The 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match lasted 61 minutes and 8 seconds (61m 08s).
This text graphic provides time stamps for each superstar’s arrival and exit from the match, as well as showing who the longest lasting superstars were as the match progressed.
For comparison’s sake, here are other versions of this graphic for Royal Rumble matches from 1988, 1992, 2003, 2007, 2009, and 2013.
Survival Times
The survival time for a superstar is the time that lapses between the point when she steps foot into the ring and the time that her feet hit the floor to signal elimination. This does not include the time it takes for a superstar to make her way from the entrance ramp down to the actual ring.
The average superstar survival time for the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match was 16m 08s and the median survival time was 11m 51s. The median value is less influenced by outliers at either extreme.
Here is the full list of survival times for all 30 superstars:
- 61m 08s: Rhea Ripley
- 61m 07s: Liv Morgan
- 33m 14s: Asuka
- 28m 05s: Piper Niven
- 27m 10s: Bayley
- 26m 35s: Zoey Stark
- 22m 20s: Dakota Kai
- 20m 49s: IYO SKY
- 20m 40s: Raquel Rodriguez
- 17m 44s: Mia Yim
- 15m 30s: Xia Li
- 14m 04s: Lacey Evans
- 13m 53s: Michelle McCool
- 13m 28s: Shayna Baszler
- 11m 58s: Tamina
- 11m 43s: Dana Brooke
- 11m 30s: Zelina Vega
- 10m45s: Becky Lynch
- 10m 17s: Sonya Deville
- 10m 12s: Emma
- 9m 16s: Nikki Cross
- 8m 38s: Shotzi
- 5m 10s: Candice LeRae
- 4m 50s: Indi Hartwell
- 4m 34s: Roxanne Perez
- 3m 42s: Tegan Nox
- 3m 08s: Natalya
- 1m 57s: Nia Jax
- 0m 37s: B-Fab
- 0m 05s: Chelsea Green
Every listed time should be viewed with a margin of error of about two seconds or so.
All of the survival times listed on WWE’s web site fall within one second of the above times.
There was about a one second delay between the time when Morgan’s body hit the floor to signal her elimination and when the bell rang to officially end the match. I added this extra second onto Rhea Ripley’s survival time. WWE’s web site did the same thing.
The average survival time of 16m 08s is the third largest mark in Royal Rumble history, trailing only 1991 and 2009.
Nine of the 30 participants lasted for 20 minutes or longer, including all three members of Damage CTRL.
Coming into this match, who could have guessed that Doudrop Piper Niven would finish with the fourth highest survival time and close to 30 minutes?
Zoey Stark finishing with the 6th highest survival time is another shocker.
One of the more disappointing things about this match is that Becky Lynch spent approximately 7m 42s of her total survival time (10m 45s) laying on the ground doing nothing after Damage CTRL threw her over the announce table.
Only three women failed to survive for at least two full minutes. This includes two women (Chelsea Green, Nia Jax) who were making their return to WWE after being fired in 2021.
Green actually found a way to get eliminated faster here than in 2020 when she only lasted 0m 12s. Her survival time of 0m 05s is the worst ever in a women’s Royal Rumble match, breaking Liv Morgan’s record of 0m 10s from 2019.
Dana Brooke has competed in all six women’s Royal Rumble matches since its inception in 2018. This year is the first time she survived for more than eight minutes.
Natalya has also competed in all six women’s Royal Rumble matches. This is just the second time that she failed to survive for at least 14 minutes.
Candice LeRae has now competed in three Rumble matches, but this year was her worst survival time. She has yet to survive for 10 minutes in any Royal Rumble match.
You can find information on the elimination order here.
Entrance Times
Here are the entrance times for each wrestler involved. This is the amount of time that passed between an entrance buzzer going off and when the wrestler finally stepped foot into the actual ring. The first two entrants (Ripley, Morgan) are excluded because their entrances took place prior to the start of the match.
- 1m 08s: Nia Jax
- 1m 03s: Asuka
- 0m 56s: Chelsea Green
- 0m 47s: Sonya Deville
- 0m 43s: Zelina Vega
- 0m 42s: Bayley
- 0m 40s: Piper Niven
- 0m 39s: Emma, Shotzi, Dana Brooke
- 0m 37s: Michin, Xia Li, Becky Lynch
- 0m 34s: Tamina
- 0m 33s: Lacey, McCool, Natalya, B-Fab
- 0m 32s: Rodriguez, Perez, Tegan Nox
- 0m 31s: Candice LeRae
- 0m 30s: Zoey Stark
- 0m 29s: IYO SKY
- 0m 25s: Indi Hartwell
- 0m 22s: Shayna Baszler
- 0m 18s: Dakota Kai
- 0m 16s: Nikki Cross
The way I record this data is that the entrance time for a wrestler ends when her survival time begins.
