WWE Royal Rumble 2016: Power Ranking Every Battle Royal Winner
The Royal Rumble is the unofficial start of the Road to WrestleMania, and as such, the winner of the annual 30-man match is of the utmost importance. It sets the tone for the build to WWE's most significant show and gives fans the first hint of what they can expect from the top matches on that card.
Over the years, some of the most decorated and celebrated stars in the history of sports entertainment have outlasted their peers to earn Rumble glory and a guaranteed opportunity to head to The Showcase of the Immortals.
From Hulk Hogan to Steve Austin, from The Rock to John Cena and in between, the show has been the genesis for some of the most notable pushes in company history.
As WWE embarks on the journey to the 2016 match, enjoy this look back at every winner from Rumble history, ranked according to their post-match success, the number of times they won the match, the quality of the competition and the historical significance of their victory.
22. Big John Studd
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The worst winner in Royal Rumble history is, without a doubt, Big John Studd.
When the giant Superstar made his return in 1989, Vince McMahon inexplicably saw dollar signs in the aging vet. He wanted to give him one last major push up the card, and it started with the Royal Rumble match, which was still in its infancy at the time.
Studd outlasted the offers of wealth by "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase to win the match, but it was the first signs of real tension between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage that stole the show and threatened to overshadow Studd's victory.
The grand return for the big man failed miserably, as his health did not allow him to accomplish what McMahon had planned for him.
Instead, his rivalry with Andre the Giant culminated at WrestleMania V, with Studd serving as the special referee for Andre's match with Jake Roberts.
21. Vince McMahon
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Vince McMahon's Royal Rumble win in 1999 was little more than a plot device, in existence only to tell the latest chapter of the rivalry between him and Steve Austin that had dominated the company and led WWE back to the forefront of the Monday Night War.
After entering No. 2 and lasting all the way until the end, courtesy of a long stint on commentary while Austin was hospitalized following a sneak attack at the hands of The Corporation, he capitalized on a distraction with The Rock and tossed "Stone Cold" for the most improbable victory in match history.
Still, it was the fact that McMahon barely competed in the match that drops him as low as he is on this list; he's doomed to rank among the worst winners in match history, even if it was essential to the story being told at the time.
20. Yokozuna
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Yokozuna was an unstoppable force by the time the 1993 Royal Rumble rolled around. He was an overwhelming favorite to win the match.
With Ric Flair on his way out and no legitimate likelihood that either Mr. Perfect or Randy Savage would win—which would have set up a babyface vs. babyface main event against Bret Hart at WrestleMania IX—the massive competitor was the only other option.
Entering at No. 27, he did nothing of any real note and then tossed Savage off him and over the top rope to score his first and only Rumble win.
He would parlay that victory into a WWE Championship reign that lasted all of a few seconds after defeating Bret Hart at WrestleMania and falling to Hulk Hogan on the same night.
19. "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan
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Jim Duggan's victory in the 1988 Royal Rumble match is more recognized for being the answer to a trivia question than it is as one of the great wins in the history of the contest, thanks to the fact that he never quite reached the star power of the others on this list.
It is easy to forget, though, that ol' Hacksaw was popular at this point in his career. He was a bruiser but possessed an entertaining personality. Fans loved Duggan in a way that today's audience could never truly understand, thanks to the lack of emphasis put on midcard talent.
By overcoming the hated One Man Gang, Duggan endeared himself to WWE fans across the globe.
His win ensured the future of the event, even if he hardly measures up in star power to the icons that preceded him.
18. Alberto Del Rio
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Alberto Del Rio competed in, and won, the largest Royal Rumble in WWE history, defeating 39 other Superstars to earn a shot at the world title at WrestleMania 27.
Yet, despite the monumental win, he ranks as one of the worst winners in Rumble history.
Why?
The 40-man field watered down the win significantly. Sure, Del Rio overcame John Cena and Randy Orton, but he also beat "stars" such as David Otunga, Husky Harris and Yoshi Tatsu. Worse yet was the fact that his final elimination was Santino Marella, who would have generated significantly more interest for his win than Del Rio could have ever imagined.
That the Superstar went on to WrestleMania and lost to Edge in the opening match and then dropped a follow-up match to Christian at Extreme Rules suggests a giant waste of time was put into pushing Del Rio as the next big thing.
17. Roman Reigns
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There may never be a response to a Royal Rumble quite as venomous as Roman Reigns' in 2015.
The second-generation star was tabbed to headline WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar, and to get him there, WWE Creative booked him to win the first main event of the year. Unfortunately, fans in Philadelphia did not want to see another babyface who had been shoved down their throats win such a prestigious bout.
