Examining How the Royal Rumble Match Has Improved over Time

After 26 years worth of tinkering, WWE has mastered the Royal Rumble formula.

Building on a great concept, the company has added components meant to surprise, entertain and provide suspense to the marquee match. Pro wrestling's mix of King of the Hill and a barroom brawl where the entrants are staggered, the Rumble is consistently one of the most memorable bouts of the year. 

Traditions and tweaks have led to that.

In some ways, the Royal Rumble match that Jim Duggan won in Hamilton, Ontario, back in 1988 didn't look all that different from the version we see today. It didn't so much evolve as go through a process of refinement.

That began with how many men went to battle.

From 20 to 30

WWE quickly expanded the match after its inception. The first-ever Rumble featured only 20 wrestlers.

That was, after all, the standard number of entrants to a typical Battle Royal. Realizing that this was no typical Battle Royal, though, WWE went to a 30-man format in 1989.

It ended up being the perfect number.

That allowed for more star power, more surprises and a longer match that felt more significant. Duggan's win came in just over half an hour, per ProFightDB.com. The Rumble match has since hovered around the hour mark with but a few exceptions.

Added Stakes

For its first few years, the Royal Rumble offered the victor only the pride of victory.

It was a big win, especially considering it was one of only four annual WWE pay-per-views. In 1993, the game changed.

Perhaps the drama of the 1992 Rumble match inspired the company to seek another prize in the years to come. The WWE Championship dangled in front of the wrestlers that year, a prize awaiting the winner. 

The Rumble later became the gateway to WrestleMania. The winner was assured a spot in a title match at WrestleMania. Yokozuna was the first man to take advantage of that stipulation. 

The shift in the Rumble made every elimination more powerful. It didn't just mean defeat; it meant watching someone else challenge for gold at WrestleMania.

It now feels like the Battle Royal is the playoff one must win to make it to WWE's Super Bowl. That has elevated the drama of the match in a hugely successfully way.

Surprise Entrants 

Anyone can show up at the Royal Rumble. A huge part of the fun of the match today is that someone who hasn't wrestled in years like Kevin Nash can reappear, or an injured Superstar like John Cena in 2008 could pop in unexpectedly.

Fans now look for at least a handful of surprise entrants that range from silly to shocking every year.

That wasn't always the case, though. For years, the Rumble consisted only of active competitors. It meant WWE had to reach deep into its roster to fill out the match.

Over time, WWE began to sneak in other talents.

Non-WWE wrestlers Genichiro Tenryu and Mil Mascaras made special appearances. Mick Foley appeared three times in the 1998 Rumble, competing as Cactus Jack, Dude Love and Mankind.

Those kind of moments become more commonplace in the '00s and morphed into tradition. Today, anticipation swells with each countdown to the next entrant. 

Who knows who will burst out of that curtain?

The Iron Man 

Every Royal Rumble tells a story of stamina and survival. One man inevitably draws an early entry and somehow battles to nearly the last moments of the match—or in some rare cases, he wins the whole thing.

It's pro wrestling drama at its best. That tradition didn't start right away.

Per ProWrestlingHistory.com, the first two Rumbles didn't see anyone last more than 30 minutes. Then came Ted DiBiase, who lasted an impressive 44 minutes and 47 seconds in 1990.

It would take the company a few more tries to start truly milking the dramatic effect of a man lasting in the match that long, though.

Bob Backlund was the first man to pass the hour mark. Despite being a former WWE champ, his age (44 at the time) made him an underdog. His ability to fend off younger men made for a great subplot. WWE has since gone to that narrative device several times over.

Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit and Triple H all earned "Iron Man" status after Backlund, lasting longer than anyone else in their respective Rumble matches. 

The Kofi Spot

John Morrison began a trend that Kofi Kingston has since picked up. 

In 2011, William Regal pushed Morrison off the ring apron. The athletic star clung to the guardrail, tightroped along it and leaped toward the ring steps.

It was a method of staving off elimination no one had seen before. In the next three Rumbles, Kingston followed Morrison's lead. In 2012, he walked on his hands to get back into the ring. He followed that up with bouncing on an office chair in 2013 and leaped from the guardrail to the ring steps last year.

Fans wait to be wowed once again. Kingston has borrowed the kind of creativity once saved for Ladder matches and brought it to the Rumble.

It's a welcome addition to the match. The circus feat is a great complement to the comedy, drama and violence that the rest of the bout contains. 

If WWE is smart, it will have other stars continue the tradition. There is no telling the kind of Spider-Man-like moves Adrian Neville could come up with.

The Insertion of NXT 

In the last two years, WWE has integrated its improved developmental system with the Royal Rumble. It's an easy time to throw in a new face or to have a prospect make an impact outside of NXT.

In 2013, it was Bo Dallas who earned the right to represent NXT in the Rumble. He won a tournament during the event's Fan Fest, guaranteeing him a spot in the 30-man match.

His time on the main roster didn't impress, but he provided the Rumble with one of its biggest moments when he upset Wade Barrett.

Rusev's turn came last year. He made his first main-roster appearance at the 2014 Royal Rumble. The fact that it took three men to eliminate him served as a precursor to the destroyer he would soon become.

As the NXT product improves and its audience widens thanks to the WWE Network, continuing to welcome a prospect to the Rumble will have a bigger impact each year. That will only serve to better one of the most fun matches all year.

WWE would be wise to keep this tradition alive, adding it to the others that have helped the Royal Rumble grow to be an ever-improving product emerging from WWE's labs.