Royal Rumble by (Entry) Numbers: 27

Yokozuna took his lumps in the '93 Rumble, but that didn't stop him from being the best ever from the No. 27 slot Photo Credit: WWE.com

Winners: Big John Studd (1989), Yokozuna (1993), Bret Hart (1994), Steve Austin (2001)
Final four: Faarooq (3rd, 1998)
Multiple draws: Glenn Jacobs (Isaac Yankem, 1996; Kane, 2005)
Longest: Bret Hart (1994), 15:08
Shortest: Bushwhacker Luke (1991): 0:04.
Most eliminations: Seven — Yokozuna (1993)

A great deal of this retrospective has been about digging up arcane data or twisting the conventional analysis to reveal new details about the Royal Rumble’s storied history. It’s not so easy to do that with the No. 27 spot, as one of the most widely-known Rumble facts is the 27th entry has won the Rumble a record four times. Steve Austin won form No. 27 in 2001 — his record third Rumble victory and the fourth win for No. 27 in just 13 Rumbles.

That means it’s been 12 years since a No. 27 claimed to prize. So what’s odder — that it happened four times in 13 years or that it hasn’t happened since? Since Austin’s win, no No. 27 has even made it to the final four (only one wrestler — Faarooq in 1998 — has made the final four from No. 27 without going on to win). The best finisher since Austin was Kofi Kingston in 2010, who lasted 2:51 and made two eliminations en route to finishing in sixth place.

So clearly the honor of best No. 27 goes to someone from the first 13 years. And with four winners, it has to be a difficult choice deciding the cream of the crop, right? Wrong.

The discussion for best No. 27 begins and ends with Yokozuna. In the first of his two Rumbles, the supposed sumo superstar went 14:53, made a whopping seven eliminations and became the first Rumble contestant to officially earn a WWF Title match at WrestleMania. Only two men made more eliminations in a win (Austin and Shawn Michaels, who did it twice) and even factoring non-winners, making seven or more eliminations in any Rumble is remarkable.

Big John Studd was the first No. 27 and also the first to win from that post. Being left alone in the ring with Akeem and Ted DiBiase was a tall order, but those two were his only eliminations in 12:21. Bret Hart lasted 15 seconds longer in 1994 than Yokozuna did in 1993, but Hart had only four eliminations — and he had to share his Rumble victory with Lex Luger. Austin put up just 9:43 in 2001. While being able to oust Kane, who’d lasted 53:46 and made a record 11 eliminations, was indeed impressive, it’s still not enough to wrest the top honors from Yokozuna.

The big man (and that’s an understatement) eliminated four men in a row — Tatanka, Carlos Colon, Earthquake and Tito Santana. He also eliminated Owen Hart en route to being alone in the ring with Bob Backlund, who entered second and somehow lasted more than 61 minutes, and another two-time WWF Champion, Randy Savage. Sure, the ending of the 1993 Rumble is one of the softest of all time (though it wasn’t the worst ending of a major WWF show in 1993, by a long shot), but that takes nothing away from Yokozuna’s dominance.

During a recent hunt for the first comedy spot in Rumble history, it was suggested Bushwhacker Luke’s four-second sting from No. 27 in 1991 is the prototype. Others have lasted less time or played for bigger laughs, but Luke’s bit — march down the aisle, march into the ring, get tossed — by Earthquake and keep marching to the back — certainly wasn’t a moment of serious competition.

A few days ago I got into detail about how I account for performers vs. characters. Part of that decision-making process is making sure to give Glenn Jacobs, he of the Kane persona, credit for the elimination he registered in 1996 while performing as Isaac Yankem, D.D.S. But he didn’t do much else that year. He didn’t do much as Kane in 2005, either, picking up just one elimination in only 3:54.

In fact, most of the non-winners have been downright limp. Of 25 entrants, 14 recorded zero eliminations. Thirteen men failed to last five minutes, and that’s without including Finlay in 2008, who was disqualified — the only DQ in Rumble history. Carlito’s 3:19 in 2007 is a far cry from his 38:29 in 2006 (23rd on the list of biggest gap between best and worst). Checking in at seventh on that list is Dolph Ziggler, whose 21 seconds in 2009 is miniscule in light of the 49:47 he posted in 2013.

Heck, clocking in at eighth on that list is Austin in 2001, a 46:55 deficit compared to his 56:38 run in 1999. Obviously entering at 27 the match was nearly over before Austin hit the ring. Could he have gone close to an hour if needed? Obviously we’ll never know. Either way, he didn’t eliminate seven people like Yokozuna.

So that’s the task for 2014’s No. 27. Win and help restore the legacy of the most charmed entry spot. Do so while eliminating eight or more men and wrest away the crown from Yokozuna. Smart money says that won’t happen. Yokozuna’s first Rumble appearances is the stuff of New Generation legends. It would be a huge shock to see his run equaled or surpassed — but anything is possible.