They booed mercilessly as he stood victorious on the ropes, not because they hated Reigns but because they hated the idea of him. He was yet another babyface WWE tried to force rather than allow to develop organically.
It was a black mark on Royal Rumble history and the second year in a row that the fanbase rejected the company's choice to win the match.
16. Randy Orton
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Randy Orton's win in the 2009 Royal Rumble match was the ignition for a push that would take him all the way to WrestleMania XXV and a main event showdown with Triple H.
Ironically, he ousted The Game to collect his first Rumble win, though not without a little help from his Legacy cohorts Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.
In fact, those two young stars were instrumental in Orton sticking around long enough to win the match, aiding The Viper in dropping star after star.
Orton was a dangerous Superstar who had finally realized his potential, and the win was the genesis of a new, more cerebral and focused Orton than fans had ever seen before. He would be more dangerous than ever before—something Triple H, his wife Stephanie and the McMahon family would find out in the worst ways imaginable shortly after his spectacular win.
15. Edge
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For Edge, the 2010 Royal Rumble presented him the opportunity to make a grand return to WWE television while simultaneously setting up a huge WrestleMania championship match for himself.
After seven months away with a torn Achilles tendon, The Rated R Superstar hit the ring at No. 29 and wasted little time targeting the egotistical Chris Jericho, who threw him under the proverbial bus the second his unfortunate injury ended their tag title reign months earlier.
From there, he withstood the challenge of Batista and John Cena to stand tall and cash his ticket to the Showcase of the Immortals.
Edge failed to wrest the world title from Jericho on that grand night in Arizona, but his win in the Rumble match completed a string of successes that only Sheamus can claim to have replicated: winning the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships, the Royal Rumble, the King of the Ring and Money in the Bank.
14. Sheamus
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Entering the Royal Rumble in January 2012, there were two obvious choices to win: Sheamus and Chris Jericho.
Y2J was in position to challenge CM Punk for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, while Sheamus' face turn had given management hope that he could lead the SmackDown brand. With the idea of a co-winner scenario similar to Bret Hart and Lex Luger in 1994 off the table, only one man could win.
That man would be The Celtic Warrior, who engaged Jericho in a series that left fans guessing which Superstar would emerge with his arm raised in victory.
It was the start of a monumental year for Sheamus, who would head to WrestleMania and capture the world title before serving as the lead babyface on the blue brand. His wars with Big Show, Christian, Randy Orton and Mark Henry helped establish him as a worker capable of delivering great matches with wrestlers of a variety of styles.
13. Triple H
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Triple H returned from a quadriceps injury in January 2002 and immediately entered himself in the Royal Rumble match. Within minutes, the winner of the contest was confirmed, weeks before the bout was even slated to begin.
That significantly hurt that year's match, despite a field of future Hall of Famers.
Even as Steve Austin unleashed Stone Cold Stunner after Stone Cold Stunner on the likes of Perry Saturn and Chuck, the attention of fans was on the impending arrival of Triple H. As "The Game" played over the PA system with the growling of Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister announcing the arrival of The Cerebral Assassin, he made his way to the ring and began unleashing punishing rights to the faces of his opponents.
Despite a late match surge by Kurt Angle and the unexpected challenge of the great Mr. Perfect, Triple H delivered a huge clothesline that sent the Olympic gold medalist soaring over the top and etched The Game's name in the history books.
Just as fans had expected.
12. Rey Mysterio
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Rey Mysterio's win in the 2006 Royal Rumble match was the result of Eddie Guerrero's untimely passing and WWE's desire to exploit it for the sake of its own storylines.
That does not demean the legendary luchador's accomplishments in that year's contest.
Lasting more than one hour, Mysterio eliminated six Superstars and outlasted former Evolution teammates Triple H and Randy Orton to pick up the win. He devoted his win to his longtime friend Guerrero and celebrated by looking skyward, as if to thank Latino Heat for watching over him.
It made for an emotional moment, perhaps the most emotional in event history.
The Master of the 619 would ride the wave of emotion and momentum to WrestleMania 22, where he defeated Orton and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match to win the World Heavyweight Championship, becoming the smallest Superstar to accomplish that feat.
11. Brock Lesnar
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Brock Lesnar was coming off the most successful year a rookie in professional wrestling had ever had, scoring a WWE Championship at the age of 25, not to mention winning the King of the Ring.
When he was screwed out of the heavyweight title by Paul Heyman, the lead story of the SmackDown brand became Lesnar's sudden ascension as the top babyface on the brand and his journey back to championship glory.
To even earn a shot to compete in the Royal Rumble, he had to beat Big Show in the opening match of the event. He did just that, blasting the giant with an F-5.
Later in the night, he would use the same finisher to eliminate The Undertaker and win the Rumble, cashing his ticket to WrestleMania and a showdown with the fellow amateur wrestler, Kurt Angle.
