Full Men’s & Women’s History

The 2024 Royal Rumble will take place on January 27 in St. Petersburg, Florida. While WrestleMania is WWE’s biggest event every year, many feel the Royal Rumble is its coolest. The event has happened annually since 1989 and features 30 competitors battling it out in an over-the-top battle royale. In 2019, the WWE added a women’s Royal Rumble match as well. Winners of the event become instant legends.

The match begins with two wrestlers in the ring, with a new combatant added every two minutes until all 30 contestants have been added. The order of entry is chosen by random draw. To be eliminated, a participant must be thrown out of the ring over the top rope and have both feet hit the arena floor.

Over the years, the Royal Rumble has launched a number of wrestlers to stardom. Since 1993, the winner of the match has been awarded a title match for WWE’s top championship at WrestleMania. Stone Cold Steve Austin holds the record for most Royal Rumble wins, since three, while Shawn Michaels, John Cena, Batista, Triple H, Randy Orton, Edge, Brock Lesnar and Hulk Hogan have all won twice.

What follows is the full list of Royal Rumble winners by year, not including 2018’s Greatest Royal Rumble, which was a special event in Saudi Arabia won by Braun Strowman.

1988: Jim Duggan

1989: Big John Studd

1990: Hulk Hogan

1991: Hulk Hogan

1992: Ric Flair

1993: Yokozuna

1994: Lex Luger, Bret Hart

1995: Shawn Michaels

1996: Shawn Michaels

1997: Stone Cold Steve Austin

1998: Stone Cold Steve Austin

1999: Mr. McMahon

2000: The Rock

2001: Stone Cold Steve Austin

2002: Triple H

2003: Brock Lesnar

2004: Chris Benoit

2005: Batista

2006: Rey Mysterio

2007: The Undertaker

2008: John Cena

2009: Randy Orton

2010: Edge

2011: Alberto Del Rio

2012: Sheamus

2013: John Cena

2014: Batista

2015: Roman Reigns

2016: Triple H

2017: Randy Orton

2018: Shinsuke Nakamura

2019: Seth Rollins

2020: Drew McIntyre

2021: Edge

2022: Brock Lesnar

2023: Cody Rhodes

2018: Asuka

2019: Becky Lynch

2020: Charlotte Flair

2021: Bianca Belair

2022: Ronda Rousey

2023: Rhea Ripley