# Royal Rumble (2001)
**Royal Rumble (2001)** was the 14th annual [Royal Rumble](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-rumble) professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), held on Sunday, January 21, 2001, at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin won the 30-man Royal Rumble Match, his record third victory in the match, and [Kurt Angle](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurt-angle) retained the WWF Championship against [Triple H](https://www.edgepedia.org/triple-h) in the main event.[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | Sunday, January 21, 2001, 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) |
| Royal Rumble winner | "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, last eliminating Kane; his record third Rumble win[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) |
| Prize | A WWF Title shot at WrestleMania X-Seven[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/) |
| WWF Championship | Kurt Angle def. Triple H to retain[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) |
| Intercontinental Championship | Chris Jericho beat Chris Benoit in a ladder match to become champion[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) |
| Other title matches | The Dudleys def. Edge & Christian for the World Tag Team Championship; Women's Champion Ivory def. Chyna[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) |
| Celebrity entrant | Drew Carey, who eliminated himself during the match[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/wrestling/thoughts-about-drew-carey-royal-rumble-appearance-after-bruce-prichard-comments) |
| Runtime | 2 hours 57 minutes (177 min)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/) |
## The Royal Rumble Match
Thirty men competed in the annual staggered-entry battle royal, in which wrestlers enter at timed intervals and are eliminated by being thrown over the top rope with both feet touching the floor; the winner received a WWF Championship match at [WrestleMania X-Seven](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrestlemania-x-seven).[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/)
**Austin's record win.** Austin last eliminated Kane to win, becoming the first man to win the Royal Rumble three times, after previous victories in 1997 and 1998.[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) • [5](https://www.screwbiter.net/piledriver-online-issue-one.pdf) Kane reached the final two before being eliminated.[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/wrestling/thoughts-about-drew-carey-royal-rumble-appearance-after-bruce-prichard-comments)
**Drew Carey's appearance.** The comedian and television host entered as a celebrity participant and eliminated himself during the match, a moment widely remembered as one of the event's odder interludes. According to longtime WWE executive [Bruce Prichard](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-prichard), Carey worked without entourage or demands, shared the wrestlers' dressing room, and was, in Prichard's words, "just a class act, all the way through."[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/wrestling/thoughts-about-drew-carey-royal-rumble-appearance-after-bruce-prichard-comments)
**A late replacement.** Haku made his first WWF pay-per-view appearance since the 1992 Royal Rumble, entering as a last-minute replacement for [Road Dogg](https://www.edgepedia.org/road-dogg).[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/)
## Undercard
The show carried four other matches. The Dudleys defeated Edge & Christian to win the World Tag Team Championship, and [Chris Jericho](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-jericho) defeated [Chris Benoit](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-benoit) in a ladder match to capture the Intercontinental Championship.[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) Women's Champion Ivory defeated the challenger Chyna, a match that ended with Chyna suffering a storyline neck injury.[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001) • [6](https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/28/14070308/ranking-wwe-royal-rumble-according-to-dave-meltzer-star-ratings-wrestling-observer) In the championship main event, Kurt Angle held off Triple H to retain the WWF Championship.[1](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001)
## Critical reception
The event ranks among the most highly regarded Royal Rumble shows. TJR [Wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/wrestling) gave it 8.5 out of 10, and Kevin Pantoja's retrospective for 411Mania rated it 9.5, calling it one of the best pay-per-views in WWF history; IMDb users rate the broadcast 8.0 out of 10 from 845 votes.[7](https://wrestlefile.com/events/royal-rumble-2001/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/)
**Meltzer's star ratings.** In a Cageside Seats ranking of every Royal Rumble event by the average of [Dave Meltzer](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-meltzer)'s star ratings (the Wrestling Observer Newsletter ratings compiled in the Internet Wrestling Database), the 2001 event placed fourth with a 3.00-star show average and a 3.25-star Rumble match.[6](https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/28/14070308/ranking-wwe-royal-rumble-according-to-dave-meltzer-star-ratings-wrestling-observer) The same ranking calls the Benoit–Jericho ladder match, at 4.75 stars, tied for the highest-rated match in the history of the Royal Rumble event; the WrestleFile research file, citing ProFightDB, lists the same ladder match at 4.25 stars and the Rumble match at 4 stars.[6](https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/28/14070308/ranking-wwe-royal-rumble-according-to-dave-meltzer-star-ratings-wrestling-observer) • [7](https://wrestlefile.com/events/royal-rumble-2001/) Reviews across Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Scott Keith, Slam Wrestling, and Cageside Seats repeatedly identify the ladder match and the Rumble itself as the show's peaks, with Angle–Triple H rated one tier below.[7](https://wrestlefile.com/events/royal-rumble-2001/)
**Fan standing.** In retrospective fan rankings the 2001 edition is regularly placed at or near the top of the match type's history, and it placed third in one Pro Wrestling Authority ranking with a 6.801 out of 10 aggregate score.[7](https://wrestlefile.com/events/royal-rumble-2001/) • [8](https://prowrestlingauthoritydotcom.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/ranking-the-rumbles-volume-3/)
## Legacy
The event advanced the WWF's principal storylines toward WrestleMania X-Seven, with Austin's Rumble victory setting up his championship opportunity, and retrospective reviews describe the final image of the show as pointing directly to that event.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/) • [7](https://wrestlefile.com/events/royal-rumble-2001/) The full broadcast is available on streaming services, including Netflix and the WWE Vault YouTube channel.[3](https://www.cinemablend.com/wrestling/thoughts-about-drew-carey-royal-rumble-appearance-after-bruce-prichard-comments)
## References
1. [Royal Rumble 2001, WWE.com](https://www.wwe.com/shows/royalrumble/history/2001)
2. [Royal Rumble (TV Special 2001), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274769/)
3. [I've Got Some Thoughts About Drew Carey's Royal Rumble Appearance After Bruce Prichard's Comments, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/wrestling/thoughts-about-drew-carey-royal-rumble-appearance-after-bruce-prichard-comments)
4. [Retro Results of WWF Wrestling Presents Royal Rumble 2001, RDB Reviews](https://rdbreviews.wordpress.com/2019/11/27/wwf-wrestling-presents-royal-rumble-2001-review-by-ryan-balkwill/)
5. [Piledriver Online, Issue One](https://www.screwbiter.net/piledriver-online-issue-one.pdf)
6. [Ranking the Royal Rumbles according to Dave Meltzer's ratings, Cageside Seats](https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/2017/1/28/14070308/ranking-wwe-royal-rumble-according-to-dave-meltzer-star-ratings-wrestling-observer)
7. [Royal Rumble 2001 Review & Final Grade, WrestleFile](https://wrestlefile.com/events/royal-rumble-2001/)
8. [Ranking The Rumbles: Volume 3, Pro Wrestling Authority](https://prowrestlingauthoritydotcom.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/ranking-the-rumbles-volume-3/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Professional wrestling promotions and championships › Royal Rumble*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license