10 Incredible WWE Royal Rumble Facts & Figures You Need To Know
8. What Is An Elimination?
There have been some very strange eliminations from the
Royal Rumble through the years, and we’re not just talking about quick ones or
occasions where the entire ring had to gang up to toss someone.
As we all know, you’re eliminated when you’re tossed over the top rope with both feet touching the floor. Sounds simple enough, but we’ve seen wrestlers get tossed through the ropes and carry on in the match.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Vince McMahon entered the 1999 Rumble at #1 and #2, respectively and brawled out of the ring and out of the arena, returning near the end of the match. (Vince would win that match despite spending the vast majority of it out of sight.) Roman Reigns had this happen in 2016 when he was tossed through the ropes, powerbombed through an announce table and helped to the back, only to return later to re-enter the match.
We’ve seen wrestlers eliminate themselves… sort of. In 1989, Jake “The Snake” Roberts chased Andre the Giant out of the Rumble by tossing his snake Damian in the ring, and the Giant eliminated himself. Macho Man” Randy Savage did this in 1992, hopping over the top rope to attack Roberts, but he returned to stay in the match until the final four.
This says nothing about wrestlers tossed over the top rope but didn’t have both feet touch the floor. We’ll get into that next…