The Royal Rumble event is one of the most fun shows of the entire year for many different reasons, not the least of which is how there are many different records which can be broken or at least set for this year in comparison to others.
Since the Royal Rumble is so special, I’ve made it a point over the past few years to try and study patterns in WWE’s booking (which you can find here) and take my predictions to a whole new level. Instead of just guessing the winners of the matches, why not also shoot for the extraneous factors that make up the 30-man battle royal as well?
In part one of this three-part series, we’re going to take a look at perhaps the most fun of them all: who will eliminate the most competitors?
Naturally, we must begin with the official record, which was set last year by Roman Reigns at 12 eliminations, surpassing Kane’s previous record from 2001 of 11. This is a feat that will likely not be equaled or beaten this year or any time soon by any one man, let alone two.
More than any other record in the Royal Rumble, this is the one that has resulted in the most number of ties. There have been six separate years wherein two people eliminated the same amount of opponents to tie to win this distinction for the year. In 1994, Lex Luger and Diesel both eliminated 7. That same number of eliminations occurred for Undertaker and Steve Austin in 2002 as well as CM Punk and John Cena in 2011. In 2009, Triple H and Big Show both eliminated 6, while in 2005 and 2013, Batista and Edge as well as Ryback and Sheamus respectively tossed 5 people over the top rope.
Of the 33 men who have had the most eliminations in a Royal Rumble for a particular year, the average comes out to 7 per event, so it can be assumed that roughly the same number will apply this year.
RYBACK
The Big Guy is a bit of a dark horse for this, but he shouldn’t be counted out. It’s unlikely he will win the match, so giving him the ability to eliminate the most people or at least tie with someone else on this list could be WWE’s method to making him look strong and still lose. He’s certainly got the size and the strength behind him to justify why he could eliminate so many people, plus he is a former recipient of this honor just two years ago and is in a much better spot on the roster than he was last year.
DANIEL BRYAN
Daniel Bryan was robbed of his rightful Royal Rumble victory last year and WWE may want to make up for it by having Bryan go on a frenzy and really pop the crowd by eliminating a lot of his opponents over the course of the match. He is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in the match—if not the biggest—in terms of popularity, so he will be prominently featured one way or another. Whether that happens with a victory, being the Iron Man, having a few particularly impressive eliminations or having the most, Daniel Bryan will be a major player and he could just be the reason why a good number of men in this match meet their demise.
RUSEV
The Bulgarian Brute was the NXT showcase star of last year’s event and held his own rather well for being a relative non-entity. Of course, his position on the roster has increased dramatically over the past year and he is now touting an undefeated streak on a technicality of never being pinned or made to submit. This means he’s well within the means to be eliminated in this event, but WWE will assuredly not let this match go down without Rusev being a big factor. There is an almost certainty that he will blow through the competition like a hurricane, destroying everything in his path. It’s very easy to imagine a scenario where Rusev enters around the #8 spot, which is usually someone who cleans house, and tosses out everyone in the ring as well as a few more that come after him, which would immediately put everyone else at a disadvantage to beat his number of eliminations. If I were a betting man, I would say that Rusev has an even better shot than the next man on this list, or at best, will tie with him.
ROMAN REIGNS
He holds the record for most eliminations of all time and he did it in his very first Royal Rumble. Coupling that with how he’s poised to be the next big babyface in the company makes it a good sign that Roman Reigns could score back to back victories in this category. After all, he’s the juggernaut of The Shield and one third of the most dominant stable in recent times. He’s defeated everyone who has been in his path and he’ll definitely be one of the people WWE wants to look strong in this match. What could stop him from attaining this goal is if he is given a very late number and wins by eliminating a few big names, but only a few of them. That would allow someone else on this list the chance to earn a victory of their own by having the most eliminations, but not getting the big win itself.
Who do you think will toss out the most superstars? Is your pick not on this list? Tell us your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!
