WWE Royal Rumble 2012: What Entry Number Has Been the Most Successful?

With the 25^th anniversary of the WWE’s classic event coming later this month on January 29^th, the classic Royal Rumble match has truly been a numbers game through the past two and a half decades.

But what number has been the most successful since the first edition of the Rumble in 1988 until the most recent edition last January?

The following slide show will take you inside the numbers game of the Royal Rumble and give the breakdown of what entry number has been the best over the years.

One Win for the No. 3 Entrant (1992)

While the winner of the Royal Rumble usually gets a title shot at WrestleMania, Ric Flair became the first and only WWE superstar to win the WWE Championship in the match at the fifth edition of the Rumble.

One Win for the No. 5 Entrant (1997)

In what would be the first of the Rattlesnake’s record three Rumble victories, Stone Cold Steve Austin reentered the Royal Rumble illegally to go on to win the match after he eliminated Bret Hart, the man who eliminated him earlier in the match.

One Win for the No. 8 Entrant (2009)

After spending more than 48 minutes in the match, Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble after eliminating Triple H, who entered the match just before the Viper with the No. 7 entry in 2009.

One Win for the No. 13 Entrant (1988)

With the first Royal Rumble only featuring 20 superstars in 1988, WWE Hall of Famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan was the first to win the match before the event would become a staple of the company’s yearly pay-per-view schedule for the next two-and-a-half decades.

One Win for the No. 18 Entrant (1996)

Even though the Heartbreak Kid didn’t match his mark of winning from the No. 1 entrant in 1995, Shawn Michaels did become the second superstar to win back-to-back Royal Rumbles after Hulk Hogan won two in 1990 and 1991.

One Win for the No. 22 Entrant (2002)

Following a facebuster and clothesline over the top rope to Kurt Angle, Triple H won the 15th edition of the Royal Rumble in which he just eliminated four superstars after entering with the No. 22 draw in the match.

One Win for the No. 23 Entrant (1994)

As one of the co-winners of the Royal Rumble along with Bret Hart in 1994, Lex Luger can state that he’s the only superstar to win the Rumble match from the No. 23 draw over the course of the event’s history.

One Win for the No. 25 Entrant (1990)

In the third edition of the Rumble, Hulk Hogan won his first of his back-to-back wins in the Royal Rumble after entering the match with the No. 25 draw in 1990.

One Win for the No. 28 Entrant (2005)

In just under 11 minutes, Batista made his mark after entering the 2005 Royal Rumble with the No. 28 draw, eliminating six superstars on his way to winning the match and going on to the main event of WrestleMania. 

One Win for the No. 38 Entrant (2011)

With Alberto Del Rio’s win in last year’s Royal Rumble, it’s safe to say the Mexican Aristocrat will be the only superstar to win the Rumble with a draw higher than 30 as the match returns to its traditional setup in 2012.

Two Wins for the No. 1 Entrant (2004 & 1995)

In two of the most remembered Royal Rumbles in history, Chris Benoit and Shawn Michaels are currently the only two superstars in the WWE to go the distance in the match and win as they entered the match with the No. 1 entry in the Rumble.

Two Wins for the No. 2 Entrants (1999 & 2006)

While there’s been only two instances of No. 2 entrants winning in Royal Rumble history, Rey Mysterio is the winner from the No. 2 draw as he spent the most time ever in a Rumble while Vince McMahon was barely in the match in 1999.

Two Wins for the No. 29 Entrants (2003 & 2010)

Brock Lesnar and Edge followed two severely different paths to their wins with the No. 29 draw as Lesnar had to beat the Big Show earlier in the show to qualify for the Rumble while Edge made his return from injury to win in 2010.

Two Wins for the No. 30 Entrants (2007 & 2008)

After 19 years of the WWE proclaiming the No. 30 entry was the best in the match, the Undertaker and John Cena in consecutive years finally made that earlier statement true as the two superstars won the Royal Rumble after entering with the final entry.

Three Wins for the No. 24 Entrants (1991, 1998 and 2000)

The trio of WWE superstars to win the Royal Rumble from the No. 24 draw are some of the biggest and greatest competitors in the event’s history as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were the last men standing in the respective years.

Four Wins for the No. 27 Entrants (1989, 1993, 1994 and 2001)

The No. 27 entrant has had the most success in capturing the Royal Rumble through the years as Stone Cold Steve Austin, Big John Studd, Yokozuna and Bret Hart won their respective Rumbles from the fourth to last entry in the Rumble.

Chris Humphrey is a featured columnist for BleacherReport.com. He has covered various sports, including college football, college basketball, UFC, NFL, NBA and the WWE in his short time writing for the website. You can become a fan of him on B/R and follow him on Twitter @_CBH_.