WWE Royal Rumble 2011: Power Ranking Every Royal Rumble Winner in WWE History

The Royal Rumble remains one of the most time honored and pivotal events in all of WWE.  The 1993 Royal Rumble was the first Royal Rumble event where the winner was to be named the no. 1 contender for a World Championship.  Since then, WWE has done an admirable job protecting the prestige of winning a Royal Rumble (for the most part) as this is one of the few WWE institutions that has not been diluted in the brand extension era. 

Since its inception in 1988, there has always been one Royal Rumble and one winner - some winners better than others, and some wins more impressive than others.

The Royal Rumble has seen 20 different individuals win the legendary event.  With a storied history of more than 20 years in its own right, now is an optimal time to distinguish the good from the great when it comes to controlling one's own destiny on the road to Wrestlemania.  Just who is the greatest Royal Rumble winner of all time?  

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20. Vince McMahon (1999)

Entrant:  No. 2

Time:  56:38

Eliminations: 1

With the exception of his eliminations in the infamous 1999 Royal Rumble, Vince McMahon's statistics for his only Royal Rumble appearance look impressive.  However, such stats are very deceiving as McMahon spent the majority of the 1999 Royal Rumble running from Stone Cold Steve Austin and doing just enough to put himself in a position to win at the end.

As the only non-wrestler to win the event, ranking McMahon above any previous winner would be as much of a farce as McMahon's Royal Rumble win itself especially considering how he was booked to win the event. 

McMahon promptly relinquished his no. 1 contendership for the WWE Championship after winning the 1999 Royal Rumble and, with help from then WWE Commissioner Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon was replaced by Steve Austin in the Wrestlemania XV main event. 

19. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (1988)

Entrant:  No. 13

Time:  14:43

Eliminations:  3

Being the first ever Royal Rumble winner in 1988 counts for something, however this was before the winner of the Royal Rumble was guaranteed a shot at a world championship so the lack of follow up hurts Duggan's ranking. 

It's worth mentioning, however, that "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan is the only WWE Superstar in Royal Rumble history to enter the event at 'lucky' number 13. 

T-17. Bret Hart & Lex Luger (1994)

Entrant:  No. 27 (Hart),  No. 23  (Luger)

Time:  15:08 (Hart), 21:58 (Luger)

Eliminations: 2 & 1/3 (Hart), 4 & 5/6 (Luger)

Having two Royal Rumble winners, with the stakes as high as they were, was an anti-climactic abomination in 1994.  The real star of this Royal Rumble was Diesel, who eliminated seven individuals and was kept strong as it took three wrestlers to eliminate him. 

The ensuing WWE title matches at Wrestlemania were somewhat of a mess as both Luger and Hart received separate matches with then champion Yokozuna.  Hart's championship win over Yokozuna was far from the best match on that card as it was rivaled by Shawn Michaels' classic ladder match against Razor Ramon as well as his own opening contest against Owen Hart. 

16. Yokozuna (1993)

Entrant: No. 27

Time:  14:53

Eliminations: 7

Yokozuna may have lasted just less than fifteen minutes in his forgettable Royal Rumble win, but the 1993 Royal Rumble seemed to take forever as Yokozuna's slow motion eliminations left much to be desired. 

Yokozuna's win earned him a WWE title shot at Wrestlemania IX, where he reigned as champion for mere minutes before Hulk Hogan stole his thunder at the conclusion of one of the weaker Wrestlemanias in history. 

15. Big John Studd (1989)

Entrant: No. 27

Time:  12:21

Eliminations: 2

Hulk Hogan was running wild in this Royal Rumble with an eye-popping 9 1/2 eliminations.  Studd's win was also devalued as he entered the Rumble late in the match, only nabbed two eliminations (disappointing for his size), and won the Royal Rumble before the era where the winner was guaranteed a shot at a world title. 

14. The Rock (2000)

Entrant:  No. 24

Time:  14:47

Eliminations:  4

The Rock's controversial Royal Rumble win in 2000 lead to an abject mess of a build en route to Wrestlemania 2000 that resulted in a fatal four way main event with "a McMahon in every corner".  The Rock's Royal Rumble winning elimination of the Big Show was subsequently refuted when Big Show was (kayfabe) able to prove that Rock's feet hit the floor before eliminating him.  Show was granted a match at No Way Out, which he won thus usurping the Rock's no. one contendership for the WWE Championship. 

Eventually, the Rock earned his way back into the Wrestlemania main event that year, and Mick Foley was granted a simultaneous title shot as well.  Try not to have a headache going down that section of memory lane.   

13. Undertaker (2007)

Entrant:  No. 30

Time: 13:15 

Eliminations: 3

The Undertaker became the first Royal Rumble winner to win the event at no. 30.  Taker's time spent in the Royal Rumble hurts his power ranking here, but the fact that he went on to win the World Heavyweight championship and preserve his legendary Wrestlemania streak helps.  

12. Batista (2005)

Entrant:  No. 28

Time: 10:54

Eliminations: 4 & 1/2

The unplanned events leading to Batista's botched Royal Rumble win in 2005 were far more entertaining than the win itself, and its the expert improvisational work by Cena and Batista that helped propel his 2005 win up this list. 

After Batista inadvertently went over the top rope along with John Cena, both Batista and Cena proceeded to act as if each had won. 

After minutes of confusion, Vince McMahon furiously marched down to the ring and tore both his quads sliding into the ring.  The Royal Rumble match was restarted with its final two participants with Batista officially winning the Royal Rumble. 

