Fun WWE Facts You May Not Know

Since its inception in the early 1980s, the WWE has been a staple of mainstream wrestling. If you ask anyone who’s not a wrestling fan which wrestling promotions they’ve heard of, the WWE will almost certainly top the list, with promotions like Total Nonstop Action potentially also appearing on that list. As you might expect from a company with as long and storied a history as the WWE, Vince McMahon’s promotion has plenty of interesting facts in its past. Here are some fun WWE facts that you may not know.

Some legends have never won a title belt

Despite being renowned wrestling icons, there are several WWE legends who have never actually won a title belt. These include Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Bam Bam Bigelow, and even Vader, whose presence struck fear into the hearts of his opponents. Of course, winning a title belt doesn’t necessarily translate to being a good wrestler; after all, WWE storylines tend to favour characters over technical wrestlers, so winning a title just meant you had Vince McMahon’s approval when it came to your gimmick.

The first Royal Rumble was won by “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan

Another legend who’s never won a WWE title belt is “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, but he has another accolade to his name: he managed to achieve victory in the first ever Royal Rumble competition. Duggan entered 13th and lasted 14 minutes, achieving three eliminations whilst in the ring. So what’s his secret? Speaking to Betway casino, Duggan confirmed that the key to winning a Royal Rumble match is to “try to stay away from people”. The longer you’re in the ring, the more chance you have of winning, after all.

There’s only ever been one WrestleMania cage match

The WWE has only ever seen one cage match at WrestleMania. That match was in 1986 and it took place between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy, with Hogan eventually emerging victorious and hanging onto his title belt. We’re cheating a little with this one, as there have been a couple of Hell in a Cell matches at Wrestlemania; still, since the victory stipulation for these is different to cage matches, we’re not counting them as cage matches.

Daniel Bryan holds the record for longest Royal Rumble innings

Technically speaking, the longest Royal Rumble innings ever belongs to Daniel Bryan. He managed to remain in the ring for an impressive 76 minutes and 5 seconds at 2018’s Royal Rumble competition. However, it would be fair not to count this match as it was a special extended version in which 50 participants made their way to the ring instead of 30. If we only count 30-man Royal Rumbles, the record belongs to Rey Mysterio, who stayed in the ring for over 60 minutes in 2006.

The Undertaker was a basketball player before he was a wrestler

The Undertaker is one of the most iconic WWE legends of all time. Even people who don’t watch wrestling and don’t engage with it know who The Undertaker is, but they might not know that he was a basketball player prior to entering wrestling. It makes sense; he’s a hulking giant of a man, so he would be well-disposed towards basketball. He played for two years in Texas, then developed an interest in professional wrestling, and the rest is history.

Vader was the WWE’s first cover star

When the first ever WWE (then WWF) Raw magazine debuted in 1996, fearsome wrestler Vader was chosen to be its first cover star. The cover depicted Vader crouching over his opponent, with the headline proclaiming “Mastodon On The Loose!”. Vader would then go on to appear on the cover of the magazine 12 months later, with a bloodied image of his face in his trademark mask serving as the cover image. That image was accompanied by an altogether more sombre headline: “The Mastodon Survives The War Of His Life!”.

Only one WrestleMania event wasn’t a title match

The only WrestleMania event that didn’t feature a shot at the WWE Championship (or the WWF Championship, as it was then) was the original WrestleMania in 1985. The main event in this match saw Hulk Hogan and Mr. T teaming up to take on the tag team of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful. Hogan and Mr. T emerged victorious, but there was no belt on the line. McMahon and his team would rectify this mistake with WrestleMania II, which was the first WrestleMania to feature a WWE Championship title bout.

The WWE is full of families

There are plenty of major wrestling families and dynasties in the WWE. We all know about brothers like Eddie and Chavo Guerrero, for example, but did you know there are several other Guerrero wrestlers, including Chavo Sr, Mando, and Shaul? The Rock also belongs to a prestigious WWE family that includes Rikishi (who previously wrestled as Fatu), Yokozuna, and Peter Maivia, a legendary impresario in the WWE world who has tutored and coached many other wrestlers.

There are only five wrestlers who have won five separate titles

Only five wrestlers have ever been distinguished enough to win five different titles. Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Christian, and RVD have all won five titles, with variations on the Intercontinental, Hardcore, Tag Team, European, and main WWE Championship belts, as well as the United States championship and other belts. Of course, other WWE wrestlers have held these titles at various times, but only those five have held five belts during their careers.