12 WWE Royal Rumble Statistics You Need To Know
2. Success At Mania(?)
Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble has earned a world
title match at WrestleMania that year (with the exception of 2016). It’s been a
great hook for fans, tying the two events together and helping to create the
Road to WrestleMania that WWE has pushed through the years to build to the big
event.
In that time, 27 wrestlers have won the 26 Rumbles (counting co-winners Lex Luger and Bret Hart in 1994) with a title match on the line. Two, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in 1997 and Vince McMahon in 1999, never got their world title match at Mania due to different circumstances. But winning the Rumble and having momentum behind you has not been enough for some.
Of the 25 wrestlers who have fought for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, only 14 have won the title – an astoundingly low average of 56%. Recent winners have had far less luck, with eight of the last 11 Rumble winners losing their title match at Mania. That’s a pretty bad run of luck.
But hey, these days WWE sells “moments” as being just as important as winning championships, and there’s no bigger moment than a WrestleMania moment, right?