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WWE Royal Rumble winners from No. 1: Who has won as first entrant?

By Scott Rogust

Jul 18, 2021; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Roman Reigns (black pants) with Paul Heyman (suit) and Edge (red pants) battle for the WWE Universal Championship during Money in the Bank at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 18, 2021; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Roman Reigns (black pants) with Paul Heyman (suit) and Edge (red pants) battle for the WWE Universal Championship during Money in the Bank at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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With the 2022 Royal Rumble taking place on Saturday, Jan. 29, here are the winners who have entered first and won the 30-person battle royal.

It is the most anticipated match of the entire WWE calendar year. Of course, that is the Royal Rumble, where 30-men and 30-women will compete to earn a championship match at WrestleMania. The 35th annual event will take place on Saturday, Jan. 29, live from The Dome at American’s Center in St. Louis, MO.

There have been 34 male and four female winners of the respective Royal Rumble matches. As is stressed every year, the later you enter the match, the better odds you have of winning. Usually, if a superstar enters as the first-overall entrant, their odds are not the greatest. But there have been some individuals who have been able to win the whole thing at the No. 1 spot.

WWE Royal Rumble winners from the No. 1 spot

There have been three individuals who have started off the Royal Rumble match as the first entrant and won the entire thing to earn a world title match at WrestleMania.

  • Shawn Michaels (1995)
  • Chris Benoit (2004)
  • Edge (2021)

Michaels holds the distinction of being the first wrestler to win from the first-overall spot. “The Heartbreak Kid” was in the match for 38 minutes and 41 seconds, where he eliminated Duke Droese, Tom Prichard, Bushwhacker Luke, Jacob Blu, Bushwhacker Butch, Aldo Montoya, Lex Luger and finally the British Bulldog to win.

Benoit entered the match and remained for 61 minutes and 30 seconds to win. He threw Bradshaw, Mark Henry, Rhyno, Matt Morgan, A-Train, and lastly the Big Show out of the ring to win.

Edge is the most recent winner of the men’s Royal Rumble match. He entered the same time as Randy Orton and the two lasted until the very end. But it was the “Rated R Superstar” who stood tall, as he threw Orton out of the ring to win after spending 58-minutes and 30-seconds in the ring. Edge eliminated two other competitors from the match — Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins.

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