11. Edge (2010)

Entrant: No. 29

Time:  7:19

Eliminations:  2

Edge's Royal Rumble surprise was not much of a surprise as many pundits had prognosticated his return.  But while the return wasn't as surprising and momentous as John Cena's 2008 shocker, Edge made his return just in time for a stellar Wrestlemania XXVI program with Chris Jericho that saw him lose in the World title match. 

10. Brock Lesnar (2003)

Entrant:  No. 29

Time:  8:59

Eliminations:  4

Brock Lesnar's time spent in the Royal Rumble was amongst the fewest of any Royal Rumble winner in history.  Lesnar's win, however, lead to an incredible match with Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania XIX that has been regarded as one of the greatest main events in Wrestlemania history. 

9. John Cena (2008)

Entrant:  No. 30

Time:  8:28

Eliminations:  4

John Cena's Royal Rumble win in 2008 was one of the most exciting wins in event history.  Leading up to the Royal Rumble, John Cena was a non-factor as he had been shelved with a pectoral injury and was expected to be out for at least six months. 

Coming back months ahead schedule, with no pundit or insider so much as leaking news of Cena's return, Cena's Rumble win in Madison Square Garden is amongst the most legitimately shocking moments in WWE history.  

8. Triple H (2002)

Entrant: No. 22

Time:  23:14

Eliminations:  3 & 1/2

Triple H's return from injury came with its share of momentum as the Game won one of the more stacked Royal Rumble's in recent history. 

Triple H's win earned him a match against Chris Jericho in a rather pedestrian Wrestlemania X8 main event that was outshined by the epic tilt between the Rock and Hulk Hogan. 

7. Randy Orton (2009)

Entrant: No. 8

Time:  48:27

Eliminations:  2 & 1/3

Randy Orton may have only eliminated two individuals from the 2009 Royal Rumble match, however he lasted almost an entire hour and, with help from his Legacy Brethren, Orton won the Royal Rumble match as a heavy favorite. 

Orton's ensuing WWE Championship match with Triple H at Wrestlemania XXV left much to be desired, but his time spent in the Royal Rumble is amongst the top times in event history. 

6. Rey Mysterio Jr. (2006)

Entrant:  No. 2

Time:  1:02:12

Eliminations:  5 & 1/2

Riding the emotional roller coaster of the untimely death of his longtime friend Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio delivered one of the most impressive Royal Rumble matches ever.

Entering at no. 2, and lasting longer than any competitor in Royal Rumble history, Rey Mysterio essentially went from wire to wire to pull off an improbable win en route to an even more improbable World Championship victory at Wrestlemania XXII. 

5. Chris Benoit (2004)

Entrant: No. 1

Time: 1:01:30 

Eliminations: 6

Chris Benoit's Royal Rumble win in 2004 earned Benoit a measure of immortality as he became only the second WWE Superstar to win the Royal Rumble after entering at no. 1.  Benoit's World title chase, culminating in a win at Wrestlemania XX, was somewhat of a lifetime achievement award. 

Nonetheless, Benoit was a very serviceable champion in the ensuing months. 

4. Hulk Hogan (1990, 1991)

Entrant:  No. 25 (1990), No. 24 (1991)

Combined Time:  32:44

Combined Eliminations: 11 & 5/6

Easy, purist.  Hulk Hogan may not have entered past no. 24 in his two Royal Rumble wins, but he dominated the Royal Rumble event for two years and became the first WWE Superstar to win back to back Royal Rumbles. 

Hulk Hogan is also the only WWE Superstar to win the Royal Rumble as a WWF/E Champion, which is something WWE aught to look into doing during the no. one contender era in order to get immense heat on a heel champion such as the Miz.   

3. Ric Flair (1992)

Entrant:  No. 3

Time:  59:26

Eliminations:  4

Ric Flair's Royal Rumble win of 1992 was the first instance of a marathon performance as Flair entered at no. 3 and lasted for almost an entire hour.  With his Royal Rumble win in '93, one of the few bright spots of Flair's first go-round with WWE, Ric Flair held the record for most time spent in a Royal Rumble match by the winning entrant for over a decade.  The record was finally broken by the late Chris Benoit in 2004. 

2. Shawn Michaels

Entrant:  No. 1 (1995), No. 18 (1996) 

Combined Time:  1:04:50

Combined Eliminations: 15

Shawn Michaels' historic Royal Rumble win of 1995, where he became the first man to win the Royal Rumble after entering no. 1, is enough to propel him to the top five of this list.  Shawn Michaels' becoming just the second WWE Superstar to win back to back Royal Rumbles puts him firmly in the discussion as the greatest Royal Rumble winner of all time. 

Michaels showed resilience, and durability in each of his Royal Rumble wins and also overachieved in the elimination category as he was booked to eliminate both Vader and Yokozuna in the 1996 Royal Rumble that jump started his road to the upper echelon of WWF/E. 

1. Steve Austin

Entrant: No 5 (1997), no. 24 (1998), no. 27 (2001)

Combined Time:   1:10:48

Combined Eliminations:  15  

Steve Austin gets the edge over Shawn Michaels as the only three time winner in Royal Rumble history.  Austin won the Royal Rumble match through a high volume of eliminations, outlasting opponents, and was booked strongly during the 2001 Royal Rumble where he was booked to come back from a brutal Triple H assault that busted him open prior to entering the match. 

An asterisk may need to be placed next to Austin's win of 1997 as he was technically eliminated by Bret Hart before sneaking back into the match to steal his first Royal Rumble win.  But, according to the record, Stone Cold Steve Austin owns the only Royal Rumble dynasty in WWE history as he captured three Royal Rumble wins in five years and converted two into WWE Championship wins (1998, 2001).

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