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It's January again, and you know what that means. Outside the broken New Years' resolutions and the struggle to go back to work after the Christmas and New Years' holidays, it also means that we are in Royal Rumble season.
One of WWE's flagship events has rolled around once again with many names throwing their hat into the ring. The list of great wrestlers that have won the event includes names like Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and many more.
The achievement is up there with some of the toughest things to achieve in WWE, as the event only rolls around once a year and 20-40 wrestlers compete in each rumble to outlast their opponents.
This year's Royal Rumble is sure to be among the most competitive in the event's history. Not only has Brock Lesnar entered the Royal Rumble. but also AJ Styles, Ricochet, Drew McIntyre, Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens, and Samoa Joe. The list also includes former winners like Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio.
As of Friday Night Smackdown, 27 of the 30 entrants have already been announced for the men's Royal Rumble, with John Morrison and The Miz officially entering the Royal Rumble. Aside from a wrestler being taken out before the match and replaced, this only leaves 3 spots to fill in the men's Royal Rumble this year.
Over the event's 35 year history, only 27 different superstars have won the Royal Rumble, with two female Royal Rumbles also taking place over the last two years. That being said, many legends went their whole career without ever winning the Royal Rumble.
The following list is 10 great wrestlers in WWE who participated in at least one Royal Rumble match, but were never able to win the event:
# 10 Ted DiBiase
"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase was one of the most iconic characters in WWE during the 90s. Unfortunately, DiBiase's career came at the same time as the height of Hulkamania, where every resource at McMahon's disposal was invested in Hulk Hogan.
This meant that wrestlers like Jake Roberts, DiBiase, and countless others played second fiddle to the main man. Luckily enough, Hogan was fond of DiBiase and allowed him to play a major part in WWE.
This never materialized into much in the way of titles or reigns. The Million Dollar Man purchased the World Heavyweight title from Andre the Giant. However, DiBiase did manage to win the 1988 King of the Ring tournament and had three reigns with the tag team title.
DiBiase entered 4 Royal Rumble matches 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1993. His best effort came in the 1989 Royal Rumble where he bribed Akeem for the number 30 spot in the Royal Rumble.
DiBiase managed to eliminate Brutus Beefcake and The Red Rooster before he was eliminated last by Big John Studd. In the Royal Rumble the following year, DiBiase entered first, eliminating Koko B Ware, Marty Jannetty, and Earthquake, before he was eliminated by the Ultimate Warrior.
# 9 Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero was one of the best wrestlers to ever step into the ring, a member of the legendary Guerrero clan. He began wrestling in 1987 at the age of just 20 for Mexican promotion CMLL.
Eddie also wrestled for AAA, NJPW, ECW, and WCW before making a name for himself in WWE. Guerrero originally signed with WWE as a part of the Radicalz, alongside Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit. He was released in 2001 but was re-signed within 6 months of his release.
In his second run with WWE, Guerrero showed his full potential. During the brand split, Guerrero was drafted to SmackDown and became part of a group called the "SmackDown Six", alongside Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Edge, Rey Mysterio, and his nephew Chavo Guerrero Jr.
In 2004, he defeated Brock Lesnar and won his first WWE World title. Unfortunately, Guerrero passed away at the prime of his career in November 2005.
Eddie participated in the 2003 and 2005 Royal Rumble matches. In the 2005 Royal Rumble, Guerrero initially stole Ric Flair's place in the match, but was forced to return it by then SmackDown GM Theodore Long.
As a punishment, Long also made Guerrero exit first. Guerrero lasted just short of 30 minutes, eliminating The Hurricane, Booker T, and Hardcore Holly, before he was eliminated by Edge.
# 8 Mick Foley
To date, hardcore legend, Mick Foley is the only person to have entered the same Royal Rumble multiple times under different characters.
In the 1998 Royal Rumble, Cactus Jack was the first entrant in the rumble before being eliminated by Chainsaw Charlie. Foley then returned as Mankind, eliminating Chainsaw Charlie, before being eliminated by Goldust.
Finally, Dude Love came out as the 28th entrant and eliminated Bradshaw and Henry O. Godwinn, before being eliminated by The Rock.
During his career, Foley won the WWF title 3 times, the tag team titles 8 times, and was the first-ever Hardcore champion. Foley was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.
Mick Foley participated in 1997, 1998, 2004, and 2012 Royal Rumble matches. His best appearance was the 1998 Royal Rumble, where he eliminated Terry Funk and Rocky Maivia, making it to the final 5, before being eliminated by The Undertaker. He did manage to win a Tag Team Royal Rumble with Kane in 1998.
# 7 Big Show
One of the largest athletes to ever wrestle in WWE, Big Show joined the promotion after 4 years of wrestling in WCW. He was the youngest WCW World Champion at the age of 23 in 1995. He then crossed over to the WWE in 1999, making his first appearance at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre event.
The Big Show is a 5-time World Champion, 1-time Intercontinental Champion, 1 time United States Champion, and 8-time Tag Team Champion. Despite his decorated career, and many long years in WWE, The Big Show has never won the Royal Rumble.
He participated in 12 Royal Rumble matches between 2000 to 2017. His best performance was in the 2000 Royal Rumble. On his Royal Rumble debut, Big Show came out as the 26th entrant and eliminated The Godfather and X-Pac.
This left just the Big Show and the Rock in the ring at the end. The Big Show and the Rock both tumbled over the top rope at the same time, with the referees adjudicating that the Big Show landed first.
He was also the runner up in the 2004 Royal Rumble where he eliminated Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, John Cena, and Rob Van Dam before being eliminated by Chris Benoit.
