The Royal Rumble by (Entry) Numbers: 9

Benjamin, along with Matt Hardy, on one of his excursions from the 9 spot Photo Credit: WWE.com

Winners: None
Final four: None
Multiple draws: Shelton Benjamin (2005, 2007)
Longest: Hornswoggle (2008), 26:57
Shortest: Billy Gunn (1994): 0:14.
Most eliminations: Three — Yokozuna (1996), Big Boss Man (2000)

Hornswoggle. Horn-flipping-swoggle. That’s all you need to know about Rumble entry spot No. 9: the longevity honor goes to Hornswoggle. Yes, he pulled a 1996 Jerry Lawler and spent most of the night hiding under the ring. But he also is credited with eliminating The Miz, which is more than 11 other No. 9 entrants can claim.

Aside from Hornswoggle — who is credited with 26:57 of ring time — only two other No. 9s exceeded 20 minutes. Big Boss Man logged 22:47 (and three eliminations) in 2000, and Shelton Benjamin put up 22:22 in 2007.

Shawn Michaels eliminated Benjamin that year — just as he did the year before and the year after. Benjamin joins Warlord, Matt Bloom and Kane on the list of Rumble contestants eliminated three times by the same foe. Hulk Hogan dumped Warlord in 1989, 1991 and 1992. Kane tossed Bloom, as Albert, in 2000 and 2001, and as A-Train in 2003. Triple H removed Kane in 2006, 2008 (who entered at nine, more on that later) and 2010.

But back to the Boss Man, the best No. 9 ever. Again, that’s not saying much. But it’s worth noting Boss Man was the one who halted Rikishi’s streak of seven straight eliminations to start the match. Sure, he needed help from five other men to eliminate the Samoan, but for a while there it was looking like Rikishi was unstoppable. And again, it doesn’t take much to be the best No. 9.

The only other man to enter nine and log three eliminations is Yokozuna, who did so in 1996. He lasted 19:14 before Michaels eliminated him. As good as the numbers look compared to the other ninth entrants, it’s a pretty big letdown for Yoko. In his second and final Rumble — remember he won the 1993 event in dominating fashion — he did casually dump fellow quarter-ton behemoth Mabel, and also ousted fellow two-time WWF Champion Bob Backlund. But a man of Yokozuna’s considerable girth (more considerable than when he won in ’93) should not be eliminated by one man, even if that man is Shawn Michaels. But this was a case of story trumping logic, as Michaels simultaneously dumped both Yokozuna and Vader to start his second straight Rumble victory.

Speaking of Michaels, one of the greatest Rumble participants ever entered at No. 9 in his debut Rumble in 1989. He lasted 14:30 and eliminated “Outlaw” Ron Bass before meeting his fate at the hands of unlikely partners Arn Anderson and Randy Savage, then the WWF Champion. Michaels and Anderson at the time were embroiled in a fierce Rockers/Brain Busters rivalry, a feud many fans don’t give its proper historical accord.

Much has (and will) be written about Kane’s grand stature among Rumble entrants, but 2006 was one of his worst showings. Factoring in his two Rumbles as Isaac Yankem (1996) and Fake Diesel (1997), Glenn “Kane” Jacobs has been in a record 16 Rumbles, logging at least one elimination in all but one match. We detailed his epic run from the No. 6 spot a few days ago; the ninth spot is his second-lowest entry position. He manages just 3:33 (his fifth worst) but did remove Bobby Lashley from the match.

One arcane statistic I track is the shortest time in the ring with at least one elimination. The 1998 No. 9 Owen Hart actually falls at 22nd on that list at 2 minutes, and 2012’s No. 9 Santino Marella is at 27 with 2:31. Owen’s performance is difficult to account for by numbers only. He was attacked en route to the ring by Jeff Jarrett and Jim Cornette and helped to the back. But Hart returned to the match after Jarrett formally entered at No. 18. Hart eliminated Double J but then himself was eliminated due to interference from Triple H and Chyna, who were not formal entrants.

Another area where numbers are difficult to contextualize is exemplified by Shelton Benjmin’s two spins at No. 9. He is credited with an elimination both years, but in 2005 he was one of six men helping to oust Muhammad Hassan, and in 2007 he was one of eight to eliminate Viscera. Numbers may never lie, but they sure can muddle the truth.

Billy Gunn lasted just 14 seconds in 1994, the worst showing in that year’s Rumble and the shortest of any No. 9. In fact, he’s the only No. 9 who couldn’t last at least two minutes. Historically, only 16 men who entered the match fared worse. If we discredit Hornwsoggle’s total, then even the best No. 9 is the worst ever, ranking ahead of Rob Van Dam, entering at 20 in 2006 and lasting 23:52, and Shane Douglas, entering at 17 in 1991 and lasting 26:23.

(After the 20th spot the “best” times start to decrease, which makes sense given how much of the match has elapsed by the time No. 21 hits the ring.)

And since No. 9 is so awful, perhaps the worst ever, we’ll end with just a couple of random tidbits. In both 1990 and 1991, the No. 9 entrant was eliminated by his opponent at the subsequent WrestleMania (Bad News Brown/Roddy Piper and Jake Roberts/Rick Martel), and how about that nod to history with Ric Flair dumping Kerry Von Erich in 1992? The Rumble/Mania foreshadowing recurred in 1998 with Own Hart and Triple H. Undertaker thrice eliminated No. 9 — Tenryu in 1993, Matt Hardy in 2002 and JTG in 2009.

All right, that’s pretty much it. No. 9 is a dumpster fire, but perhaps that can change in 2014. Keep a stopwatch handy to see if this year’s ninth man can reach 27 minutes and restore some glory to the position.