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WWE’s Royal Rumble 2019 lasted for 4 hours 53 minutes and 16 seconds (4h 53m 16s). Here is a breakdown of the timing for every single second of the show, in chronological order.
The matches are in bold. The “pre-match” segments include video packages, entrances, ring introductions, and any verbal promos that occur right before a match officially begins. The “post-match” segments include any celebrations, replays, angles, attacks, or promos that occur right after a match is finished.
PPV Timing for Royal Rumble 2019
| Start | End | Description | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Description | Duration |
| 0m 00s | 0m 21s | Then, Now, Forever | 0m 21s |
| 0m 21s | 2m 56s | Video hyping Royal Rumble | 2m 35s |
| 2m 56s | 3m 34s | Welcome to Royal Rumble | 0m 38s |
| 3m 34s | 7m 50s | Pre-match: Asuka vs. Lynch | 4m 16s |
| 7m 50s | 24m 58s | Asuka vs. Lynch | 17m 08s |
| 24m 58s | 27m 13s | Post-match: Asuka vs. Lynch | 2m 15s |
| 27m 13s | 27m 50s | Ad for WWE Shop | 0m 37s |
| 27m 50s | 28m 51s | Ad for Fighting With My Family | 1m 01s |
| 28m 51s | 29m 15s | Filler commentary | 0m 24s |
| 29m 15s | 33m 37s | Pre-match: The Bar vs. Miz & Shane | 4m 22s |
| 33m 37s | 46m 59s | The Bar vs. Miz & Shane | 13m 22s |
| 46m 59s | 50m 02s | Post-match: The Bar vs. Miz & Shane | 3m 03s |
| 50m 02s | 50m 34s | Ad for Cricket Wireless | 0m 32s |
| 50m 34s | 51m 45s | Ad for WWE Network | 1m 11s |
| 51m 45s | 52m 36s | Attendance announcement | 0m 51s |
| 52m 36s | 1h 00m 01s | Pre-match: Rousey vs. Banks | 7m 25s |
| 1h 00m 01s | 1h 13m 48s | Rousey vs. Banks | 13m 47s |
| 1h 13m 48s | 1h 17m 35s | Post-match: Rousey vs. Banks | 3m 47s |
| 1h 17m 35s | 1h 18m 08s | Ad for WWE 2K19 | 0m 33s |
| 1h 18m 08s | 1h 19m 21s | Hype for Elimination Chamber | 1m 13s |
| 1h 19m 21s | 1h 21m 10s | Recap of pre-show matches | 1m 49s |
| 1h 21m 10s | 1h 21m 39s | Strowman is replacing Cena tonight | 0m 29s |
| 1h 21m 39s | 1h 22m 16s | Backstage glance at Balor/Lesnar | 0m 37s |
| 1h 22m 16s | 1h 27m 11s | Pre-match: Women's Royal Rumble | 4m 55s |
| 1h 27m 11s | 2h 38m 35s | Women's Royal Rumble | 71m 24s |
| 2h 38m 35s | 2h 41m 50s | Post-match: Women's Royal Rumble | 3m 15s |
| 2h 41m 50s | 2h 42m 44s | Ad for Golden Crisp | 0m 54s |
| 2h 42m 44s | 2h 43m 28s | Ad for WrestleMania 35 | 0m 44s |
| 2h 43m 28s | 2h 43m 55s | Filler commentary | 0m 27s |
| 2h 43m 55s | 2h 44m 13s | Plug for PPV theme song | 0m 18s |
| 2h 44m 13s | 2h 52m 32s | Pre-match: Bryan vs. Styles | 8m 19s |
| 2h 52m 32s | 3h 17m 04s | Bryan vs. Styles | 24m 32s |
| 3h 17m 04s | 3h 19m 02s | Post-match: Bryan vs. Styles | 1m 58s |
| 3h 19m 02s | 3h 20m 06s | Ad for WWE 24 | 1m 04s |
| 3h 20m 06s | 3h 22m 34s | Hype for Halftime Heat | 2m 28s |
| 3h 22m 34s | 3h 31m 21s | Pre-match: Lesnar vs. Balor | 8m 47s |
| 3h 31m 21s | 3h 39m 58s | Lesnar vs. Balor | 8m 37s |
| 3h 39m 58s | 3h 44m 31s | Post-match: Lesnar vs. Balor | 4m 33s |
| 3h 44m 31s | 3h 45m 09s | Ad for WWE Shop | 0m 38s |
| 3h 45m 09s | 3h 45m 56s | Ad for Elimination Chamber | 0m 47s |
| 3h 45m 56s | 3h 46m 15s | Filler commentary | 0m 19s |
| 3h 46m 15s | 3h 53m 56s | Pre-match: Men's Royal Rumble | 7m 41s |
| 3h 53m 56s | 4h 51m 20s | Men's Royal Rumble | 57m 24s |
