WWE Royal Rumble 2016: Worst Battle Royal Winners in Event's History
The Royal Rumble is an event that, in the 28 years since its inception, has produced some truly memorable moments and epic victories. The 30-man namesake match has groomed some of the best and brightest stars for dates on the grand stage of WrestleMania, serving as their final step toward immortality and championship glory.
Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Triple H and The Rock are just a few of the industry icons who have won the Royal Rumble match and cashed their ticket to the Showcase of the Immortals, where they would headline and wow fans with electrifying performances.
Not every Rumble winner has been quite as effective as those four, however.
Though WWE typically gets it right, there are a few instances of missed opportunities and flat stupid booking that have left fans dismayed and scratching their heads at the logic behind the decisions.
The result has been general apathy, a lost chance to create a new star or verbal backlash the likes of which threatened to ruin the event as a whole.
With the possibility the winner of the 2016 Rumble match could elicit that type of reaction, take a walk through the history of WWE's greatest gimmick match and relive five instances in which WWE took one giant misstep and nearly doomed its plans for bigger and better things in the process.
These are the worst Royal Rumble winners in event history, ranked according to historical implications, the winner's star power, how they fared at WrestleMania and fan reception.
5. Hulk Hogan (1990)
1 of 5
The 1990 Royal Rumble was a match rife with talent.
Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Ted DiBiase and Mr. Perfect were just four of the Superstars who would go on to one day be enshrined in the annals of wrestling history as Hall of Famers. They are also a handful of Superstars who could have, and should have, benefited from a push in the form of a Royal Rumble win.
Instead, the decision was made to give the victory to WWE champion Hulk Hogan.
You know, the biggest star in the industry and the top dog in the company. Because if anyone needed the rub that came along with a such a major win, it was the pop-culture sensation known to millions of fans around the globe.
Already at the top of the industry, he could not have possible benefited from the win in the way a blossoming star the likes of Perfect would have.
The only bright spot to come from Hogan's win in the match was the awesome confrontation between him and The Ultimate Warrior, popping the crowd and foreshadowing an epic encounter between them at WrestleMania VI.
4. Bret Hart and Lex Luger (1994)
2 of 5
Bret Hart and Lex Luger do not rank on this list because they did not deserve to win the Royal Rumble. They made the list because their co-win represents one of the most blatant examples of cowardly and indecisive booking ever witnessed in professional wrestling.
Both reigned atop WWE in 1994, the two most popular babyfaces in the company. Whereas Hart's ascension was organic and the connection with the audience more natural, Luger was a product of WWE's marketing machine. He was the All-American hero poised to take down foreign heavyweight champion Yokozuna.
With the audience split, management opted to go with the least satisfactory conclusion possible.
Hart and Luger tumbled over the top rope, touching the floor at the same time.
Rather than making up its mind and choosing one Superstar, the company booked a tie, leaving it up to fans to decide which one to throw their support behind later in the process.
Hart would go on to defeat Yokozuna at WrestleMania X, but not before a convoluted setup got the two Superstars to the main event of pro wrestling's premier event.
3. Big John Studd (1989)
3 of 5
In 1989, Big John Studd returned to WWE after a years-long hiatus, hoping for one last great run with the mainstream sports entertainment promotion. Vince McMahon was hoping to make a few bucks off of the big man, cashing in on his enormous size at a time when the company thrived on larger-than-life athletes.
Looking to ignite a significant push for the future Hall of Famer, McMahon opted to book him to win the second Royal Rumble match.
Even with stars such as Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase at his disposal, he stuck with the plan to have Studd emerge victorious.
Health issues halted his push, though, and Studd never did the type of business McMahon had hoped he would. By the time WrestleMania V arrived just two months later, the giant-sized Superstar was relegated to the role of referee in the battle between Andre the Giant and Jake "The Snake" Roberts.
Studd was the first bust in Rumble history. Today, some 27 years later, he still stands head and shoulders above most others as one of the worst winners in match history, though through little fault of his own.
2. Batista (2014)
4 of 5
In 2014, Batista made his return to WWE after a four-year hiatus and was greeted by apathy on the part of the fans.
Despite being one of the biggest stars of his generation and one of the most popular babyfaces of the decade, the former heavyweight champion of the world returned to television and was immediately positioned as the favorite to win the Royal Rumble, thus setting up a main event WrestleMania match against the WWE champion, presumably Randy Orton.
The only problem with that scenario is Daniel Bryan was riding a wave of support from the audience unlike anything that had been seen in yeas. Fans had repeatedly hijacked Raw and SmackDown, "YES!" chants ringing out in support of their favorite wrestler.
Batista winning the Rumble would undermine their attempts at getting Bryan pushed into WrestleMania's marquee match.
So when The Animal dumped Roman Reigns to win the 30-man match in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, without Bryan ever having stepped into the squared circle, the audience understandably lashed out at WWE. They rained down on the returning and conquering hero with a chorus of boos, treating him as if he were the most hated villain in the history of the industry.
It was the start of a major bust of a comeback for Batista, who did not deserve the icy reaction he received.
One year later, fans greeted the aforementioned Reigns with the same reaction, though his win made sense and set up his first WrestleMania main event, even if the booking left a lot to be desired.
Still, Batista's victory was proof positive of WWE Creative's disconnect with fans, and the result was an ugly, nasty and vile reception for an all-time great.
1. Alberto Del Rio (2011)
5 of 5
In 2011, World Wrestling Entertainment devised a plan to book the biggest Royal Rumble match ever. With an expansive roster at its disposal, a 40-man Rumble match was announced.
That may have been an awesome idea in theory, but the fact the majority of the bout was made up of one-dimensional Corre and Nexus members did not help matters. Even worse was the Superstar tapped to win the contest, Alberto Del Rio.
It was clear from the moment he arrived in the company WWE management had major plans for the Mexican-born Superstar. A second-generation worker, he looked like he had been chiseled out of stone. Add to that his undeniable good looks, and Vince McMahon immediately saw dollar signs.
There was only one problem: He was not nearly as over as one should be if they are going to win the Royal Rumble and headline WrestleMania.
For all of the pre-debut vignettes that accompanied him and the grand entrances he made every week, he failed to strike a chord with the audience. He was never anywhere near as hot as he needed to be to deserve the push he was given.
That did not stop WWE Creative from going ahead with its plans to book him as the winner of the most enormous and grand Rumble ever.
So after surviving an unexpected scare from midcard comedy act Santino Marella, Del Rio raised his arms in victory and cashed his ticket to WrestleMania 27, where he would challenge Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship.
He lost that match and, in the process, etched his name into the annals as one of the worst and most underwhelming Rumble winners in the event's history.
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