Royal Rumble by (Entry) Numbers: 21

Kharma intimidates Michael Cole into eliminating himself as maybe the most intriguing No. 21 ever Photo Credit: WWE.com

Winners: None
Final four: Bret Hart (2nd, 1997); Randy Savage (4th, 1992)
Multiple draws: Aldo Montoya (1995, 1996); Test (1999, 2002)
Longest: Randy Savage (1992); 22:26
Shortest: Warlord (1989): 0:02.
Most eliminations: Six — Ultimate Warrior (1990)

The first of 25 men to enter No. 21, the Warlord in 1989, lasted all of two seconds. That would not bode well for the future. Fifteen of the 25 wrestlers to enter 21st logged no eliminations. Ten lasted less than five minutes. Only two made the final four, and the one who finished second — Bret Hart in 1997 — should have been declared the winner, had referees noticed Steve Austin’s elimination earlier in the night.

Although Hart lasted 21:42, made two eliminations and nearly won his second Rumble, and although Randy Savage lasted 22:26 and also eliminated two en route to the final four, the honor of best No. 21 clearly goes to the Ultimate Warrior in 1990. After being almost entirely ineffective in his Rumble debut two years prior, the newest Hall of Fame inductee was the Intercontinental Champion in 1990 when he absolutely wreaked havoc on the match, eliminating Dino Bravo, Jim Neidhart, Ted DiBiase, Tito Santana, Shawn Michaels and Rick Martel.

With all due respect to some of the truly fun vignettes from the 1989 Rumble, and frankly, with all due respect to just about anything that’s happened since, for fans of a certain age no Rumble moment will ever top the spontaneous showdown between the Warrior and Hulk Hogan. The Orlando Arena crowd rose to its feet as Warrior finished clearing the ring and the ensuing magic is as memorable as anything from any WWF production. Warrior’s Rumble showing that year was a perfect embodiment of his character, and only someone winning from No. 21 will top what he did that night.

No. 21 entrants have accounted for just 18 eliminations in 25 Rumbles — including Warrior’s six. Fifteen of 25 who enters 21st have no eliminations, so nine other wrestlers are responsible for just 12 eliminations. Again, that’s over 25 years. But to be fair, this is the 21st spot. A deeper study might look at how many eliminations were possible for No. 21 given how few wrestlers were left in the ring at the time No. 21 entered. But that’s a matter for another day.

Still, Tantaka entered at 21 in 1994 and lasted 20:07 — plenty of time to record at least one elimination. But he failed to do so, and that places him 18th on the list of most ring time without a single elimination. Ten years later Mick Foley entered 21st. It was supposed to be Test, which would have been his third appearance at 21, but he was found injured backstage. Steve Austin ordered a replacement, and Foley hit the ring, attacking Randy Orton in a frenzy, with his momentum on one clothesline sending himself and the Legend Killer to the floor. Foley was in the ring for all of 43 seconds, seventh on the list of shortest duration with at least one elimination.

Checking in at 12th on that list is 2012’s No. 21, Kharma. The third woman to enter a Royal Rumble, Kharma was in the ring for only 78 seconds, but in that time managed to intimidate Michael Cole into more or less eliminating himself, responded to Dolph Ziggler’s misogyny with a devastating implant buster, stared down Vickie Guerrero and brutally eliminated Hunico, all before Ziggler dumped her over the top and to the floor. Sadly, those 78 seconds were her only official action in a WWE match, but it’s hard to think of anyone who’s done more in so little time.

Four competitors factored in eliminations of No. 21 more than once, and they all happen to be among the greatest performers of all time: Hulk Hogan (1989 and 1990), Ric Flair (1992, 2005) and John Cena (2008, 2010), while Steve Austin three times eliminated No. 21 — twice the victim was Test (Test also was twice eliminated by Big Show). So maybe 2014’s 21 won’t him or herself be a legend, but if there’s a future hall-of-famer in the ring at the time, 21 might be marked with a bullseye.