The complete list of survival times for the 2021 men’s Royal Rumble match

The 2021 men’s Royal Rumble match lasted 58 minutes and 28 seconds (58m 28s).

The survival time for a superstar 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 superstar to make his way from the entrance ramp down to the actual ring.

The average superstar survival time for the 2021 men’s Royal Rumble match was 13m 24s and the median survival time was 8m 20s. The median value is less influenced by outliers at either extreme.

Here is the full list of survival times for all 30 superstars:

• 58m 28s: Edge
• 58m 27s: Randy Orton
• 31m 17s: Matt Riddle
• 29m 46s: Big E
• 28m 51s: Daniel Bryan
• 22m 00s: Shinsuke Nakamura
• 20m 30s: Dolph Ziggler
• 18m 13s: Christian
• 15m 35s: Damian Priest
• 13m 19s: Mustafa Ali
• 13m 04s: Sami Zayn
• 11m 37s: Ricochet
• 10m 26s: AJ Styles
• 8m 48s: Seth Rollins
• 8m 26s: Carlito
• 8m 14s: John Morrison
• 7m 23s: Braun Strowman
• 5m 57s: Sheamus
• 4m 09s: Cesaro
• 4m 03s: Bobby Lashley
• 3m 47s: Rey Mysterio
• 3m 43s: Xavier Woods
• 3m 33s: King Corbin
• 3m 25s: Jeff Hardy
• 2m 31s: Elias
• 2m 01s: Dominik Mysterio
• 1m 51s: Kane
• 1m 02s: The Miz
• 0m 54s: Otis
• 0m 30s: The Hurricane

Every listed time above should be viewed with a margin of error of about two seconds or so. These times all fall within one second of the numbers listed on WWE’s web site, which shocked me. There’s almost always a couple instances of strange discrepancies.

There was a noticeable delay between the time when Orton’s feet touched the floor to signal his elimination, and when the bell rang to signal the end of the match. I included that extra second of time on Edge’s survival clock, which explains the difference in his time with Orton.

Randy missed most of the match with a kayfabe injury before returning at the very end. It’s a little tricky to pinpoint exactly how much time he spent away from the ring. Do you start the clock on his (temporary) departure when he has finished his long walk to the back and completely disappeared off camera? Or do you start it much earlier, when he is first sitting ringside being checked by the officials? There’s a pretty big gap in these boundary points, so the decision makes a difference.

I decided to start the clock for Randy’s (temporary) absence once Edge entered the ring again, following their altercation. I figured that signaled the moment when Edge was moving on to other matters, and Randy was (temporarily) done. If you start the clock there, then 50m 05s of Randy’s listed survival time (58m 27s) was spent away from the match. That gives him an adjusted survival time of 8m 22s.

If you instead use Randy’s adjusted survival time of 8m 22s, the average superstar survival time falls down from 13m 24s to 11m 44s.

The bottom four superstars on the list all failed to make it to the next buzzer after entering the match. That this list includes both The Miz and Otis is a pretty good reflection of how much of a joke the Money in the Bank briefcase has become this year.

Out of the nine superstars who survived more than 15 minutes, I’d say that Christian and Riddle stand out the most. This was pretty much the Edge and Orton story, so the fact that Riddle had the next longest survival time after those two men is no small feat. And Christian wasn’t supposed to be medically cleared to compete ever again, so coming into the Royal Rumble match and going 18+ minutes is a pretty big deal for him.

It’s also worth pointing out that Big E’s survival time of nearly 30 minutes bodes well for the idea that even though this wasn’t his year, perhaps next year will be a different story.

It was a rough night for the Mysterio family, who combined to only survive for 5m 48s.

Bobby Lashley’s survival time of less than five minutes also stands out, considering that he’s been damn near invincible since June 2020.

So there you have it, Cagesiders. Which of the above numbers surprise you the most?