10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 2003 Facts

2. It Was The First Time That An Entrant Beyond Number 27 Won

Brock Lesnar The Undertaker Royal Rumble 2003
WWE

"The luck of the draw" is a point of emphasis for every Royal Rumble - the later you enter, the better odds you have of winning. Yet from 1988 through 2002, fifteen Royal Rumbles, never once did an entrant beyond number 27 ever win the match. No 28, no 29, and no 30.

Brock Lesnar broke that streak (conquered that streak?) by winning from the 29th spot in the 2003 match. He need only last eight minutes and 59 seconds in order to punch his WrestleMania ticket.

Since then, number 30 has won three times, 28 has won twice, and 29 won once more. It's as if somebody in WWE realized, "Hey, it kinda makes 'luck of the draw' look irrelevant when nobody wins from those numbers", then corrected it.

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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.