Cody Rhodes made his announced return during tonight's men's Royal Rumble match and as many expected, he went on to win. The American Nightmare made a little bit of history with Gunther before he booked his ticket to WrestleMania, though. The Austrian entered the match first, marking the first time number one and number 30 have been the final two in a Royal Rumble match.
Gunther Smashes Rey's Record
A cool stat, but one that will be overshadowed by the other achievement by Gunther in this year's men's Rumble. Yes, Rhodes might have won, but the Intercontinental Champion has been the one getting all the praise on social media ever since. Rightly so too as not only did Gunther endure from number one to the runner-up spot, but he set a new record for the longest time spent in a single Rumble.
Michael Cole, who kept providing updates on how long Gunther had been in the Rumble once he had surpassed the old record, noted afterwards that the former NXT UK Champion spent 71 minutes and 25 seconds in the match. Not only does that break the previous record set by Rey Mysterio when he won the match in 2006, it absolutely smashes it.
More Than 71 Minutes In The Ring
Mysterio, who was supposed to be in tonight's Rumble but never showed up, presumably thanks to his son Dominik, registered a time of 62 minutes and 12 seconds 17 years ago. That long-standing record has now been well and truly broken by Gunther who lasted almost ten minutes longer. It was also a Rumble crammed with highlights for Gunther including a staredown with Brock Lesnar and some brutal chops to Rhodes' repaired pec as the wrestling world watched on and collectively cringed.
What was noted when Gunther overtook Mysterio's time was the parameters of the Austrian's record. Technically, Bryan Danielson has competed in a single Rumble for longer than both Mysterio and Gunther. However, it was the Greatest Royal Rumble which included 50 Superstars. Despite it seeming like WWE had erased Danielson's accomplishment from its record books, Cole noted Gunther's record only applies to the traditional Rumble format.
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