Royal Rumble (2001)
Encyclopedia
Royal Rumble was the fourteenth annual Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...

 professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

 pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

 (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 (WWF). It took place on January 21, 2001 at the New Orleans Arena
New Orleans Arena
New Orleans Arena is an indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, adjacent to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome....

 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The main event was the Royal Rumble match
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The event was created in 1988, with its inaugural event taking place on January 24, 1988 at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario...

, which Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...

 won by last eliminating Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....

 to win the match, making it his third Royal Rumble win, the first person to ever do so in WWF history. Kane also set a record for the most eliminations. The match also saw Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...

 enter the Royal Rumble. Featured matches on the undercard included a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...

 between Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...

 and Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...

 for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...

 and a singles match between Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...

 and Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...

 for the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...

.

Background

The main event at the Royal Rumble was the Royal Rumble match, a battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...

 in which wrestlers enter the ring at regular timed intervals of approximately 90 seconds, attempting to eliminate each other by throwing opponents over the top rope and both of their feet touching the ground. The winner of the match received a match for the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...

 at WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven was the seventeenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 1, 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas...

. The match is scheduled annually and the scripted build up occasionally features qualifying matches. The Rock began discussing the Royal Rumble on the January 4 episode of SmackDown!, when he promised to win the Royal Rumble match for the second year in a row to earn the title match at WrestleMania with the first being the previous year's Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2000)
Royal Rumble was the thirteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 23, 2000 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York....

 event. On the following week's episode of SmackDown!, Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...

, the WWF Chairman, added Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...

 to the match. The same episode also featured a standard match involving four wrestlers contested between The Rock, Kane, Rikishi
Solofa Fatu
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.-The Samoan Swat Team:...

 and The Undertaker, with the winner earning the right to enter at number 30 in the Royal Rumble match. The match was won by Rikishi.

A featured preliminary match at the Royal Rumble was WWF Champion
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...

 Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...

 defending against Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...

 in a standard match. The build up to the match began on the January 8 episode of Raw, when Angle defended the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...

 against Steve Austin, which ended in a No Contest when Triple H interfered and ambushed Austin with a steel pipe. On the January 11 episode of SmackDown!, Vince McMahon announced that Angle would defend his title at the Royal Rumble event against Triple H. Leading up to the event, both men spoke about the match, with Triple H claiming that Angle only held the championship because he allowed him to, and Angle denying this.

Another featured preliminary contest at the Royal Rumble was a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...

 for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...

, in which the champion, Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...

, defended his title against Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...

. In the match, the title belt was suspended above the ring from the ceiling, and the only method to win the competitors had to climb a ladder to retrieve the belt. Their feud started at WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000
WrestleMania 2000 was the sixteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 2, 2000 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California...

, when Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho challenged Kurt Angle both the Intercontinental title and the WWF European Championship
WWE European Championship
The WWE European Championship was a professional wrestling championship competed for in World Wrestling Entertainment. A coveted singles title of the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was held by superstars such as Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Owen Hart, Eddie Guerrero, and was...

 in a Two-fall Triple Threat match. During that match, both men pinned each other in one fall each to win the respective championship from Angle. Since that event, Benoit would hold three pay per view victories over Jericho esp. at SummerSlam
SummerSlam (2000)
SummerSlam was the thirteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event took place on August 27, 2000 at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina....

 in the best 2 out of 3 falls match. On the January 4 episode of SmackDown!, Benoit defended his title against Jericho in a standard match. During the match, Perry Saturn (Perry Satullo) and Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko
Dean Simon is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling , New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...

, Benoit's partners in the group of The Radicalz
The Radicalz
The Radicalz were a professional wrestling stable in the World Wrestling Federation . Their members were former World Championship Wrestling performers Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko. Terri Runnels later joined the group by proxy after becoming Saturn's onscreen...

, interfered by attacking Jericho, causing him to win the match by disqualification but not the championship. On the January 8 episode of Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

, Jericho teamed with The Hardy Boyz
Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...

 (Matt
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

 and Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...

