10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 2019 Facts
Record-setting Rumbles, the 'ironwoman', intergender wrestling, and Shane O'Mac's Royal Rumble bow.
With the 2021 Royal Rumble PPV upon us, now's the perfect time to reflect back on Royal Rumbles of yesteryear - and in this case, the 2019 edition of WWE's annual January spectacular.
The Royal Rumble has long been many fans' absolute favourite wrestling event of the calendar, with the Rumble so synonymous with shocking debuts, surprise returns, and a habit of putting on some brilliant matches elsewhere on the card away from the PPV's traditional over-the-top battles.
Taking place at Phoenix, Arizona's Chase Field on 27 January, the 2019 Royal Rumble was one that perfectly captured the groundswell of support and the continuous upward momentum of Becky Lynch, with the Man coming up short in her quest to dethrone Asuka as the SmackDown Women's Champion, yet emerging to win the women's Royal Rumble and cement herself a spot at WrestleMania 34.
On the men's side of things, it was Lynch's real-life beau Seth Rollins who was the victor, with him putting himself on a collision course with Brock Lesnar at the 2019 edition of WWE's Showcase of the Immortals.
Taking a closer look into the inner workings and stats of the event, though, here are ten fascinating facts about the 2019 Royal Rumble PPV that you may not be aware of.
10. First WWE Event In A Baseball Stadium For 16 Years
When thinking of great Royal Rumble PPVs and the moments that took place during them, one thing that often comes to mind is the actual arena and setting of those Rumbles.
As two examples, Madison Square Garden has housed some iconic Rumble moments, while last year's Minute Maid Park venue worked brilliantly for the sheer visual of the Rumble matches' entrants making their way out to the ring.
Where the 2019 Royal Rumble PPV is concerned, that event took place at Phoenix, Arizona's Chase Field, which is the baseball park home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
What most people likely don't realise, is that the 2019 Royal Rumble was the first WWE PPV to take place from a baseball stadium for a whopping 16 years!
Prior to the 2019 Rumble, the last time that WWE ran an event from a similar venue was back in 2003 for WrestleMania XIX. Back then, the '03 iteration of the company's Showcase of the Immortals PPV emanated from Seattle, Washington's Safeco Field, nowadays known as T-Mobile Park - a venue that's been the home of the Seattle Mariners since 1999.