WWE’s Greatest Royal Rumble lasted for 5 hours 0 minutes and 16 seconds (5h 00m 16s). Here is a breakdown of the timing for every single second of the show, in chronological order.

The matches are in bold. The “pre-match” segments include video packages, entrances, ring introductions, and any verbal promos that occur right before a match officially begins. The “post-match” segments include any celebrations, replays, angles, attacks, or promos that occur right after a match is finished.

PPV Timing for Greatest Royal Rumble Start End Description Duration Start End Description Duration 0m 00s 0m 19s Then, Now, Forever 0m 19s 0m 19s 2m 20s National anthems 2m 01s 2m 20s 5m 02s Video hyping Greatest Royal Rumble 2m 42s 5m 02s 6m 33s Opening pyro; Welcome to GRR 1m 31s 6m 33s 12m 22s Pre-match: Cena vs. Triple H 5m 49s 12m 22s 28m 07s Cena vs. Triple H 15m 45s 28m 07s 30m 53s Post-match: Cena vs. Triple H 2m 46s 30m 53s 32m 46s Two Brands One Night (music video) 1m 53s 32m 46s 33m 06s Filler commentary 0m 20s 33m 06s 35m 29s Pre-match: Alexander vs. Kalisto 2m 23s 35m 29s 45m 43s Alexander vs. Kalisto 10m 14s 45m 43s 46m 57s Post-match: Alexander vs. Kalisto 1m 14s 46m 57s 47m 36s Ad for WWE Shop 0m 39s 47m 36s 52m 40s Pre-match: Wyatt & Hardy vs. The Bar 5m 04s 52m 40s 1h 01m 31s Wyatt & Hardy vs. The Bar 8m 51s 1h 01m 31s 1h 02m 44s Post-match: Wyatt & Hardy vs. The Bar 1m 13s 1h 02m 44s 1h 07m 30s Pre-match: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal 4m 46s 1h 07m 30s 1h 13m 40s Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal 6m 10s 1h 13m 40s 1h 15m 09s Post-match: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal 1m 29s 1h 15m 09s 1h 16m 42s Ad for Make-a-Wish 1m 33s 1h 16m 42s 1h 17m 51s Panel Discussion 1 1m 09s 1h 17m 51s 1h 20m 09s Video: Societal renaissance in Saudi Arabia 2m 18s 1h 20m 09s 1h 21m 04s Panel Discussion 2 0m 55s 1h 21m 04s 1h 23m 28s Backstage Jericho promo 2m 24s 1h 23m 28s 1h 26m 11s Panel Discussion 3 2m 43s 1h 26m 11s 1h 27m 13s Backstage Bryan promo 1m 02s 1h 27m 13s 1h 28m 02s Panel Discussion 4 0m 49s 1h 28m 02s 1h 30m 56s Pre-match: Bludgeon Bros vs. The Usos 2m 54s 1h 30m 56s 1h 36m 05s Bludgeon Bros vs. The Usos 5m 09s 1h 36m 05s 1h 37m 22s Post-match: Bludgeon Bros vs. The Usos 1m 17s 1h 37m 22s 1h 38m 12s Ad for Backlash 2018 0m 50s 1h 38m 12s 1h 47m 04s Pre-match: Rollins vs. Balor vs. Joe vs. Miz 8m 52s 1h 47m 04s 2h 01m 37s Rollins vs. Balor vs. Joe vs. Miz 14m 33s 2h 01m 37s 2h 03m 37s Post-match: Rollins vs. Balor vs. Joe vs. Miz 2m 00s 2h 03m 37s 2h 05m 28s Footage from WWE tryouts in Saudi Arabia 1m 51s 2h 05m 28s 2h 12m 52s In-ring Segment: Daivari Brothers 7m 24s 2h 12m 52s 2h 13m 44s Hype for Bruce Prichard podcast 0m 52s 2h 13m 44s 2h 22m 19s Pre-match: Styles vs. Nakamura 8m 35s 2h 22m 19s 2h 36m 45s Styles vs. Nakamura 14m 26s 2h 36m 45s 2h 39m 01s Post-match: Styles vs. Nakamura 2m 16s 2h 39m 01s 2h 50m 20s Pre-match: Undertaker vs. Rusev 11m 19s 2h 50m 20s 2h 59m 58s Undertaker vs. Rusev 9m 38s 2h 59m 58s 3h 02m 55s Post-match: Undertaker vs. Rusev 2m 57s 3h 02m 55s 3h 14m 28s Pre-match: Lesnar vs. Reigns 11m 33s 3h 14m 28s 3h 23m 42s Lesnar vs. Reigns 9m 14s 3h 23m 42s 3h 27m 41s Post-match: Lesnar vs. Reigns 3m 59s 3h 27m 41s 3h 29m 21s Hype for Backlash 2018 1m 40s 3h 29m 21s 3h 29m 41s Glance at GRR Trophy & Championship 0m 20s 3h 29m 41s 3h 32m 22s Ad for WWE Network 2m 41s 3h 32m 22s 3h 32m 38s Filler commentary 0m 16s 3h 32m 38s 3h 35m 54s Pre-match: 50-Man Royal Rumble Match 3m 16s 3h 35m 54s 4h 53m 13s 50-Man Royal Rumble Match 77m 19s 4h 53m 13s 4h 57m 08s Post-match: 50-Man Royal Rumble Match 3m 55s 4h 57m 08s 5h 00m 16s Closing video package 3m 08s

