WWE Royal Rumble 2015: Greatest Superstars Never to Win Battle Royal
The 2015 WWE Royal Rumble will be yet another opportunity for a Superstar to etch their name into the history books and earn a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.
It's one of the most coveted prizes in World Wrestling Entertainment and a true statement of just how important you are to the roster if you come out on top.
That being said, some of the greatest wrestlers ever to lace up their boots have never been able to pull off a victory in this match, despite some of them having already been champion or mainstays in the upper echelon of wrestlers.
For one reason or another, each time these men stepped foot in the ring at the January pay-per-view, it was someone else's night and they found themselves being tossed over the top rope.
Looking back at the history of the Royal Rumble match, here are some of the greatest stars who theoretically should have won the big match but never got the job done.
Honorable Mention: Mr. Perfect
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Among all the names on this list, Curt Hennig is the only one who never won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at some point in his career.
Despite this, he was always a top star in whatever company he was in, main-eventing many shows and becoming one of the most memorable wrestlers in history.
The situation writes itself: Mr. Perfect should have gone from the first-entry spot and made it all the way until the end for the win.
He was the runner-up for the 1990 event, although in quite the opposite scenario, as he came in at number 30.
Hulk Hogan would toss him out and go on to face the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI, as this was before the Royal Rumble winner received a title shot at the event.
Mr. Perfect would have easily been worthy of a WrestleMania title match against Hogan in this era, but the stars didn't align in that fashion.
6. Mick Foley
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Name the multiple-time world champion who was in the main event of WrestleMania 2000 along with the champion, the winner of that year's Royal Rumble and the runner-up.
It's Mrs. Foley's baby boy, of course!
The closest to winning he's been able to get was in 1998, when he was in the final four and eventually lost to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Foley did set a record that year, though, as he is the only person to wrestle under three different monikers in the same Royal Rumble match—Cactus Jack, Mankind and Dude Love.
The hardcore legend had his rags to riches story told when he originally won the world championship against the Rock on Monday Night Raw.
Considering his popularity, it wouldn't have been crazy to think of him as someone who could have won the Royal Rumble and gone on to take the title at WrestleMania.
Unfortunately for him, there were always bigger fish at that time of the year.
5. Kurt Angle
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One of the most accomplished wrestlers of the Attitude era of WWE was Kurt Angle, who rather quickly become a mainstay in the title hunt for most of his career.
In 2002, Kurt Angle was the runner-up in the Royal Rumble match that Triple H won, capitalizing on his return from injury.
This was the closest Angle would come to tasting victory in the event's eponymous match during his tenure.
To be fair, Angle wasn't involved in every Royal Rumble match, as he was sometimes busy defending the championship itself.
Although his career is not yet over, unless he switches from TNA to WWE and gives Vince McMahon and company a reason to trust him in the main event title match at WrestleMania, it's highly unlikely he will ever win the Royal Rumble.
If that doesn't happen, Angle will have won virtually everything he could win in WWE and have gold medals and numerous other accolades under his belt, although this will be one that eluded him.
4. Chris Jericho
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The Royal Rumble seems like a natural fit for someone of Chris Jericho's skill set, given that it involves a combination of intelligence, veteran instincts, agility and resourcefulness.
He's been in a good portion of Royal Rumbles since his original debut in the company, but he has tended to make a name for himself in other ways rather than being victorious in the elimination match itself.
In 2002, Jericho defended the Undisputed WWF Championship. In 2003, he would kick off the match by establishing what would be a feud with Shawn Michaels that would lead to a stellar WrestleMania match.
He maybe the best in the world at what he does, but in 2012, Y2J was second place as the Celtic Warrior Sheamus booted him out of the top spot to win the match.
That year, he would go on to face the WWE champion anyway, but it didn't mean as much without the Royal Rumble victory on top of it, especially considering how the match Sheamus had was a waste of the honor.
With the way Jericho makes his surprise returns, it's definitely possible he will appear in the 2015 Royal Rumble match, although one would have to assume he would come out on the losing end.
The clock is ticking, but if the Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla were to win the Royal Rumble, it probably would have happened by now.
3. CM Punk
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Whether you are a fan of his, it's difficult to disagree with the idea that CM Punk is one of the biggest stars from the past 10 years in WWE.
That alone makes it astonishing that he did not win a Royal Rumble when he was in the company.
He's been the man to last the longest time in one of the matches, he's been close to a win and he's been the wrestler who eliminated the most competitors, but when push came to shove, he always lost.
This past year's Royal Rumble was one in which Punk played an integral role and gave an impressive performance, but he was screwed out of it by the likes of Kane.
Your mileage may vary on the idea of Punk being screwed out of his rightful wins on a regular basis, but no matter what your feelings of the future UFC fighter are, credit must be given to his popularity and star status.
Time is not up for Punk, and his win may come in the future, although it is not going to happen in 2015.
2. Kane
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Perhaps the most dominant person in the history of the Royal Rumble is Kane.
For over 10 years, he held the record for the most eliminations in a single event until Roman Reigns surpassed it in 2014.
The year he accomplished this feat was 2001, wherein he would be the final person eliminated by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin—a three-time Royal Rumble winner.
He is also responsible for the quickest elimination in history, when he clotheslined Santino Marella out of contention in less than two seconds in 2009.
Nearly every time Kane is in a Royal Rumble, he finds a way to toss out several men and put on a good show, but he's never been able to pull out the victory.
The Big Red Machine is always someone to watch out for in this match, but he's never someone you should place your bets on.
1. Big Show
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Not a single Royal Rumble goes by in which the commentators don't state the obvious that the biggest man in the match has a significant advantage over everyone else.
Andre the Giant made it look easy in most battle royals in which he participated, so it seems odd that Big Show doesn't have this accolade to his name.
If you name it, Big Show has done it. He has won every championship in WWE during his tenure, save for the Cruiserweight Championship for obvious reasons.
He is a Triple Crown champion, Grand Slam champion, earned a Bragging Rights trophy and multiple Slammy awards.
Not only has Big Show been in a world title match at WrestleMania more than once, he earned that main event spot in 2000 by being the runner-up in the Royal Rumble.
That year, the Rock was able to take the win. Big Show was also runner-up in 2004 when Chris Benoit dumped him over the top and went on to win the title.
For over a dozen years, Big Show has been the largest athlete in the match, who, for all intents and purposes, should not be able to be picked up and thrown out of the ring, but it has happened every single time.
Now that he is in nearing the end of his career, it's unlikely it will ever happen for him, which is astonishing, considering he's achieved every other accomplishment in wrestling.
Who else do you think deserved a Royal Rumble win? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!
Anthony Mango is the owner-operator of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment as well as the host of its podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, iTunes and Stitcher. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.
