Cageside Seats - WWE Royal Rumble 2023 live streaming results, recaps, reactions, videos, more!Inside Pro Wrestlinghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48257/CSS-Logo-fv.png2023-02-04T17:00:00-05:00http://www.cagesideseats.com/rss/stream/233312602023-02-04T17:00:00-05:002023-02-04T17:00:00-05:00Wrestling’s best storyline made rating Royal Rumble tricky
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<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://watch.wwe.com/episode/Royal-Rumble-2023-192184?startPoint=14392.367" target="_blank">WWE.com</a></figcaption>
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<p id="1bDk6u">After every WWE <s>PPV</s> premium live event, we ask you all to rank each match on the show using the star rating system made famous by Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.</p>
<p id="wHekoo">The results are in from <em>Royal Rumble</em>, one of WWE’s most popular shows of the year, and the start of the Road to <em>WrestleMania 39</em>. Below you’ll see how our little corner of the wrestle web graded what happened in the ring on Jan. 28 from San Antonio — and how our subjective grades compare <a href="https://www.f4wonline.com/newsletters/wrestling-observer-newsletter/february-6-2023-observer-newsletter-royal-rumble-2023-review-wwe-q4-financials-notes">to Meltzer’s</a>. </p>
<p id="VkHpwN">Many have asked “why Dave?”, which to me is fairly obvious. Love, hate, or don’t care about him, the Observer Star Rating is the proverbial industry standard. No one else’s are tracked <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_matches_rated_5_or_more_stars_by_Dave_Meltzer">by Wikipedia</a> and <a href="http://www.profightdb.com/cards-with-highest-wrestling-observer-newsletter-average-weighted-star-ratings.html">other web outlets</a>. You can’t <a href="https://www.wheretobet.net/pro-wrestling/dave-meltzers-star-ratings/">place online bets</a> on what grades other pundits will give big matches. </p>
<p id="O0Egwx">But in order to not make this all about Meltz, we added another fan-voted rating to the mix - this one <a href="https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=352554&page=3">from Cagematch</a>. That site uses a ten point scale, so we’ve halved their ratings for ease of comparison.</p>
<p id="V2aKOV">Here’s what that all looks like:</p>
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<p id="ryHxfm">The lowest scores in all three systems went to the non-main event singles matches. Both the scores confirm something we knew but had forgotten in the almost two years since we’ve rated things involving Bray Wyatt — our community includes some people that really enjoy things that involve Bray Wyatt. Or maybe they just like watching the world burn? Same difference?</p>
<p id="QkCgP2">While the majority of wrestling fans love them, Rumble matches are inherently tough to rate. Even the best of them have lulls, or stories and spots within them that don’t work for everyone. The 2023 men’s match seems to have been slightly better received than the women’s version, but folks seemed to enjoy both of them this year. Beyond that, to whatever extent you care about Star Ratings in general, I wouldn’t waste too much time looking much more deeply into those two scores. </p>
<p id="xvfDi8">It’s with the main event — which was the highest rated in two of the three systems and aslo won our <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/29/23576267/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-results-match-of-the-night">“Match of the Night”</a> poll from immediately after the show — that things get interesting. Meltzer scored the post-match angle separately (he gave it five stars), and a lot of our (and Cagematch’s) commenters indicated they would have liked to do the same thing. Perhaps we should have, but we’ve never done that in the past. The angle doesn’t happen without the match, either. </p>
<p id="V4nv7t">Anyway... if you want to average out Dave’s ratings for the match and the angle, he would have given it a 4.25. </p>
<p id="G9Gx6P">For the overall show average, we’ve added the Observer’s rating for the post-match stuff as a sixth “match”. However you slice it up though, last Saturday’s show was among everyone’s lowest rated of the past year — which goes to show that Star Ratings don’t necessarily capture overall enjoyment, especially for show like <em>Royal Rumble</em> ‘23 where almost everyone’s favorite thing happened outside of a match.</p>
<p id="D5s8tn">Here’s our rundown of those averages for all of WWE’s PLEs over the past 12 months:</p>
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<p id="g8RYMt">Do Cageside’s Community Ratings match up with your personal ones? Any final thoughts on <em>Royal Rumble</em>?</p>
<p id="xKDba3"><em><strong>NOTE:</strong></em><em> The initial version of this post incorrectly listed Meltzer’s score for the Belair/Bliss match. We apologize for the error.</em></p>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/2/4/23585743/wwe-royal-rumble-star-ratings-meltzer-community-comparison-bloodline-zayn-reigns-rhodes-ripleySean Rueter2023-02-01T15:00:00-05:002023-02-01T15:00:00-05:00Here are the most interesting numbers from the women’s Royal Rumble
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<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.wwe.com/" target="_blank">WWE.com</a></figcaption>
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<p id="zZuVfK">The 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match lasted 61 minutes and 8 seconds (61m 08s).</p>
<p id="3BhstU">This <a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24398545/Rumble23W.jpg">text graphic</a> provides time stamps for each superstar’s arrival and exit from the match, as well as showing who the longest lasting superstars were as the match progressed.</p>
<p id="4mkUkJ">For comparison's sake, here are other versions of this graphic for Royal Rumble matches from <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330883/88Rumble.0.jpg">1988</a>, <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330889/92Rumble.0.jpg">1992</a>, <a href="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3331428/Rumble_2003.0.jpg">2003</a>, <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330899/07Rumble.0.jpg">2007</a>, <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/5871397/09Rumble.0.jpg">2009</a>, and <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330905/13Rumble.0.jpg">2013</a>.</p>
<p id="636Vu5"><strong>Survival Times</strong></p>
<p id="F78BzI">The survival time for a superstar is the time that lapses between the point when she steps foot into the ring and the time that her feet hit the floor to signal elimination. This does not include the time it takes for a superstar to make her way from the entrance ramp down to the actual ring.</p>
<p id="bcBWlb">The average superstar survival time for the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match was 16m 08s and the median survival time was 11m 51s. The median value is less influenced by outliers at either extreme.</p>
<p id="zc3tA7">Here is the full list of survival times for all 30 superstars:</p>
<ul>
<li id="XMzU7W">61m 08s: Rhea Ripley</li>
<li id="rL5DYW">61m 07s: Liv Morgan</li>
<li id="CebiqW">33m 14s: Asuka</li>
<li id="0Xo6z4">28m 05s: Piper Niven</li>
<li id="z15L1i">27m 10s: Bayley</li>
<li id="BeMLqL">26m 35s: Zoey Stark</li>
<li id="YGjA8q">22m 20s: Dakota Kai</li>
<li id="nwcu4r">20m 49s: IYO SKY</li>
<li id="nXZHVy">20m 40s: Raquel Rodriguez</li>
<li id="YFrZLH">17m 44s: Mia Yim</li>
<li id="PQKs4b">15m 30s: Xia Li</li>
<li id="EW9zwq">14m 04s: Lacey Evans</li>
<li id="Z8aRXR">13m 53s: Michelle McCool</li>
<li id="7dT8Q3">13m 28s: Shayna Baszler</li>
<li id="use1sJ">11m 58s: Tamina</li>
<li id="QPIBQ1">11m 43s: Dana Brooke</li>
<li id="KlI0KU">11m 30s: Zelina Vega</li>
<li id="YuFz4B">10m45s: Becky Lynch</li>
<li id="9y6E3W">10m 17s: Sonya Deville</li>
<li id="F2BAGV">10m 12s: Emma</li>
<li id="c5w9GO">9m 16s: Nikki Cross</li>
<li id="DPwX3c">8m 38s: Shotzi</li>
<li id="i2DhY9">5m 10s: Candice LeRae</li>
<li id="tMd65q">4m 50s: Indi Hartwell</li>
<li id="S1LsYA">4m 34s: Roxanne Perez</li>
<li id="aW8l1E">3m 42s: Tegan Nox</li>
<li id="8kwLhj">3m 08s: Natalya</li>
<li id="eVnz15">1m 57s: Nia Jax</li>
<li id="h2u4QT">0m 37s: B-Fab</li>
<li id="JvRgNM">0m 05s: Chelsea Green</li>
</ul>
<p id="rW18Sc">Every listed time should be viewed with a margin of error of about two seconds or so. </p>
<p id="vJQf81">All of the survival times listed on WWE’s <a href="https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/2023/womens-royal-rumble-match-results">web site</a> fall within one second of the above times.</p>
<p id="yPDVre">There was about a one second delay between the time when Morgan’s body hit the floor to signal her elimination and when the bell rang to officially end the match. I added this extra second onto Rhea Ripley’s survival time. WWE’s web site did the same thing.</p>
<p id="iD9A4J">The average survival time of 16m 08s is the third largest mark in Royal Rumble history, trailing only 1991 and 2009.</p>
<p id="KxeWAy">Nine of the 30 participants lasted for 20 minutes or longer, including all three members of Damage CTRL.</p>
<p id="y6U3T1">Coming into this match, who could have guessed that <s>Doudrop</s> Piper Niven would finish with the fourth highest survival time and close to 30 minutes?</p>
<p id="XgkYC5">Zoey Stark finishing with the 6th highest survival time is another shocker.</p>
<p id="eagyo6">One of the more disappointing things about this match is that Becky Lynch spent approximately 7m 42s of her total survival time (10m 45s) laying on the ground doing nothing after Damage CTRL threw her over the announce table.</p>
<p id="kUSHFs">Only three women failed to survive for at least two full minutes. This includes two women (Chelsea Green, Nia Jax) who were making their return to WWE after being fired in 2021.</p>
<p id="w1Xrac">Green actually found a way to get eliminated faster here than in 2020 when she only lasted 0m 12s. Her survival time of 0m 05s is the worst ever in a women’s Royal Rumble match, breaking Liv Morgan’s record of 0m 10s from 2019.</p>
<p id="9tIdLK">Dana Brooke has competed in all six women’s Royal Rumble matches since its inception in 2018. This year is the first time she survived for more than eight minutes.</p>
<p id="k6ycdH">Natalya has also competed in all six women’s Royal Rumble matches. This is just the second time that she failed to survive for at least 14 minutes.</p>
<p id="hUcNbE">Candice LeRae has now competed in three Rumble matches, but this year was her worst survival time. She has yet to survive for 10 minutes in any Royal Rumble match.</p>
<p id="1c4kH9">You can find information on the elimination order <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/28/23576057/rhea-ripley-wins-royal-rumble-2023-wwe-wrestlemania">here</a>.</p>
<p id="27SL93"><strong>Entrance Times</strong></p>
<p id="uaOQb2">Here are the entrance times for each wrestler involved. This is the amount of time that passed between an entrance buzzer going off and when the wrestler finally stepped foot into the actual ring. The first two entrants (Ripley, Morgan) are excluded because their entrances took place prior to the start of the match.</p>
<ul>
<li id="5V69m8">1m 08s: Nia Jax</li>
<li id="CXh8Tw">1m 03s: Asuka</li>
<li id="EhtsQs">0m 56s: Chelsea Green</li>
