WWE has stated that there will be 90-second wait times between each participant in the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble match. How closely does WWE stick to this claim? Here are the wait times between all 28 bells, in chronological order:

• 1pm 28s: Bell 1 – Lamaze
• 1m 46s: Bell 2 – Kofi Kingston
• 1m40s: Bell 3 – Johnny Gargano
• 2m18s: Bell 4 – Xavier Woods
• 1m49s: Bell 5 – Carrion Cross
• 2m12s: Bell 6 – Chad Gable
• 1m 39s: Bell 7 – Drew McIntyre
• 1m55s: Bell 8 – Santos Escobar
• 1m 59s: Bell 9 – Angelo Dawkins
• 2 months 04 s: Bell 10 – Brock Lesnar
• 2m15s: Bell 11 – Bobby Lashley
• 1 minute 48 seconds: Bell 12 – Baron Corbin
• 1 minute 44 seconds: bell 13 – Seth Rollins
• 1 minute 48 seconds: Bell 14 – Otis
• 1m33s: Bell 15 – Rey Mysterio
• 1m40s: Bell 16 – Dominic Mysterio
• 2pm 24s: Bell 17 – Elias
• 1m 39s: Bell 18 – Finn Balor
• 2pm 11s: Bell 19 – Booker T
• 1m 46s: Bell 20 – Damien Priest
• 1pm 37s: Bell 21 – Montez Ford
• 1m 50s: Bell 22 – Edge
• 2pm 19s: Bell 23 – Austin Theory
• 2pm 00s: Bell 24 – Omos
• 1m 57s: Bell 25 – Braun Strowman
• 2m 45s: Bell 26 – Rebound
• 2m48s: Bell 27 – Logan Paul
• 2m25s: Bell 28 – Cody Rhodes

The average waiting time was 1 million 59 seconds, and the average time was 1 million 53 seconds.

Only two of the 28 waits occurred within five seconds of the 90-second target. 7 of the 28 waits came within 10 seconds of the 90-second target. One period lasted less than 90 seconds, according to these results.

In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Cody’s entry) would have sounded 42 meters after the start of the match. In fact, this bell tossed at 55 meters 19 seconds.

10 of the 28 waits lasted more than 2m 00s, six of which occurred in the latter half of the match. Here’s the context behind some of those times, in chronological order:

• The period Johnny Gargano entered the match took 2 million 18 seconds. The purpose of this period was to eliminate The Miz from this match. As part of the process, Banger Bro Sheamus hit Miz’s chest 20 times counting fans. Once Miz was gone, a 10-second countdown clock appeared on the screen.
• The period that Karrion Cross entered the match took 2m 12s. Nothing remarkable happened here. It took Kross 49 seconds to get to the ring, which was longer than most. Then he traded some blows with Xavier Woods, Gunther and Sheamus.
• And the period in which Angelo Dawkins entered the match took two minutes and 4 seconds. This is where Kofi Kingston’s failed save spot happened. Once the venue was dismantled and eliminated, a 10-second countdown clock appeared on the screen.
• The next period lasted 2m15 seconds, and that’s when Brock Lesnar joined the match. His entry took 56 seconds, then he needed some time to get rid of three guys and a showdown with GUNTHER.
• The period during which Dominique Mysterio entered the match lasted 2 minutes and 24 seconds. He took his time during his entrance to show off his father’s stolen mask. Then Doom was afraid to get into the ring due to Sheamus waiting for him. By the time Doom entered the ring, the interval was 2 meters 10 seconds long. Shortly after entering the ring, a 10-second countdown clock appeared on the screen.
• The period in which Finn Balor entered the match lasted 2 minutes and 11 seconds. It seemed that the goal in this period was to eliminate Gargano from the match. After a back-and-forth sequence between Gargano, Balor, and Dominik, Johnny was eliminated. Bálor and Dominic then had a confrontation with the Banger Bros when the countdown clock appeared.
• The period that Edge entered the match lasted 2 minutes and 19 seconds. This was a busy segment with Edge casting Balor and Damien Kahne. The members of Judgment Day then teamed up to take Edge out of the match.
• The period Braun Strowman entered the match took 2m 45s. This is where Brown had a brutal fight with Omus, but the period ran a bit further after Omos was eliminated.
• The next period lasted 2m48 seconds, the longest of the night, and that’s when Ricochet joined the match. The big thing they were waiting for here was the Banger Bros double elimination, which took a long time to play out. As soon as GUNTHER got rid of it, a countdown clock appeared on the screen.
• The waiting period was the last for the next match, and it took 2m 25s. Logan Paul entered the match during this time. This wasn’t where he collided with Ricochet midair. I can’t see a clear reason as to why it took so long other than they just wanted Paul to take some time off to show off once he entered the match.

The average entry time for the men’s Royal Rumble was 38.5 seconds. This is the time between the bell going off and when the new wrestler officially enters the ring. If WWE strictly adhered to legitimate 90-second wait times, the entry time of 38.5 seconds would take up 42.8% of the entire wait time, leaving only 51.5 seconds until the next buzzer. That’s not enough time to fit everything planned between bells, and it leads to extended waiting times. The very long lane to the ring was a factor in why it was so difficult for WWE to adhere to the rules, and why 90 seconds was actually more than two minutes in WWE’s Royal Rumble math this year.

The reason this ended up being the longest 30 man Rumble ever is because the timing is like a Rumble match with 2 minute intervals instead of 90 seconds and the final 7m 15s fight between Cody and GUNTHER in the end was enough to put him over the top.

So there you have it, Cagesiders. Which of the numbers above surprises you the most?

Previous Royal Rumble Analysis:

1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018 men
2018 Women
Greatest Royal Rumble
2019 Women
2019 men
2020 Women
2020 men
2021 Women
2021 men
2022 women
2022 men