WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 5 Stats That Could Hint the Potential Winner
Could there be any past Royal Rumble stats that hint the direction WWE may go in for the winner?
On January 29, the 30th Royal Rumble match will take place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. This is always a highly anticipated bout, as it decides who will wrestle in a World title match at the upcoming WrestleMania event.
WWE always highlights statistics from Royal Rumble matches that are deemed important to watch for. This could be about eliminations, where the Superstar entered from, and more.
Regarding the upcoming Royal Rumble match, there are a handful of stats that may be taken into account for when looking at who could win. None of these will make the winner clear-cut, but it may eye who to at least take out of the equation. Some of these may not come into play until the Rumble bout itself is ongoing too.
Which stats should be looked at for the 2017 match?
Credit: WWE.com
5. 5 Royal Rumble Winners Have Been Under the Age of 30
The Royal Rumble match is used to create a new star heading into WrestleMania season, right? Someone that’s younger, is getting over with the fans, and destined for superstardom.
Well, out of the 29 match winners (technically 30 due to 1994), only five of them have been under the age of 30. A handful of have been just over the three-decade mark, but it’s not even a half-dozen that have crossed that line. This would be Roman Reigns (29), Shawn Michaels (29), Yokozuna (26), The Rock (27), and Brock Lesnar (25).
In the upcoming Royal Rumble match, only Bray Wyatt (29) is below 30 among the confirmed entrants. With this potential program with Randy Orton for WrestleMania season, this may not give the Eater of Worlds much of a chance of winning. So, if you’re expecting someone below 30 to win, this most likely won’t be the case.
WWE.com
4. Only 4 Winners Have Entered at the No. 10-20 Range
To win the Royal Rumble, you pretty much have to enter in the beginning of near the end, at least based on the past winners. Only four that have joined the match in the No. 10 to 20 range won the Royal Rumble match, two of which came during the past four years at No. 19.
The ones to enter at No. 19 were John Cena in 2013 and Roman Reigns in 2015. They both ended up main eventing WrestleMania, with Cena winning his title match and Reigns losing via Seth Rollins cash-in.
To go back into the teens, you’d have to look at the 1996 Royal Rumble with Shawn Michaels entering at No. 18. Before that was Jim Duggan in the first-ever over-the-top-rope bout, which saw him join at No. 13.
The luck of the draw has seemingly been if you enter outside of the middle of the pack, unless you’re Cena or Reigns. Usually, this part of the Royal Rumble features tag team members, legends, and the bottom end of the roster that gets eliminated by the top stars that entered early. So, that could explain the lull around the teens portion of the match when it comes to winners and entrants.
WWE.com
3. 12 Times Has the Winner Entered in the Final 5 Spots
While your potential winner may not want to enter in the teens, you’ll certainly want your predicted Superstar to show up near the very end of the Royal Rumble. 12 of the 29 times has the winner joined in the final five spots—Stone Cold Steve Austin, Yokozuna, Bret Hart, Batista (twice), Edge, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, John Cena, the Undertaker, and Alberto Del Rio.
Six others who have entered in the 20’s have won as well, making that 18 of the 29 winners coming out in the final third of the match. The most recent would be Triple H at No. 30 in 2016. He won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as well.
So far, none of the Royal Rumble competitors have announced their spot they will enter next Sunday. However, if multiple big names are chosen for the final few spots of the match, then expect one of them to walk out as the winner.
WWE.com
2. Only 4 Royal Rumble Winners Since 2000 Have Been Heel
The Royal Rumble match creates stars and highlights the best of the best as we head into WrestleMania. It also creates memorable moments, mostly with babyfaces ruling the hour-long spectacle and earning a World title match at the Show of Shows. A heel winning often leaves a dud to close things out, unless it’s someone that the fans are behind that’s in the midst of a face turn.
Since 2000, there have been 17 Royal Rumble matches. Out of all of these, just four of them have seen heels win it all with Batista (2005), Randy Orton (2009), Alberto Del Rio (2011), and Triple H (2016). Only the Animal would win his World title shot at WrestleMania, which was due to his face turn and split from Evolution. He defeated Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship.
If the recent betting odds for the Royal Rumble match are any indication, we could have the fifth heel to win since 2000. That could always change since this is usually in flux as the pay-per-view gets closer, but it could give an idea of what’s to come on January 29.
A babyface win will create a memorable moment at the Royal Rumble. Could we get the second consecutive heel victory, though?
WWE.com
1. Is Being the Iron Man Actually a Good Thing?
Every year, we hear Michael Cole scream, “Look at him! He’s been in the Royal Rumble match for an astounding 45 minutes!” It seems like a great thing for the Superstar and makes it like they have the best chance of winning. Is this really the case, though?
Only six times in Royal Rumble history has the Iron Man won. This would be Ric Flair (1992), Shawn Michaels (1995), Stone Cold Steve Austin (1997), Vince McMahon (1999), Chris Benoit (2004), and Rey Mysterio (2006). We’ve gone 11 years since the last Iron Man won, and six out of 29 matches seems like very little, so does it actually matter when WWE calls out someone for being in the match so long?
In recent years, we have seen the likes of CM Punk, Bray Wyatt, and Roman Reigns nearly go the distance as the Iron Man of their respective match. They would all get eliminated toward the very end of the bout.
So, if you’re looking toward the Iron Man winning the Royal Rumble, it’s not such a guarantee. This could also be due to nine of the past 10 winners entering at No. 19 or afterward.
Could these Royal Rumble stats hint anything about who the winner may be? Are there other factors to consider?
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