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Introduction
Similarly to the previous year’s Royal Rumble, the 1996 was another rebuilding era. The focus was put on the debuting Vader, who had his first match in the federation and had a strong showing. However, important attitude era competitors such as Steve Austin and Triple H also made debuts in the match. There’s less churn than last year as well – as WWF was beginning to find it’s footing after a disasterous start to the new generation.
In the match itself it was seen as the coronation of Shawn Michaels as a main eventer, last eliminating Diesel and getting the most eliminations in the match. Shawn Michaels would then go on to win the title against Bret Hart in the first Iron Man match at Wrestlemania 12.
21st January, 1996
Fresno, California
Selland Arena
9,600
- You've been Warned!
58:52
Notable Records
| Record | Individual |
|---|---|
| Winner | Shawn Michaels |
| Iron Men | Hunter Hearst Helmsley (48:05) |
| Least time in Match | Squat Team #2 (00:24) |
| Most Eliminations | Shawn Michaels (8) |
| Potential Winners (wrestlers in the ring after last entrant) | 6 (Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Kama, British Bulldog, Duke Droese, Issac Yankem D.D.S.) |
| Number of debutants | 14 (Triple H, Dory Funk Jr., 1-2-3 Kid, Takao Omori, Savio Vega, Vader, Doug Gilbert, Squat Team #1, Squat Team #2, Hakushi, Kama, Steve Austin, Barry Horowitz, Issac Yankem D.D.S.) |
| Last Rumble Appearances | 14 (Dory Funk Jr., Yokozuna, 1-2-3 Kid, Takao Omori, Doug Gilbert, Squat Team #1, Squat Team #2, Hakushi, Aldo Montoya, Barry Horowitz, Fatu, Issac Yankem D.D.S., Marty Jannetty, Duke Droese) |
| Average Time in match | 12:47 |
| Number of individuals with at least one elimination | 43.33% |
Did You Know?
- This was the first Royal Rumble to have entrance music for all participants, rather than just for entrants #1 & #2
- This was the first Royal Rumble since 1988 not to main event the card. The Undertaker vs Bret Hart match was the main event.
- This Royal Rumble saw a change of the logo that had been present since 1989. The triangular logo would remain in place until 2000.
- Outside of the pandemic era Royal Rumble, this is the lowest attended Royal Rumble.
Results
| Number of Entrant | Wrestler Name | Time of Entry | Time of Elimination | Time in Match | Finishing Position | Eliminations | Eliminated By | Other Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunter Hearst Helmsley | 00:00 | 48:05 | 48:05 | 12 | 0 | Diesel | Hunter Hearst Helmsley lost a pre-show match to decide who would enter #30, and who would enter #1 against Duke Droese. |
| 2 | Henry O. Godwinn | 00:00 | 16:27 | 16:27 | 29 | 0 | Jake Roberts | |
| 3 | Mr. Bob Backlund | 02:27 | 14:49 | 12:22 | 30 | 0 | Yokozuna | |
| 4 | Jerry Lawler | 04:33 | 40:36 | 36:03 | 15 | 0 | Shawn Michaels | Jerry Lawler hid under the ring for a large part of the match. |
| 5 | Bob "Spark Plug" Holly | 06:14 | 45:49 | 39:35 | 13 | 0 | "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin | |
| 6 | King Mabel | 08:44 | 20:59 | 12:15 | 28 | 0 | Yokozuna | |
| 7 | Jake Roberts | 10:29 | 25:09 | 14:40 | 25 | 2 | Vader | |
| 8 | Dory Funk Jr. | 12:30 | 23:23 | 10:53 | 26 | 0 | Savio Vega | |
| 9 | Yokozuna | 14:34 | 33:49 | 19:15 | 19 | 3 | Shawn Michaels | |
| 10 | 1-2-3 Kid | 16:26 | 34:06 | 17:40 | 18 | 0 | Shawn Michaels | |
| 11 | Takao Omori | 18:25 | 21:14 | 02:49 | 27 | 0 | Jake Roberts | Omori’s only WWF/E apprearance. He had The Orient Express’ music. |
| 12 | Savio Vega | 20:27 | 32:55 | 12:28 | 21 | 1 | Vader | |
| 13 | Vader | 22:45 | 33:49 | 11:04 | 20 | 4 | Shawn Michaels | |
| 14 | Doug Gilbert | 24:32 | 27:30 | 02:58 | 24 | 0 | Vader | |
| 15 | Squat Team #1 | 26:35 | 27:46 | 01:11 | 23 | 0 | Vader | Not really identified which is which, both him & Squat Team #2 were identical twins. |
| 16 | Squat Team #2 | 29:04 | 29:28 | 00:24 | 22 | 0 | Yokozuna | Not really identified which is which, both him & Squat Team #1 were identical twins. |
| 17 | Owen Hart | 30:50 | 51:37 | 20:47 | 10 | 2 | Diesel, Shawn Michaels | Owen attacked Bob Holly (a legal entrant) before entering the ring, so the time is taken from then. |
| 18 | Shawn Michaels | 32:44 | 58:52 | 26:08 | 1 | 8 | Winner | |
| 19 | Hakushi | 36:39 | 38:32 | 01:53 | 17 | 0 | Owen Hart | After Vader was eliminated, he beat up all current competitors, so Hakushi didn’t enter the ring until after the beatings finished. |
| 20 | Tatanka | 37:00 | 41:08 | 04:08 | 14 | 1 | Diesel | |
| 21 | Aldo Montoya | 38:41 | 40:33 | 01:52 | 16 | 0 | Tatanka | |
| 22 | Diesel | 41:01 | 58:51 | 17:50 | 2 | 5 | Shawn Michaels | |
| 23 | Kama | 42:50 | 58:47 | 15:57 | 4 | 1 | Diesel | |
| 24 | "The Ringmaster" Steve Austin | 44:54 | 55:51 | 10:57 | 8 | 1 | Fatu | Steve Austin, on his podcast, later confirmed he wasn’t meant to be eliminated so soon but he slipped. |
| 25 | Barry Horowitz | 46:51 | 51:06 | 04:15 | 11 | 0 | Owen Hart | |
| 26 | Fatu | 49:02 | 56:09 | 07:07 | 7 | 1 | Issac Yankem D.D.S. | |
| 27 | Issac Yankem D.D.S. | 51:00 | 58:05 | 07:05 | 6 | 1 | Shawn Michaels | |
| 28 | Marty Jannetty | 52:52 | 55:27 | 02:35 | 9 | 0 | British Bulldog | |
| 29 | British Bulldog | 54:55 | 58:34 | 03:39 | 3 | 1 | Shawn Michaels | |
| 30 | Duke Droese | 57:01 | 58:11 | 01:10 | 5 | 0 | Diesel, Kama | Duke Droese won a pre-show match to decide who would enter #30, and who would enter #1 against Hunter Hearst Helmsley |
Graphs
Entrant Waterfall
Elimination Pie Chart
Time by Number
Eliminations by Number
Entrant Waterfall
Elimination Pie Chart
Time by Number
Eliminations by Number
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