Royal Rumble by (Entry) Numbers: 17

Godfather's ignominious 2013 run may have been No. 17's most notable entrant Photo Credit: WWE.com

Winners: None
Final four: Dino Bravo (3rd, 1988)
Multiple draws: Goldust (1998, 2009); Godfather (1999, 2013); Albert (2001, 2002); Shelton Benjamin (2004, 2008)
Longest: Shane Douglas (1991), 26:23
Shortest: Godfather (2013): 0:05.
Most eliminations: Three — Chris Benoit (2007)

Perhaps it is right to start with Dino Bravo, the first No. 17 in Rumble history who finished third behind One Man Gang and the inaugural winner, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. After all, no other No. 17 has made the final four. The closest (by a fair piece) was Goldust in 1998, who was the sixth-place finisher. But of course, no other No. 17 had the advantage Bravo claimed — entering 17th in a 20-man Rumble. In ten days when we’re looking at the No. 27 entries, all but one of which came in a 30-man Rumble, it’s a safe bet there will be more than one final four placement and plenty who lasted longer than Bravo’s 8:12.

To be fair to Bravo, he did log two eliminations in 1988, dumping the Ultimate Warrior and Don Muraco. But Bravo is one of six No. 17s to make two eliminations, the most of any entry position. Five No. 17s made one elimination and only Chris Benoit, in his last Rumble in 2007, is credited with three eliminations. Since No. 17 is the latest Benoit entered a Rumble, this might be the last time we have to mention him in this series.

Benoit is 13th in career eliminations with 14, seventh in cumulative time at 2:37:19 and first in minutes per Rumble (for anyone who entered at least two) with 39:20. Entering 17th in 2007 he lasted just 17:52 — 43:38 shorter than his winning 1:01:30 in his 2004 Rumble debut, the 11th-biggest disparity among any wrestler’s best and worst appearances. Now let’s not speak of him again.

Instead we could look at Shane Douglas, who in 1991 (post-Dynamic Dudes/pre-ECW) lasted 26:23 in the Rumble, the longest ever for a No. 17, but also one of the shortest longest stays for any Rumble position. Obviously not as impressive as that other guy we just mentioned, but then again, the 17 spot is pretty thing.

It is interesting to see four men have twice drawn No. 17, which is a lot, though you’ll remember it’s happened five times with No. 1. One of those guys was Ric Flair, who had the same spot 14 years apart (1993 and 2007). The Godfather matched him here with No. 17 entries in 1999 and 2013 (more on this distinction tomorrow). That 2013 showing is the worst No. 17 of all time, a measly five seconds.

For a guy who’s been in eight Rumbles, Charles Wright has a dismal record. Six times he lasted less than two minutes: four times as the Godfather (from five seconds to 1:48) and once as Papa Shango (28 seconds). The only time he did anything of note was as Kama, and both of those came at No. 23, which means we can put off talking about him for almost a week. Suffice it to say there’s a good chance you can determine the importance of a recurring character to the company’s narrative based on a cursory analysis of Royal Rumble statistics.

The other repeat 17s are Albert (2001 and 2002), already identified earlier in this series of one of the most ineffectual Rumble performers ever — perhaps even more so given his size — Shelton Benjamin (2004 and 2008) and Goldust, who went 11 years between turns at 17. The first, in 1998, was one of the strongest showings ever. At 26:04 it clocks in just 19 seconds shorter then Shane Douglas, with the benefit of the solo eliminations of Mankind and that year’s No. 30 — Vader, who should have done far more from that post.

Getting into the more random details, Hulk Hogan eliminated No. 17 in consecutive Rumbles, 1989 and 1990. Dolph Ziggler also was involved in eliminating No. 17 in back-to-back Rumbles — both more or less novelty entries (Booker T from the announce table in 2012 and the aforementioned five-second Godfather spot in 2013). Cody Rhodes gets credit for twice eliminating No. 17, and Kane did it three times. But Shawn Michaels eliminated No. 17, alone or with a partner, four times in all. Least surprising was in 2008 when he ousted Shelton Benjamin after just 37 seconds — the third straight Rumble when HBK tossed the former Golden Gopher.

One final note — of the first seven men to enter at No. 17, the shortest stay was Tully Blanchard’s at 8:02 in 1989. Those men combined for nine eliminations. That’s remarkable consistency compared to the other spots we’ve analyzed. When the clock ticked to zero on No. 17 in 1995 (again, the worst Rumble ever), a 500-pound Mabel parted the curtain. And while he did eliminate King Kong Bundy, Mabel only lasted 1:58 when a fresh Lex Luger tossed him with ease — a shocking end to a good run for No. 17, and 20th on the list of shortest ring time with at least one elimination. Coming in at fifth on that list is Chyna, who had one elimination despite being in the 2000 Rumble for only 37 seconds.

One final, final note — Mabel entered one spot after his tag team partner, Mo, the fourth of seven times that’s happened in Rumble history. It occurred three times in 1989 alone and twice in 1995.