Royal Rumble by (Entry) Numbers: 13

He may not have won the Rumble, but Cody Rhodes has done good work from the 13 spot Photo Credit: WWE.com

Winners: Jim Duggan (1988)
Final four: The Rock (3rd, 2001)
Multiple draws: Cody Rhodes (2008, 2010)
Longest: The Rock (2001), 38:42
Shortest: Bushwhacker Luke (1995): 0:12.
Most eliminations: Four — Vader (1996)

A winner! We haven’t had a chance to break down an entry position with a winner since No. 8. Of course, the winner here is “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, not only the least likely Rumble winner ever — Jesse “The Body” proclaimed: ““I can’t believe it. Of all the people to win this thing, it’s him?” — but also the winner of the 1988 Rumble, which had only 20 entrants. His 14:43 is the 18th best of 27 Rumble winners, but eight No. 13s have lasted longer in the ring. Yet every single one of those other Rumbles lasted longer — the ‘88 Rumble was only 33:26. (By comparison, the 1995 Rumble, with 30 entrants but only 60-second entry intervals, was 38:41.)

So choosing the best No. 13 comes down to how we value Duggan’s win. He did log three eliminations, not particularly dominant by winners’ standards, but pretty good as No. 13 goes. The Rock lasted much longer in 2001 and finished third, also eliminating three. But Duggan dumped Nikolai Volkoff and Danny Davis before pulling the ropes down in front of a charging One Man Gang. Rock, however, tossed the Goodfather and, by himself, the Big Show and a fresh Rikishi.

Duggan’s win wasn’t all that shocking given the fact he entered in the latter half of the match and wasn’t exactly facing top-shelf competition. Bret Hart was still just a tag team guy, and a young one at that. Jake Roberts was a rising star, but entered fifth. Harley Race was a legend near the end of his run, and he entered sixth. Dino Bravo and Don Muraco joined Duggan in the final four, and Ron Bass and Junk Yard Dog were eliminated just before them. Any of those six would be a viable winner given the year and the competition, but none would hold up historically much better than Hacksaw.

Vader makes a case for being the best No. 13 on account of his four eliminations in 1996 — Jake Roberts, Doug Gilbert, one of the Squat Team members and Savio Vega — an impressive performance in just 11:04. But as noted a few days ago, Vader and his Camp Cornette colleague Yokozuna were eliminated simultaneously by Shawn Michaels, an almost unthinkable occurrence given their combined girth.

Michaels also tossed No. 13 a year earlier, showing Bushwhacker Luke to the floor in just 12 seconds — three times longer than Luke lasted in 1991. Michaels also eliminated No. 13 in 2010. Steve Austin dumped No. 13 in 1997, 1998 and 2002. Chris Benoit had a hand in dumping No. 13 in 2005 and 2006. Edge was involved in 2005 and 2007. Chris Jericho did the same in 2005 and 2013. Triple H did a back-to-back in 2008 and 2009. None of that means much of anything, of course, but it’s worth noting.

No one is credited with eliminating No. 13 in 2004. An aggravated Kane attacked Spike Dudley as the diminutive superstar made his way to the ring. No one took his place and Dudley simply never entered the match, one of six times in Rumble history a match entrant failed to actually enter the ring and get credit for time.

Let us not miss another chance to talk about one of the great young Rumble contestants, Cody Rhodes. Half of the current tag team champions, Cody entered two of his five Rumbles at No. 13. While his standout performances came at No. 3 and No. 4, he has racked up more than 30 minutes (but no eliminations) from 13. Those performances are part of the reason he’s sixth all time on the list of average minutes per Rumble appearance at 27:57. It would not be a surprise to see him climb past Triple H (28:56) into fifth pace with a strong showing in 2014.

Fifteen of the 26 men to enter at 13 failed to eliminate anyone, and ten 13s couldn’t last five minutes. It’s still one of the weaker of the 30 entry positions, but there are a few more collective eliminations than the ugliness of the nine and ten spots, and Duggan’s win, improbable though it might be compared to each succeeding Rumble, elevates 13 out of the absolute mire.