Longest Matches In WWE History, Ranked By Length (2024)

WWE is a haven for stat nerds. Win-loss records, match times, title histories, the age, height, finisher, and other details of the squared circle's very best, and a cavalcade of assorted trivia regularly dominate the mind of any die-hard pro wrestling fan who will pounce at the chance to put their knowledge to use.

The length of wrestling matches can be a particularly taxing subject. When a match exceeds its expected length, the exact time will be up for debate more than the ratings of weekly WWE and AEW programming. Using the Internet Wrestling Database, though, WWE's ten-longest matches in history have been identified. The common denominator? Pat Patterson's greatest invention.

10 The 2018 Royal Rumble Went A Little Over An Hour

Finn Balor Was The Iron Man Of The Match

After several years of subpar Royal Rumble matches and even worse winners , the 2018 namesake event boasted two incredible Rumble matches, the men's being longer. Clocking in at 1 hour, 5 minutes, and 27 seconds, the match was seven minutes longer than the debut all-female Rumble, with lengthy performances courtesy of Finn Balor, John Cena, and eventual winner Shinsuke Nakamura helping the match flow nicely.

Surprise appearances from NXT's Adam Cole and Andrade 'Cien' Almas, The Hurricane, who received a megastar pop, and 2006 Rumble victor Rey Mysterio gave the match some buzz ahead of its New Era vs. Old Era showdown and fan-service conclusion in a Shinsuke Nakamura coronation.

9 1993's Royal Rumble Was The Longest For 9 Years

Bob Backlund Broke Ric Flair's Longevity Record

The 1993 Royal Rumble match may have only been the match's sixth iteration, but it set new records that would stand for nearly a decade, while also introducing a rule that still exists to this day, that being the prize of the coveted WrestleMania World Championship match.

Lasting 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 35 seconds, Yokozuna ousted six competitors en route to victory in what would be the longest Royal Rumble match until 2002. Bob Backlund, meanwhile, broke the longevity record set by Ric Flair the previous year , lasting 1 hour, 1 minute, and 10 seconds to attain a record that would last until 2004, when Chris Benoit broke it.

8 Triple H Won 2002's Hour-Plus Royal Rumble Match

There Were Only Two Twenty-Plus-Minute Performances

An era ended when the bell rang for the 2002 Royal Rumble match . The Rock had wrestled his final Rumble the previous year, while 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was doing the same here. Triple H was being ushered in as the guy in the wake of their looming exits from full-time wrestling, with 'The Game's' Rumble victory and subsequent toppling of Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 18 cementing him as such.

All this and more transpired in 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 23 seconds, but despite the bloated match length, the bout featured only two competitors that surpassed the 20-minute mark; Triple H and Steve Austin. Bar Rikishi, Goldust, Christian, Mr. Perfect, and Kurt Angle, no one else even reached double digits, resulting in a Royal Rumble with a constantly half-empty ring.

7 The 2011 Royal Rumble Was A Few Seconds Longer Than 2002

It Was The Only 40-Man Royal Rumble

Between a middling New Nexus domination, a mistimed Alex Riley dumping that caused widespread confusion, and an entrant list that reads like a who's who of forgotten WWE alum, the 2011 Royal Rumble match is considered one of the worst. The winner, Alberto Del Rio, was a flat, detestable winner to such a degree that when Santino Marella became the match's nearly man , there was an audibly seismic shift in audience reaction.

The match lasted 1 hour, 9 minutes, and 53 seconds, which, while impressive, is anything but surprising. 40 entrants competed in the match at roughly 90-second intervals, meaning the 1-hour mark was reached roughly as Kane, the final entrant, arrived. WWE reverted to the 30-man field the following year, for the best.

6 Bruno Sammartino And Gorilla Monsoon Went To A Draw

Their Match Lasted 70 Minutes

It's rare, now, for any pro wrestling match to exceed 60 minutes, barring Iron Man matches and multi-man bouts. When it does happen, it typically leads to mass online debate, the two warring sides refusing to back down.