| 4h 51m 20s | 4h 53m 16s | Post-match: Men's Royal Rumble | 1m 56s |
Match Times
The seven matches combined for a total time of 3h 26m 14s. This means that 70.3% of the show was devoted to bell-to-bell action. This is the highest percentage in this category out of the 84 WWE pay-per-view (PPV) events in my data set, which begins with Royal Rumble 2013.
Here is the sorted list of match times for Royal Rumble 2019. This also includes where each match time ranks out of all 621 matches in my data set.
- 71m 24s: Women’s Royal Rumble (2nd longest out of 621 matches)
- 57m 24s: Men’s Royal Rumble (8th)
- 24m 32s: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (55th)
- 17m 08s: Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (173rd)
- 13m 47s: Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks (263rd)
- 13m 22s: The Bar vs. Miz & Shane McMahon (273rd)
- 8m 37s: Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor (465th)
A full breakdown of the timing for the women’s Royal Rumble match can be found here.
A full breakdown of the timing for the men’s Royal Rumble match can be found here.
The only match in my data set that is longer than this year’s 30-woman Royal Rumble is the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble match, which beat it out by roughly 6 minutes.
Last year’s Royal Rumble main card included four matches outside of the two titular gimmick matches, and their respective match times were roughly 16 minutes, 14 minutes, 13 minutes, and 11 minutes.
In contrast, this year’s main card included five matches outside of the two Rumbles, and two of these matches (Bryan, Asuka) were longer than all four comparable matches from last year.
Daniel Bryan’s bout (24m 32s) really stands out as being incredibly long for the undercard of a Royal Rumble event. I can’t find any longer non-Rumble match in my data set on this annual PPV going back to 2013.
Looking even further back using the data at ProFightDB, the only longer non-Rumble matches I can find on this PPV are Diesel vs. Bret Hart from Royal Rumble 1995, Bret Hart vs. Undertaker from Royal Rumble 1996, and Triple H vs. Cactus Jack from Royal Rumble 2000.
With that in mind, it probably wasn’t the best idea for WWE to follow up a 71 minute match with one of the longest non-Rumble matches in the history of this event.
Pre-match Segments
The pre-match segments combined for a total time of 45m 45s, which is 15.6% of the show. This is the 83rd highest percentage in this category out of the 84 events in my data set.
Here is the sorted list of pre-match segment time for all seven matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median pre-match segment time in my data set is 5m 58s and the average time is 6m 26s.
- 8m 47s: Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor
- 8m 19s: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
- 7m 41s: Men’s Royal Rumble
- 7m 25s: Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks
- 4m 55s: Women’s Royal Rumble
- 4m 22s: The Bar vs. Miz & Shane McMahon
- 4m 16s: Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
Lesnar’s pre-match segment was 10 seconds longer than his actual match time.
The pre-match segment for the men’s Royal Rumble match included most of the interaction between Elias and Jeff Jarrett, because it largely took place before the bell rang to officially start the match.