The median entrance time for the women’s Royal Rumble match was 33.5 seconds, which is quite long but still five seconds short of the men. This is the time between the buzzer going off and when that new wrestler officially enters the ring. That would be about 37.2% of an actual 90 second waiting period.
Nikki Cross did her best impression of the Ultimate Warrior, running to the ring as fast as she could during her entrance.
Asuka took some extra time during her entrance to show off her new murder clown look.
Nia Jax and Chelsea Green were two surprise entrants who just took a very long time slowly walking to the ring during their entrance.
These entrance times add up to 17m 00s, which means that a wrestler was in the midst of her entrance for approximately 27.8% of the match.
Follow the Buzzers
WWE stated there would be 90-second waiting intervals between each entrant in the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match. How well did WWE stick to that claim? Here are the waiting times between all 28 buzzers, in chronological order:
- 1m 31s: Buzzer 1 – Dana Brooke
- 1m 48s: Buzzer 2 – Emma
- 1m 28s: Buzzer 3 – Shayna Baszler
- 1m 30s: Buzzer 4 – Bayley
- 1m 37s: Buzzer 5 – B-Fab
- 1m 38s: Buzzer 6 – Roxanne Perez
- 1m 36s: Buzzer 7 – Dakota Kai
- 1m 31s: Buzzer 8 – IYO SKY
- 2m 17s: Buzzer 9 – Natalya
- 1m 42s: Buzzer 10 – Candice LeRae
- 2m 16s: Buzzer 11 – Zoey Stark
- 1m 37s: Buzzer 12 – Xia Li
- 2m 07s: Buzzer 13 – Becky Lynch
- 1m 53s: Buzzer 14 – Tegan Nox
- 1m 38s: Buzzer 15 – Asuka
- 2m 51s: Buzzer 16 – Piper Niven
- 1m 37s: Buzzer 17 – Tamina
- 1m 46s: Buzzer 18 – Chelsea Green
- 2m 38s: Buzzer 19 – Zelina Vega
- 1m 55s: Buzzer 20 – Raquel Rodriguez
- 1m 39s: Buzzer 21 – Michin
- 1m 43s: Buzzer 22 – Lacey Evans
- 1m 39s: Buzzer 23 – Michelle McCool
- 1m 40s: Buzzer 24 – Indi Hartwell
- 1m 26s: Buzzer 25 – Sonya Deville
- 2m 27s: Buzzer 26 – Shotzi
- 1m 43s: Buzzer 27 – Nikki Cross
- 1m 23s: Buzzer 28 – Nia Jax
The average waiting period was 1m 48s, while the median time was 1m 40s.
Only five of the 28 waiting periods fell within five seconds of the 90-second goal. However, 15 of the 28 waiting periods came within 10 seconds of the 90-second goal. Three of the 28 intervals lasted less than than 90 seconds, according to these results.
Out of the 15 intervals that came within 10 seconds of the goal, seven of them occurred within the first eight waiting periods.
In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Nia Jax’s entrance) would have gone off 42m 00s after the start of the match. In reality, this buzzer never went off because Nia’s entrance music began playing early. That moment happened at 50m 36s.
That final waiting period leading up to Nia’s entrance was the shortest of the match, lasting 1m 23s. I decided to end the clock on it when Nia’s entrance music began to play. It’s worth noting that a countdown clock did appear on the screen a few seconds after her music began to play. If the time on that clock was followed through, the final waiting period would have lasted 1m 37s. However, that clock disappeared from the screen after it ticked down to seven seconds.
Six of the waiting periods lasted longer than 2m 00s. Here is some context behind those intervals, in chronological order. You’ll see that Bayley and Damage CTRL were involved in most of these segments:
- The period where IYO SKY entered the match lasted 2m 17s. Damage CTRL was in full power at this point, and the segment was all about the three members working together to eliminate Dana Brooke, Emma, and Roxanne Perez. Once Perez was tossed out, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- The period where Candice LeRae entered the match lasted 2m 16s. The main story here was Natalya squaring off with Shayna Baszler. They fought each other onto the ring apron, leading to Damage CTRL eliminating both of them at the same time. Right after they were eliminated, the countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- The period where Xia Li entered the match lasted 2m 07s. Li had a flurry of offense on a few different women early on. The segment then focused on Damage CTRL working together to eliminate Candice LeRae, setting the stage for Becky Lynch to come out next.
