'Royal Rumble' Winners Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The inaugural 'Royal Rumble' - an annual event considered one of World Wrestling Entertainment's biggest alongside the likes of 'WrestleMania' and 'SummerSlam' - took place in Hamilton, Ontario in 1988 and was broadcast to viewers on the cable channel, USA Network. 'Royal Rumble' became a Pay Per View (PPV) event in 1989 and first became available via live streaming in 2015.

Whilst a number of significant matches take place during the course of the event - a good proportion of which are typically bouts in which championship titles are up for grabs (title matches) - it is the Royal Rumble Match itself that distinguishes this event from all the others in the WWE calendar.

A Royal Rumble Match is an exciting variant of a Battle Royale in which a large number of wrestlers compete to be the last person standing. The wrestlers enter the ring in a predefined order and do so according to a staggered schedule, rather than all entering the ring at the same time. Wrestlers are eliminated from a Royal Rumble Match if they are ejected from the ring by being thrown over the top rope (a few other rules apply).

The first Royal Rumble Match in 1988 featured twenty wrestlers (it would later become conventional for the event to feature thirty wrestlers, though a notable exception was seen in 2011 when forty competitors took part). The first winner was "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, a wrestler from New York State who, whilst known by fans and aficionados, is not a widely recognised name in popular culture when compared to others who would go on to win this competition in subsequent years.

The first wrestler to win the Royal Rumble Match on two separate occasions was the superstar, Hulk Hogan; he won back to back matches in 1990 (Orlando, Florida) and 1991 (Miami, Florida). Hulk Hogan benefited from being one of the later entrants to the match on both occasions, in the former he had a scheduled entry position of 25 out of 30 whilst in the former he was the 24th entrant.

In comparison, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair won the Royal Rumble Match of 1992 (Albany, New York) from a far less beneficial position of 3 out of 30. Flair personally eliminated five other wrestlers and showcased great endurance by competing for over one hour!

The Royal Rumble Match of 1994 (Providence, Rhode Island) resulted in a tie, with the final two competitors, Lex Luger and Bret Hart, seemingly eliminating each other simultaneously. After much ringside deliberation it was decided to declare the two wrestlers as co-winners.

With his successes in 1995 (Tampa, Florida) and 1996 (Fresno, California), Shawn Michaels matched Hulk Hogan's feat of winning successive Royal Rumble Matches but it was the nature of Michaels' 1995 victory that made wrestling history - he was the first to win as entrant number one.

Fan favourite, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, also completed a double by winning the event in 1997 (San Antonio, Texas) and 1998 (San Jose, California). In the 2001 event held in New Orleans, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin became the first wrestler to win the Royal Rumble Match on three occasions when he eliminated Kane from the ring. Kane had undertaken most of the work having eliminated eleven wrestlers over the course of nearly one hour. The Rock was eliminated in 28th position at this event but he had already smelled success at 'Royal Rumble' in the previous year.

Triple H is yet another two-time winner at 'Royal Rumble'; he clotheslined Kurt Angle over the top rope to win the 2002 event in Atlanta and then, after a fourteen year wait, took the 2016 crown in Orlando. There was an added bonus for Triple H - the Royal Rumble Match doubled up as a WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match!

At the 2007 event held in San Antonio, Texas, The Undertaker made the most of being the thirtieth and final wrestler to enter the ring for the Royal Rumble Match. This match is perhaps better remembered for a small army of wrestlers having to work together to throw Viscera (whose billed weight was nearly 500 lbs) out of the ring.

Wrestler turned actor (are they really all that different?) John Cena, joined the illustrious ranks of two-time Royal Rumble Match winners after being the last man standing in 2008 (New York City) and 2013 (Phoenix, Arizona). Edge, also known as Adam Copeland, also won the event on two separate occasions (2010, 2021) but as a fan of wrestling in the early 2000s, I remember Edge more for his successful tag team partnership with Christian.

The incorrect options are:

Goldust, a quirky Texan wrestler who won the WWF Hardcore Championship on seven occasions but only held it for thirteen days in total such was the volatile "24/7" nature of the title.

Kurt Angle, an Olympic gold medal winning freestyle wrestler (Atlanta 1996) who won pretty much everything the WWF/WWE had to offer but never the Royal Rumble Match.

Mike Chioda, a senior referee who officiated for both the 'Raw' and 'SmackDown!' brands at various times.

Sgt Slaughter, military-inspired wrestler who was the winner of the WWF Championship at 'Royal Rumble' in 1991.

William Regal, an English wrestler who was crowned 'King of the Ring' in 2008.