The Royal Rumble is one of the most exciting times of the year. Even those who don't watch wrestling regularly tune in to watch the Royal Rumble because it's just so good. Many wrestlers return during the Rumble match as surprise entrants, and it allows fans to relive nostalgia for a moment.

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The Royal Rumble also kicks off the Road to WrestleMania, and two stars (male and female) win the opportunity to headline WrestleMania by challenging the champion of their choice. Rumble matches have certain rules that every wrestler has to follow. For instance, stars can only be eliminated by going over the top rope. But these rules can change pretty much anytime. The following are some examples of this.

10 Time Interval Between Entrances

Shane McMahon Royal Rumble 2022 Cropped

WWE claims to have a 90-second waiting interval between a wrestler's entrance during the Royal Rumble match. But they don't always follow this rule. For instance, the waiting interval for stars like Shane McMahon, Angelo Dawkins, Ivory, Summer Rae, and Shotzi was more than 120 seconds during this year's Royal Rumble. Some wrestlers also entered the match before 90 seconds (Johnny Knoxville and Chad Gable, for example). A lot of fans notice these things easily, but it doesn't really matter to them.

9 The Number Of Wrestlers Who Can Participate

Braun Strowman Greatest Royal Rumble 2018 Cropped

Royal Rumble matches traditionally have 30 participants only. But in the match's history, the number of competitors has changed multiple times. The first-ever Royal Rumble match took place in 1988, and it had 20 participants. This number was increased to 30 the following year when WWE made Royal Rumble a pay-per-view. In 2011, WWE expanded the Royal Rumble participants to 40. Some years ago when WWE traveled to Saudi Arabia, they did the Greatest Royal Rumble which featured a 50-man Royal Rumble match.

8 Females Can Participate In Men's Royal Rumble Match

Nia Jax and Randy Orton in the ring

In 2018, WWE introduced the Women's Royal Rumble match for the first time. Asuka won the inaugural match and challenged Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Title. Before there was a Women's Royal Rumble match, some female wrestlers entered the Men's Rumble match. So far, only four women have done this: Beth Phoenix, Chyna, Kharma, and Nia Jax.

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Beth and Nia are the only two female wrestlers who have also scored an elimination in the Men's Royal Rumble match. In 2010, Phoenix eliminated The Great Khali, while Jax eliminated Mustafa Ali in 2019.

7 Outside Eliminations

sonya deville eliminates naomi from the royal rumble match

In the past few years, many wrestlers have gotten eliminated from the Royal Rumble by those who had already been eliminated from the match or hadn't been a part of it. This happened with Farooq in 2000. He entered the match as the 18th participant and then The Mean Street Posse attacked him and helped Big Boss Man score an elimination. In 2014, CM Punk got eliminated by Kane after The Cult of Personality had already eliminated him. Even during this year's Women's Royal Rumble match, Sonya Deville returned to eliminate Naomi from the match. In 1996, however, when Vader tried to eliminate Michaels from the match, it didn't count because Vader had already been eliminated by Michaels earlier.

6 Can Re-Enter

Steve Austin wins Royal Rumble 1997

The rule states that after a wrestler is eliminated from the Royal Rumble match, they can't re-enter. But back in 1997, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin re-entered the Rumble match and won the whole thing. He was eliminated by Bret Hart in the match, but the officials were busy with Terry Funk and Mankind's outside brawl, so The Texas Rattlesnake re-entered the ring and eliminated The Undertaker and Vader before eliminating The Hitman to win the match.

5 Royal Rumble Match Can Be For A World Title

Triple H Royal Rumble 2016 Cropped

Royal Rumble winners are awarded a chance to challenge for the promotion's top title at WrestleMania. This has been the tradition since 1993. But in history, many Rumble matches have had a different prize. For instance, in 1992, Ric Flair won the Royal Rumble match to win the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Back in 2016, Roman Reigns defended his WWE Championship against 29 other superstars in the Royal Rumble match.

4 Disqualification

Finlay and Hornswoggle Royal Rumble 2008

Royal Rumble matches tend to have no disqualifications. Many wrestlers have used weapons to gain an upper hand on another wrestler. But back in 2008, Finlay got disqualified from the match after he attacked Big Daddy V and Mark Henry with his shillelagh in order to save his son, Hornswoggle.

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This didn't make any sense because stars like Terry Funk and Kane have used foreign objects in the Rumble match in the past, but they weren't disqualified.

3 Co-Winners

Lex Luger & Bret Hart Royal Rumble 1994 Cropped

A wrestler wins the Royal Rumble match when everyone else has been eliminated. But back in 1994, Lex Luger and Bret Hart both won the Royal Rumble match together. Their feet touched the floor at the same time, and it was decided that they were co-winners. Both wrestlers received a title shot at WrestleMania that year. Over a decade later in 2005, however, Batista and John Cena got eliminated simultaneously. Instead of declaring them as co-winners, Vince McMahon restarted the match with both wrestlers in the ring.

2 Self-Eliminations

andre the giant eliminates himself from the royal rumble match

Eliminations usually happen when one wrestler throws the other over the top rope. But in the past, many wrestlers have eliminated themselves from the match. Back in 1989, Andre the Giant went over the top rope after Jake Roberts showed up with Damien. A few years later, Randy Savage eliminated himself from the match to attack Roberts, after eliminating him. But WWE didn't officially count this as an elimination. The broadcast team made up a rule that wrestlers can't eliminate themselves from the match.

1 Same Wrestler Can Enter The Match Again As A Different Character

mick foley enters the royal rumble match as three different characters

After getting eliminated from the Rumble match, wrestlers can't re-enter officially. But back in 1998, Mick Foley entered the Royal Rumble match three times as three different people: Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love. WWE once tried to replicate this moment with The Godfather as well. They wanted him to enter the Royal Rumble as Kama first, then Papa Shango, and finally as The Godfather.