WWE Royal Rumble winners (2000-2009): Where are they now?

#5 WWE Royal Rumble 2004: Chris Benoit

6. Chris Benoit (2004) - SmackDown superstar Chris Benoit won the 2004 Royal Rumble match as the number 1 entry and put on one of the greatest performances in Rumble match history. Benoit jumped ship to Raw and announced that he was challenging Triple H for the World... pic.twitter.com/g1GshdqQph

— Old School Jason (@attitudefan91) January 26, 2021

Only the second WWE Superstar to have won the Royal Rumble match from the No. 1 spot, Chris Benoit lasted over an hour in the 2004 Royal Rumble match, eliminated six Superstars, and won the match by last eliminating The Big Show. Benoit was the one who started the rule of the Royal Rumble winner choosing the world champion that he would face at WrestleMania.

At WrestleMania XX, Chris Benoit defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a triple-threat match to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Unfortunately, due to the tragic incident that happened in 2007 where Benoit murdered his family and committed suicide, WWE avoids mentioning his name in their broadcasts and promos along with his Royal Rumble victory in 2004.

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#6 WWE Royal Rumble 2005: Batista

January 30th 2005, Royal Rumble. Batista eliminated John Cena to win the Royal Rumble. @DaveBautista #WWENetwork #WWE pic.twitter.com/PM15l6m7Sv

— WWE Today In History 🌐 (@WWE__History) January 30, 2015

The 2005 Royal Rumble match was won by Batista, who entered the match at No. 28 and eliminated six Superstars. However, the Royal Rumble match saw a controversial end as the planned winner Batista ended up tripping and touching the floor first while throwing out John Cena during the final moments.

The referees handled the situation amazingly by acting as if there was confusion among them as to which of the two actually won the match. This led to a fuming Vince McMahon coming out to the ring, legitimately tearing both his quad muscles. He restarted the match and Batista finally won by eliminating John Cena. At WrestleMania 21, Batista defeated Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

Batista is now a successful Hollywood star, having worked in several major movies. He had his retirement match at WrestleMania 35 where he lost against Triple H in a No Holds Barred match. Batista has been announced to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Famer as part of the class of 2020.