Match Times

The 10 matches combined for a total time of 2h 51m 19s. This means that 57.1% of the show was devoted to bell-to-bell action. This is the 22nd highest percentage in this category out of the 73 WWE pay-per-view (PPV) events in my data set, which begins with Royal Rumble 2013.

Here is the sorted list of match times for Greatest Royal Rumble. This also includes where each match time ranks out of all 524 matches in my data set.

77m 19s: Greatest Royal Rumble Match (1st out of 524 matches)

15m 45s: John Cena vs. Triple H (172nd)

14m 33s: Rollins vs. Balor vs. Miz vs. Joe (198th)

14m 26s: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (204th)

10m 14s: Cedric Alexander vs. Kalisto (331st)

9m 38s: Undertaker vs. Rusev (353rd)

9m 14s: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (369th)

8m 51s: Deleters of Worlds vs. The Bar (382nd)

6m 10s: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal (468th)

5m 09s: Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos (490th)

A full breakdown of the timing for the Greatest Royal Rumble match can be found here.

As far as I can tell, the 50-man Royal Rumble was the first ever main roster PPV match for Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, and the Revival.

Pre-match Segments

The pre-match segments combined for a total time of 1h 04m 31s, which is 21.5% of the show. This is the 54th highest percentage in this category out of the 73 events in my data set.

Here is the sorted list of pre-match segment time for all 10 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median pre-match segment time in my data set is 5m 47s and the average time is 6m 22s.

11m 33s: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

11m 19s: Undertaker vs. Rusev

8m 52s: Rollins vs. Balor vs. Miz vs. Joe

8m 35s: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

5m 49s: John Cena vs. Triple H

5m 04s: Deleters of Worlds vs. The Bar

4m 46s: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal

3m 16s: Greatest Royal Rumble Match

2m 54s: Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos

2m 23s: Cedric Alexander vs. Kalisto

Four matches received the special treatment of a dedicated video package right before superstar entrances. The videos hyping Balor’s match (2m 10s), Nakamura’s match (2m 49s), Undertaker’s match (2m 01s), and Lesnar’s match (3m 45s) combined to take up 10m 45s of the pre-match segment time.

The Undertaker’s entrance lasted 5m 48s, which is longer than the Usos’ bell-to-bell match time of 5m 09s. Undertaker also pulled off this feat earlier in April at WrestleMania 34.