) against The Radicalz (Saturn, Malenko, and Benoit) in a six man tag team match, which Jericho won by pinning Benoit. On the January 11 episode of SmackDown!, Jericho demanded a title match at the Royal Rumble, and Benoit offered to give Jericho any type of match he wanted. Jericho then announced that their match would be a ladder match.

Event



Before the event began and aired live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...

 on pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...

, an episode of Sunday Night Heat
WWE HEAT
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment...

, one of the secondary television programs for WWF, was taped live. The show featured a tag team match between Lo Down
Lo Down
Lo Down was a tag team formed in WWF in 2000 that consisted of Chaz and D'Lo Brown.-History:...

 (D'Lo Brown
D'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown , is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he is currently working as an agent for Impact Wrestling.Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during...

 and Chaz
Charles Warrington
Charles Warrington is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Chaz and Mosh.-Career:Warrington began training under Larry Sharpe and Glen Ruth during the early 1990s, debuting in 1993...

) and Kaientai
Kai En Tai
Kai En Tai was a professional wrestling stable made up of Japanese wrestlers Kaz Hayashi, Dick Togo and Mens Teioh, later joined by Sho Funaki and Taka Michinoku. The group was managed by Yamaguchi-San when they were in the WWF....

 (Taka Michinoku and Shoichi Funaki
Shoichi Funaki
is a Japanese/American professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.-Early years :...

). The match ended after Chaz pinned Funaki. Originally, the winning team was to send one of their members into the Royal Rumble match, but Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...

 wound up being entered instead.

Preliminary matches

After Sunday Night Heat, the pay-per-view event began with a tag team match for the WWF World Tag Team Championship, where the champions, Edge and Christian
Edge and Christian
Edge and Christian was a tag team made of real life best friends Edge and Christian , who performed in WWE and the Canadian independent circuit. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven occasions...

, defended their titles against The Dudley Boyz
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...

 (Bubba Ray and D-Von). Throughout the match, both teams performed many offensive maneuvers, though The Dudley Boyz were able to gain the upper hand when they executed a 3D on Edge. This was followed by D-Von covering Edge for a successful pinfall, resulting in The Dudley Boyz winning the WWF World Tag Team Championship.

The following bout was WWF Intercontinental Champion Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...

 defending his title against Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...

 in a ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...

, which was to serve as the "blowoff" to their longstanding on and off rivalry.

The match featured both men performing a number of attacks and maneuvers on one another in an attempt to disable their opponent long enough to climb the ladder and retrieve the title belt suspended above the ring. At one point in the match, Benoit dove through the ropes headfirst at Jericho, but Jericho struck him in the face with a steel chair
Folding chair
A folding chair is a light, portable chair that that folds flat, and can be stored in a stack, row, or on a cart.-Uses:Folding chairs are generally used for seating in areas where permanent seating is not possible or practical. This includes outdoor and indoor events such as funerals, college...

. Jericho also applied the Walls of Jericho at the top of the ladder onto Benoit. The end of the match came when Jericho pushed over the ladder while Benoit was ascending it, causing Benoit to fall out to the outside of the ring. Jericho then climbed the ladder and retrieved the Intercontinental Championship belt, winning the championship by doing so.

The third contest had WWF Women's Champion
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...

 Ivory
Lisa Moretti
Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory...

 against Chyna in a standard match for the championship. Both women attempted to gain an advantage over the other, with Chyna controlling much of the match. The end of the match came when Chyna attempted a handspring back elbow on Ivory, who was in the corner of the ring. Chyna, however, fell to the canvas and (in storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...

) injured her neck. Ivory then covered her for a successful pinfall, retaining her championship. Following this, commentator Jerry Lawler went into the ring to check on Chyna, and she was removed from the ringside area on a stretcher.

Main event matches

The fourth match was the WWF Championship match between reigning champion Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...

 and the number one contender Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...