10. The Rock
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The Rock was the most popular star in the industry, rising to that position in the sport courtesy of Steve Austin's untimely neck injury late in 1999. With Mick Foley and Triple H busy elsewhere on the Rumble card, Rock was a sure thing to leave Madison Square Garden in New York victoriously.
His biggest threat, The Big Show, was determined to ensure that The People's Champion disappointed his millions...and millions of fans by taking him out and earning the WWE Championship opportunity for himself.
With Superstars such as Rikishi, Kane, X-Pac and The New Age Outlaws already disposed of, Rock used the momentum of his opponent against him and held onto the top rope as the giant tumbled to the arena floor.
In the weeks that followed, Big Show produced footage that showed Rock's feet hitting the floor first, but history has refused to eliminate The Great One from its books. He is the winner of the 2000 match, which was the right booking decision at the time, but one that was essentially undone by anyone caring to lend credibility to Big Show's insistence.
9. Bret Hart and Lex Luger
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Vince McMahon's attention was split between two different Superstars as the 1994 Royal Rumble rolled around.
On one hand, there was the "Made in the USA" Lex Luger, McMahon's attempt to recreate Hulk Hogan. He had been the recipient of a humongous push but had failed to capture the WWE Championship in his first major shot at the title at 1993's SummerSlam.
On the other hand was Bret Hart, the man of the people, a Superstar whose in-ring work earned him the respect of fans that no substantial push from McMahon could ever produce.
With the world watching, McMahon made a gutsy call, booking Hart and Luger to simultaneously eliminate each other and become the first co-winners of the Rumble in WWE history.
It was a controversial call at the time and remains one of the shining examples of the boss being unable to make up his mind.
Hart would go on to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania X, while Luger would never quite reach the heights he had months earlier.
8. The Undertaker
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The Undertaker's win in the 2007 Royal Rumble not only marked his first time accomplishing that feat, but it also marked the first time that any Superstar had ever entered from the coveted No. 30 position and won the match.
It was not easy for The Phenom.
Rated RKO's Edge and Randy Orton formed a considerable roadblock for The Deadman to bowl over. With that devious duo out of the picture, he was left to battle one of his greatest foes: Shawn Michaels.
The fans in San Antonio were rabidly in favor of The Heartbreak Kid, though they let their appreciation for Undertaker be known too. For several minutes, the veteran performers brought the fans to the edges of their seats, taking them on an emotional roller-coaster ride that ended when the native of The Dark Side dodged Sweet Chin Music and dumped Michaels for the win.
The lights dimmed, a purple haze fell over the arena, and pyrotechnics exploded as Undertaker stood tall in the center of the squared circle—the company's last gunslinger and its latest Royal Rumble winner.
7. Batista
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The 2005 Royal Rumble was the coronation of Batista as the face of WWE's future.
After years of searching for the next big star to guide the company into the next decade, Vince McMahon found him in the form of the chiseled heavyweight. He was a badass but had silent charisma that captured the attention of fans.
While management was worried about pushing Randy Orton, The Animal earned the adulation of fans by being smarter than he looked and aware of the manipulative games played by Triple H. With momentum building, he won the Rumble by tossing fellow breakout star John Cena.
The win propelled Batista to stardom, earning him a shot at Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship. He would win the title and go on to lead the SmackDown brand for years before stepping away from the industry in 2010.
When he returned in 2014, he was miscast as a babyface and booed out of buildings by fans who preferred Daniel Bryan, the consummate underdog to Batista's Hollywood star.
When the Washington, D.C. native won that year's Rumble match, he was greeted with a chorus of boos loud enough to drown out his music and frustrate him to the point of cursing out fans at ringside.
Suffice to say, his second win was not nearly as appreciated as his first.
6. John Cena
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The most shocking moment in the history of the Royal Rumble was the return of John Cena at the 2008 event.
The fans in New York's Madison Square Garden erupted for the leader of the Chain Gang as he exploded through the entrance, months ahead of his scheduled in-ring return. A torn triceps muscle had sidelined him for months, but hard work and determination allowed him to return to the squared circle much earlier than expected.
He hit the ring like a ball of fire—to paraphrase the great Gorilla Monsoon—and moments later delivered an Attitude Adjustment to Triple H, sending him over the top rope for the most unexpected victory in the annals of the Royal Rumble.
Five years later, Cena again entered the Rumble, this time announced and fully expected to leave with his arm raised in victory.
He faced a tough challenge in the form of Ryback, who was a dark-horse candidate to leave victoriously, but Cena ultimately finished him just as he had The Game in his first Rumble triumph.