The pre-match segments for Undertaker and Lesnar’s matches were each longer than their respective match times.

Post-match Segments

The post-match segments combined for a total time of 23m 06s, which is 7.7% of the show. This is the 55th highest percentage in this category out of the 73 events in my data set.

Here is the sorted list of the post-match segment time for all 10 matches. For some context, keep in mind that the median post-match segment time in my data set is 1m 59s and the average time is 2m 27s.

3m 59s: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

3m 55s: Greatest Royal Rumble Match

2m 57s: Undertaker vs. Rusev

2m 46s: John Cena vs. Triple H

2m 16s: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

2m 00s: Rollins vs. Balor vs. Miz vs. Joe

1m 29s: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal

1m 17s: Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos

1m 14s: Cedric Alexander vs. Kalisto

1m 13s: Deleters of Worlds vs. The Bar

Miscellaneous Segments

That leaves about 13.8% (41m 20s) of the show for everything else. This is the 21st highest percentage in this category out of the 73 events in my data set.

Most of these miscellaneous segments are crammed into the time after one post-match segment ends and before the next pre-match segment begins. Greatest Royal Rumble included eight different blocks of miscellaneous segments. Here is how long each block lasted, in chronological order:

Block 1: 6m 33s (Then Now Forever; National anthems; Opening video)

Block 2: 2m 13s (Two Brands One Night music video)

Block 3: 0m 39s (Ad for WWE Shop)

Block 4: 12m 53s (Panel discussion; Saudi Arabia video; Backstage Jericho/Bryan promos)

Block 5: 0m 50s (Ad for Backlash 2018)

Block 6: 10m 07s (Footage of tryouts; In-ring segment: Daivari brothers)

Block 7: 4m 57s (Hype for Backlash 2018; Glance at GRR trophy; Ad for WWE Network)

Block 8: 3m 08s (Closing video package)

Summary

The overall run time for Greatest Royal Rumble was 5h 00m 16s, and this ranks 3rd longest out of all 73 events in my data set.

Here is a listing of how much total show time was allocated for each match when you add up all 3 components: pre-match time, match time, and post-match time. This list also includes where each total time ranks among the 524 entries in my data set.

84m 30s: Greatest Royal Rumble Match (1st out of 524 entries)

25m 25s: Rollins vs. Balor vs. Miz vs. Joe (174th)

25m 17s: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (176th)

24m 46s: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns (187th)

24m 20s: John Cena vs. Triple H (194th)

23m 54s: Undertaker vs. Rusev (202nd)

15m 08s: Deleters of Worlds vs. The Bar (383rd)

13m 51s: Cedric Alexander vs. Kalisto (407th)

12m 25s: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal (439th)

9m 20s: Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos (500th)

These numbers show that roughly 25 minutes of airtime was given to each of the five most important non-Rumble matches on this card.

Now here is a look at the “Match Time Percentage” for each match. For any given match, this percentage shows how the match time compares to the combined pre-match and post-match segment time. For some context, it’s good to know that the median result here since 2013 is 62.5%.

(Here’s an example calculation: an entry with a match time of 6m 00s, pre-match time of 3m 00s, and a post-match time of 1m 00s has a score of 60.0%, because the match time of 6m 00s is 60% of the total sum of 10m 00s for all three components.)

91.5%: Greatest Royal Rumble Match

73.9%: Cedric Alexander vs. Kalisto

64.7%: John Cena vs. Triple H

58.5%: Deleters of Worlds vs. The Bar

57.2%: Rollins vs. Balor vs. Miz vs. Joe

57.1%: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

55.2%: Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos

49.7%: Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal

40.3%: Undertaker vs. Rusev

37.3%: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

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Final Results for Greatest Royal Rumble

Match - 57.1% - 2h 51m 19s

Pre-match - 21.5% - 1h 04m 31s

Post-match - 7.7% - 23m 06s

Miscellaneous - 13.8% - 41m 20s