. Triple H had been named #1 contender by his (then storyline) father-in-law
Father-in-law
A parent-in-law is a person who has a legal affinity with another by being the parent of the other's spouse. Many cultures and legal systems impose duties and responsibilities on persons connected by this relationship...

 Vince McMahon to set the match up.

The match began as a mat based, hold for hold contest, but Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....

 then tried to interfere on Angle's behalf, only to then get into a catfight with Stephanie McMahon, who was in Triple H's corner.

Stratus (Vince McMahon's storyline mistress) and Stephanie (McMahon's daughter and then storyline wife of Triple H) had been involved in their own feud due to vying for power as the WWF's "dominant female".

After the fracas involving the two ladies on the outside (which had to be broken up by Vince himself), both Triple H and Angle accidentally hit the referee Earl Hebner
Earl Hebner
Earl William Hebner is a professional wrestling referee currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and the twin brother of Dave Hebner...

, causing him to roll out of the ring. Triple H grabbed the title belt and tried to hit Angle with it, only to receive a belly-to-belly suplex. Angle then tried to hit Triple H with the belt, but Triple H ducked and gave him a Pedigree. As Triple H went outside to revive the referee, Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...

 rushed into the arena, beating Triple H and giving him the Stone Cold Stunner as retaliation for Triple H costing Austin the title several weeks earlier on Raw.

As Austin left the arena, Angle crawled over on top of Triple H to cover him for the pin, while Hebner recovered and made the count. Angle won the match and retained the WWF Title, with a very angry Triple H vowing to get even with Austin for costing him the match.

The main event was the 2001 Royal Rumble. The first entrant was Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...

, followed by Bull Buchanan
Barry Buchanan
Barry Buchanan is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances as Bull Buchanan and B-2 in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment.-National Championship Wrestling :...

, a member of Right To Censor at the time. They were joined by Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

 who entered at No. 3, both Hardys worked together in eliminating Buchanan as well as Faarooq
Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...

 who entered at No. 4. Jeff and Matt then battled each other, and it was during this time that Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...

 arrived at No. 5, being the first celebrity entrant in Rumble history.

Earlier in the night, Carey was backstage looking to speak with Vince McMahon about how to put together a successful pay per view. After thinking Carey was trying to hit on his (storyline) mistress Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....

, McMahon offered Carey a spot in the Rumble (in hopes of Carey getting pummeled) as a way to promote his upcoming Improv All Stars pay per view. Once Carey entered the ring, he stood aside, and watched as the Hardys eliminated each other. Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....

 then entered at No. 6. Carey tried to shake his hand as well as bribe him with cash, but Kane grabbed Carey by the throat and was about to chokeslam him when Raven
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...

 entered the ring at No. 7 and attacked Kane with a Singapore cane
Shinai
is a weapon used for practice and competition in kendo representing a Japanese sword. Shinai are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from kendo shinai, and represented with different characters....

. This gave Carey the opportunity to eliminate himself safely (by climbing over the top rope) and gave high-fives to the fans on his way to the back.

Kane dominated the match for a while, eliminating all of the wrestlers who came between No. 7 to 11. The Honky Tonk Man
The Honky Tonk Man
Roy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...

, who had not appeared in the WWF since the 1998 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1998)
Royal Rumble was the eleventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 18, 1998 at the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California....

, came in at No. 12 and started entertaining the fans by singing his entrance theme "Cool, Cocky, Bad", only to be greeted by a guitar shot in the head by Kane and eliminated immediately after. The Rock entered at No 13 and started brawling with Kane. The ring began to fill up in the next few minutes, and the tide turned when The Big Show
Paul Wight
Paul Donald Wight, Jr. , better known by his ring name, Big Show, is an American professional wrestler and actor, currently signed to WWE on its Raw brand....

 made his return from months of inactivity, entering at No. 23. He eliminated Test and K-Kwik, then proceeded to chokeslam everyone else. When he got to The Rock, the Show received a low blow and was clotheslined over the top rope by The Rock. As Crash Holly
Mike Lockwood
Michael John "Mike" Lockwood was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment under the ring name Crash Holly....

