8 New Records Set At WWE Royal Rumble 2023

4. Longest Run, Men

WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Cody Rhodes
WWE.com

Previous Record: 62:15, Rey Mysterio, 2006 New Record: 71:40, Gunther, 2023

The Iron Man slot in a Royal Rumble can be a career-making moment if booked properly. Simply lasting a long time doesn’t mean anything unless they are doing something significant while in the match, such as winning the whole damn thing – or at least coming close.

Rey Mysterio set the standard 17 years ago when he entered at #2 and went on to win the Rumble, which would translate into a world title victory at WrestleMania 22. Lasting more than an hour, Rey would set a mark that seemed like it would last for decades.

But then Gunther entered at #1 Saturday and lasted until the bitter end in a Rumble that continued well after the #30 entrant made his way down the aisle. Gunther’s run in his inaugural Rumble also included five eliminations, so it wasn’t just a long night for the Intercontinental Champion, but a productive one.

We should note that Daniel Bryan’s run in the 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble was technically longer – 76 minutes – but that was a 50-man match and not the January tradition. Even the announcers made a point to differentiate the two, so we’ll draw the distinction as well.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.