The biggest star of his generation, Cena ranks among Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels as the greatest Rumblers ever.
5. Shawn Michaels
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In 1995, Shawn Michaels became the first Superstar in WWE history to start the Royal Rumble at No. 1 and outlast every other competitor to win the match. It was a star-making moment for The Heartbreak Kid, who had been an upper-midcard star for so long but was suddenly thrust into the main event scene.
One year later, with his star rising, the now babyface Michaels entered the Rumble as the undisputed favorite. He was going to win—there was no denying it. The only question was who he would have to overcome to do so and if that person would be his best friend, Diesel.
It was.
Michaels blasted Big Daddy Cool with Sweet Chin Music, sending him tumbling over the top rope and to the arena floor.
The win established HBK as the face of WWE's future, Vince McMahon's chosen headliner and the star of a new generation...even if it was one of the biggest foregone conclusions in the history of the event and, thus, one of its least dramatic outcomes.
4. Hulk Hogan
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There was no bigger star in wrestling during the 1980s and '90s than Hulk Hogan. An icon of sports entertainment, it only made sense that he would be chosen by Vince McMahon to win the Royal Rumble at least once.
He did it twice, winning in consecutive years.
In 1990, Hogan was faced with the challenge of Mr. Perfect, a braggart whose unblemished record made him one of the favorites to upset the then-WWE champion. He did not, though, and fans were left with the happy ending of Hogan celebrating in victory that they had so desired...even after a tense staredown with Ultimate Warrior in the first tease of a WrestleMania VI battle.
One year later, Hogan was no longer champion, but he was, perhaps more importantly, the hero that fans needed during wartime. He was the All-American who fought for the red, white and blue as the country charged into Kuwait for war with Saddam Hussein and Iraq.
After tossing Earthquake and Brian Knobbs to win his second straight Rumble bout, he flew Old Glory overhead, much to the delight of the audience.
Hogan was essential in adding credibility to the Rumble match, as he was the first major star to have his arm raised in battle after outlasting 29 other Superstars. Add to that the fact he won some of the better early Rumbles in event history and you have the makings of one of the all-time best victors the match has ever seen.
3. Chris Benoit
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Chris Benoit's victory in the 2004 Royal Rumble was a decade in the making. Long considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, he had seen his growth stunted by preconceptions about his size. He was too small and vanilla to be a heavyweight champion.
After four years of proving doubters wrong in WWE, he entered the Rumble at No. 1 and became just the second Superstar to win from that position. It was a monumental moment for one of the most respected performers in the industry—a crowning moment for someone who was hungry for championship gold to enhance his legacy.
His win came in gloriously ironic fashion as he locked in a guillotine chokehold and pulled the giant Big Show over the top rope and to the arena floor.
It was one of the most emotional and inspirational moments in the long history of the Rumble and one that laid the groundwork for Benoit's journey to the world title at WrestleMania XX.
2. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
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The only three-time winner of the Royal Rumble match, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin falls just short of earning the top spot on this countdown, thanks to his victories in two straight lackluster bouts.
While the 1997 match gave Austin the momentum he needed to break out and become the hottest star in the industry, it was hardly one of the best in event history. In fact, it was fairly lackluster, despite one of the deepest talent pools in Rumble history.
One year later, the Texas Rattlesnake made it two in a row by eliminating The Rock and foreshadowing an epic feud between the two in the years that followed. That win solidified his position as the star who would carry WWE into the Attitude Era and generate the biggest business Vince McMahon's company had ever experienced.
By the time the 2001 match rolled around, he was recovering from a long layoff necessitated by major neck surgery. Determined to prove he still had it, Austin overcame a vicious assault by Triple H that left him bloodied to defeat the monstrous Kane and win his third Rumble.
Austin's legacy is strengthened by his success in the Royal Rumble, and the history of the event is enhanced by his tremendous run.
1. Ric Flair
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To many, Ric Flair is the greatest wrestler in the history of sports entertainment, a performer who meshed the art of the mat game and the ability to talk fans into arenas to see him get his comeuppance.
In 1991, he left the NWA/WCW, the promotion he was most closely associated, and arrived in WWE. He wasted little time in making a name for himself, and by the time the '92 Royal Rumble rolled around, he was one of the favorites to leave with the vacant WWE Championship.
To do so, he would have to defeat 14 future Hall of Famers and 15 other Superstars while entering from the No. 3 position.
With Bobby Heenan cheering him on and delivering one of the greatest commentary performances ever, Flair did just that and demonstrated his greatness for a brand-new audience of wrestling fans.
"With a tear in my eye, this is the greatest night of my life," he told Sean Mooney in a post-match interview.
And with tears in their eyes, a generation of fans witnessed the greatest win in Rumble history.
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