Any wrestling fan knows that the Royal Rumble is the best match of the year. The reasons are many: 30 wrestlers! A countdown clock! People being thrown from high places onto the floor! Surprise entrants! Girls (sometimes)! Announcers (sometimes)! Strange bedfellows (always)! Fat dudes getting picked up via team lifts!
So what's the only thing that could make the Rumble better?
THE RUMBLE RAFFLE
The hardest part of the Rumble Raffle: gather a crowd of people that care enough about wrestling (or gambling, I suppose) to put some money on it, and then remind them to bring two $5 bills to the event with them. You could wager a larger amount, sure, but that's kind of embarrassing.
Since there are 30 competitors, you ideally want 10 or 15 participants. After you collect their money (crucial point! Do not let anyone enter without paying unless you have the Repo Man on speed dial), it's time to draw numbers. Let's say you have 10 participants. Everybody will get three random numbers from 1-30. The best way to distribute them? You could always go with the classic "scraps of paper in a hat" strategy, but for authenticity's sake, I suggest using a Deluxe Metal Bingo Cage Set (pictured).
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| Spin the wheel, make the deal! |
What happens if you have an odd number of participants? If you have seven, each person would draw four numbers to get you to 28. Then put the last two numbers up for bids, starting at $5 per number. That way, a couple of people will get an extra number, but they'll have substantially more money on the line than the other participants.
There are two pots (thus the two $5 bills).
1. The victory pot. If one of your wrestlers wins, you get the pot. If a tie happens––see the '94 Rumble and the controversial Bret Hart-Lex Luger finish––you split it. Please note that as per usual in the world of wrestling, the referee's decision is final. It doesn't matter how much chicanery or skullduggery is involved, or even if the WWE board of directors overturns the decision the next day. Whoever gets their hand raised at the end of the night is the winner.
2. The elimination pot. This pot goes to whoever's wrestlers have the most cumulative eliminations (meaning they threw other wrestlers out of the ring, removing them from the match). Pray for Kane.
Due to the often crazy nature of eliminations, this is where things can get tricky. In fact, you may want to designate an official Royal Rumble Elimination Oversight Committee prior to the match in the event that any disputes should arise. The general rule: whoever physically caused the elimination gets credit for it. That means if Sheamus throws David Otunga like a missile at Heath Slater and that causes Slater to fly out of the ring, Otunga gets the credit, because he theoretically saved himself. If Otunga had gone to the floor with Slater, though, Sheamus gets both eliminations.
Team eliminations! Sometimes, several wrestlers team up to throw somebody out. In this case, each wrestler that had a hand in the effort gets credit for one elimination. No fractions or decimal points are allowed in the Rumble Raffle.
Important note: If someone has an extra wrestler due to an uneven number of participants in the Raffle, you'll need to make an adjustment to keep things fair for the elimination pot. The best way to do this is to make the participant determine before the event which of their numbers will count toward the elimination totals. Using the example above, five participants will have drawn four numbers, while two participants will have paid extra to draw five numbers. Those two participants must choose one of their five entries to be disqualified from the elimination pot before the match starts.
That covers it. Let me know if you host a Raffle and if you have any suggested rule changes!