<li id="Z322ew">0m 47s: Sonya Deville</li>
<li id="OwN1r2">0m 43s: Zelina Vega</li>
<li id="tJYQX1">0m 42s: Bayley</li>
<li id="EY3Xfl">0m 40s: Piper Niven</li>
<li id="acMcBc">0m 39s: Emma, Shotzi, Dana Brooke</li>
<li id="QmScuO">0m 37s: Michin, Xia Li, Becky Lynch</li>
<li id="eWtRYI">0m 34s: Tamina</li>
<li id="JCX3Dm">0m 33s: Lacey, McCool, Natalya, B-Fab</li>
<li id="g5iEqP">0m 32s: Rodriguez, Perez, Tegan Nox</li>
<li id="M5bxFT">0m 31s: Candice LeRae</li>
<li id="0S1Mj8">0m 30s: Zoey Stark</li>
<li id="NAWWwL">0m 29s: IYO SKY</li>
<li id="7m6pdo">0m 25s: Indi Hartwell</li>
<li id="vDRpNB">0m 22s: Shayna Baszler</li>
<li id="PfhqdW">0m 18s: Dakota Kai</li>
<li id="n5BgOO">0m 16s: Nikki Cross</li>
</ul>
<p id="yOWBsE">The way I record this data is that the entrance time for a wrestler ends when her survival time begins. </p>
<p id="5rdjCF">The median entrance time for the women’s Royal Rumble match was 33.5 seconds, which is quite long but still five seconds short of <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/30/23577815/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-mens-waiting-intervals-list-90-seconds-time-period">the men</a>. This is the time between the buzzer going off and when that new wrestler officially enters the ring. That would be about 37.2% of an actual 90 second waiting period.</p>
<p id="go8xPu">Nikki Cross did her best impression of the Ultimate Warrior, running to the ring as fast as she could during her entrance.</p>
<p id="Q5fvPP">Asuka took some extra time during her entrance to show off her new murder clown look.</p>
<p id="NqqJ0a">Nia Jax and Chelsea Green were two surprise entrants who just took a very long time slowly walking to the ring during their entrance. </p>
<p id="Fl1zu2">These entrance times add up to 17m 00s, which means that a wrestler was in the midst of her entrance for approximately 27.8% of the match.</p>
<p id="x4Qpol"><strong>Follow the Buzzers</strong></p>
<p id="ZU1iZJ">WWE stated there would be 90-second waiting intervals between each entrant in the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match. How well did WWE stick to that claim? Here are the waiting times between all 28 buzzers, in chronological order:</p>
<ul>
<li id="GhbQdg">1m 31s: Buzzer 1 - Dana Brooke</li>
<li id="VnqTGR">1m 48s: Buzzer 2 - Emma</li>
<li id="uwu0Do">1m 28s: Buzzer 3 - Shayna Baszler</li>
<li id="ELGCNj">1m 30s: Buzzer 4 - Bayley</li>
<li id="KHLDxb">1m 37s: Buzzer 5 - B-Fab</li>
<li id="dqj02f">1m 38s: Buzzer 6 - Roxanne Perez</li>
<li id="IzHdxb">1m 36s: Buzzer 7 - Dakota Kai</li>
<li id="b3O7uV">1m 31s: Buzzer 8 - IYO SKY</li>
<li id="AurgsA">2m 17s: Buzzer 9 - Natalya</li>
<li id="GG3cEz">1m 42s: Buzzer 10 - Candice LeRae</li>
<li id="ur1rIG">2m 16s: Buzzer 11 - Zoey Stark</li>
<li id="eNRFLN">1m 37s: Buzzer 12 - Xia Li</li>
<li id="PIN25o">2m 07s: Buzzer 13 - Becky Lynch</li>
<li id="o5Sm0Q">1m 53s: Buzzer 14 - Tegan Nox</li>
<li id="vyxPAm">1m 38s: Buzzer 15 - Asuka</li>
<li id="BkY6Zq">2m 51s: Buzzer 16 - Piper Niven</li>
<li id="N1Y535">1m 37s: Buzzer 17 - Tamina</li>
<li id="Hic6Q1">1m 46s: Buzzer 18 - Chelsea Green</li>
<li id="mCMrNZ">2m 38s: Buzzer 19 - Zelina Vega</li>
<li id="P3HW5D">1m 55s: Buzzer 20 - Raquel Rodriguez</li>
<li id="xwrGnx">1m 39s: Buzzer 21 - Michin</li>
<li id="8uaFZK">1m 43s: Buzzer 22 - Lacey Evans</li>
<li id="pDGWwg">1m 39s: Buzzer 23 - Michelle McCool</li>
<li id="uxh18P">1m 40s: Buzzer 24 - Indi Hartwell</li>
<li id="vmaOxc">1m 26s: Buzzer 25 - Sonya Deville</li>
<li id="AIpP7k">2m 27s: Buzzer 26 - Shotzi</li>
<li id="af19HS">1m 43s: Buzzer 27 - Nikki Cross</li>
<li id="N1cNEG">1m 23s: Buzzer 28 - Nia Jax</li>
</ul>
<p id="tFE1Ev">The average waiting period was 1m 48s, while the median time was 1m 40s.</p>
<p id="wIenB3">Only five of the 28 waiting periods fell within five seconds of the 90-second goal. However, 15 of the 28 waiting periods came within 10 seconds of the 90-second goal. Three of the 28 intervals lasted less than than 90 seconds, according to these results.</p>
<p id="y3s9aT">Out of the 15 intervals that came within 10 seconds of the goal, seven of them occurred within the first eight waiting periods.</p>
<p id="lMQDbs">In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Nia Jax’s entrance) would have gone off 42m 00s after the start of the match. In reality, this buzzer never went off because Nia’s entrance music began playing early. That moment happened at 50m 36s.</p>
<p id="0S2ofm">That final waiting period leading up to Nia’s entrance was the shortest of the match, lasting 1m 23s. I decided to end the clock on it when Nia’s entrance music began to play. It’s worth noting that a countdown clock did appear on the screen a few seconds after her music began to play. If the time on that clock was followed through, the final waiting period would have lasted 1m 37s. However, that clock disappeared from the screen after it ticked down to seven seconds.</p>
<p id="ILmZ5F">Six of the waiting periods lasted longer than 2m 00s. Here is some context behind those intervals, in chronological order. You’ll see that Bayley and Damage CTRL were involved in most of these segments:</p>
<ul>
<li id="Qj0uJP">The period where IYO SKY entered the match lasted 2m 17s. Damage CTRL was in full power at this point, and the segment was all about the three members working together to eliminate Dana Brooke, Emma, and Roxanne Perez. Once Perez was tossed out, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="7yiuiu">The period where Candice LeRae entered the match lasted 2m 16s. The main story here was Natalya squaring off with Shayna Baszler. They fought each other onto the ring apron, leading to Damage CTRL eliminating both of them at the same time. Right after they were eliminated, the countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="22VT7H">The period where Xia Li entered the match lasted 2m 07s. Li had a flurry of offense on a few different women early on. The segment then focused on Damage CTRL working together to eliminate Candice LeRae, setting the stage for Becky Lynch to come out next.</li>
<li id="VsUxar">The period where Asuka entered the match lasted 2m 51s, which was the longest interval in the match. Asuka’s entrance took 63 seconds, revealing her new murder clown look. She had an extended one-on-one battle with Bayley. But the main thing they were waiting for here was the elimination of Tegan Nox. Once Asuka kicked her out of the ring, the countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="Jb7QcW">The period where Chelsea Green entered the match lasted 2m 38s. Green took 56 seconds to get to the ring, though she was immediately eliminated in record time. The rest of the segment was all about Becky and Damage CTRL. Becky eliminated IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, only to then be eliminated by Bayley. Bayley was tossed out by Liv Morgan. Lynch and Damage CTRL then brawled through the audience and we never saw them again. That’s when the countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="rKkk6f">The period where Sonya Deville entered the match lasted 2m 27s. Sonya quickly eliminated Zoey Stark upon entering the ring. Deville and Asuka went at it one-on-one, exchanging kicks that put them both on the mat. The focus then shifted to Lacey Evans using the Cobra Clutch to knock out Zelina Vega and dump her out of the ring for an elimination. The countdown clock appeared right after Vega’s body hit the ground.</li>
</ul>
<p id="vw5aqJ"><strong>Ring Crowdedness</strong></p>
<p id="wmDduD">If you add up each wrestler’s survival time, it results in a total survival time of 8h 04m 09s. Given that the match lasted a total of 61m 08s, that comes out to an average of 7.9 competitors in the ring at any given second. This is the 3rd <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/1/28/15932952/ranking-all-30-royal-rumble-matches-ring-crowdedness-data">most crowded</a> Royal Rumble ever out of all 43 matches, only surpassed by <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/22/10705748/wwe-royal-rumble-2009-match-time-statistics">2009</a> and <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/2/14133490/wwe-royal-rumble-1998-match-time-statistics">1998</a>.</p>
<p id="CwcFGR">When I talk about how many superstars were “in the ring,” I’m counting all active superstars in the match, whether they are literally inside the ring or not. It does not, however, count a wrestler’s time outside the ring prior to initially stepping foot into the ring. </p>
<p id="2y5sme">These numbers have not been adjusted to account for Becky Lynch’s 7m 42s absence during her survival time. If that time was magically erased off her ledger with no other changes made, the average number of competitors in the ring would drop from 7.9 to 7.8, and this would still rank as the 3rd most crowded Royal Rumble match ever.</p>
<p id="4e3MW7">Here is a more accurate way to understand how many women were active at any given time. This chart shows the total time that the ring was filled with an exact number of discrete superstars at once.</p>
<div id="XdYB12"><div data-anthem-component="table:11745203"></div></div>
<p id="6dfG3J">The above chart shows there were between 7 and 11 wrestlers in the ring for 71.4% of the match. The ring depth never dropped below 7 active wrestlers between the timestamps of 19m 24s and 56m 56s.</p>
<p id="KWSInQ">The longest time span with zero eliminations in the match occurred right in the beginning, between the timestamps of 0m 00s and 9m 04s. The ring filled up with its first seven entrants (Ripley, Morgan, Brooke, Emma, Baszler, Bayley, B-Fab) during this time. B-Fab’s elimination at 9m 04s ended this streak of over nine minutes with no eliminations.</p>
<p id="WVzKGc">The ring kept filling up from there, reaching a depth of 9 active wrestlers at the timestamp of 13m 08s, when IYO SKY joined the match. All three members of Damage CTRL were now in the ring and ready to eliminate people.</p>
<p id="F9B7Jq">The ring depth fluctuated between 6 to 8 wrestlers between the timestamps of 13m 53s and 25m 03s. </p>
<p id="1NAEdG">Asuka’s entry into the match at 27m 12s brought the number of wrestlers in the ring up to 10 for the first time, which is a threshold that the 2023 men’s match never reached. There were no eliminations during a 6m 26s period between the timestamps of 22m 19s and 28m 45s. The new wrestlers who entered the match during this time were Becky Lynch, Tegan Nox, and Asuka.</p>
<p id="E72Q0h">The maximum ring depth of 12 active wrestlers was reached a few minutes later when Chelsea Green joined the match at 33m 19s. Green was eliminated in just five seconds, so this maximum depth of 12 didn’t last for very long. </p>
<p id="sgZ9Wp">This is about the point in the match where Becky Lynch and all three members of Damage CTRL were quickly eliminated, dropping the ring depth back down to single digits. The number of wrestlers in the ring fluctuated between 7 and 9 from the timestamps of 33m 57s (IYO’s elimination) to 40m 51s.</p>
<p id="EFOVNM">The ring depth climbed into double digits again because there were no eliminations during a 6m 31s period between the timestamps of 36m 38s and 43m 09s. The new wrestlers who entered the match during this time were Raquel Rodriguez, Michin, Lacey Evans, and Michelle McCool.</p>