# 6 Chris Jericho
The current AEW World Champion is the only wrestler on this list that could still be considered at the top of Professional Wrestling at the moment. However, given his current position in AEW, he is unlikely to return to WWE anytime soon, and less likely to win a Royal Rumble.
However, Jericho had an incredible run during his many years in WWE and even holds a Royal Rumble record.
Jericho crossed over to the WWE in 1999 after wrestling for a variety of promotions around the world. Jericho also won a variety of titles during his time.
He is a 6-time World Champion, 9-time Intercontinental Champion, 2-time United States Champion and a 7-time Tag Team Champion. Jericho also holds the longest cumulative time spent in the Royal Rumble at over 5 hours. The mark is unlikely to be passed anytime soon, as Triple H is in second place and is over an hour behind the mark.
Jericho came closest to winning the Royal Rumble in 2012. Jericho entered at number 29 and eliminated David Otunga and Randy Orton. This left Jericho in the last two with Sheamus. The Irishman hit Jericho with a brogue kick and threw him out of the ring to eliminate him.
# 5 Kurt Angle
The Olympic Gold Medalist, Kurt Angle, wrestled for WWE between 1998 to 2006. Kurt Angle came into professional wrestling after winning a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics. Many have commented that Angle adapted quicker to professional wrestling than any other person.
Despite wrestling in WWE for less than 10 years, Angle racked up the achievements. He was a 6-time World Champion, he won the 2000 King of the Ring and held the Tag Team Titles with Chris Benoit. In 2017, Angle was welcomed back to the WWE, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame before retiring in 2019.
Kurt Angle participated in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2019 Royal Rumbles. Angle's best Royal Rumble performance came in the 2002 Royal Rumble, where he was the runner up to Triple H.
Angle eliminated Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kane. At the end of the fight, Angle sent Triple H over the top rope, but not to the floor. As Angle celebrated, Triple H recovered and hit Angle with a clothesline over the top rope to win the match.
# 4 Randy Savage
Considering some of the other names that won the Royal Rumble, it's almost surprising that Macho Man Randy Savage never won it. Instead, early Royal Rumbles were won by Jim Duggan and John Studd. While Savage achieved many accolades in his career, winning the Royal Rumble simply wasn't one of them.
Before crossing over to WCW, Savage wrestled for WWE from 1985 to 1994. During that time, Savage won the World Heavyweight Championship twice, the Intercontinental Title once, and was the 1987 King of the Ring.
In 2015, Savage was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his rival Hulk Hogan. In WCW, Savage held the WCW World Heavyweight Title 4 times.
Savage participated in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, and 1994 Royal Rumble matches. He was also supposed to be the 18th entrant in the 1991 Royal Rumble but did not show up.
His best performance at the Royal Rumble was in 1993. Savage came out as the 30th entry and eliminated the Repo Man. Savage made it to the last two with the eventual winner, Yokozuna.
Savage looked in a strong position after hitting the Sumo Wrestler with a diving elbow drop from the top-rope. However, Savage bizarrely went to pin the giant and was thrown over the top rope by the power of Yokozuna's kick out.
# 3 Kevin Nash
Before he joined WCW, Kevin Nash was one of WWE's biggest superstars both in a literal and figurative sense.
Originally wrestling as Diesel, Nash would go on to win the WWF title and the Intercontinental title, as well as two reigns with the Tag Team Titles with Shawn Michaels. He would win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship 5 times and the Tag Team titles 9-times.
Following the sale of WCW to WWE, Nash returned to WWE with Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan. However, Nash failed to add to his title collection during the second run, losing momentum due to injuries and story changes. Nash made surprise appearances at the 2011 and 2014 Royal Rumbles, but failed to make much of an impact.
All in all, Nash would participate in 1994, 1996, 2011, and 2014 Royal Rumbles. Nash's best show was at the 1996 Royal Rumble. Diesel entered the Royal Rumble as the 22nd entry, eliminating Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Owen Hart, Tatanka, Kama, and Duke Droese, before he was eliminated last by Shawn Michaels.
# 2 CM Punk
Considered one of the best to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots, CM Punk made a hell of an impact for his relatively short time in with WWE. While CM Punk made a name for himself wrestling for promotions like Ring of Honor, he wrestled for WWE from 2005 to 2014. He originally made his way through the WWE's version of ECW before making an impact as the World Heavyweight Champion in 2008.
While in WWE, Punk was a 6-time World Champion, a 1-time Tag Team Champion, a1-time Intercontinental Champion, and a 2-time winner of Money in the Bank. However, one achievement Punk never managed to accomplish was winning the Royal Rumble.
Punk participated in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2014 Royal Rumbles. His best performance came at the 2014 Royal Rumble, which was his last appearance for the promotion.
Punk emerged as the first entry in the Royal Rumble and was the iron-man of the match, lasting 49 minutes and 11 seconds. He would make it to the final 4 before being eliminated by Kane.
# 1 Kane
At one point in time, Kane held almost every single Royal Rumble record. He has participated in 19 Royal Rumble matches across his career, he has 44 eliminations, and from 2001 to 2014, he held the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble.
Yet the Big Red Machine never won a Royal Rumble match, despite his records, and despite coming so close.
Kane is a sure selection for the Hall of Fame when his time comes, which appears to be sooner rather than later. Kane is a 3-time World Champion, a 2-time Intercontinental Champion, and a 12-time Tag Team Champion with 7 different parties. Kane also won the 2010 Money in the Bank match, which he successfully cashed in on Rey Mysterio.
Kane's best performance in the Royal Rumble came in 2001. Entering after Drew Carey, Kane went on to eliminate over a third of the competitors, before making it to the final two against Stone Cold Steve Austin. After 53 minutes in the ring, Austin hit Kane with a clothesline out of the ring and to the floor.
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