Top 5 Royal Rumble performers of all time

In the spirit of the ongoing Royal Rumble season, it is only imminent to expect something about its history. The Royal Rumble wouldn’t have been one of the Big 4 if it weren’t for its rich history. Superstars like Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and Stone Cold Steve Austin are some of the few names who have won the Rumble and been a relevant indelible part of the industry.Winning the Royal Rumble represents that you’re the star of the moment. Even though, that hasn’t been the case for the past 4 years.Winning the Rumble is not the only adulation. There’s the factor of being the Iron Man who lasts longer than the rest, there’s a record to be made and broken for most eliminations done. Considering all that, here are the five top Royal Rumble Performers of All Time.

#5 John Cena

John Cena hasn’t been in many Royal Rumbles considering he’s been with the company for 12 and a half years now. His tally is six. The reason may be that he might have been defending his titles in some of them. He isn’t a part of this year’s Rumble match, so it seems.

But whenever the 37 year old is in the match, he is the man to beat. Few have the personality to garner as much passion in cheering and jeering as much the Boston native. He won his first Rumble match in a glorious moment by eliminating Triple H after returning from one of his first career threatening injuries. The difference all those years ever since have made to his popularity is quite stark.

He is a top performer nonetheless.

#4 Undertaker

He may have won the whole thing just once. He may have been one of the few marquee guys to be shockingly eliminated time and time again. And he may have had his WrestleMania Streak broken.

But he will always be on that list of an elite few who’s a timeless WWE character. A character who is synonymous with the entire crux of WWE. For a superstar of his stature, he hasn’t really enjoyed a lot of victories at the Rumble but nonetheless he’s created moments. He was the runner up to Lesnar’s victory at the Royal Rumble 2003. He was eliminated, of all people, by Maven. He has done all of that and more being a heel and a face.

Nothing and no one compares to Undertaker’s presence and persona.

#3 Kane

And as far as memorable moments go, here’s a competitor who’s never won the Rumble but helped make it legendary.

Glenn Jacobs aka Kane is one of the most respected superstars in the WWE. He is anybody’s best opponent. Not storyline wise but safety wise. The likes of Punk and Ambrose have always had nice words to speak about him.

So, it’s all the more interesting that he was the monster during the Attitude Era who seemed one hundered percent legit when he was out to get anyone. He was the runner up that year and he created the record that was broken last year. But let’s just be hardcore fans and compare both performances and there is no doubt that Kane’s performance is not only better but one of the best ever.

Let that sink in.

#2 Stone Cold Steve Austin

The toughest SOB in the history of the business. Enough said. That’s actually enough considering 2 out of his three Rumble victories happened when he was in that phase of massive popularity.

But the best, most memorable moment is when he won his first Rumble. He was a heel and he played his part really well. He was eliminated but none of the officials noticed that his elimination. The enterprising heel took advantage and went on to steal a victory. That hasn’t been replicated with much effect ever.

And for its uniqueness, it will always stand out.

#1 Shawn Michaels

There’s Georgeous George, Rick Martel, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair and Dolph Ziggler and maybe a plethora more who exude that arrogance, that snobbishness, with style. They have been good to great heels.

But none of them compare to the charm that Michaels carried with him. His presence in the WWE has been the time when backstage news was gaining more and more relevance and they were revealed to have some truth to it. He was controversy’s true child. He’s won two Rumbles, but what matters most is how the story of the match played out in his first Rumble win. He won after still having just one foot on the floor. It required WWE to make their rules of the Rumble clearer than ever.

But the point of that Rumble was that story between the British Bulldog and HBK. They entered and No. 2 and No 1 respectively and became Runner up and winner respectively.

He has particpated in a total of 12 Rumbles and been the one to watch in almost all of them.