<p id="ILBnqO">The most crowded portion of the match occurred between the timestamps of 40m 51s and 56m 07s. The ring depth never dropped below 10 active wrestlers during this stretch of time. The maximum ring depth of 12 was reached twice during this range, first when Sonya Deville joined the match at 45m 50s, and again when Nia Jax joined the match as the final entrant. There was an average of 10.8 wrestlers in the ring during this time.</p>
<p id="nkKRHv"><strong>End of the Match</strong></p>
<p id="Zaw3s0">Once Nia Jax entered the ring at the timestamp 51m 44s, the match essentially turned into a 12-woman Battle Royal to the finish between Ripley, Morgan, Asuka, Niven, Rodriguez, Michin, Lacey, McCool, Deville, Shotzi, Cross, and Jax. All 12 of them can be seen in the header photo at the top of this post.</p>
<p id="PhLf4K">The elimination rate suddenly sped up. The eliminations of Deville, McCool, Shotzi, Michin, Niven, Rodriguez, and Cross all occurred between the timestamps of 56m 07s and 58m 45s, a time span of less than three full minutes.</p>
<p id="6vXVRC">This final segment of the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match lasted 9m 24s, and at that point Rhea Ripley had gone the distance and emerged as the winner.</p>
<p id="paragraph43">That's all you need to know about the timing of the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match. Which numbers do you find to be the most interesting?</p>
<p id="paragraph44">_________________________________________</p>
<p id="paragraph45">Previous Royal Rumble analyses:</p>
<p id="WUy3e4"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/21/5329040/match-times-the-1988-royal-rumble">1988</a></p>
<p id="uvn3SX"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/18/10687110/wwe-royal-rumble-1989-match-statistics-time">1989</a></p>
<p id="07CUaG"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/8/14197654/wwe-royal-rumble-1990-match-time-statistics">1990</a></p>
<p id="cYQaxR"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/16/10758450/wwe-royal-rumble-1991-match-time-statistics">1991</a></p>
<p id="N3MfTa"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/14/5308096/match-times-the-1992-royal-rumble-match">1992</a></p>
<p id="FrEaET"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/17/10744118/wwe-royal-rumble-1993-match-time-statistics">1993</a></p>
<p id="nDnmWt"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/21/14334142/wwe-royal-rumble-1994-match-time-statistics">1994</a></p>
<p id="TwfFy6"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/21/10669068/wwe-royal-rumble-1995-match-statistics-time">1995</a></p>
<p id="cq8G5Y"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/15/14277332/wwe-royal-rumble-1996-match-time-statistics">1996</a></p>
<p id="81y54o"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/23/10722368/wwe-royal-rumble-1997-match-time-statistics">1997</a></p>
<p id="ysGKDR"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/2/14133490/wwe-royal-rumble-1998-match-time-statistics">1998</a></p>
<p id="PjTyC1"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/19/5323996/match-times-the-1999-royal-rumble">1999</a></p>
<p id="9B0qIn"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/23/14347624/wwe-royal-rumble-2000-match-time-statistics">2000</a></p>
<p id="CtXItC"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/24/9859724/wwe-royal-rumble-2001-match-statistics-time">2001</a></p>
<p id="0LHtnE"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/6/14185306/wwe-royal-rumble-2002-match-time-statistics">2002</a></p>
<p id="VWgTKz"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/23/7875837/match-times-the-2003-royal-rumble">2003</a></p>
<p id="66wNWf"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/19/14290878/wwe-royal-rumble-2004-match-time-statistics">2004</a></p>
<p id="HOT9ls"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/19/10700484/wwe-royal-rumble-2005-match-statistics-time">2005</a></p>
<p id="xi2UKF"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/12/14246008/wwe-royal-rumble-2006-match-time-statistics">2006</a></p>
<p id="1gGjXm"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/26/5330144/match-times-the-2007-royal-rumble">2007</a></p>
<p id="aHsMEm"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/15/10773816/wwe-royal-rumble-2008-match-time-statistics">2008</a></p>
<p id="FusDdq"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/22/10705748/wwe-royal-rumble-2009-match-time-statistics">2009</a></p>
<p id="y7odUw"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/22/14343366/wwe-royal-rumble-2010-match-time-statistics">2010</a></p>
<p id="coJW1l"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/16/5316530/match-times-the-2011-royal-rumble">2011</a></p>
<p id="kzjgvX"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/20/10733100/wwe-royal-rumble-2012-statistics-match-times">2012</a></p>
<p id="B5KrZC"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/cageside-seats-features/2013/11/20/5080006/match-times-wwe-royal-rumble-2013-edition">2013</a></p>
<p id="XmDRmB"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/27/5350248/wwe-royal-rumble-2014-match-time-and-statistics">2014</a></p>
<p id="GMdf9h"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/28/7920097/wwe-royal-rumble-2015-match-time-and-statistics">2015</a></p>
<p id="ijYjGJ"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/26/10829656/wwe-royal-rumble-2016-match-time-and-statistics">2016</a></p>
<p id="DvO8Tz"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/30/14438748/wwe-royal-rumble-2017-match-time-statistics">2017</a></p>
<p id="Z0ayAx"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967818/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-mens-match-time-statistics">2018 Men</a></p>
<p id="tn4vjo"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967858/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-womens-match-time-statistics">2018 Women</a></p>
<p id="8GnngS"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/5/11/17346566/wwe-greatest-royal-rumble-2018-match-time-statistics">Greatest Royal Rumble</a></p>
<p id="3X8t1G"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207923/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-womens-match-time-statistics">2019 Women</a></p>
<p id="TVUaic"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207931/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-mens-match-time-statistics">2019 Men</a></p>
<p id="eIBAUu"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082163/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-womens-match-time-statistics">2020 Women</a></p>
<p id="zxE91Z"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082164/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-mens-match-time-statistics">2020 Men</a></p>
<p id="2u45se"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271295/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Women</a></p>
<p id="dNhTVk"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271314/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Men</a></p>
<p id="4cUi65"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/12/22922503/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-rousey">2022 Women</a></p>
<p id="upm2OW"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/13/22922506/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-lesnar-shane">2022 Men</a></p>
<p id="uAhIwd"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/31/23579497/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-men-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-numbers">2023 Men</a></p>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/2/1/23579515/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-women-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-numbersCain A. Knight2023-01-31T15:05:00-05:002023-01-31T15:05:00-05:00Here are the most interesting numbers from the men’s Royal Rumble
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gEi2UCgPsKTrDsxmJ3DcN5XHCIU=/187x0:1200x675/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71926480/image.0.png" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.wwe.com/" target="_blank">WWE.com</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="zZuVfK">The 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match lasted 71 minutes and 40 seconds (71m 40s).</p>
<p id="dnJxl7">This <a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24398542/Rumble23M.jpg">text graphic</a> provides timestamps for each superstar’s arrival and exit from the match, as well as showing who the longest lasting superstars were as the match progressed.</p>
<p id="v6KmtZ">For comparison’s sake, here are other versions of this graphic for Royal Rumble matches from <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330883/88Rumble.0.jpg">1988</a>, <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330889/92Rumble.0.jpg">1992</a>, <a href="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3331428/Rumble_2003.0.jpg">2003</a>, <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330899/07Rumble.0.jpg">2007</a>, <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/5871397/09Rumble.0.jpg">2009</a>, and <a href="http://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4330905/13Rumble.0.jpg">2013</a>.</p>
<p id="636Vu5"><strong>Survival Times</strong></p>
<p id="F78BzI">The survival time for a wrestler is the time that lapses between the point when he steps foot into the ring and the time that his feet hit the floor to signal elimination. This does not include the time it takes for a wrestler to make his way from the entrance ramp down to the actual ring.</p>
<p id="bcBWlb">The average superstar survival time for the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match was 13m 19s and the median survival time was 7m 29s. The median value is less influenced by outliers at either extreme.</p>
<p id="zc3tA7">Here is the full list of survival times for all 30 superstars:</p>
<ul>
<li id="XMzU7W">71m 40s: GUNTHER</li>
<li id="rL5DYW">52m 32s: Sheamus</li>
<li id="CebiqW">39m 09s: Drew McIntyre</li>
<li id="0Xo6z4">37m 17s: Seth Rollins</li>
<li id="z15L1i">29m 57s: Johnny Gargano</li>
<li id="BeMLqL">25m 45s: Dominik Mysterio</li>
<li id="YGjA8q">15m 39s: Austin Theory</li>
<li id="nwcu4r">15m 07s: Cody Rhodes</li>
<li id="nXZHVy">14m 51s: Kofi Kingston</li>
<li id="YFrZLH">11m 13s: Braun Strowman</li>
<li id="PQKs4b">10m 57s: Logan Paul</li>
<li id="EW9zwq">10m 28s: Xavier Woods</li>
<li id="Z8aRXR">9m 14s: Ricochet</li>
<li id="7dT8Q3">8m 42s: Chad Gable</li>
<li id="use1sJ">7m 45s: Finn Balor</li>
<li id="QPIBQ1">7m 13s: Bobby Lashley</li>
<li id="KlI0KU">4m 56s: Santos Escobar</li>
<li id="YuFz4B">4m 23s: The Miz</li>
<li id="9y6E3W">4m 12s: Karrion Kross</li>
<li id="F2BAGV">4m 03s: Damian Priest</li>
<li id="c5w9GO">3m 17s: Angelo Dawkins</li>
<li id="DPwX3c">3m 07s: Otis</li>
<li id="i2DhY9">2m 28s: Brock Lesnar</li>
<li id="tMd65q">2m 27s: Omos</li>
<li id="S1LsYA">1m 04s: Edge</li>
<li id="aW8l1E">0m 44s: Montez Ford</li>
<li id="8kwLhj">0m 41s: Booker T</li>
<li id="eVnz15">0m 39s: Elias</li>
<li id="h2u4QT">0m 07s: Baron Corbin</li>
<li id="JvRgNM">0m 00s: Rey Mysterio</li>
</ul>
<p id="rW18Sc">Every listed time above should be viewed with a margin of error of about two seconds or so. </p>
