WWE stated there would be 90-second waiting intervals between each entrant in the 2024 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 34s: Buzzer 1 – Bayley
- 1m 53s: Buzzer 2 – Candice LeRae
- 1m 52s: Buzzer 3 – Jordynne Grace
- 2m 03s: Buzzer 4 – Indi Hartwell
- 1m 46s: Buzzer 5 – Asuka
- 2m 08s: Buzzer 6 – Ivy Nile
- 1m 38s: Buzzer 7 – Katana Chance
- 1m 57s: Buzzer 8 – Bianca Belair
- 2m 00s: Buzzer 9 – Kairi Sane
- 2m 33s: Buzzer 10 – Tegan Nox
- 1m 53s: Buzzer 11 – Kayden Carter
- 1m 57s: Buzzer 12 – Chelsea Green
- 2m 05s: Buzzer 13 – Piper Niven
- 2m 19s: Buzzer 14 – Xia Li
- 1m 57s: Buzzer 15 – Zelina Vega
- 1m 56s: Buzzer 16 – Maxxine Dupri
- 2m 17s: Buzzer 17 – Nia Jax
- 2m 57s: Buzzer 18 – Shotzi
- 2m 37s: Buzzer 19 – Becky Lynch
- 2m 08s: Buzzer 20 – Alba Fyre
- 2m 05s: Buzzer 21 – Shayna Baszler
- 1m 34s: Buzzer 22 – Valhalla
- 1m 55s: Buzzer 23 – Michin
- 1m 42s: Buzzer 24 – Zoey Stark
- 1m 53s: Buzzer 25 – Roxanne Perez
- 2m 19s: Buzzer 26 – Jade Cargill
- 2m 37s: Buzzer 27 – Tiffany Stratton
- 2m 13s: Buzzer 28 – Liv Morgan
The average waiting period was 2m 04s, while the median time was between 1m 58s and 1m 59s. These are times that are characteristic of a Rumble match with 2-minute waiting intervals, rather than 90 seconds.
Only two of the 28 waiting periods fell within five seconds of the 90-second goal. The very first waiting interval of the match met this goal, but the kayfabe clock was a mess after that.
None of the waiting periods were less than 94 seconds.
Only three of the 28 waiting periods fell within 10 seconds of the 90-second goal. That’s way down from the 15 waiting periods in last year’s match that fell in this range.
23 of the 28 intervals lasted longer than 1m 50s.
In a perfectly timed match, the final buzzer (signaling Liv Morgan’s entrance) would have gone off 42m 00s after the start of the match. In reality, this buzzer went off at 57m 48s.
14 of the 28 waiting periods lasted 2m 00s or longer. Here is some context behind those intervals, in chronological order.
- The first of these periods saw TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace enter the match for an interval that lasted 2m 03s. This was all about giving Grace the spotlight as a surprise crossover entrant in the match.
- The period where Asuka entered lasted 2m 08s. This is where Asuka and Bayley worked together to eliminate Indi Hartwell. Once Hartwell was gone, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- Bianca Belair entered a little bit later for an interval that lasted 2m 00s. This featured Belair going at it with Asuka and Bayley. The period ended with a spot where Bianca moonsaulted onto three women at once.
- The very next period lasted 2m 33s and saw Kairi Sane enter the ring. Damage CTRL was at full strength at this point, and Candice LeRae was eliminated. The countdown clock appeared after LeRae was tossed out.
- Kairi Sane’s save spot where she clung to the ring apron took place during the period when Kayden Carter entered the match. This waiting interval lasted 1m 57s, which is just below the median interval length for the match.
- Right after Sane’s elimination, Chelsea Green entered the match for a period that lasted 2m 05s. The next countdown clock appeared after Jordynne was eliminated by Bianca.
- Piper Niven entered the match next for a waiting period that lasted 2m 19s. Piper first saved Chelsea from being eliminated. After that, she ran wild in the ring for a while before everyone decided to work together to neutralize her.
- 5 consecutive waiting periods lasted longer than 2m 00s. Maxxine Dupri, Nia Jax, Shotzi, Becky Lynch, and Alba Fyre all entered the match during this time, in that order. The first of these periods lasted 2m 17s; it included Dupri’s very bad ring work after entering the match. This led to a Zelina Vega Code Red spot on Piper Niven, and then Niven eliminating Kayden Carter from the ring. Once Carter was eliminated, the 10 second countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- Nia Jax was the next entrant for the longest waiting period of the match, clocking in at 2m 57s. This is where Nia eliminated Xia Li and Ivy Nile, and then had the extended sequence with Piper Niven where they took turns squashing Chelsea Green.
- Shotzi entered next for a waiting period that lasted 2m 37s, tied for the second longest of the match. This one featured Maxxine’s reverse caterpillar, and then the group effort from everyone in the ring to attempt tossing Jax out. Bayley eliminated Dupri. Jax then got rid of Niven and Chance, and that’s when the countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- Those eliminations set the stage for Becky Lynch to enter next and confront Jax for a waiting period that lasted 2m 08s. After Becky’s one-on-one showdown with Jax was over, she turned her attention to others in the ring and eliminated Chelsea Green. That’s when the countdown clock appeared on the screen.
- Alba Fyre then entered the ring for a waiting period that lasted 2m 05s, but nothing stood out in the match to explain why this went long.
- The next four periods lasted less than 2 minutes. This included R-Truth’s unofficial entrance into the match, during a period that lasted 1m 55s.
- The final three waiting periods all lasted longer than 2 minutes. The first one saw Roxanne Perez enter for an interval that lasted 2m 19s. This is where Jax went on an elimination spree, tossing out Baszler, Michin, and Shotzi.
- This led to Jade Cargill entering the match for a waiting period that lasted 2m 37s, tied for the second longest of the match. She got a big spotlight here, which included her elimination of Jax.
- Tiffany Stratton then entered the match during the final waiting period, which lasted 2m 13s. Nothing really happened here aside from Tiffany showing off her moves.
The median entrance time for the women’s Royal Rumble match was 25.5 seconds, which is roughly 28.3% of a 90 second interval. This is the time between the buzzer going off and when that new wrestler officially enters the ring. This time was actually eight seconds shorter than last year’s median entrance time, which suggests it is not the cause of this year’s much longer waiting intervals.
So there you have it, Cagesiders. Which of the above numbers surprise you the most?
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