5 unique stats from the last decade of WrestleMania
We are only a few days away from the most peculiar WrestleMania since the inception of WWE's biggest event of the year. For the first time, the Showcase of the Immortal will be held with no audience in attendance. WrestleMania 36 will also be the first of its kind to be aired on tape delay -- and it will happen over the course of 2 days, which is also a first. Despite the extremely difficult situation WWE has found itself in, there are still some amazing matches on the card. These include a Last Man Standing match between Randy Orton and Edge -- the latter will be having his first one-on-one match in almost a decade, a Boneyard Match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker, a Firefly Fun House match between "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and John Cena, and a WWE Championship bout between Brock Lesnar and the winner of the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble, Drew McIntyre.
While we are preparing ourselves for what is very likely to be the strangest WrestleMania ever, let us take a look at a few stats from WrestleManias in the last decade -- a simpler time in WWE history.
#5 Royal Rumble winners and WrestleMania main events
Before every Royal Rumble match, the ring announcer declares that the winner of the 30-man (or woman) battle royal will challenge for a World Championship of their choosing in the main event of that year's WrestleMania. In the last decade (2010 through 2019), there have been 12 Royal Rumble winners. The list begins with Edge in 2010 and ends with Seth Rollins in 2019. Only 5 of those WWE Superstars went on to perform in the final match of that year's WrestleMania, ostensibly the "main event". Those Superstars were John Cena in 2013 (vs. The Rock), Batista in 2014 (vs. Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan), Roman Reigns in 2015 (vs. Brock Lesnar), Triple H in 2016 (vs. Roman Reigns), and Becky Lynch in 2019 (vs. Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey).
The other 7 winners of the Royal Rumble received their World Title opportunity at some point earlier on in the show. In fact, 3 Royal Rumble victors actually kicked off that year's WrestleMania. Alberto Del Rio in 2011 (vs. Edge), Sheamus in 2012 (vs. Daniel Bryan), and Seth Rollins in 2019 (vs. Brock Lesnar).