<p id="NoJ6Ic">These survival times all fall within one second of the numbers listed on WWE’s <a href="https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/2023/mens-royal-rumble-match-results">web site</a>, with one exception. WWE lists Angelo Dawkins as surviving for 2m 28s, whereas I have him at 3m 17s. I double checked his appearance in the match, and I am very confident that my time is accurate. It looks like a simple typo on WWE’s end; they list Dawkins and Brock Lesnar in adjacent entries and accidentally assigned Lesnar’s survival time of 2m 28s to both wrestlers.</p>
<p id="6AKU6O">I decided to count Rey Mysterio as a participant in the match with a survival time of 0m 00s, even though he never made it out to the ring. This is similar to what happened with Macho Man Randy Savage’s spot in the <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/16/10758450/wwe-royal-rumble-1991-match-time-statistics">1991 Royal Rumble</a> and with Skull in the <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/2/14133490/wwe-royal-rumble-1998-match-time-statistics">1998 Rumble</a>. If Rey is excluded, the remaining 29 wrestlers had an average survival time of 13m 47s and a median time of 7m 45s.</p>
<p id="q9R3P6">The overall match time of 71m 40s is second longest Royal Rumble match ever, only trailing the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble. That’s right, this 30-man Rumble with 90 second intervals lasted longer than the 40-man version in 2011 and all of the Rumbles with official waiting intervals of two minutes.</p>
<p id="yKAr43">GUNTHER was the Iron Man of this match with a survival time of 71m 40s. It’s the second longest survival time ever, only trailing Daniel Bryan’s performance from the Greatest Royal Rumble.</p>
<p id="5iQGtq">The top six wrestlers on the list all surpassed a survival time of 25 minutes. They are also the only wrestlers in the match who lasted more than 16 minutes. Of these six men, I’d say Johnny Gargano was the quietest, in terms of not really doing a whole lot given how long he was in there.</p>
<p id="9EYpk7">Even though Cody Rhodes was the last man to enter the match, his survival time of 15m 07s ranked eighth longest. That’s because his final one-on-one showdown with GUNTHER lasted 7m 15s.</p>
<p id="5Qdbsh">This is the second consecutive year where Brock Lesnar’s survival time was less than three minutes. That was good enough to win it all last year, but not so much this time around.</p>
<p id="qilkDm">Logan Paul’s survival time of 10m 57s includes the 3m 55s break he took outside the ring, before he ran back in to eliminate Seth Rollins.</p>
<p id="zWhMGq">Edge, Montez Ford, Booker T, and Elias all failed to survive long enough to make it to the next buzzer after theirs.</p>
<p id="OaZKrD">Even though Baron Corbin only survived for seven seconds, he actually did make it into the next waiting period. That’s because Brock Lesnar immediately laid him out with an F5 before he could enter the ring. He remained unconscious outside the ring until the next entrant (Rollins) came out and tossed him into the ring to start the clock on his survival time.</p>
<p id="1c4kH9">You can find information on the elimination order <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/28/23576053/cody-rhodes-wins-royal-rumble-2023-wwe">here</a>.</p>
<p id="27SL93"><strong>Entrance Times</strong></p>
<p id="IwR5wJ">Here are the entrance times for each superstar involved. This is the amount of time that passed between an entrance buzzer going off and when the superstar finally stepped foot into the actual ring. The first two entrants (GUNTHER, Sheamus) are excluded because their entrances took place prior to the start of the match.</p>
<ul>
<li id="F1UXQQ">3m 04s: Baron Corbin</li>
<li id="GoGm98">2m 10s: Dominik Mysterio</li>
<li id="9uzuVW">1m 35s: Austin Theory</li>
<li id="flZLgm">1m 21s: Seth Rollins</li>
<li id="ZvZnoD">1m 14s: Cody Rhodes</li>
<li id="qt4BE6">1m 07s: The Miz, Omos</li>
<li id="rgbb2j">0m 56s: Brock Lesnar</li>
<li id="j8sm01">0m 51s: Braun Strowman</li>
<li id="WsihHd">0m 49s: Karrion Kross</li>
<li id="7ZCkX1">0m 46s: Booker T</li>
<li id="Rgcl05">0m 45s: Finn Balor</li>
<li id="JtHmgX">0m 44s: Montez Ford</li>
<li id="4lt7b5">0m 39s: Edge</li>
<li id="tNymtr">0m 38s: Johnny Gargano</li>
<li id="dbH3c2">0m 36s: Otis</li>
<li id="hvFsHP">0m 35s: Elias</li>
<li id="lDoXVH">0m 34s: Logan Paul</li>
<li id="FDC6ad">0m 33s: Gable, McIntyre, Lashley</li>
<li id="YcEUXK">0m 31s: Santos Escobar</li>
<li id="hMaXSb">0m 26s: Kingston, Priest, Ricochet</li>
<li id="HyOfZt">0m 18s: Xavier Woods</li>
<li id="O5CpOB">0m 16s: Angelo Dawkins</li>
<li id="Eej8XT">0m 00s: Rey Mysterio</li>
</ul>
<p id="a438Zh">The way I record this data is that the entrance time for a wrestler ends when his survival time begins. The exception to this is Rey Mysterio, who never made it to the ring and never accrued any survival time despite being one of the 30 official competitors in the match. I recorded his entrance time as 0m 00s.</p>
<p id="hsHSI9">The median entrance time in the men’s Royal Rumble was 38.5 seconds.</p>
<p id="ujUZUI">Baron Corbin actually made it close to the ring by about 28 seconds after his entrance began, but that’s when he was attacked by Brock Lesnar before he could enter the match. Corbin remained unconscious on the outside until Seth Rollins rolled him into the ring, ending his entrance time at 3m 04s.</p>
<p id="gOQbAH">It took Dominik about 1m 15s just to make his way to ringside. He then cowardly walked around the ring for a while before entering, bringing his entrance time up to 2m 10s. Nobody else came out during this time despite more than 90 seconds lapsing.</p>
<p id="Fj87d9">Austin Theory’s long entrance time of 1m 35s coincided with the part where Edge was already eliminated and brawled up the walkway with the rest of The Judgment Day, culminating with Beth Phoenix spearing Rhea Ripley. Theory waited out that entire scene before entering the ring. </p>
<p id="JhpVu8">Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes also had entrance times north of 70 seconds. They just took a very long time to walk to the ring. </p>
<p id="kodjJ9">The non-overlapping parts of these entrance times add up to 18m 53s, which means that a wrestler was in the midst of his entrance for approximately 26.3% of the match.</p>
<p id="x4Qpol"><strong>Follow the Buzzers</strong></p>
<p id="ZU1iZJ">WWE stated that there would be 90-second waiting intervals between each entrant in the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match. How well did WWE stick to that claim? Here are the waiting times between all 28 buzzers, in chronological order:</p>
<ul>
<li id="GhbQdg">1m 28s: Buzzer 1 - The Miz</li>
<li id="VnqTGR">1m 46s: Buzzer 2 - Kofi Kingston</li>
<li id="uwu0Do">1m 40s: Buzzer 3 - Johnny Gargano</li>
<li id="ELGCNj">2m 18s: Buzzer 4 - Xavier Woods</li>
<li id="KHLDxb">1m 49s: Buzzer 5 - Karrion Kross</li>
<li id="dqj02f">2m 12s: Buzzer 6 - Chad Gable</li>
<li id="IzHdxb">1m 39s: Buzzer 7 - Drew McIntyre</li>
<li id="b3O7uV">1m 55s: Buzzer 8 - Santos Escobar</li>
<li id="AurgsA">1m 59s: Buzzer 9 - Angelo Dawkins</li>
<li id="GG3cEz">2m 04s: Buzzer 10 - Brock Lesnar</li>
<li id="ur1rIG">2m 15s: Buzzer 11 - Bobby Lashley</li>
<li id="eNRFLN">1m 48s: Buzzer 12 - Baron Corbin</li>
<li id="PIN25o">1m 44s: Buzzer 13 - Seth Rollins</li>
<li id="o5Sm0Q">1m 48s: Buzzer 14 - Otis</li>
<li id="vyxPAm">1m 33s: Buzzer 15 - Rey Mysterio</li>
<li id="BkY6Zq">1m 40s: Buzzer 16 - Dominik Mysterio</li>
<li id="N1Y535">2m 24s: Buzzer 17 - Elias</li>
<li id="Hic6Q1">1m 39s: Buzzer 18 - Finn Balor</li>
<li id="mCMrNZ">2m 11s: Buzzer 19 - Booker T</li>
<li id="P3HW5D">1m 46s: Buzzer 20 - Damian Priest</li>
<li id="xwrGnx">1m 37s: Buzzer 21 - Montez Ford</li>
<li id="8uaFZK">1m 50s: Buzzer 22 - Edge</li>
<li id="pDGWwg">2m 19s: Buzzer 23 - Austin Theory</li>
<li id="uxh18P">2m 00s: Buzzer 24 - Omos</li>
<li id="vmaOxc">1m 57s: Buzzer 25 - Braun Strowman</li>
<li id="AIpP7k">2m 45s: Buzzer 26 - Ricochet</li>
<li id="af19HS">2m 48s: Buzzer 27 - Logan Paul</li>
<li id="N1cNEG">2m 25s: Buzzer 28 - Cody Rhodes</li>
</ul>
<p id="tFE1Ev">The average waiting period was 1m 59s, and the median time was 1m 53s.</p>
<p id="wIenB3">Only two of the 28 waiting periods fell within five seconds of the 90-second goal. 7 of the 28 waiting periods came within 10 seconds of the 90-second goal. One of the intervals lasted less than than 90 seconds, according to these results.</p>
<p id="3DctkO">In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Cody’s entrance) would have gone off 42m 00s after the start of the match. In reality, this buzzer went off at 55m 19s.</p>
<p id="Qj0uJP">10 of the 28 waiting periods lasted longer than 2m 00s, with six of these lengthy intervals occurring in the latter half of the match. Here is context behind some of those times, in chronological order:</p>
<ul>
<li id="PSIrF1">The period where Johnny Gargano entered the match lasted 2m 18s. The purpose of this period was to eliminate The Miz from this match. As part of that process, Banger Bro Sheamus pounded Miz’s chest 20 times with the fans counting along. Once Miz was gone, the clock for the 10 second countdown appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="RgIjbX">The period where Karrion Kross entered the match lasted 2m 12s. Nothing of note really happened here. It took Kross 49 seconds to get into the ring, which was longer than most. Then he just exchanged some blows with Xavier Woods, GUNTHER, and Sheamus.</li>
<li id="p6iYVR">The period where Angelo Dawkins entered the match lasted 2m 04s. This is where Kofi Kingston’s <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/28/23576148/kofi-kingston-royal-rumble-save-fail-second-year-video-reaction">failed save</a> spot took place. Once the spot was botched and he was eliminated, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="dqTO8Z">The very next period lasted 2m 15s, and this is when Brock Lesnar joined the match. His entrance took 56 seconds, and then he needed some time to eliminate three guys and have a confrontation with GUNTHER.</li>
<li id="3X0Lbi">The period where Dominik Mysterio entered the match lasted 2m 24s. He took his time during his entrance to show off his father’s stolen mask. Dom was then was afraid to get in the ring due to Sheamus waiting on him. By the time Dom got in the ring, the interval was already 2m 10s in length. Very soon after he stepped into the ring, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="L9gpIA">The period where Finn Balor entered the match lasted 2m 11s. It seemed like the goal for this period was to eliminate Gargano from the match. After a back-and-forth sequence between Gargano, Balor, and Dominik, Johnny was eliminated. Balor and Dominik then had a confrontation with the Banger Bros when the countdown clock appeared.</li>
<li id="OTqaMi">The period where Edge entered the match lasted 2m 19s. This was a busy segment where Edge tossed out Balor and Damian Priest. The Judgment Day members then teamed up to get Edge out of the match.</li>
<li id="B0JStD">The period where Braun Strowman entered the match lasted 2m 45s. This is where Braun had a monster fight with Omos, but the period still went on for a bit after Omos was eliminated.</li>
