10 WWE Superstars With The Most Royal Rumble Eliminations In A Single Match
WWE is full of unique match types, but none as successful or universally adored as the Royal Rumble match. The concept is simple: 30 men or women enter the match one after the other at one-minute intervals. Each opponent can only be eliminated by being thrown over the top rope with both feet touching the floor. Once 29 Superstars hit the floor, the last person standing is declared the victor.
Again, a simple concept on paper, but WWE treats the match as the ultimate test of endurance. Not only must one competitor outlast 29 others, but use their strength to toss out competitors as their stamina continues to replenish during the match. WWE tends to celebrate a Rumble entrant based on the number of people that they end up eliminating during a Rumble match. Even if they fail to win it all, WWE ensures that they etch out into their history books the ones who hold the most eliminations in a single Rumble match.
10 Bayley - 7
Royal Rumble 2024
Seven is surprisingly one of the more common numbers of eliminations in Royal Rumble history. Hulk Hogan eliminated seven Superstars in 1991, Yokozuna in 1993, Diesel in 1994, Steve Austin in 1998, Rikishi in 2000, Great Khali in 2007, John Cena and CM Punk in 2011, Bray Wyatt in 2015, and Braun Strowman in 2017. Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley did it twice in 2021 and 2023. There isn't enough space to focus on every Superstar who achieved this tie, so it's worth focusing on the Superstar who did it most recently in 2024.
Bayley pioneered the modern state of women's wrestling under the WWE banner (and, arguably, the entire industry) alongside Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch as the Four Horsewomen. Bayley was one of the few of the Horsewomen to never win a Rumble match, but after eliminating seven competitors, she finally achieved this on the road to WrestleMania XL.
9 Nia Jax - 8
Royal Rumble 2024
While the next five competitors are tied, Nia Jax's is the most recent. Four months prior to this Royal Rumble, Jax officially re-signed with the company after being released in 2021. Her second run with the company has seen Jax deliver the performances of a seasoned vet that surpasses her first run with the company. Her Rumble performance at the top of the year ranks among her very best.
Besides living up to her nickname as The Irresistible Force and tossing Superstars out of the ring left and right, her time in the match is most notable for a staredown with male competitor R-Truth, swiftly eliminating him from a match he shouldn't have been a part of. She's not like most girls, as her theme music used to iterate, but she's in an elite group of girls all tied for the most eliminations in a Women's Royal Rumble.
8 Stone Cold Steve Austin - 8
Royal Rumble 1999
The 12th consecutive Royal Rumble pay-per-view ranks among the most controversial in the PPV franchise's history. Earlier in the night, The Rock won his second WWE Championship in an I Quit match in which he absolutely battered Mankind with a bevy of unprotected chair shots to the head, something that's frowned upon today due to the professional wrestling community's understanding of concussions. In story, the controversy also came from Mankind never actually saying "I Quit," rather than a recording of his words duping everyone.
Meanwhile, a more story-based controversy happened in the Royal Rumble match, when WWE Chairman Vince McMahon booked himself to win the Royal Rumble match, a booking decision that produced mixed reactions from critics. Nonetheless, despite the win, Stone Cold would be the one going to WrestleMania months later, deservedly so as not only the match's runner-up, but for eliminating eight other men.
7 Shawn Michaels - 8
Royal Rumble 1995 and 1996
Shawn Michaels has the honor of being one of only four men to hold consecutive Royal Rumble wins. Besides HBK, others who hold the accolade are Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Cody Rhodes, putting the Heartbreak Kid in good company. Michaels first won the Royal Rumble in 1995, arguably his most noteworthy win as saving himself with one foot on the floor established how important the rule of both feet hitting the floor is to a Royal Rumble match. He'd then fail to beat Diesel for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XI.
Michaels would get another chance at superstardom at the following year's Royal Rumble. In addition to winning the match for a second time, Michaels managed to eliminate the exact same number of competitors as he did the previous year at 8. He'd proceed to defeat Bret "The Hitman" Hart in an Iron Man match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XII.
6 Shayna Baszler / Bianca Belair - 8
Royal Rumble 2020
In addition to being tied with Nia Jax for the most eliminations in a Women's Royal Rumble match, Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler both tied each other the same year they broke that very record in 2020. The main roster audience had received brief glimpses of the then-NXT competitors in the build to the previous year's Survivor Series, where NXT managed to defeat Raw and SmackDown in brand supremacy.