- The period where Asuka entered the match lasted 2m 51s, which was the longest interval in the match. Asuka’s entrance took 63 seconds, revealing her new murder clown look. She had an extended one-on-one battle with Bayley. But the main thing they were waiting for here was the elimination of Tegan Nox. Once Asuka kicked her out of the ring, the countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- The period where Chelsea Green entered the match lasted 2m 38s. Green took 56 seconds to get to the ring, though she was immediately eliminated in record time. The rest of the segment was all about Becky and Damage CTRL. Becky eliminated IYO SKY and Dakota Kai, only to then be eliminated by Bayley. Bayley was tossed out by Liv Morgan. Lynch and Damage CTRL then brawled through the audience and we never saw them again. That’s when the countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- The period where Sonya Deville entered the match lasted 2m 27s. Sonya quickly eliminated Zoey Stark upon entering the ring. Deville and Asuka went at it one-on-one, exchanging kicks that put them both on the mat. The focus then shifted to Lacey Evans using the Cobra Clutch to knock out Zelina Vega and dump her out of the ring for an elimination. The countdown clock appeared right after Vega’s body hit the ground.
Ring Crowdedness
If you add up each wrestler’s survival time, it results in a total survival time of 8h 04m 09s. Given that the match lasted a total of 61m 08s, that comes out to an average of 7.9 competitors in the ring at any given second. This is the 3rd most crowded Royal Rumble ever out of all 43 matches, only surpassed by 2009 and 1998.
When I talk about how many superstars were “in the ring,” I’m counting all active superstars in the match, whether they are literally inside the ring or not. It does not, however, count a wrestler’s time outside the ring prior to initially stepping foot into the ring.
These numbers have not been adjusted to account for Becky Lynch’s 7m 42s absence during her survival time. If that time was magically erased off her ledger with no other changes made, the average number of competitors in the ring would drop from 7.9 to 7.8, and this would still rank as the 3rd most crowded Royal Rumble match ever.
Here is a more accurate way to understand how many women were active at any given time. This chart shows the total time that the ring was filled with an exact number of discrete superstars at once.
The above chart shows there were between 7 and 11 wrestlers in the ring for 71.4% of the match. The ring depth never dropped below 7 active wrestlers between the timestamps of 19m 24s and 56m 56s.
The longest time span with zero eliminations in the match occurred right in the beginning, between the timestamps of 0m 00s and 9m 04s. The ring filled up with its first seven entrants (Ripley, Morgan, Brooke, Emma, Baszler, Bayley, B-Fab) during this time. B-Fab’s elimination at 9m 04s ended this streak of over nine minutes with no eliminations.
The ring kept filling up from there, reaching a depth of 9 active wrestlers at the timestamp of 13m 08s, when IYO SKY joined the match. All three members of Damage CTRL were now in the ring and ready to eliminate people.
The ring depth fluctuated between 6 to 8 wrestlers between the timestamps of 13m 53s and 25m 03s.
Asuka’s entry into the match at 27m 12s brought the number of wrestlers in the ring up to 10 for the first time, which is a threshold that the 2023 men’s match never reached. There were no eliminations during a 6m 26s period between the timestamps of 22m 19s and 28m 45s. The new wrestlers who entered the match during this time were Becky Lynch, Tegan Nox, and Asuka.
The maximum ring depth of 12 active wrestlers was reached a few minutes later when Chelsea Green joined the match at 33m 19s. Green was eliminated in just five seconds, so this maximum depth of 12 didn’t last for very long.
This is about the point in the match where Becky Lynch and all three members of Damage CTRL were quickly eliminated, dropping the ring depth back down to single digits. The number of wrestlers in the ring fluctuated between 7 and 9 from the timestamps of 33m 57s (IYO’s elimination) to 40m 51s.
The ring depth climbed into double digits again because there were no eliminations during a 6m 31s period between the timestamps of 36m 38s and 43m 09s. The new wrestlers who entered the match during this time were Raquel Rodriguez, Michin, Lacey Evans, and Michelle McCool.
The most crowded portion of the match occurred between the timestamps of 40m 51s and 56m 07s. The ring depth never dropped below 10 active wrestlers during this stretch of time. The maximum ring depth of 12 was reached twice during this range, first when Sonya Deville joined the match at 45m 50s, and again when Nia Jax joined the match as the final entrant. There was an average of 10.8 wrestlers in the ring during this time.
End of the Match
Once Nia Jax entered the ring at the timestamp 51m 44s, the match essentially turned into a 12-woman Battle Royal to the finish between Ripley, Morgan, Asuka, Niven, Rodriguez, Michin, Lacey, McCool, Deville, Shotzi, Cross, and Jax. All 12 of them can be seen in the header photo at the top of this post.
The elimination rate suddenly sped up. The eliminations of Deville, McCool, Shotzi, Michin, Niven, Rodriguez, and Cross all occurred between the timestamps of 56m 07s and 58m 45s, a time span of less than three full minutes.
This final segment of the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match lasted 9m 24s, and at that point Rhea Ripley had gone the distance and emerged as the winner.
That’s all you need to know about the timing of the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble match. Which numbers do you find to be the most interesting?
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Previous Royal Rumble analyses:
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2000
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2018 Men
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Greatest Royal Rumble
2019 Women
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2022 Women
2022 Men
2023 Men