<li id="v4h9iz">The very next period lasted 2m 48s, the longest of the night, and this is when Ricochet joined the match. The big thing they were waiting for here was the double elimination of the Banger Bros, which took quite a while to play out. Once GUNTHER got rid of them, the countdown clock appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="k5KHb3">The final waiting period of the match was next, and it lasted 2m 25s. Logan Paul entered the match during this time. This is not where he had the memorable mid-air collision with Ricochet. I can’t really find an obvious reason for why this period went so long other than they just wanted Paul to have some time to show off once he entered the match.</li>
</ul>
<p id="tD8Pcn">If WWE strictly adhered to legitimate 90 second waiting intervals, the median entrance time of 38.5 seconds would take up 42.8% of the entire waiting interval, leaving just 51.5 seconds until the next buzzer. That’s just not enough time left to fit everything planned in between buzzers, and it leads to extended waiting periods. The very long walkway to the ring was a factor in why WWE had trouble sticking more closely to the rules, and why 90 seconds was actually more like two minutes in WWE’s Royal Rumble math this year.</p>
<p id="DIrgfE">The reason why this ended up being the longest 30-man Rumble ever is because the timing resembled a Rumble match with 2 minute intervals rather than 90 second intervals, and the final 7m 15s fight between Cody and GUNTHER at the end was enough to put it over the top.</p>
<p id="vw5aqJ"><strong>Ring Crowdedness</strong></p>
<p id="NEPGjU">If you add up each wrestler’s survival time, it results in a total survival time of 6h 39m 37s. Given that the match lasted a total of 71m 40s, that comes out to an average of 5.6 competitors in the ring at any given second. This is the 24th or 25th most <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/1/28/15932952/ranking-all-30-royal-rumble-matches-ring-crowdedness-data">crowded</a> Royal Rumble match ever out of all 43 matches, depending on whether or not you adjust the count for the most egregious examples of superstars who were still active but took significantly long absences from the ring, like with Vince McMahon in 1999.</p>
<p id="AKCPvQ">The average was actually 6.0 at the point when Cody and GUNTHER began their final one-on-one fight at the very end of the bout. Their lengthy battle brought the average down to the aforementioned value of 5.6. </p>
<p id="PCsfcT">When I talk about how many superstars were “in the ring,” I’m counting all active superstars in the match, whether they are literally inside the ring or not. It does not, however, count a wrestler’s time outside the ring prior to initially stepping foot into the ring.</p>
<p id="x4c4x7">Here is a more accurate way to understand how many men were active at any given time. This chart shows the total time that the ring was filled with an exact number of discrete superstars at once.</p>
<div id="IILNYO"><div data-anthem-component="table:11745153"></div></div>
<p id="4QuUsF">The table shows there were five to seven active wrestlers for a total time of 45m 23, which is 63.3% of the match. There were always at least five active wrestlers between the timestamps of 7m 30s and 60m 38s.</p>
<p id="zTzvW3">There were four separate instances of at least five minutes lapsing with zero eliminations. The first two instances occurred in the very beginning of the match. There were zero eliminations from 0m 00s to 6m 58s, as the ring filled up with 5 wrestlers. Miz was tossed out at that point. The next elimination didn’t occur until 7 minutes and 4 seconds later, at the timestamp of 14m 02s, when the ring was filled with 8 men. That’s when Karrion Kross was eliminated. </p>
<p id="I2EubX">A few minutes later, the ring reached its maximum depth of 9 active wrestlers between the timestamps of 17m 02s and 17m 58s. The nine active wrestlers during that time were GUNTHER, Sheamus, Kingston, Gargano, Woods, Gable, McIntyre, Escobar, and Dawkins.</p>
<p id="mCEGcx">Brock Lesnar entered the match at 19m 46s and quickly eliminated three guys, dropping the number of active wrestlers down to 5 by the timestamp of 20m 28s.</p>
<p id="8OBosF">The ring depth fluctuated between 6 and 7 wrestlers for almost the entirety of the period between the timestamps of 25m 57s (when Corbin’s lifeless body was rolled into the ring) and 39m 59s (when Montez Ford joined the match to bring the depth up to 8). The only time the ring depth dropped below 6 during this span was when the Banger Bros eliminated Otis during Dominik’s entrance. </p>
<p id="I5GLNF">The ring depth dropped down to 5 again by the timestamp of 42m 48s. This happened after the rapid fire eliminations of Priest, Balor, and Edge.</p>
<p id="CcIHB4">This kicked off a stretch of 6 minutes and 10 seconds with zero eliminations, between the timestamps of 42m 48s and 48m 58s. Theory, Omos, and Strowman joined the match during this time.</p>
<p id="I7VzGf">The double elimination of the Banger Bros brought the ring depth down to 6 wrestlers by the timestamp of 52m 34s.</p>
<p id="nkKRHv"><strong>End of the Match</strong></p>
<p id="IbpoYQ">Once Cody Rhodes entered the ring at the timestamp 56m 33s, the match essentially turned into an 8-man Battle Royal between Gunther, Rollins, Dominik, Theory, Strowman, Ricochet, Logan Paul, and Rhodes.</p>
<p id="auybgc">This final segment of the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match lasted 15m 07s. The first 7m 52s of this period was needed to whittle the field down to just Cody and GUNTHER. Cody and GUNTHER then went at it for 7m 15s, and that’s when Rhodes emerged as the winner. The fight between Cody and GUNTHER was the longest stretch of time between successive eliminations in the match.</p>
<p id="paragraph43">That’s all you need to know about the timing of the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match. Which numbers do you find to be the most interesting?</p>
<p id="paragraph44">_________________________________________</p>
<p id="paragraph45">Previous Royal Rumble analyses:</p>
<p id="WUy3e4"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/21/5329040/match-times-the-1988-royal-rumble">1988</a></p>
<p id="uvn3SX"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/18/10687110/wwe-royal-rumble-1989-match-statistics-time">1989</a></p>
<p id="07CUaG"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/8/14197654/wwe-royal-rumble-1990-match-time-statistics">1990</a></p>
<p id="cYQaxR"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/16/10758450/wwe-royal-rumble-1991-match-time-statistics">1991</a></p>
<p id="N3MfTa"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/14/5308096/match-times-the-1992-royal-rumble-match">1992</a></p>
<p id="FrEaET"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/17/10744118/wwe-royal-rumble-1993-match-time-statistics">1993</a></p>
<p id="nDnmWt"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/21/14334142/wwe-royal-rumble-1994-match-time-statistics">1994</a></p>
<p id="TwfFy6"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/21/10669068/wwe-royal-rumble-1995-match-statistics-time">1995</a></p>
<p id="cq8G5Y"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/15/14277332/wwe-royal-rumble-1996-match-time-statistics">1996</a></p>
<p id="81y54o"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/23/10722368/wwe-royal-rumble-1997-match-time-statistics">1997</a></p>
<p id="ysGKDR"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/2/14133490/wwe-royal-rumble-1998-match-time-statistics">1998</a></p>
<p id="PjTyC1"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/19/5323996/match-times-the-1999-royal-rumble">1999</a></p>
<p id="9B0qIn"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/23/14347624/wwe-royal-rumble-2000-match-time-statistics">2000</a></p>
<p id="CtXItC"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/24/9859724/wwe-royal-rumble-2001-match-statistics-time">2001</a></p>
<p id="0LHtnE"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/6/14185306/wwe-royal-rumble-2002-match-time-statistics">2002</a></p>
<p id="VWgTKz"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/23/7875837/match-times-the-2003-royal-rumble">2003</a></p>
<p id="66wNWf"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/19/14290878/wwe-royal-rumble-2004-match-time-statistics">2004</a></p>
<p id="HOT9ls"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/19/10700484/wwe-royal-rumble-2005-match-statistics-time">2005</a></p>
<p id="xi2UKF"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/12/14246008/wwe-royal-rumble-2006-match-time-statistics">2006</a></p>
<p id="1gGjXm"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/26/5330144/match-times-the-2007-royal-rumble">2007</a></p>
<p id="aHsMEm"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/15/10773816/wwe-royal-rumble-2008-match-time-statistics">2008</a></p>
<p id="FusDdq"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/22/10705748/wwe-royal-rumble-2009-match-time-statistics">2009</a></p>
<p id="y7odUw"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/22/14343366/wwe-royal-rumble-2010-match-time-statistics">2010</a></p>
<p id="coJW1l"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/16/5316530/match-times-the-2011-royal-rumble">2011</a></p>
<p id="kzjgvX"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/20/10733100/wwe-royal-rumble-2012-statistics-match-times">2012</a></p>
<p id="B5KrZC"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/cageside-seats-features/2013/11/20/5080006/match-times-wwe-royal-rumble-2013-edition">2013</a></p>
<p id="XmDRmB"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/27/5350248/wwe-royal-rumble-2014-match-time-and-statistics">2014</a></p>
<p id="GMdf9h"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/28/7920097/wwe-royal-rumble-2015-match-time-and-statistics">2015</a></p>
<p id="ijYjGJ"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/26/10829656/wwe-royal-rumble-2016-match-time-and-statistics">2016</a></p>
<p id="DvO8Tz"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/30/14438748/wwe-royal-rumble-2017-match-time-statistics">2017</a></p>
<p id="Z0ayAx"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967818/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-mens-match-time-statistics">2018 Men</a></p>
<p id="tn4vjo"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967858/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-womens-match-time-statistics">2018 Women</a></p>
<p id="8GnngS"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/5/11/17346566/wwe-greatest-royal-rumble-2018-match-time-statistics">Greatest Royal Rumble</a></p>
<p id="3X8t1G"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207923/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-womens-match-time-statistics">2019 Women</a></p>
<p id="TVUaic"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207931/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-mens-match-time-statistics">2019 Men</a></p>
<p id="CK0ozW"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082163/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-womens-match-time-statistics">2020 Women</a></p>
<p id="QJyDZP"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082164/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-mens-match-time-statistics">2020 Men</a></p>
<p id="2u45se"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271295/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Women</a></p>
<p id="kqenoA"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271314/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Men</a></p>
