5 WWE Superstars who won the Royal Rumble in their first attempt

#4 Chris Benoit (WWE Royal Rumble 2004)

Chris Benoit

Somewhat known as the forgotten Royal Rumble, the 2004 edition of the gimmick match was one of the best ones. It was won by Chris Benoit, who entered at number one. Even more astonishingly, he did so in his Royal Rumble debut. Benoit had previously wrestled on the undercard of the pay-per-view, but not in the titular match.

This performance was widely regarded as the greatest in the history of the Royal Rumble but isn't looked back on as fondly due to the tragic real-life actions of Chris Benoit. Nevertheless, the former World Heavyweight Champion was excellent here. He lasted close to 62 minutes and eliminated six Superstars, all of whom were big men.

Benoit dumped out the likes of Mark Henry and A-Train, before last eliminating The Big Show to stand tall at the end of a grueling contest. He would go on to have a decent world title reign, which peaked at the start. Winning a triple threat match against Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the main event of WrestleMania is no small feat.

Unfortunately, due to Benoit's actions, this emphatic performance and victory will never be celebrated by WWE. It was still amazing to see. If one can separate Chris Jericho the wrestler from Chris Benoit the man, they should go out of their way to see this Royal Rumble masterpiece.