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Introduction
The first Royal Rumble to take place after WWF bought WCW. Atlanta, Georgia – a former stomping ground of Ted Turner’s event – hosted the 2002 edition of The Royal Rumble.
A fairly lacklustre affair – with no surprise entrants, no outstanding performances and very little peril. The Royal Rumble was won by Triple H: really the only entrant in with a shot of winning. Old hands “Stone Cold” Steve Austin & The Undertaker shared the most eliminations, nearly eliminating half the field between them. Austin also had the longest time of any participant in the match, as this would be his last Royal Rumble match before retiring a year or so later.
There is however one moment that is still repeated to this day. In his first match – Maven, a rookie who won WWF’s “Tough Enough” competition (to find a new WWF Superstar) eliminated The Undertaker in a truly shocking moment that is still repeated over 20 years later.
But the Rumble was designed to slot a returning Triple H into the title scene, which he did by beating Chris Jericho for the WWF Title at Wrestlemania X8.
20th January, 2002
Atlanta, Georgia
Philips Arena
16,106
- 30 Men, One Match, One W1nner
1:08:59
Notable Records
| Record | Individual |
|---|---|
| Winner | Triple H |
| Iron Men | Steve Austin (26:47) |
| Least time in Match | Booker T (00:33) |
| Most Eliminations | Steve Austin (7)The Undertaker (7) |
| Potential Winners (wrestlers in the ring after last entrant) | 6 (Triple H, Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect, Steve Austin, Booker T, Rob Van Dam) |
| Number of debutants | 8 (Lance Storm, Maven, Diamond Dallas Page, Chuck Palumbo, The Hurricane, Kurt Angle, Rob Van Dam, Booker T) |
| Last Rumble Appearances | 9 (Big Boss Man, Lance Storm, Al Snow, Albert, Perry Saturn, Steve Austin, Val Venis, Faarooq, Mr. Perfect) |
| Average Time in match | 06:32 |
| Number of individuals with at least one elimination | 46.67% |
Did You Know?
- There were no surprise entrants in this Royal Rumble, every competitor was announced beforehand. Even the four returning competitors (Val Venis, The Godfather, Mr. Perfect & Goldust) were announced before the match.
- This was the first Pay Per View to be held on Pay Per View in the United Kingdom.
Watch Royal Rumble 2002
You can watch Royal Rumble 2002 on YouTube for free. Watch it below.
Results
| Number of Entrant | Wrestler Name | Time of Entry | Time of Elimination | Time in Match | Finishing Position | Eliminations | Eliminated By | Other Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rikishi | 00:00 | 13:17 | 13:17 | 25 | 1 | The Undertaker | |
| 2 | Goldust | 00:00 | 12:38 | 12:38 | 27 | 0 | The Undertaker | |
| 3 | Big Boss Man | 01:56 | 05:01 | 03:05 | 30 | 0 | Rikishi | |
| 4 | Bradshaw | 03:50 | 11:07 | 07:17 | 28 | 0 | Billy Gunn | |
| 5 | Lance Storm | 05:53 | 10:40 | 04:47 | 29 | 0 | Al Snow | |
| 6 | Al Snow | 07:51 | 13:02 | 05:11 | 26 | 1 | The Undertaker | |
| 7 | Billy Gunn | 09:46 | 13:23 | 03:37 | 24 | 1 | The Undertaker | |
| 8 | The Undertaker | 12:14 | 19:54 | 07:40 | 21 | 7 | Maven | |
| 9 | Matt Hardy | 14:14 | 18:31 | 04:17 | 22 | 0 | The Undertaker | |
| 10 | Jeff Hardy | 16:25 | 17:59 | 01:34 | 23 | 0 | The Undertaker | Jeff attacked The Undertaker before entering the ring, so the time is taken from then. |
| 11 | Maven | 19:01 | 22:35 | 03:34 | 20 | 1 | The Undertaker | Maven was eliminated by the already eliminated Undertaker. Although commentary says he wasn’t officially eliminated, time was stopped when he got thrown over the top by The Undertaker. |
| 12 | Scotty 2 Hotty | 25:30 | 28:06 | 02:36 | 19 | 0 | Diamond Dallas Page | Scotty 2 Hotty was attacked by The Undertaker on the way to the ring. |
| 13 | Christian | 24:47 | 37:22 | 12:35 | 15 | 3 | Steve Austin | Christian’s entrance is from off camera, so time is taken from when his music stopped. |
| 14 | Diamond Dallas Page | 26:33 | 31:52 | 05:19 | 18 | 1 | Christian | DDP’s elimination occurred off camera, so time stopped when Jim Ross mentioned it on commentary. |
| 15 | Chuck | 28:33 | 37:36 | 09:03 | 14 | 2 | Steve Austin | |
| 16 | The Godfather | 32:32 | 34:20 | 01:48 | 16 | 0 | Christian, Chuck | |
| 17 | Albert | 32:50 | 33:39 | 00:49 | 17 | 0 | Christian, Chuck | |
| 18 | Perry Saturn | 34:46 | 37:43 | 02:57 | 13 | 0 | Steve Austin | |
| 19 | Steve Austin | 37:04 | 1:03:51 | 26:47 | 4 | 7 | Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect | |
| 20 | Val Venis | 39:49 | 42:46 | 02:57 | 12 | 0 | Steve Austin | |
| 21 | Test | 41:16 | 42:59 | 01:43 | 11 | 0 | Steve Austin | |
| 22 | Triple H | 45:47 | 1:08:59 | 23:12 | 1 | 4 | Winner | |
| 23 | The Hurricane | 47:05 | 47:44 | 00:39 | 10 | 0 | Steve Austin, Triple H | |
| 24 | Faarooq | 48:41 | 49:16 | 00:35 | 9 | 0 | Triple H | |
| 25 | Mr. Perfect | 51:25 | 1:06:45 | 15:20 | 3 | 1 | Triple H | |
| 26 | Kurt Angle | 52:53 | 1:08:58 | 16:05 | 2 | 2 | Triple H | |
| 27 | Big Show | 55:12 | 57:58 | 02:46 | 8 | 0 | Kane | |
| 28 | Kane | 57:12 | 58:14 | 01:02 | 7 | 1 | Kurt Angle | |
| 29 | Rob Van Dam | 59:03 | 1:01:19 | 02:16 | 6 | 0 | Booker T | |
| 30 | Booker T | 1:01:10 | 1:01:43 | 00:33 | 5 | 1 | Steve Austin |
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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