WWE Royal Rumble 2023 Records Predictions: Who Will Last the Longest & Shortest?
Every year, while we’re all speculating on who will win the Royal Rumble matches, I always like to take some time to focus on some of the other “wins” people can get without being the ultimate victor and earning the title shot at WrestleMania.
Those two are the records for who lasts the longest and who scores the most eliminations.
In part 1 of this two-part series of predictions, we’ll be taking a look at who I think could have a great showing by being more defensive and sticking around to last the longest. It’s all about staying power in this one.
These are the Iron Man and Iron Woman of the match. Whether they go the distance from the start or not, someone is going to last longer than anyone else by default.
Factoring in everything from stamina to how the Iron Man/Woman is typically someone of importance, but not necessarily the biggest stars or the winners, I’ve got my list for this year of who I think could be given this honor.
In no particular order, here are those names…
WOMEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
Liv Morgan
Morgan’s already said she wants to start off at the No. 1 spot. That doesn’t guarantee that is going to happen, but it would be odd if it didn’t. Every time I can think of that WWE has advertised someone in that spot, they’ve followed through with it. Plus, in kayfabe, if you’re the other Superstars, you’re going to want Morgan taking up that spot so you don’t get it in your randomized draw.
Since I don’t expect her to start the match only to get eliminated super fast, I’m anticipating she’ll be around for at least half of it, if not longer. That should put her well in the range of becoming the Iron Woman. Only 11 of the 41 Iron Men/Women haven’t been from the first 5 spots.
Granted, that could mean she’s an outlier, or that the other four women coming out at #2-#5 could last longer, but she’s a rather safe bet in my book.
Becky Lynch
The biggest name in the match always stands a good chance of being in there a long time and making an impact.
The Man could very easily pop up toward the latter half and it wouldn’t be too surprising, but I think WWE is going to want to have her out there for quite a while. Why? Because I don’t think she’s winning, and if she enters too late and comes up short, she’ll look weaker than if she’s out there a long time and just barely falls shy of the win.
Whenever Big Time Becks comes out, she’s a shoo-in to last from that point on until the Final 4. It’s only a question of how long they want her out beforehand.
Rhea Ripley
I’m convinced The Nightmare is getting a good spot in this year’s Royal Rumble, if not the potential win. They’ve been doing a solid job showcasing her every week and telling the story that she’s one of the biggest threats to Bianca Belair’s title. We also know she has a history with Charlotte Flair, so she could be an easy challenger for her belt, too.
If Ripley comes out there within the first 10 or so (maybe #8?) I think she’s got a good chance of playing spoiler and taking out someone like Liv Morgan within a few minutes to overtake her attempt at this year’s record.
5 HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Bayley = In years past, the leader of a faction has done well to last rather long. They come out and get backed up by their underlings, who get tossed out before them. Bayley’s also one of the veterans in the match to showcase in a way without giving her the win, as she’s definitely not going to be victorious.
- Raquel Rodriguez = Since she’s one of my top picks to win, I have to count her in here. Maybe they have her show up early enough that she lasts a long time in order to justify her win and her push for anyone who isn’t quite sold on her yet.
- Asuka = We haven’t seen The Empress of Tomorrow in a little bit. She seemed poised to come back with a vengeance. Perhaps she does here, and she makes a statement by being out there a long time?
- Shayna Baszler = The Queen of Spades has done very well in past Royal Rumbles. Traditionally, she’s more of an eliminator than an Iron Woman, but she lasted 41 minutes in 2021 (the third-longest time behind Naomi and Bianca Belair). She’d also make for a strong challenger for Flair if she has a good performance here.
- Deonna Purrazzo = This is a huuuuge shot in the dark. But I think if we get The Virtuosa in this match, they’re going to give her a long stretch of time so she immediately looks like a big deal and not like she’s the NXT rookie that had a false start on the main roster.
MEN’S ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
Seth Rollins / Cody Rhodes
I’m lumping these two together because I think there’s a VERY good chance we see them as the first and second entrants.
Think about it. That gives them an opportunity to revisit this feud, have both of their entrances, start the match off hot, and allow both to go the distance to the Final 4.
Cody’s triumph from the No. 1 spot would be a little too obvious, but if he comes out at No. 2, it might be just different enough to justify it.
But even if he fails to win the match, if The Rock is going to be in it, for instance, Cody could go the distance, be the runner-up or the next-to-last to be eliminated, and still win the Iron Man spot. But right on his heels will be The Visionary.
Drew McIntyre
I don’t think this is going to be a win for The Scottish Warrior by any means. However, I do think WWE recognizes his spot as one of the top babyfaces in the main event scene. They’ll want to keep him a focal point for as long as possible.
The way I see it, he lasts a long time in the match and gets taken out by someone like Gunther or Brock Lesnar toward the final few names, if not the Final 4.
5 HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Finn Balor – I almost went with Sheamus here, but the more I thought about it, the more I think Balor could pop up early in the match, last a while, and then have Edge come out toward the 20s and eliminate him. That might still net him a long overall time, though, whereas Sheamus could be someone toward the back end of the match.
- Bobby Lashley – The All Mighty will get a strong showing, but come up short. If WWE isn’t going to give him the most eliminations, there’s a good chance he’ll be in that “out there a long time, but gets too drained by the end and gets tossed out by Brock Lesnar” role.
- Gunther – No way the intercontinental champion has a poor showing. I think Triple H is going to give him a standout spot and have him out there for quite a while, chopping his way through the gauntlet.
- Braun Strowman – I’m tempted to put a few other people in this honorable mention spot like Ricochet and Kofi Kingston, but if there’s one big man among the crew that I’d trust to make an impact for a longer time, it would be Strowman, not Omos.
- Austin Theory – A lot of Royal Rumbles have an obnoxious heel who keeps hanging in there. Maybe he is in the first 10 and lasts until close to the end, wherein someone like John Cena or Seth Rollins can take him out?
BONUS: WHO WILL HAVE THE SHORTEST TIMES?
For the women, the Superstar with the overall worst record when you count the number of appearances and how little time they’ve spent, is Kelly Kelly. She’s been in 3 and only amounted to 8 and a half minutes, while some others like Kacy Catanzaro were in 1 for 10+. But Dana Brooke’s been in every match so far and her longest time was 7 minutes. That’s pretty rough. Even Tamina has an 8:22 and a 16:41. So since Kelly Kelly isn’t confirmed, I’m going to say Dana Brooke gets the quickest time.
With regards to the men, I don’t think we’ll get a comedic loser spot this year. Instead of someone getting tossed out super fast for a gag, I think the shortest time will just go to someone arbitrarily. That makes my guess a crap shoot. Let’s just go with Madcap Moss. I wouldn’t be shocked if we get a celebrity or legend that appears and gets eliminated within 90 seconds, though.
Those are my picks, but what do you think? Tell us your predictions in the comments below!
For more information on Royal Rumble statistics, check out my running page of records on Smark Out Moment here: http://www.smarkoutmoment.com/p/wwe-royal-rumble-statistics-records.html
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