WWE Royal Rumble 2012: Ranking Every Winner from Least to Most Impressive

The Royal Rumble is one of the most exciting events in WWE history.  

The first Royal Rumble was in 1988, and has become an annual event since then. Some wrestlers have won the event multiple times, some have only won it once and it has also been won by someone who isn't even a wrestler. The event has had 21 different people come out as winners and some have been more impressive than others.

Here is a ranking of every Royal Rumble winner from least to most impressive.

24. Vince McMahon 1999

Entrant Number: 2

Not a real shocker here. Vince McMahon spent the bulk of his time in the 1999 Royal Rumble running away from Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Then when the match came down to just Austin and McMahon, Austin dragged McMahon into the ring and hit McMahon with a stunner. Then the Rock came out and distracted Austin enough to allow McMahon to eliminate him.

23. Yokozuna 1993

Entrant Number: 27

Yokozuna's Royal Rumble win was not as impressive because of his size and his performance in it. Yokozuna was billed at 500 lbs.

He did eliminate seven people but they were not impressive, including one of the worst eliminations of all time when he kicked out of Randy Savage's pin attempt by throwing him over the top ropes from his back.

22. Bret Hart and Lex Luger 1994

Luger Entrant Number: 23

Hart Entrant Number: 27

There was no clear winner in the 1994 Royal Rumble match, so the company declared both Bret Hart and Lex Luger winners. 

This was an ineffective decision and since there was no real winner, it was also not very impressive.

21. Big John Studd 1989

Entrant Number: 27

The person that should have won the 1989 Royal Rumble was Hulk Hogan. Hogan stole the show, as he eliminated close to ten people.

Big John Studd only had two eliminations and neither of those eliminations were Hulk Hogan. Studd's final elimination was nothing special and the match didn't even result in a world title shot.

20. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan 1988

Entrant Number: 13

Duggan was the first Royal Rumble winner ever. In 1988, the Royal Rumble only had 20 participants.

So the fact that this Royal Rumble had less people than any other one, and it didn't guarantee a title shot, takes something away from it. However Duggan was still the first person to ever win and came out at 13 and not 20.

19. Edge 2010

Entrant Number 29:

The best part about Edge's Royal Rumble victory in 2010 was his surprise return. 

Edge eliminated two wrestlers and spent the shortest time in the match for any Royal Rumble winner ever (7:19).

18. Undertaker 2007

Entrant Number: 30

Undertaker won his only Royal Rumble in 2007. He eliminated three wrestlers in 13:15, but the fact that he came out as the last competitor takes a little away from his victory.

17. Alberto Del Rio

Entrant Number: 38

Alberto Del Rio was the winner of the first 40-man Royal Rumble match. He did however come out as the 38th entrant. He only was in the match for 8:33, and his last elimination was Santino Marella.

This win was supposed to boost Del Rio's career, and although he has accomplished a lot since the Royal Rumble, he still has not lived up to his expectations.

16. Brock Lesnar 2003

Entrant Number: 29

Brock Lesnar entered at 29 and took only 8:59 to win the 2003 Royal Rumble. A Royal Rumble victory adds to the impressive accomplishments in Lesnar's short WWE career.

15. Batista 2005

Entrant Number: 28

The 2005 Royal Rumble had one of the most exciting endings to a Royal Rumble match, because Batista muffed the final elimination on John Cena. 

Both Batista and Cena fell out of the ring and it was unclear who had hit the floor first. Vince McMahon came out and, in the process of tearing both his quads, ordered that Cena and Batista restart the match. Batista then officially the match.

Batista basically won the 2005 Royal Rumble twice. 

14. Hulk Hogan 1990

Entrant Number: 25

After Hogan probably deserved to win the 1989 Royal Rumble, he won the 1990 Royal Rumble. 

He eliminated five superstars and dominated the match to win his first of two back to back Royal Rumbles.

13. The Rock 2000

Entrant Number: 24

The Rock won the 2000 Royal Rumble, but not without controversy. He was stuck with only Big Show to eliminate, which is not an easy feat. Just as it looked as if Big Show would throw the Rock out of the ring, the Rock held onto the top ropes and simultaneously eliminated Big Show.

Big Show, however, argued that the Rock's feet had touched the outside floor before he was eliminated.

12. Randy Orton 2009

Entrant Number: 8

Randy Orton winning the Rumble as the eighth entrant is impressive, however he was a favorite going in because Cody Rhodes and Ted Dibiase were both in the Rumble, as well, and expected to help Orton. 