Two matches received the special treatment of a dedicated video package right before superstar entrances. The video packages for Bryan’s match (3m 38s) and Lesnar’s match (2m 16s) combined to take up 5m 54s of the pre-match segment time.
Post-match Segments
The post-match segments combined for a total time of 20m 47s, which is 7.1% of the show. This is the 72nd highest percentage in this category out of the 84 events in my data set.
Here is the sorted list of the post-match segment time for all seven matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median post-match segment time in my data set is 1m 59s and the average time is 2m 27s.
- 4m 33s: Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor
- 3m 47s: Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks
- 3m 15s: Women’s Royal Rumble
- 3m 03s: The Bar vs. Miz & Shane McMahon
- 2m 15s: Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
- 1m 58s: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
- 1m 56s: Men’s Royal Rumble
Miscellaneous Segments
That leaves about 7.0% (20m 30s) of the show for everything else. This is the 83rd highest percentage in this category out of the 84 events in my data set.
Most of these miscellaneous segments are crammed into the time after one post-match segment ends and before the next pre-match segment begins. Royal Rumble 2019 included seven different blocks of miscellaneous segments. Here is how long each block lasted, in chronological order:
- Block 1: 3m 34s (Then Now Forever; Opening hype video)
- Block 2: 2m 02s (Ads for WWE Shop & Fighting With My Family)
- Block 3: 2m 34s (Ads for Cricket Wireless & WWE Network)
- Block 4: 4m 41s (Ads for WWE 2K19 & Elimination Chamber; Pre-show recap
- Block 5: 2m 23s (Ads for Golden Crisp & WrestleMania 35)
- Block 6: 3m 32s (Hype for WWE 24 & Halftime Heat)
- Block 7: 1m 44s (Ads for WWE Shop & Elimination Chamber)
Summary
The overall run time for Royal Rumble 2019 was 4h 53m 16s, and this ranks 4th longest out of all 84 events in my data set.
The only events in my data set that ran longer than 4h 15m 00s besides this one are WrestleMania 34 (5h 10m 54s), WrestleMania 33 (5h 10m 41s), Greatest Royal Rumble (5h 00m 16s), and WrestleMania 32 (4h 51m 53s).
Here is a listing of how much total show time was allocated for each match when you add up all 3 components: pre-match time, match time, and post-match time. This list also includes where each total time ranks among the 621 entries in my data set.
- 79m 34s: Women’s Royal Rumble (3rd longest out of 621 entries)
- 67m 01s: Men’s Royal Rumble (9th)
- 34m 49s: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles (90th)
- 24m 59s: Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks (218th)
- 23m 39s: Asuka vs. Becky Lynch (244th)
- 21m 57s: Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor (280th)
- 20m 47s: The Bar vs. Miz & Shane McMahon (304th)
Now here is a look at the “Match Time Percentage” for each match. For any given match, this percentage shows how the match time compares to the combined pre-match and post-match segment time. For some context, it’s good to know that the median result here since 2013 is 62.1%.
(Here’s an example calculation: an entry with a match time of 6m 00s, pre-match time of 3m 00s, and a post-match time of 1m 00s has a score of 60.0%, because the match time of 6m 00s is 60% of the total sum of 10m 00s for all three components.)
- 89.7%: Women’s Royal Rumble
- 85.7%: Men’s Royal Rumble
- 72.4%: Asuka vs. Becky Lynch
- 70.5%: Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles
- 64.3%: The Bar vs. Miz & Shane McMahon
- 55.2%: Ronda Rousey vs. Sasha Banks
- 39.3%: Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor
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Final Results for Royal Rumble 2019
Match - 70.3% - 3h 26m 14s
Pre-match - 15.6% - 45m 45s
Post-match - 7.1% - 20m 47s
Miscellaneous - 7.0% - 20m 30s