 made his way to the ring at No. 24, an irate Big Show dragged Rock from the bottom rope and chokeslammed him through the announcers' table. Just when the other wrestlers worked together in trying to eliminate Kane, The Undertaker made his arrival at No. 25 and saved Kane, and both of them eliminated everyone in the ring except The Rock (who was still unconscious due to Big Show's assault on him). Scotty 2 Hotty entered the ring at No. 26 looking very worried, and was quickly beaten up by both Kane and Undertaker, and then eliminated. Steve Austin entered at No. 27, but before he could enter the ring, he was assaulted and bloodied by Triple H who was mad at him for interfering in his match against Kurt Angle earlier. The Rock rolled back into the ring and battled with both The Undertaker and Kane. Billy Gunn
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...

, Haku and Rikishi
Solofa Fatu
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.-The Samoan Swat Team:...

 made up the last 3 entrants. Austin, entrant No. 27, was actually the last wrestler to enter the ring as he had just recovered from the beating and was coming to the ring at the same time as Rikishi, the thirtieth entrant.

Once everybody had entered the ring, Austin eliminated Haku, and Rikishi superkicked the Undertaker, eliminating him. Rikishi was about to do a top-rope Banzai Drop on The Rock, but The Rock recovered quickly, giving Rikishi a low blow and causing him to fall over the top rope.

The final four consisted of Kane, The Rock, Austin and Gunn. Gunn hit the Fame Asser onto Austin, but Austin recovered quickly and eliminated Gunn. The Rock and Austin then battled each other after tossing Kane through (but not over) the ropes. Kane came back in moments later and eliminated The Rock as Austin held on to the ropes. After a minute or so of fighting Austin, Kane went outside the ring, grabbed a steel chair and tried to use it to hit Austin. Austin avoided the chairshot and hit Kane with a Stunner. As Kane got up, Austin hit him in the head three times with the chair and then clotheslined him over the top rope to win the Rumble for a record third time. In spite of his runner-up performance, Kane's 11 eliminations became the most by a single Rumble participant, beating the previous record of ten, held by Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

 at the 1989 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1989)
Royal Rumble was the second annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation , and the first one to be held on pay-per-view. It took place on January 15, 1989 at The Summit in Houston, Texas....

 and Steve Austin at the 1997 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1997)
Royal Rumble was the tenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 19, 1997 from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas....

 event.

Aftermath

Kurt Angle entered a feud with The Rock again and would go to fight him at No Way Out
No Way Out (2001)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was the third such annual event and took place on February 25, 2001 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada....

 for the WWF Championship in a Singles Match. Kurt Angle would lose the match after being pinned by The Rock losing the championship to him.

Triple H would continue his feud with Steve Austin at No Way Out in a Three Stages of Hell Match. Triple H defeated Steve Austin by winning two matches with Steve Austin only one. This match finally ended the Triple H/Austin feud that lasted since SummerSlam
SummerSlam (1999)
SummerSlam was the twelfth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on August 22, 1999 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Results:Tag Team Turmoil...

.

Steve Austin and The Rock would fight once again at WrestleMania
WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven was the seventeenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 1, 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas...

 for the WWF Championship in a No Disqualification Match. Steve Austin would win the title thanks to an intereference from Mr. McMahon. The two would have another match the next night on Raw for the title this time inside a Steel Cage. The match went to a no contest thanks to another intereference by Vince's son-in-law Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...


Results

# Results Stipulations Times
Lo Down
Lo Down
Lo Down was a tag team formed in WWF in 2000 that consisted of Chaz and D'Lo Brown.-History:...

 (D'Lo Brown
D'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown , is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he is currently working as an agent for Impact Wrestling.Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during...

 and Chaz
Charles Warrington
Charles Warrington is an American former professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Chaz and Mosh.-Career:Warrington began training under Larry Sharpe and Glen Ruth during the early 1990s, debuting in 1993...