Such a thing was commonplace before wrestling became full of pomp and circ*mstance. One such encounter fell on May 11, 1964, as Bruno Sammartino defended the WWE Heavyweight Championship against Gorilla Monsoon in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden. Neither man came out victorious that night, however; instead, 70 minutes elapsed before the match was decreed a draw.

5 Owen Hart Won A 70-Minute Royal Rumble In 1994

The Match Took Place At A House Show In January 1994

2024 saw WWE host the 43rd and 44th Royal Rumble matches, however, the unofficial history of WWE's cherished stipulation includes a further 19 Royal Rumble matches, dating back to before the namesake event began in 1988. Through these, the list of match winners also includes multiple should-be Royal Rumble winners, including Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, 'Ravishing' Rick Rude, and Owen Hart.

It was Hart's victory in January 1994 that is the longest of the lot, going for a reported 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 6 seconds. The match is lost to time and may have never been recorded, but with the introduction of the WWE Vault YouTube channel, perhaps there's a chance - a tiny chance - that WWE will publicize the match.

4 Gunther Set A New Record In The 2023 Royal Rumble

'The Ring General' Went From Start To Finish

Following a tragic pair of Royal Rumble matches in 2022, WWE bounced back in 2023 with a duo of excellently-booked and well-received Rumbles, the first to be under the pen of Paul 'Triple H' Levesque . The difference in booking was clear from the off, as Gunther would both start and finish the match, entering as number one and being the final man ousted by Cody Rhodes.

Lasting 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 42 seconds, it is the longest 30-person Royal Rumble in history, with a staggering 12 of the 30 combatants reaching double digits in their efforts at glory. Following close behind 'The Ring General' were Sheamus, who started the match with the then-Intercontinental Champion, Drew McIntyre, and Seth 'Freakin' Rollins.

3 The Second Women's Royal Rumble Match Is Their Longest

Becky Lynch Followed Asuka Into The History Books

WWE in 2019 was a rotten product that struggled to withstand the newfound competition coming its way from All Elite Wrestling. Despite this very glaring fact, there is no denying that the company was on the precipice of an all-timer of a WrestleMania through the pushes of Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, and Becky Lynch .

For Becky, she earmarked her way into a WrestleMania headliner by winning that year's women's Royal Rumble, only the second of its kind, in what was another excellent showing from WWE's female talent pool. The match lasted 1 hour and 12 minutes, which was some improvement on its predecessor's paltry 58-minute and 57-second runtime.

2 The Greatest Royal Rumble Was Also The Longest

WWE's Partnership With Saudi Arabia Began With A Royal Rumble

The term 'greatest' can be thrown around a lot in wrestling and is entirely dependent on the eye of the beholder. The so-called Greatest Royal Rumble, the April 2018 event in Saudi Arabia, was not it . With 50 entrants and the majority of their top names booked elsewhere on the card, it was up to legends of the past and the phenomenal NXT cast to fill the ranks.

Chris Jericho and The Great Khali got decent reactions, granted, but the desirable NXT roster of Adam Cole, Aleister Black, and Johnny Gargano was shoved to the side in favor of Dan Matha, Babatunde, and Yokozuna tribute act Hiroki Sumi. All in all, the match lasted 1 hour, 17 minutes, and 20 seconds, with number one entrant Daniel Bryan surviving 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 5 seconds of that time.

1 Bruno Sammartino Vs. Waldo Von Erich Is The Longest WWE Match Ever

They Contested An 81-Minute Draw

At 1 hour and 21 minutes, the August 1964 Madison Square Garden headliner between Bruno Sammartino and Waldo von Erich is the longest WWE match on record . The match would've been longer if Bruno and Waldo had their way, but time limits in this era were strictly enforced, resulting in the official having to call for the bell without a decisive outcome.

The match's length will never be broken, certainly not in a one-on-one environment at least. A February 2018 Gauntlet match on Monday Night RAW did technically surpass its length, however, due to the nature of Gauntlet matches being a cumulative series of singles matches, it doesn't officially come close to beating the greatest record in WWE history.