Royal Rumble by (Entry) Numbers: 16

SURPRISE UNDERTAKER Photo Credit: WWE.com

Winners: None
Final four: Randy Orton (4th, 2007)
Multiple draws: Miz (2008, 2010)
Longest: Undertaker (2009), 32:29
Shortest: Mo (1995): 0:03.
Most eliminations: Three — Undertaker (2009)

Love him or hate him, the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton is one of the greatest Royal Rumble competitors of all time. We covered that at length during a look at his performance from the No. 8 spot in 2009. But it bears repeating Orton has made the final four five times, an exclusive club whose only other members are Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin and Glenn “Kane” Jacobs.

But it’s the Undertaker, one of six men to make three final fours, who should get the nod as the best No. 16 ever. He has both the longest ring time (32:29) and most eliminations (three) from the spot, though he missed the final four by one spot. Big Show is credited with eliminating the Undertaker, though the former technically was already eliminated from the bout.

Near the end of the contest, Big Show and Undertaker spilled over the top rope, though neither man hit the floor. As they fought on the ring apron, Orton hit Big Show with an RKO, sending him to the floor. Show then pulled Undertaker off the apron. Some might argue this should not be considered an official elimination since Show was already eliminated — the same as giving Hulk Hogan credit for eliminating the Big Boss Man in 1989 or for his help ousting Sid Justice in 1992 — others contend Big Show deserves the plus-one for getting ‘Taker over the ropes in the first place. Right now I take the latter stance, though I could be convinced to switch. It would just take me a few minutes to update my spreadsheets.

Before all that nonsense at the end, Undertaker eliminated JTG, Shelton Benjamin and Chris Jericho. For a guy who eliminated 32 wrestlers over ten Rumbles (fourth all time), that’s about average. But Undertaker also is ninth on the list of cumulative ring time at 2:22:34, an average of just 14:15. This and his showing the prior year, when he lasted four seconds longer (entering at No. 1 and also recording three eliminations) are by far his two best showings in terms of endurance. In fact, although his average is 14:15, his third-best time is 14:16 and all the rest range between four and 14 minutes.

It’s easy enough to say Undertaker is the best No. 16 ever because the competition is fairly light. Of the more than 800 credited eliminations in Rumble history, the No. 16 entrant has accounted for only 15 — total, second-worst. Seventeen of 26 men who entered 16th eliminated no one, also second-worst. Eleven No. 17s lasted less than five minutes, including the delightful stretch from 1995-1999, when five men combined to last 11:02 and make one elimination. The biggest loser is Mo, of Men on a Misson, who recorded all of three seconds in 1995, widely accepted as the worst Royal Rumble ever.

The one elimination of that sorry string is credited to Mankind in 1998. He was in the ring for 2:40, landing at 29th on my completely useless list of “shortest duration with at least one elimination.” No other No. 16 makes the top 30. And again, we’re counting that showing as a separate entry from Mick Foley’s other two appearances in the same Rumble.

Also in minutiae, it’s worth noting Shawn Michaels singlehandedly eliminated No. 16 three years in a row, 2005-2007. He also is credited for being one of seven men who eliminated Mabel in 1993. HBK was in the 1989 Rumble, which memorably started with tag team partners Ax and Smash of Demolition entering sequentially, the first of only seven times that’s happened. The second time it happened was later the same match, when Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard of the Brain Busters entered at 16 and 17. One of the two men The Enforcer eliminated that year? Shawn Michaels.

The Miz is the only men to enter twice at No. 16. Though he was eliminated by the lowly Hornswoggle in 2008, he was in the ring for 13:07. He lasted just 17 seconds in 2010, as detailed during a look at MVP’s seven-second, one elimination record from the No. 14 spot.

But man… back to Mo. Only three seconds, the shortest time in the shortest (and worst) Rumble ever. It was so bad he was one of two guys to last only three seconds that year, though at least Owen Hart had an excuse (see post on No. 11 for details).

The last thing to be said about No. 16 relates to its most recent occupant, the current NXT Champion Bo Dallas. 2013 was the first year for WWE’s Royal Rumble FanFest, part of which was an eight-man tournament earning the winner a spot in the next night’s Rumble. Dallas won the tournament and became the first active member of the NXT roster to be in the Rumble. He lasted 21:42 and eliminated Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, the fourth-longest showing of any No. 16.

Dallas’ night ended when a scorned Barrett (himself a decorated NXT alum) illegally eliminated the youngster. Dallas beat the Brit in a nontitle match the next night on Raw but lost to him in a title bout on NXT in late April. A lot has happened with Bo Dallas (the character) between then and now, and there’s a few other NXT stars much more deserving of the kind of rub possible from a Rumble showing in 2014. But there’s also a concern of a repeat of the same story with different wrestlers turning it from a potential plot engine into a formulaic trope. As such, and along with plenty of other stories swirling about on the road to WrestleMania XXX and the ongoing murkiness regarding how much of NXT exists in the WWE Universe as seen on Raw, Smackdown and pay-per-view, my stance is this one is better left on the sidelines for at least another year.