did 670,000 buys, more than any Royal Rumble in history. The total is just 20,000 buys more than the 1999 show, and wrestling was much hotter at that point three years earlier. Perhaps forcing those in the UK to pay for the show is what bumped that number up to a new threshold?

No Rumble would ever hit 600,000 buys again, though most subsequent Rumbles would top 500,000. The wrestling boom was over, but the Royal Rumble remained a must-see annual event for even casual fans.

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.