10 Incredible WWE Royal Rumble Facts & Figures You Need To Know
6. Iron Man/Woman
Another Royal Rumble trope you can expect to see every year
is an entrant who runs the length of the match. They enter at a low,
single-digit number and are still in it as the last few superstars make their
way into the Rumble. It’s often seen as a way to give someone a bit of a
showcase and a talking point coming out of the Rumble, even if they don’t win
it.
Rick Martel was the first notable iron man, lasting 52 minutes in the 1991 Rumble. But it was Ric Flair in the 1992 Rumble who became the first iron man to win the match, entering at #3 and lasting a full hour to win the WWF Championship.
Since then, 16 other men (besides Flair and Martel) have lasted at least 50 minutes, with six staying in for an hour. Four of them have won the entire Rumble. Daniel Bryan holds the record (76 minutes) in the 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble, though that’s a bit of a cheat since there were 50 entrants. Rey Mysterio still has the record in the 30-man Rumble, winning the 2006 edition after lasting 62 minutes.
Although the women’s Rumble hasn’t been around nearly as long, five women have lasted at least 50 minutes, with Bianca Belair topping the list in 2021 when she lasted 56 minutes en route to winning it all.
You can count on someone this weekend getting a good run in the two Rumble matches. Whether it means something depends on how they’re booked – do they toss a bunch of people and have a dramatic story, or do they just last a long time in the match?