Did you think that stars could win the match in the future?

5 Royal Rumble Runners-Up That Went On To Win The Match 

The Royal Rumble is one of the most iconic wrestling matches of all time. Whether you are a die-hard wrestling fan, or just a casual viewer looking to be entertained, WWE's battle royal extravaganza is an exciting prospect for everyone in the WWE Universe.

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However, while WWE loves to market the match as every one of the thirty participants has an equal chance of winning the contest, fans have realised since its inception, there are only a handful of superstars that can realistically win a Royal Rumble match. For fans of the winner, it is great to celebrate this accomplishment with your favourite wrestler. FOr the runner up, it is nothing less than heartbreaking.

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The 'runner up', every fan knows this superstar very well, as this star is branded as the 'nearly man' by the WWE. He is the superstar that puts in one hundred percent effort, only to taste defeat at the very end. The runner-up makes for a good redemption narrative, as we see the company push this star to win the match down the line, and that makes for good television. Now, let us look at some of these stars that went on to victory after defeat.

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#1 John Cena

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The face that runs the place came up short before he was winning matches left and right.
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John Cena is one of those wrestlers that fans have come to accept as WWE's go-to guy for a main event push, as there isn't much evidence that points to Cena being left on the sidelines throughout his wrestling career.

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From winning sixteen World Titles to headlining numerous Wrestlemania events, Cena was the one star that sat atop of the WWE mountain for a very long time. But before John Cena became 'super Cena', he was a young upstart on the verge of breaking out as a main event act.

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During this time we saw Cena take a familiar booking role many future main eventers take throughout their careers, and that was the hard road. This path saw Cena come up short in some truly gigantic matches. The most famous might be his war with Batista in the closing moments of the 2005 Royal Rumble match.

This was a match that became infamous in wrestling lore, as that night the world witnessed an irate Vince McMahon tear both his quads in an effort to sort out the mess that was unfolding before his eyes. Both Cena and Batista went over the top rope at the same time, and Vince laying in a heap of pain calmly ordered the match to be restarted.

Fans then saw Batista throw Cena like a sack of potatoes over the top rope to win the match. For those who feel sorry for 'the leader of the Cenation', he went on to win the Royal Rumble twice from that point. Victories in 2008 and 2013 allowed Cena to enter the main event once again.

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#2 The Rock

The first Royal Rumble winner of the Millenium.
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One of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Dwayne Johnson is one of the very few wrestlers that have transcended the sport and made a name for himself in the entertainment industry. But before we saw Johnson lighting up cinema with his action flicks, wrestling fans had experienced a side of this man we might never see again in wrestling.

From 1997 to 2003, The Rock was tearing up Raw and Smackdown like no one else back then. It was awesome, it was refreshing, and it made WWE a lot of money, but there was a time before Rock was the favourite in every match.

In 1998 The Rock was still coming up as one of the hottest stars in the company. But he couldn't call himself the face of the industry, as one man was reaching levels of megastardom no one has witnessed in a long time.

It was Stone Cold Steve Austin's time to shine that year, as Austin won his second Royal Rumble by eliminating The Rock. The Rock would taste victory in the match just two years down the line by winning the first Royal Rumble of the Millenium.

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#3 The Undertaker

The Undertaker winning this match was a must.
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You can't use the word 'legend' without bringing up The Undertaker in that conversation, as there might not be a wrestler more respected inside and outside the industry than the phenom.

Undertaker's legacy was not achived overnight, as this is a man that worked his hardest over 30 long years to prove that he is a professional of the highest order in the industry. The Undertaker never needed to win any World Titles to prove he is a legend. This is simply because the contribution he made to grow the business is more than enough to justify his legacy.

However, in WWE there has to be a time when the company rewards their biggest stars with the big one. For Undertaker, that came in 2007 when he won the Royal Rumble match by outlasting Shawn Michaels in the greatest final ten minutes in Royal Rumble history. Before that win, Undertaker nearly came close to winning the match, as a distraction from Evolution let Lesnar pull off the upset and eliminate 'the phenom'.

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#4 Randy Orton

Orton is a veteran in this match.
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The greatest working heel today is Randy Orton, and while many would argue that Orton is not the same tactical cheater he was back in his prime, but he still shows more ability in his performances at the tender age of 39 than some wrestlers do in their early 20s.

Orton is a bonafide legend, and no one could ever deny that. But, when talking about the greatest of all time, accolades that one has achieved over their career will be the defining light of them. Luckily for Randy, he has achieved a lot more in wrestling.

Multiple World Championship wins, Wrestlemania main events, and numerous classics under his belt, Orton has done it all. But back in 2006 no one really thought that Randy would go on to have such a decorated career, as he was eliminated by Rey Mysterio in that year's Royal Rumble match. Things would soon turn around for 'the viper' as he went on to win the 2009 and 2017 Royal Rumble matches.

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#5 Roman Reigns

Big match wrestler.
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Roman Reigns has achived a lot in his young career, as he has won the WWE Title, captured Universal Title, main evented Wrestlemania more times than anyone on the roster, and has had the honour of becoming a grand slam champion.

But if there was one accolade that Reigns has obtained more times than anyone in the last five years is winning and dominating the Royal Rumble match. The 2015 Royal Rumble victory sparked the beginning for Reigns main event push as an accepted babyface. From that point onwards WWE had a hard time in getting this man over.

However, Reigns almost tasted Royal Rumble success in 2014 when he was the runner up in the match to Batista, and that was not the last time Reigns came up short. In the 2017 and 2018 edition of the match, Reigns was the last man to go out, which paints him as the superstar that will be dominating the match in years to come.

Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE

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Edited by
Sai Teja
 
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