Royal Rumble By The Numbers WWE DON'T Want You To Know

1. 55.5%

Jericho Rumble Numbers
WWE.com

Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble match has been stipulated to challenge for the WWF/WWE/World Heavyweight/Universal/RAW Women's/SmackDown Women's Title on the Grandest Stage - to, per company rhetoric, "main event WrestleMania".

We've seen 27 Rumble matches since this lasting stipulation took hold - 2016's iteration did see the winner involved in the last match, just not in the challenger's role - but only 15 of those men and women went on to close the Show of Shows. So, as a percentage, the winner of the Royal Rumble match only headlines WrestleMania 55.5% of the time.

This, of course, is a largely modern development. The likes of Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus and Shinsuke Nakamura - hot-shotted office favourites and near-reluctant gestures, variously - were shunted down the card to make way for John Cena, The Rock, and Brock Lesnar, who were by clear default the real stars of the show. WWE in response has claimed to offer several "main event-worthy" 'Mania attractions - but if that were true, and each of those attractions were comparable in quality and intrigue, what difference does the running order matter?

Ultimately, per its own remit, the Royal Rumble match only really matters half of the time. There is more or less a 50/50 chance of a headline match happening for the heavily-rumoured likes of Seth Rollins and Charlotte Flair.

It's a sadly telling number in this era, no?

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!