WWE Greatest Royal Rumble

The Greatest Royal Rumble was a single PPV event organized by WWE in April 2018. The event was the first WWE event held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a part of WWE's deal with Saudi Arabia in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. The program is a reform program for the country's society and economy.

The event was held on April 27, 2018, at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the event, every main roster male title was defended and a 50 Men Royal Rumble match took place. This is the only time the format has taken place besides the Royal Rumble PPV and the only time when a total of 50 participants entered the match. The eponymous match was the last time when Chris Jericho, The Great Khali, Mark Henry and Hornswoggle wrestled in WWE.

Also Read: Who all superstars have won the WWE Royal Rumble match?

WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Results

WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Background and History

The Royal Rumble match and the PPV both first took place in 1988. Since then, the January-based event is known for its over-the-top timed battle royal match where entrants enter the ring at fixed intervals and can be eliminated only when they are thrown over the top rope. There are no disqualifications and the one who stays in the ring the last gets the win. Since 1993, the winner of the Royal Rumble match has been awarded a world title match at WrestleMania except for the 2016 event, where Roman Reigns was forced to defend his WWE Championship in the Royal Rumble match itself.

In 2018, WWE introduced a Royal Rumble match for its women's roster as well. 2018 was the first year to have two Royal Rumble matches. However, just a few weeks later, it became the only year, thus far, to actually have three Royal Rumble matches. In March 2018, WWE announced an event in Saudi Arabia and that a 50-man Royal Rumble match would be the highlight of the night. Further, all main roster male titles were announced to be defended at the event. No women took part in the event.

WWE Greatest Royal Rumble - Who Won?

Braun Strowman won the WWE Greatest Royal Rumble match.

Some of the biggest names in WWE took part in the event. Multi-time world champions and WrestleMania main-eventers John Cena and Triple H opened the night with a 16-minute fight. This was followed by the NXT Cruiserweight Championship match where Cedric Alexander retained his gold against Kalisto.

Up next, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy defeated Cesaro and Sheamus to win the Vacant WWE Tag Team Championship. Jeff Hardy then retained the United States Championship against Jinder Mahal. In the next three matches, The Bludgeon Brothers, Seth Rollins and AJ Styles retained their SmackDown Tag Team Championship, Intercontinental Championship and WWE Championship. The Undertaker then defeated Rusev in a Casket Match. In the penultimate match, Brock Lesnar retained the Universal Championship against Roman Reigns.

The eponymous 50-Men Royal Rumble match was won by Braun Strowman who eliminated 14 superstars to ensure his victory.

On to the trivia of the event. A total of 26 World Champions had wrestled in the ten matches of the event. Speaking in terms of 2023, these matches involved 14 superstars who have at least once headlined WrestleMania. Further, there were eleven wrestlers in these matches who have won the Royal Rumble match at least once in their careers.

WWE Greatest Royal Rumble Participants and Stats