<p id="4cUi65"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/12/22922503/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-rousey">2022 Women</a></p>
<p id="upm2OW"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/13/22922506/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-lesnar-shane">2022 Men</a></p>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/31/23579497/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-men-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-numbersCain A. Knight2023-01-30T19:30:00-05:002023-01-30T19:30:00-05:00The 90-second Royal Rumble rule never stood a chance thanks to Bayley
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sAwTp_cktywYHabPAw90xuzc4dA=/28x0:885x571/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71923602/bayley.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.wwe.com/" target="_blank">WWE.com</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="ZU1iZJ">WWE stated there would be 90-second waiting intervals between each entrant in the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match. How well did WWE stick to that claim? Here are the waiting times between all 28 buzzers, in chronological order:</p>
<ul>
<li id="GhbQdg">1m 31s: Buzzer 1 - Dana Brooke</li>
<li id="VnqTGR">1m 48s: Buzzer 2 - Emma</li>
<li id="uwu0Do">1m 28s: Buzzer 3 - Shayna Baszler</li>
<li id="ELGCNj">1m 30s: Buzzer 4 - Bayley</li>
<li id="KHLDxb">1m 37s: Buzzer 5 - B-Fab</li>
<li id="dqj02f">1m 38s: Buzzer 6 - Roxanne Perez</li>
<li id="IzHdxb">1m 36s: Buzzer 7 - Dakota Kai</li>
<li id="b3O7uV">1m 31s: Buzzer 8 - IYO SKY</li>
<li id="AurgsA">2m 17s: Buzzer 9 - Natalya</li>
<li id="GG3cEz">1m 42s: Buzzer 10 - Candice LeRae</li>
<li id="ur1rIG">2m 16s: Buzzer 11 - Zoey Stark</li>
<li id="eNRFLN">1m 37s: Buzzer 12 - Xia Li</li>
<li id="PIN25o">2m 07s: Buzzer 13 - Becky Lynch</li>
<li id="o5Sm0Q">1m 53s: Buzzer 14 - Tegan Nox</li>
<li id="vyxPAm">1m 38s: Buzzer 15 - Asuka</li>
<li id="BkY6Zq">2m 51s: Buzzer 16 - Piper Niven</li>
<li id="N1Y535">1m 37s: Buzzer 17 - Tamina</li>
<li id="Hic6Q1">1m 46s: Buzzer 18 - Chelsea Green</li>
<li id="mCMrNZ">2m 38s: Buzzer 19 - Zelina Vega</li>
<li id="P3HW5D">1m 55s: Buzzer 20 - Raquel Rodriguez</li>
<li id="xwrGnx">1m 39s: Buzzer 21 - Michin</li>
<li id="8uaFZK">1m 43s: Buzzer 22 - Lacey Evans</li>
<li id="pDGWwg">1m 39s: Buzzer 23 - Michelle McCool</li>
<li id="uxh18P">1m 40s: Buzzer 24 - Indi Hartwell</li>
<li id="vmaOxc">1m 26s: Buzzer 25 - Sonya Deville</li>
<li id="AIpP7k">2m 27s: Buzzer 26 - Shotzi</li>
<li id="af19HS">1m 43s: Buzzer 27 - Nikki Cross</li>
<li id="N1cNEG">1m 23s: Buzzer 28 - Nia Jax</li>
</ul>
<p id="tFE1Ev">The average waiting period was 1m 48s, while the median time was 1m 40s.</p>
<p id="wIenB3">Only five of the 28 waiting periods fell within five seconds of the 90-second goal. However, 15 of the 28 waiting periods came within 10 seconds of the 90-second goal. Three of the 28 intervals lasted less than than 90 seconds, according to these results.</p>
<p id="y3s9aT">Out of the 15 intervals that came within 10 seconds of the goal, seven of them occurred within the first eight waiting periods.</p>
<p id="lMQDbs">In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Nia Jax’s entrance) would have gone off 42m 00s after the start of the match. In reality, this buzzer never went off because Nia’s entrance music began playing early. That moment happened at 50m 36s.</p>
<p id="0S2ofm">That final waiting period leading up to Nia’s entrance was the shortest of the match, lasting 1m 23s. I decided to end the clock on it when Nia’s entrance music began to play. It’s worth noting that a countdown clock did appear on the screen a few seconds after her music began to play. If the time on that clock was followed through, the final waiting period would have lasted 1m 37s. However, that clock disappeared from the screen after it ticked down to seven seconds.</p>
<p id="ILmZ5F">Six of the waiting periods lasted longer than 2m 00s. Here is some context behind those intervals, in chronological order. You’ll see that Bayley and Damage CTRL were involved in most of these segments:</p>
<ul>
<li id="Qj0uJP">The period where IYO SKY entered the match lasted 2m 17s. Damage CTRL was in full power at this point, and the segment was all about the three members working together to eliminate Dana Brooke, Emma, and Roxanne Perez. Once Perez was tossed out, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="7yiuiu">The period where Candice LeRae entered the match lasted 2m 16s. The main story here was Natalya squaring off with Shayna Baszler. They fought each other onto the ring apron, leading to Damage CTRL eliminating both of them at the same time. Right after they were eliminated, the countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="22VT7H">The period where Xia Li entered the match lasted 2m 07s. Li had a flurry of offense on a few different women early on. The segment then focused on Damage CTRL working together to eliminate Candice LeRae, setting the stage for Becky Lynch to come out next.</li>
<li id="VsUxar">The period where Asuka entered the match lasted 2m 51s, which was the longest interval in the match. Asuka’s entrance took 63 seconds, revealing her new murder clown look. She had an extended one-on-one battle with Bayley. But the main thing they were waiting for here was the elimination of Tegan Nox. Once Asuka kicked her out of the ring, the countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="Jb7QcW">The period where Chelsea Green entered the match lasted 2m 38s. Green took 56 seconds to get to the ring, though she was immediately eliminated in record time. The rest of the segment was all about Becky and Damage CTRL. Becky eliminated IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, only to then be eliminated by Bayley. Bayley was tossed out by Liv Morgan. Lynch and Damage CTRL then brawled through the audience and we never saw them again. That’s when the countdown clock appeared on the screen.</li>
<li id="rKkk6f">The period where Sonya Deville entered the match lasted 2m 27s. Sonya quickly eliminated Zoey Stark upon entering the ring. Deville and Asuka went at it one-on-one, exchanging kicks that put them both on the mat. The focus then shifted to Lacey Evans using the Cobra Clutch to knock out Zelina Vega and dump her out of the ring for an elimination. The countdown clock appeared right after Vega’s body hit the ground.</li>
</ul>
<p id="PSIrF1">The median entrance time for the women’s Royal Rumble match was 33.5 seconds, which is quite long but still five seconds short of <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/30/23577815/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-mens-waiting-intervals-list-90-seconds-time-period">the men</a>. This is the time between the buzzer going off and when that new wrestler officially enters the ring. That would be about 37.2% of an actual 90 second waiting period.</p>
<p id="qYJXqU">So there you have it, Cagesiders. Which of the above numbers surprise you the most?</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="wSb6qH">
<p id="paragraph45">Previous Royal Rumble analyses:</p>
<p id="WUy3e4"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/21/5329040/match-times-the-1988-royal-rumble">1988</a></p>
<p id="uvn3SX"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/18/10687110/wwe-royal-rumble-1989-match-statistics-time">1989</a></p>
<p id="07CUaG"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/8/14197654/wwe-royal-rumble-1990-match-time-statistics">1990</a></p>
<p id="cYQaxR"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/16/10758450/wwe-royal-rumble-1991-match-time-statistics">1991</a></p>
<p id="N3MfTa"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/14/5308096/match-times-the-1992-royal-rumble-match">1992</a></p>
<p id="FrEaET"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/17/10744118/wwe-royal-rumble-1993-match-time-statistics">1993</a></p>
<p id="nDnmWt"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/21/14334142/wwe-royal-rumble-1994-match-time-statistics">1994</a></p>
<p id="TwfFy6"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/21/10669068/wwe-royal-rumble-1995-match-statistics-time">1995</a></p>
<p id="cq8G5Y"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/15/14277332/wwe-royal-rumble-1996-match-time-statistics">1996</a></p>
<p id="81y54o"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/23/10722368/wwe-royal-rumble-1997-match-time-statistics">1997</a></p>
<p id="ysGKDR"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/2/14133490/wwe-royal-rumble-1998-match-time-statistics">1998</a></p>
<p id="PjTyC1"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/19/5323996/match-times-the-1999-royal-rumble">1999</a></p>
<p id="9B0qIn"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/23/14347624/wwe-royal-rumble-2000-match-time-statistics">2000</a></p>
<p id="CtXItC"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/24/9859724/wwe-royal-rumble-2001-match-statistics-time">2001</a></p>
<p id="0LHtnE"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/6/14185306/wwe-royal-rumble-2002-match-time-statistics">2002</a></p>
<p id="VWgTKz"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/23/7875837/match-times-the-2003-royal-rumble">2003</a></p>
<p id="66wNWf"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/19/14290878/wwe-royal-rumble-2004-match-time-statistics">2004</a></p>
<p id="HOT9ls"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/19/10700484/wwe-royal-rumble-2005-match-statistics-time">2005</a></p>
<p id="xi2UKF"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/12/14246008/wwe-royal-rumble-2006-match-time-statistics">2006</a></p>
<p id="1gGjXm"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/26/5330144/match-times-the-2007-royal-rumble">2007</a></p>
<p id="aHsMEm"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/15/10773816/wwe-royal-rumble-2008-match-time-statistics">2008</a></p>
<p id="FusDdq"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/22/10705748/wwe-royal-rumble-2009-match-time-statistics">2009</a></p>
<p id="y7odUw"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/22/14343366/wwe-royal-rumble-2010-match-time-statistics">2010</a></p>
<p id="coJW1l"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/16/5316530/match-times-the-2011-royal-rumble">2011</a></p>
<p id="kzjgvX"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/20/10733100/wwe-royal-rumble-2012-statistics-match-times">2012</a></p>
<p id="B5KrZC"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/cageside-seats-features/2013/11/20/5080006/match-times-wwe-royal-rumble-2013-edition">2013</a></p>
<p id="XmDRmB"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/27/5350248/wwe-royal-rumble-2014-match-time-and-statistics">2014</a></p>
<p id="GMdf9h"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/28/7920097/wwe-royal-rumble-2015-match-time-and-statistics">2015</a></p>
<p id="ijYjGJ"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/26/10829656/wwe-royal-rumble-2016-match-time-and-statistics">2016</a></p>
<p id="DvO8Tz"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/30/14438748/wwe-royal-rumble-2017-match-time-statistics">2017</a></p>
<p id="Z0ayAx"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967818/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-mens-match-time-statistics">2018 Men</a></p>
