Royal Rumble by (Entry) Numbers: 26

No one has won from the No. 26 spot, but Kurt Angle is one of two who placed second Photo Credit: WWE.com

Winners: None
Final four: Big Show (2nd, 2000); Kurt Angle (2nd, 2002); Hulk Hogan (3rd, 1992); Rick Martel (4th, 1993)
Multiple draws: Rick Martel (1993, 1994)
Longest: Kofi Kingston (2011): 24:04
Shortest: Shawn Michaels (1990): 0:12.
Most eliminations: Four — Big Show (2000)

There have been 24 Royal Rumbles with precisely 30 entrants. Sixteen of the men declared the winner (or co-winner) entered between 22 and 30 — yet it’s never happened for a 26th entrant.

The closest were Big Show in 2000 and Kurt Angle in 2002, who finished second, and Hulk Hogan, who ended a memorable third in 1992. Rick Martel finished fourth in 1993, but no one expected him to outlast Bob Backlund, Randy Savage or Yokozuna at that point, and he met those low expectations. What’s most notable about that run is he entered at the same spot the next year and lasted exactly one second less — that might be the most rare, unlikely to be replicated Rumble quirk of them all. Also odd, but not as rare, is Martel twice entered at No. 26 and twice eliminated No. 26, doing so in 1989 and 1991.

Big Show gets the nod as the best No. 26 ever. He was in the ring almost five minutes less than Angle in 2002, but Show tossed twice as many men — and one more than Hogan dumped in 1992. Longevity’s never been a strong suit of the World’s Largest Athlete. He’s been in nine Rumbles (only four men entered more) and made 24 eliminations (sixth all time, tied with Hogan) but collectively lasted only 1:03:57 in the ring — 37th on the list — an average of just 7:06 per match.

By comparison, Hogan racked up his 24 (legal) eliminations in just four matches and 55:44 in the ring — an average of 13:56 per match. Hogan also won twice in three trips to the final four, including as No. 26. The lesson? No one Rumble stat can define “the best.”

In a related vein, Kofi Kingston holds the crown for longest stay from No. 26 at a whopping 24:04. But he did so in 2011, the 40-man Rumble. The longest stint in a 30-man Rumble belongs to Angle in 2002, holding a near four-minute advantage over Mankind in 1997.

Shawn Michaels is arguably the greatest Rumble participant. But he’s not helped in that discussion at all by his second appearance, a 12-second washout in 1990 when he was cleared from the ring, in a flurry of other eliminations, solely to make way for the Hogan-Ultimate Warrior showdown. That’s 38:29 shorter than his longest showing, the 38:41 he put up in his wire-to-wire win in 1995. The disparity is 16th on the list of widest gaps between best and worst.

Here’s one for the “what if” crowd: What if Triple H had succeeded in his first attempt at eliminating The Brian Kendrick in 2009? Kendrick hit the ring, pushed Kofi Kingston off the top turnbuckle and immediately set about dancing in the middle of the ring, as Kendrick was wont to do. A clearly agitated Triple H grabbed Kendrick and attempted to have him exit stage left, but Kendrick sort of bounced off the middle rope. So HHH grabbed him again and lofted him over the top on stage right.

Had the first attempt worked, would Kendrick have eclipsed MVP’s dubious mark of the shortest duration with at least one elimination (seven seconds in 2010) be the standard? As it was, Kendrick is credited with 15 seconds, second on the list and far ahead of the 33-second mark shared by Booker T (2002) and René Duprée (2004).

It remains a shocker there’s not been a winner from No. 26. All but seven who entered 26th lasted 6:53 or longer. Ten of them lasted 10:20 or longer. The spot has accounted for only 22 eliminations. Yes, it’s darn near the end of the match, but the final four spots all have significantly better track records.