The first quarter of 2020 saw both Baszler and Belair officially join the main roster - Raw and SmackDown, respectively - and to showcase their talents, they were both given the opportunity to have star-making performances. Baszler is able to highlight her pure ferocity as an MMA specialist while Belair highlights her unmatched strength and athleticism, all while eliminating eight other women in the time they were given.
5 Hulk Hogan - 10
Royal Rumble 1989
1989 marked just the second annual Royal Rumble event, and the first time that WWE would produce a 30-man match, expanding from the previous 20. This would be before WWE would introduce the stakes of the winner of the Royal Rumble competing for the World Title at WrestleMania. In fact, WWE Champion Randy Savage would compete in this match since there were no stakes to the bout. If there were any stakes to speak of, it was merely about bragging rights.
The champion would actually be eliminated by his future WrestleMania V opponent, Hulk Hogan. Hogan may not be so beloved by fans today, but he most certainly was in 1989, as the Summit in Houston, Texas, erupted with all 10 of his eliminations. After 11 minutes, he'd ultimately be eliminated by Akeem the African Dream and Big Boss Man of the Twin Towers collective.
4 Kane - 11
Royal Rumble 2001
By 2001, Kane was one of the bigger marquee attractions that WWE had to offer. He was already a former WWE Champion and, in 2001, one of the favorites to win the Royal Rumble match. While that win ultimately went to Stone Cold Steve Austin in one of The Rattlesnake's best moments, Kane would make his presence known in the match by eliminating 11 other WWE Superstars, which at the time marked the record for the most eliminations in any Royal Rumble match.
It's also worth noting that Kane's spotlight was also achieved by confronting one of America's biggest sitcom stars at the time, Drew Carey. Not only did his streak of eliminations earn the respect of the WWE faithful, but standing next to the star of The Drew Carey Show allowed mainstream audiences to see the Big Red Machine in all his glory.
3 Roman Reigns - 12
Royal Rumble 2014
The 2015 Royal Rumble match is notorious for the crowd vehemently booing Roman Reigns' win, but the previous year when he was the runner-up, it was a different story. At that time, Roman Reigns was still an active part of The Shield and, prior to Seth Rollins betraying his team, being in the group allowed Reigns to amplify his strengths while hiding his weaknesses (promos, which would be a big reason why crowds turned on him the following years during his singles push).
The road to WrestleMania XXX saw WWE test the waters with a potential Reigns singles run first with a Sole Survivor performance at Survivor Series, then breaking the all-time Royal Rumble record. Seeing Reigns look so dominant saw the crowd chanting for him to win the 2014 Rumble, which is ironic in retrospect.
2 Brock Lesnar - 13
Royal Rumble 2020
It's rare to see the World Champion enter the Royal Rumble match, but one of the few exceptions came in 2020. The story was that the WWE Champion felt as though nobody on the roster was worthy of challenging him for his title at WrestleMania 36, and so was looking to eliminate all 29 competitors in an effort to give himself the night off for Mania. Those dreams for Brock Lesnar were broken once he was eliminated by Drew McIntyre, the match's eventual winner and Brock's Mania opponent.
Prior to being eliminated though, Lesnar was a one-man Minnesota wrecking crew, tossing out any and everyone in his path. He'd tease dream matches with the likes of Keith Lee, capitalize on history with competitors like Shelton Benjamin and Kofi Kingston, and above all else, simply looked like a Beast Incarnate.
1 Braun Strowman - 13
The Greatest Royal Rumble
When WWE landed in Jeddah for their first Saudi Arabia event, they did so for the Greatest Royal Rumble, dubbed as such for housing the biggest Royal Rumble match in WWE history. For the first time ever and for the only time since, the Royal Rumble would hold 50 entrants. Rather than wrestle for a shot at WrestleMania headlines, they'd be competing for the Greatest Royal Rumble championship belt (not to be defended) and accompanying trophy.
Braun Strowman more than earned that accolade when he tossed 13 competitors over the top rope. The Monster Among Men arrived at entrant #41, and in 22 minutes and 14 seconds delivered a monstrous outing. Even without the Mania main event, he ties Brock Lesnar with the most eliminations in any Royal Rumble match, with Strowman holding the distinction of doing so in WWE's only 50-man spectacle.
- Founded
- January 7, 1953
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is a global entertainment company primarily known for professional wrestling. Founded in 1953, it produces live events, television programs, and streaming content. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, WWE operates multiple brands, including Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.