<p id="tn4vjo"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967858/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-womens-match-time-statistics">2018 Women</a></p>
<p id="8GnngS"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/5/11/17346566/wwe-greatest-royal-rumble-2018-match-time-statistics">Greatest Royal Rumble</a></p>
<p id="3X8t1G"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207923/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-womens-match-time-statistics">2019 Women</a></p>
<p id="TVUaic"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207931/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-mens-match-time-statistics">2019 Men</a></p>
<p id="CK0ozW"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082163/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-womens-match-time-statistics">2020 Women</a></p>
<p id="QJyDZP"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082164/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-mens-match-time-statistics">2020 Men</a></p>
<p id="2u45se"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271295/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Women</a></p>
<p id="dNhTVk"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271314/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Men</a></p>
<p id="SXimhM"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/12/22922503/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-rousey">2022 Women</a></p>
<p id="Ku2nXW"><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/13/22922506/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-lesnar-shane">2022 Men</a></p>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/30/23577814/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-womens-waiting-intervals-list-90-seconds-time-periodCain A. Knight2023-01-30T16:30:00-05:002023-01-30T16:30:00-05:00Cageside Community Star Ratings: Belair vs. Bliss
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/J70ArNhwlNw0kpKn6M8Y8vNsNZw=/0x20:1189x813/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71922950/rumble_belairbliss.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.wwe.com/" target="_blank">WWE.com</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="UsqNNY">Welcome to Cageside Community Star Ratings for <em>Royal Rumble 2023</em>!</p>
<p id="oZ9ohs">For some wrestling fans, star ratings are a way of life. It’s one thing to say that a match is good or bad, but can you actually put a number on it?</p>
<p id="7xub29">The star rating system is a scale ranging from 0 to 5 with increments of 0.25. A 5-star match is as close to perfect as it gets while a 0-star match is a complete dud.</p>
<p id="SWM4Od">Determining the star rating for a given match is a highly subjective process. In general the goal is to wrap up all the important elements of a match into one simple number. Some factors to consider may include the story and booking of the match, the workrate of the performers, ring psychology, length of the match, audience reaction, and so forth.</p>
<p id="7gXPFH">There is no such thing as a wrong answer, because every wrestling fan consumes this art form in a different way.</p>
<p id="Hd1AsX">The purpose of Cageside Community Star Ratings is for the readers to assign star ratings to every single match on a given WWE pay-per-view event. These results will be tabulated and summarized after every match on the pay-per-view has been voted on by the community.</p>
<p id="ISCzjy">The next match up for debate from <em>Royal Rumble</em> is Bianca Belair vs. Alexa Bliss. </p>
<p id="2dX6gX">Please select a star rating in the poll below and discuss your thoughts on this match in the comments section.</p>
<div id="OQfkxP"><div data-anthem-component="poll:11741427"></div></div>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/30/23576018/community-star-ratings-wwe-royal-rumble-2023-bianca-belair-alexa-blissCain A. Knight2023-01-30T14:35:00-05:002023-01-30T14:35:00-05:00WWE’s bad math broke the Royal Rumble rules again
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/urXVTk8lzsgx7k1vJr01GEqjYn4=/94x0:1107x675/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71922508/image.0.png" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.wwe.com/" target="_blank">WWE.com</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="ZU1iZJ">WWE stated that there would be 90-second waiting intervals between each entrant in the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match. How well did WWE stick to that claim? Here are the waiting times between all 28 buzzers, in chronological order:</p>
<ul>
<li id="GhbQdg">1m 28s: Buzzer 1 - The Miz</li>
<li id="VnqTGR">1m 46s: Buzzer 2 - Kofi Kingston</li>
<li id="uwu0Do">1m 40s: Buzzer 3 - Johnny Gargano</li>
<li id="ELGCNj">2m 18s: Buzzer 4 - Xavier Woods</li>
<li id="KHLDxb">1m 49s: Buzzer 5 - Karrion Kross</li>
<li id="dqj02f">2m 12s: Buzzer 6 - Chad Gable</li>
<li id="IzHdxb">1m 39s: Buzzer 7 - Drew McIntyre</li>
<li id="b3O7uV">1m 55s: Buzzer 8 - Santos Escobar</li>
<li id="AurgsA">1m 59s: Buzzer 9 - Angelo Dawkins</li>
<li id="GG3cEz">2m 04s: Buzzer 10 - Brock Lesnar</li>
<li id="ur1rIG">2m 15s: Buzzer 11 - Bobby Lashley</li>
<li id="eNRFLN">1m 48s: Buzzer 12 - Baron Corbin</li>
<li id="PIN25o">1m 44s: Buzzer 13 - Seth Rollins</li>
<li id="o5Sm0Q">1m 48s: Buzzer 14 - Otis</li>
<li id="vyxPAm">1m 33s: Buzzer 15 - Rey Mysterio</li>
<li id="BkY6Zq">1m 40s: Buzzer 16 - Dominik Mysterio</li>
<li id="N1Y535">2m 24s: Buzzer 17 - Elias</li>
<li id="Hic6Q1">1m 39s: Buzzer 18 - Finn Balor</li>
<li id="mCMrNZ">2m 11s: Buzzer 19 - Booker T</li>
<li id="P3HW5D">1m 46s: Buzzer 20 - Damian Priest</li>
<li id="xwrGnx">1m 37s: Buzzer 21 - Montez Ford</li>
<li id="8uaFZK">1m 50s: Buzzer 22 - Edge</li>
<li id="pDGWwg">2m 19s: Buzzer 23 - Austin Theory</li>
<li id="uxh18P">2m 00s: Buzzer 24 - Omos</li>
<li id="vmaOxc">1m 57s: Buzzer 25 - Braun Strowman</li>
<li id="AIpP7k">2m 45s: Buzzer 26 - Ricochet</li>
<li id="af19HS">2m 48s: Buzzer 27 - Logan Paul</li>
<li id="N1cNEG">2m 25s: Buzzer 28 - Cody Rhodes</li>
</ul>
<p id="tFE1Ev">The average waiting period was 1m 59s, and the median time was 1m 53s.</p>
<p id="wIenB3">Only two of the 28 waiting periods fell within five seconds of the 90-second goal. 7 of the 28 waiting periods came within 10 seconds of the 90-second goal. One of the intervals lasted less than than 90 seconds, according to these results.</p>
<p id="3DctkO">In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Cody’s entrance) would have gone off 42m 00s after the start of the match. In reality, this buzzer went off at 55m 19s.</p>
<p id="Qj0uJP">10 of the 28 waiting periods lasted longer than 2m 00s, with six of these lengthy intervals occurring in the latter half of the match. Here is context behind some of those times, in chronological order:</p>
<ul>
<li id="PSIrF1">The period where Johnny Gargano entered the match lasted 2m 18s. The purpose of this period was to eliminate The Miz from this match. As part of that process, Banger Bro Sheamus pounded Miz’s chest 20 times with the fans counting along. Once Miz was gone, the clock for the 10 second countdown appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="RgIjbX">The period where Karrion Kross entered the match lasted 2m 12s. Nothing of note really happened here. It took Kross 49 seconds to get into the ring, which was longer than most. Then he just exchanged some blows with Xavier Woods, GUNTHER, and Sheamus.</li>
<li id="p6iYVR">The period where Angelo Dawkins entered the match lasted 2m 04s. This is where Kofi Kingston’s <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/28/23576148/kofi-kingston-royal-rumble-save-fail-second-year-video-reaction">failed save</a> spot took place. Once the spot was botched and he was eliminated, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="dqTO8Z">The very next period lasted 2m 15s, and this is when Brock Lesnar joined the match. His entrance took 56 seconds, and then he needed some time to eliminate three guys and have a confrontation with GUNTHER.</li>
<li id="3X0Lbi">The period where Dominik Mysterio entered the match lasted 2m 24s. He took his time during his entrance to show off his father’s stolen mask. Dom was then was afraid to get in the ring due to Sheamus waiting on him. By the time Dom got in the ring, the interval was already 2m 10s in length. Very soon after he stepped into the ring, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="L9gpIA">The period where Finn Balor entered the match lasted 2m 11s. It seemed like the goal for this period was to eliminate Gargano from the match. After a back-and-forth sequence between Gargano, Balor, and Dominik, Johnny was eliminated. Balor and Dominik then had a confrontation with the Banger Bros when the countdown clock appeared.</li>
<li id="OTqaMi">The period where Edge entered the match lasted 2m 19s. This was a busy segment where Edge tossed out Balor and Damian Priest. The Judgment Day members then teamed up to get Edge out of the match.</li>
<li id="B0JStD">The period where Braun Strowman entered the match lasted 2m 45s. This is where Braun had a monster fight with Omos, but the period still went on for a bit after Omos was eliminated.</li>
<li id="v4h9iz">The very next period lasted 2m 48s, the longest of the night, and this is when Ricochet joined the match. The big thing they were waiting for here was the double elimination of the Banger Bros, which took quite a while to play out. Once GUNTHER got rid of them, the countdown clock appeared on screen.</li>
<li id="k5KHb3">The final waiting period of the match was next, and it lasted 2m 25s. Logan Paul entered the match during this time. This is not where he had the memorable mid-air collision with Ricochet. I can’t really find an obvious reason for why this period went so long other than they just wanted Paul to have some time to show off once he entered the match.</li>
</ul>
<p id="tD8Pcn">The median entrance time in the men’s Royal Rumble was 38.5 seconds. This is the time between the buzzer going off and when that new wrestler officially enters the ring. If WWE strictly adhered to legitimate 90 second waiting intervals, a 38.5 second entrance time would take up 42.8% of the entire waiting interval, leaving just 51.5 seconds until the next buzzer. That’s just not enough time left to fit everything planned in between buzzers, and it leads to extended waiting periods. The very long walkway to the ring was a factor in why WWE had trouble sticking more closely to the rules, and why 90 seconds was actually more like two minutes in WWE’s Royal Rumble math this year.</p>
<p id="DIrgfE">The reason why this ended up being the longest 30-man Rumble ever is because the timing resembled a Rumble match with 2 minute intervals rather than 90 second intervals, and the final 7m 15s fight between Cody and GUNTHER at the end was enough to put it over the top.</p>
<p id="QXLJks">So there you have it, Cagesiders. Which of the above numbers surprise you the most?</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="wSb6qH">
<p id="paragraph45">Previous Royal Rumble analyses:</p>