) (with Tiger Ali Singh
Gurjit Singh
Gurjit Singh Hans is an Indo-Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Tiger Ali Singh. He is the son of legendary wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh.-Career:...

) defeated Kaientai
Kai En Tai
Kai En Tai was a professional wrestling stable made up of Japanese wrestlers Kaz Hayashi, Dick Togo and Mens Teioh, later joined by Sho Funaki and Taka Michinoku. The group was managed by Yamaguchi-San when they were in the WWF....

 (Taka Michinoku and Funaki
Shoichi Funaki
is a Japanese/American professional wrestler best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time Cruiserweight Champion and a one-time Hardcore Champion.-Early years :...

)
Tag team match
Professional wrestling tag team match types
Much like singles matches, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace...

 for a spot in the Royal Rumble match (which ultimately went to Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...

)
01:57
The Dudley Boyz
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...

 (Bubba Ray and D-Von) defeated Edge and Christian
Edge and Christian
Edge and Christian was a tag team made of real life best friends Edge and Christian , who performed in WWE and the Canadian independent circuit. They won the WWF Tag Team Championship on seven occasions...

 (c)
Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship 09:59
Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...

 defeated Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...

 (c)
Ladder match
Ladder match
A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling that is most commonly used to describe a match where an item is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item...

 for the WWF Intercontinental Championship
WWE Intercontinental Championship
The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It is the original secondary title of the promotion. Currently, it is the secondary championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand...

18:44
Ivory
Lisa Moretti
Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory...

 (c) (with Steven Richards
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...

) defeated Chyna
Singles match for the WWF Women's Championship
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...

03:32
Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and 1996 Olympic gold medalist. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is recognized as a 15-time World Heavyweight Champion...

 (c) (with Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....

) defeated Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...

 (with Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley)
Singles match for the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...

24:15
Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...

 won by last eliminating Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....

2001 Royal Rumble match 1:01:55

Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations

A new entrant came out approximately every 2 minutes.
Draw Entrant Order Eliminated by Time
Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...

Matt Hardy 06:36
Bull Buchanan
Barry Buchanan
Barry Buchanan is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances as Bull Buchanan and B-2 in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment.-National Championship Wrestling :...

Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy 02:08
Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

Jeff Hardy 04:45
Faarooq
Ron Simmons
Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...

Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy 00:58
Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...

Himself 02:54
Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....

29 Austin 53:46
Raven
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...

Kane 08:51
Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...

Kane 07:08
Perry Saturn 10 Kane 05:02
10 Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman is a American professional wrestler who is best known for his career in the World Wrestling Federation under his own name.-Stampede Wrestling and South Africa :...

Kane 03:08
11 Grand Master Sexay
Brian Lawler
Brian Christopher Lawler is a professional wrestler. He is the son of color commentator and professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler and brother of wrestling referee Kevin Christian...

Kane 01:03
12 11 Kane 01:16
13 28 Kane 38:42
14 12 Rock 00:14
15 Tazz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...

13 Kane 00:10
16 Bradshaw
John Layfield
John Charles Layfield is a former American professional wrestler, a former commentator/host for mixed martial arts promotion Vyper Fight League and financial analyst for Fox News...

18 Undertaker 17:40
17 Albert 20 Kane 15:53
18 Hardcore Holly
Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ....

21 Undertaker 14:04
19 K-Kwik 16 Big Show 07:53
20 Val Venis
Sean Morley
Sean Allen Morley is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment...

22 Undertaker 10:22
21 William Regal 14 Test 02:01
22 Test 15 Big Show 02:08
23 17 Rock 01:23
24 Crash Holly
Mike Lockwood
Michael John "Mike" Lockwood was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment under the ring name Crash Holly....

19 Kane 02:31
25 25 Rikishi 10:45
26 Scotty 2 Hotty 23 Undertaker & Kane 00:46
27 Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...

WINNER 09:43
28 Billy Gunn
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...

27 Austin 07:22
29 Haku 24 Austin 02:51
30 Rikishi
Solofa Fatu
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.-The Samoan Swat Team:...

26 Rock 02:35

External links

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