6 Original WWE Royal Rumble rules you didn't know existed
The Royal Rumble has been an annual event for more than three decades and in that time WWE has changed the rules several times.
Whilst the current Rumble rules are relatively well-known, there are a few gray areas. The company has created official rules but has continuously changed them in order to fit a certain storyline.
The following article looks at just six original Royal Rumble rules that you probably didn't know existed. Many of the following list have since been adapted by the company to make the event much more pleasing to modern viewers.
#6. An entrant cannot be eliminated from The Royal Rumble via outside interference
CM Punk eliminated in the 2014 #RoyalRumble, by an already eliminated Kane ... that was 7 years ago AND the last time we saw Punk in a #WWE ring. https://t.co/vu2FBjJVI1
In recent years, several WWE Superstars have been eliminated by outside interference or losers from the match itself. It has become common to set up future feuds on the Road to WrestleMania, but this wasn't always the case.
During the 1996 Royal Rumble match, Vader was so annoyed that he was eliminated that he went on to gorilla press Shawn Michaels out of the ring and onto the floor.
Michaels was obviously scripted to win the match so WWE had to change the rules and allow "The Heartbreak Kid" back into the match so that he could finish.
In the years that have followed, WWE has allowed these kinds of eliminations to stand.
#5. Self eliminations don't count in The Rumble match
Andre the Giant eliminated himself from the 1989 Royal Rumble match running scared from Jake's snake. http://t.co/aLPe8DvImB
It's hard to forget Andre The Giant being so afraid of Jake The Snake Roberts' pet that he jumped over the top rope and out of the match. Michael Cole was so scared of Kharma that he jumped over the rope in the 2012 Royal Rumble match as well, which was also seen as a self-elimination that counted.
Just three years after Andre's exit in 1992, Randy Savage jumped over the top rope to continue his assault on Jake Roberts. The fact that both his feet touched the floor meant that he was eliminated, but he was allowed back into the match because he eliminated himself.
It's clear that WWE allowed this to cover for a botch by Savage, but it now raises the question as to whether or not self-elimination counts.