<p id="WUy3e4"><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/21/5329040/match-times-the-1988-royal-rumble">1988</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/18/10687110/wwe-royal-rumble-1989-match-statistics-time">1989</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/8/14197654/wwe-royal-rumble-1990-match-time-statistics">1990</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/16/10758450/wwe-royal-rumble-1991-match-time-statistics">1991</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/14/5308096/match-times-the-1992-royal-rumble-match">1992</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/17/10744118/wwe-royal-rumble-1993-match-time-statistics">1993</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/21/14334142/wwe-royal-rumble-1994-match-time-statistics">1994</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/21/10669068/wwe-royal-rumble-1995-match-statistics-time">1995</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/15/14277332/wwe-royal-rumble-1996-match-time-statistics">1996</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/23/10722368/wwe-royal-rumble-1997-match-time-statistics">1997</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/2/14133490/wwe-royal-rumble-1998-match-time-statistics">1998</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/19/5323996/match-times-the-1999-royal-rumble">1999</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/23/14347624/wwe-royal-rumble-2000-match-time-statistics">2000</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/24/9859724/wwe-royal-rumble-2001-match-statistics-time">2001</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/6/14185306/wwe-royal-rumble-2002-match-time-statistics">2002</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/23/7875837/match-times-the-2003-royal-rumble">2003</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/19/14290878/wwe-royal-rumble-2004-match-time-statistics">2004</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/19/10700484/wwe-royal-rumble-2005-match-statistics-time">2005</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/12/14246008/wwe-royal-rumble-2006-match-time-statistics">2006</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/26/5330144/match-times-the-2007-royal-rumble">2007</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/15/10773816/wwe-royal-rumble-2008-match-time-statistics">2008</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/22/10705748/wwe-royal-rumble-2009-match-time-statistics">2009</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/22/14343366/wwe-royal-rumble-2010-match-time-statistics">2010</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/16/5316530/match-times-the-2011-royal-rumble">2011</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2016/1/20/10733100/wwe-royal-rumble-2012-statistics-match-times">2012</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/cageside-seats-features/2013/11/20/5080006/match-times-wwe-royal-rumble-2013-edition">2013</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2014/1/27/5350248/wwe-royal-rumble-2014-match-time-and-statistics">2014</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2015/1/28/7920097/wwe-royal-rumble-2015-match-time-and-statistics">2015</a><br><a href="http://www.cagesideseats.com/2016/1/26/10829656/wwe-royal-rumble-2016-match-time-and-statistics">2016</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/30/14438748/wwe-royal-rumble-2017-match-time-statistics">2017</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967818/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-mens-match-time-statistics">2018 Men</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/2/3/16967858/wwe-royal-rumble-2018-womens-match-time-statistics">2018 Women</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2018/5/11/17346566/wwe-greatest-royal-rumble-2018-match-time-statistics">Greatest Royal Rumble</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207923/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-womens-match-time-statistics">2019 Women</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2019/2/2/18207931/wwe-royal-rumble-2019-mens-match-time-statistics">2019 Men</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082163/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-womens-match-time-statistics">2020 Women</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2020/2/2/21082164/wwe-royal-rumble-2020-mens-match-time-statistics">2020 Men</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271295/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Women</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/2/7/22271314/wwe-royal-rumble-2021-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds">2021 Men</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/12/22922503/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-womens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-rousey">2022 Women</a><br><a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/2/13/22922506/wwe-royal-rumble-2022-mens-match-time-statistics-survival-intervals-crowded-90-seconds-lesnar-shane">2022 Men</a></p>
<p id="b1Yeyn"></p>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/30/23577815/wwe-royal-rumble-2023-mens-waiting-intervals-list-90-seconds-time-periodCain A. Knight2023-01-30T13:50:09-05:002023-01-30T13:50:09-05:00WWE touts record-setting numbers for the 2023 Royal Rumble
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qwe7hmG4EIcJn9zj1LzLSnZZJ1Y=/107x0:1255x765/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71922250/Screen_Shot_2023_01_30_at_1.45.44_PM.0.png" />
<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ00wJVFblw" target="_blank">WWE’s YouTube</a></figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="gAzUa4">The company <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/2022/11/21/23471657/wwe-announces-royal-rumble-2023-largest-gate-event-history">announced</a> back in November of last year that the 2023 <em>Royal Rumble</em> in San Antonio already had the largest gate in the event’s history. With the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/5/23388855/peacock-subscriber-growth-q3-nbcuniversal-jeff-shell-streaming">growth of Peacock</a>, the Comcast-owned platform which currently owns domestic streaming rights to WWE Network, each of WWE’s premium live events seems to set a new home viewership record.</p>
<p id="4uKoy3">Still, the numbers in <a href="https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2023/01-30-2023">this presser</a> from Stamford are impressive, even if they’re not unexpected:</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="GNCcbT"><strong>WWE® SMASHES ALL-TIME GATE & VIEWERSHIP RECORDS AT ROYAL RUMBLE®</strong></p>
<p id="OJ9hXH"><strong>STAMFORD, Conn., January 30, 2023 </strong>– WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that the 2023 <em>Royal Rumble</em>, which emanated from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-viewed <em>Royal Rumble</em> in company history.</p>
<p id="Ikc1AC">The event set a new all-time gate record at more than $7.7 million, far surpassing the previous<em> Royal Rumble</em> high in 2017 by more than 50 percent. Viewership of the event saw a 52 percent increase versus the previous record set in 2022.</p>
<p id="fycVQx">In addition, the 2023 <em>Royal Rumble</em> broke all-time venue merchandise and sponsorship records. Merchandise sales were up 135 percent versus the record set in 2022. <em>Royal Rumble</em> sponsorship revenue was up nearly 200 percent versus 2022 and featured the first-ever sponsored match (MTN DEW PITCH BLACK) and sponsored countdown clock (Applebee’s).</p>
<p id="09xFJu">On social, the Roman Reigns-Sami Zayn videos generated 20 million-plus views across all WWE platforms and became the most-viewed WWE clip of 2023. Additional highlights include Logan Paul and Ricochet’s high-flying collision which amassed 26.5 million views across WWE and Paul’s platforms, and the launch of Reigns’ TikTok account which netted 100K followers in the first 24 hours.</p>
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<p id="b1PL1p">Somebody should <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/7/23543631/wwe-sale-hires-jpmorgan-advisors-list-potential-buyers-vince-mcmahon-return">buy a company</a> capable of doing this kind of business, huh?</p>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/30/23578137/wwe-2023-royal-rumble-record-setting-numbers-streaming-gate-merchandise-sponsorSean Rueter2023-01-30T13:05:00-05:002023-01-30T13:05:00-05:00Chelsea Green is a ‘Karen’
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<figcaption><a class="ql-link" href="https://www.wwe.com/videos/chelsea-green-feels-she-was-robbed-in-the-royal-rumble-wwe-digital-exclusive-jan-28-2023" target="_blank">WWE.com</a></figcaption>
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<p>The wrestler who returned at Royal Rumble would like to speak to your manager.</p> <p id="jlnrz2">Chelsea Green’s return to the company that <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2021/5/3/22417721/chelsea-green-trashbag-gate-sent-natalya-liv-morgan-lana-gear-wwe-release">released her</a> back in 2021 has been an open secret for months. And her <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/2023/1/10/23547712/rumor-roundup-vince-mcmahon-creative-edge-beth-plans-wwe-injuries-chelsea-green-tessa-blanchard">signing with WWE</a> wasn’t the only thing <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2022/12/22/23522824/chelsea-green-shuts-down-onlyfans-account-wwe-return-main-roster-mandy-rose-fired-matt-cardona">we heard about</a> in advance of her appearance at Royal Rumble on Saturday night (Jan. 28). The day before she briefly <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/28/23576179/wwe-womens-royal-rumble-match-2023-surprise-entrants-asuka-piper-niven-nia-jax-chelsea-green">entered the women’s Rumble match</a> at San Antonio’s Alamodome, <a href="https://www.patreon.com/fightful">Fightful Select</a> reported on “tentative creative plans” for Green’s main roster gimmick.</p>
<p id="TTB3zJ">Those plans called for the former Impact Knockouts champion “to play a comedic ‘Karen’ type character”.</p>
<p id="9Phobl">If you don’t know, over the last several years the name “Karen” has become a pejorative applied to middle or upper middle class white women whose entitlement leads to them go of their way to complain about things... whether those things are real, and even when they don’t effect the “Karen” in question.</p>
<p id="Igfjsr">We didn’t need to wait long to see WWE’s plan for Green come to fruition. <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/28/23576057/rhea-ripley-wins-royal-rumble-2023-wwe-wrestlemania">Eventual winner Rhea Ripley</a> eliminated her from the Rumble five seconds after she entered it, setting a new record among women’s wrestlers. That gave Chelsea’s “Karen” something to complain about...</p>
<div id="kynqun"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LBrx9VxV8lY?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="bmTBbE">Fans who are familiar with Green’s past work — especially her mid-2010s work <a href="https://www.cagesideseats.com/tna/2017/2/24/14721172/tna-impact-results-review-video-feb-23-2017-wedding-maria-allie-hardy-josh-barnett">in Impact as “Laurel Van Ness”</a> — know this gimmick is definitely in her wheelhouse. Will it help her fare better than some of the other female talent Triple H’s brought back to the company over the past several months?</p>
<p id="TUTcl1">If it doesn’t, Chelsea should ask to speak to The Game’s manager.</p>
https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2023/1/30/23578046/chelsea-green-new-wwe-gimmick-karen-video-royal-rumble-fastest-elimination-complainSean Rueter