Randy Orton only eliminated two people in 48:27.

11. Hulk Hogan 1991

Entrant Number: 24

Hogan eliminated seven wrestlers in this Royal Rumble, including the 28th, 29th and 30th participants.

This Royal Rumble was Hogan's second in a row, and made him the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumbles and two Royal Rumbles back to back.

10.Stone Cold Steve Austin 1998

Entrant Number: 24

The 1998 Royal Rumble was the least impressive out of Austin's three Rumble victories. 

He eliminated seven opponents in 15:58, and the final one was the Rock. The Rock was almost thrown out of the ring but held on. He then re-entered the ring only to be "Stunnered," and successfully tossed out by Austin.

9. John Cena 2008

Entrant Number: 30

Although Cena entered the 2008 Royal Rumble as the last participant, his performance was very impressive.

Cena's return and victory at the 2008 Rumble was one of the most exciting wins in event history. The thought of Cena returning at the Royal Rumble event seemed impossible because of his pectoral injury that was supposed to keep him out of action. 

He shocked the WWE fans by impressively returning months earlier than expected and eliminating four participants to win.

8. Triple H 2002

Entrant Number: 22

Triple H was riding his momentum after returning from a career-threatening injury. 

Triple H was the winner of the longest 30-man Royal Rumble match of all time. He was almost eliminated by Kurt Angle, but somehow hung on to the ropes and avoided falling out of the ring. Angle thought he had won the match, and Triple H capitalized on his mistake by eliminating Angle and winning the match. 

7. Shawn Michaels 1996

Entrant Number: 18

Shawn Michaels won his second straight Royal Rumble in 1996, and although he did not enter first this time he still put on another impressive performance.

He eliminated some huge superstars like Vader, Isaac Yankem (aka Kane), Yokozuna, and Diesel. 

6. Stone Cold Steve Austin 1997

Entrant Number: 5

Stone Cold Steve Austin entered at number five and was eliminated by Bret Hart. However, the referees were distracted and did not see Austin get eliminated. 

He immediately entered back into the ring, and cleared all the wrestlers out of it and won the match. 

Austin tied Hulk Hogan for the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble with 10. That record has been broken by Kane in 2001another Rumble that Austin won.

5. Ric Flair 1992

Entrant Number: 3

Ric Flair entered the 1992 Royal Rumble as the third participant and after almost an hour, Flair was the last man standing in the ring.

Flair's performance was the first example of a Royal Rumble winner lasting close to an hour in the match. It was also the first, and only, time the world title would be awarded to the winner of the match.

4. Stone Cold Steve Austin 2001

Entrant Number: 27

The 2001 Royal Rumble victory gave Stone Cold his third Rumble victory. He is the only person to ever win more than two Royal Rumbles.

The 2001 Royal Rumble was Austin's most impressive. Austin had to overcome many different odds, including a brutal Triple H attack that caused him to be cut open before he even entered the match. He also had to overcome Kane's performance which was arguably the greatest performance in any Royal Rumble ever, as he eliminated 11 wrestlers.

Austin ended the match by eliminating Kane and winning an emotional Royal Rumble.

3. Shawn Michaels 1995

Entrant Number: 1

Shawn Michaels was the first entrant in the 1995 Royal Rumble and became the first wrestler to win the Royal Rumble as the first entrant.

Michaels eliminated seven wrestlers, and this Royal Rumble was crucial for the career of arguably the greatest superstar of all time.

2. Chris Benoit 2004

Entrant Number: 1

Benoit became the only other person other than Shawn Michaels to enter the Royal Rumble as the first participant and win. 

In the second longest time ever in a Royal Rumble match, Benoit eliminated six participants, including the Big Show, as the final elimination. If the odds were not already against Benoit because he was the first entrant, he was stuck having to eliminate the "largest athlete in the world." 

1. Rey Mysterio 2006

Entrant Number: 2

Rey Mysterio is the smallest Royal Rumble winner ever. At only 5'6" and 175lbs, Mysterio was an obvious underdog.

Mysterio probably took over the role that Eddie Guerrero would have had, had he not unexpectedly passed away. Mysterio delivered one of the most impressive Royal Rumble performances of all time and lasted longer than any other wrestler in the history of the event.

The amount of times Mysterio was almost eliminated, how much he was an underdog and being in the Royal Rumble match longer than any other wrestler ever makes his victory in the 2006 Royal Rumble the most impressive.