7 AEW stars who almost won the WWE Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble is one of the most highly-anticipated events on the WWE calendar. The surprise returns, unpredictability, and multiple wrestlers in the ring at the same time are reasons why the match stipulation continues to be a success.

This weekend's premium live event will be the 35th edition of the January spectacular. It marks the beginning of the road to WrestleMania as the winners of the Royal Rumble matches will get the opportunity to fight for a World Championship at the grandest stage of sports entertainment.

A number of AEW stars participated in the WWE Royal Rumble match back when they were with Vince McMahon's company. Unfortunately, none of them were able to win it. However, there are some who came pretty close.

In this article, we look at seven current AEW stars who missed out on winning the Rumble match by a whisker.

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#7. AEW veteran Billy Gunn was in the final four of the 2001 Royal Rumble

Billy Gunn is a veteran at this point in his career, helping his sons Austin and Colton Gunn with their tag team in Tony Khan's promotion. But back in the Attitude Era, he was one of the most popular superstars as part of DX.

He was at the Rumble in 1999 and 2000, making a brief but powerful impact, but his best performance was arguably in 2001. Well-regarded as one of the greatest Rumble matches of all time, he made it to the final four. The match was, of course, won by 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

While Gunn has never fully reached the potential that his talents deserve, his name will always be synonymous with the best time in the pro wrestling business.

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#6. AEW star Christian Cage returned to the 2021 Royal Rumble

Christian surprised the world by returning to WWE at the 2021 Royal Rumble event after seven years away due to career-threatening injuries. Coming in at entrant number 24, Captain Charisma lasted 18 minutes in the match, making it to the final five.

Captain Charisma reunited with his former partner Edge at the Men's Royal Rumble match and they shared an emotional moment inside the ring. On an episode of WWE's The Bump shortly after his surprise appearance, Christian said:

"That moment where we kinda' locked eyes. That smile. This was all spur of the moment stuff. It was like, I think I had dropped Daniel Bryan and I turned around and I saw him getting up and he had this look of joy on his face. In a weird way, this meant more to him than it did to me. It meant just as much to him, if not more."

While it would have been apropos for the two former tag partners to face off at a WrestleMania main event, Christian decided that his talents were better suited to All Elite Wrestling and he has been with Tony Khan's company ever since.

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#5. AEW EVP Cody Rhodes made it to the final four of the 2009 Royal Rumble

Cody Rhodes may not have reached his full potential in WWE, but he still managed to participate in eight Royal Rumble matches during his run with Vince McMahon's company. His most memorable appearance came in 2009, when reached the final four and helped his Legacy leader Randy Orton win the match.

Rhodes lasted 37 minutes in an impressive performance but the story of the match was on the Legend Killer. He improved upon that showing in the 2012 edition when he was the reigning Intercontinental Champion and survived by almost 42 minutes.

Rhodes' collective time spent on his multiple Rumble appearances is a testament to his endurance. While he has gone on to become a major building block for AEW, he is currently a free agent. Could he make a shocking return at this weekend's Rumble event?

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#4. AEW star CM Punk had many impressive performances in the Royal Rumble

CM Punk is easily one of the best superstars to have never won a Royal Rumble match. Regardless, the Chicago native created two unforgettable moments. One was his 2010 appearance when he was the leader of the Straightedge Society, giving sermons in the middle of the match.

The other was when he was given an unenviable number one position in 2011 but almost lasted till the end with the help of his New Nexus brethren.

Punk competed in seven Royal Rumble matches throughout his WWE career and cumulatively lasted two hours, 48 minutes, and 11 seconds. After his final appearance in 2014, he would leave pro wrestling for seven years until last year, when he debuted in AEW.

While he is flourishing right now in Tony Khan's promotion, it would have been awesome if Punk could have gotten that Rumble victory under his belt.

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#3. AEW star Bryan Danielson breaks Royal Rumble match record

Bryan Danielson's name will forever be tied to a Royal Rumble match that he was never even a part of. In 2014, Daniel Bryan was at the peak of his "Yes! Movements" popularity and many pegged him to win that year's edition.

However, he didn't even participate in the match. When it became clear that Bryan wouldn't be appearing, the crowd immediately turned on the bout, booing the eventual winner Batista.

He did eventually break the record for the longest time in a Royal Rumble match, when he was part of the 2018 Greatest Royal Rumble Match, lasting 1 hour 16 minutes and 5 seconds. His legacy in the WWE is already assured, but perhaps he should have added 'Rumble winner' to his accolades when the opportunity was there for the taking.

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#2. Former AEW champion Jon Moxley made it to the final two of the 2016 Royal Rumble

Former AEW world champion Jon Moxley has a storied history in the WWE. He was in The Shield, the most famous faction of the 2010s. When he became a singles star afterwards, he reached the peak of his popularity in early 2016.

The 2016 edition was special as it was for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. Roman Reigns, the defending champion, entered at number one but didn't manage to retain his title. The former Dean Ambrose made it all the way to the finals of the match before being thrown over the top rope by eventual winner Triple H.

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#1. AEW star Chris Jericho almost won the 2012 Royal Rumble

It's a shame that Chris Jericho has never won a Royal Rumble match throughout his storied WWE career. Y2J has headlined a couple of WrestleManias but the closest he has ever reached to winning the Rumble was in 2012.

No competitor has lasted longer in collective Royal Rumble matches than Le Champion. Jericho almost clocked in for a staggering five hours in multiple Rumble bouts.

Having returned from another short hiatus, Jericho felt like a worthy winner at 2012 but was ultimately bested by Sheamus. Y2J would still go on to have a memorable championship match at that year's WrestleMania against CM Punk but a Rumble remains the biggest omission from his Hall of Fame career.