WWE Royal Rumble: 5 Most Impressive Performances in Match History

Breaking down the top 5 performances in WWE Royal Rumble history.

Year in and year out the Royal Rumble has been the scene for brilliant performances, the kind that can launch a career. Sure, winning the Rumble ensures the victor a world title shot, but it does more than that. Outlasting 29 other individuals over the course of 60-plus minutes puts the winner in an elite class and ensures that the superstar will go down into WWE lore. Since 1990 only one wrestler (Lex Luger in 1994) has either been a world titlist at the time of winning the match or would go on to become a world champion in the future. Suffice to say, it’s a select class.

As big as the accomplishment is to win, the Rumble has also been the platform many have used to springboard their careers onto the next level. Be it Triple H’s 48 minute run in 1996, The Rock’s 51 minutes in 1998, or The Miz’s 46 in 2012, a great performance in the match proves future success is imminent.

Of all the great showings at the Rumble, there are a few that really stand out. These 5 performances have not only inspired the WWE Universe but have also turned the 5 men who enacted them into legends of the sport.

Ahead we break down the top 5 performances in Royal Rumble match history.

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5. Steve Austin – 1997

Most people will remember the 1997 Royal Rumble match as the one that Steve Austin stole from Bret Hart. Austin, forever the opportunist used the referee’s distraction to sneak back in the ring and eliminate Vader, The Undertaker, and Hart after he had already been eliminated by The Hitman. So, of course, Austin’s win was voided and he was forced to partake in a battle royal style match for the WWF title after Shawn Michaels lost his smile and vacated it. The Hitman would go on to win that match and the belt but it was here that the rise of Stone Cold really began to set shape.

So with all the controversy and aftermath to the 97 Rumble, one thing that could’ve been forgotten was the performance of Austin who absolutely stole the show. He entered number 5 and over the course of the next 46 minutes Austin was vicious and calculating, eliminating a record 10 men, a feat that held up until 2001 when Kane managed 11. It was tough to ignore Austin throughout the contest as he battled his arch rivals in Hart, his brother Owen, not to mention former foe Savio Vega, eventually being the man to eliminate all 3.

Although the win was tainted, Austin would make good a year later when he won the 1998 Rumble and would be a fixture in the world title scene for the next 5 years. He proved on this night that even in his mid-30’s with close to a decade of wrestling under his belt, his best stuff was still yet to come.

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4. Kane – 2001

Kane, a veteran of the WWE for close to two decades has quite a resume. He was the 8th Triple Crown Champion as well as the 3rd Grand Slam Champion but as far as Royal Rumble’s go, he’s been in the most of any other superstar. With 19 appearances in the match, The Big Red Machine is certainly a wily veteran of the event. But it was his performance at the 2001 Rumble that was not only his best showing in the match but unquestionably the best performance of his career.

Like Austin in 1997 Kane broke the record this night with the most eliminations with 11, and after entering the match at number 6 he lasted a staggering 54 minutes, an incredibly difficult feat for a man pushing 350 pounds. He was the consummate pro with seemingly endless cardio and he put over Steve Austin, in the end, a fantastic finishing sequence.

Kane has clearly had ups and downs in his WWE tenure. For every great moment, there was one that set him back. But he had his shining moment at 2001 Rumble even in losing fashion. The only man on this list to make it without winning the match, The Demon saved his brilliance for close to an hour and dissected his opposition before falling victim the Attitude’s Era biggest star.

3. Chris Benoit – 2004

Trying to block out how Chris Benoit’s life came to an end is a nearly impossible task. But if just for a minute we focus on Benoit as a wrestler, his career and contributions to the sport were immense. On March 14, 2004, Benoit captured his first and only world title in the WWE as he defeated Triple H and Shawn Michaels in a triple threat match in the main event of Wrestlemania 20. If that was the crowning achievement of his career, then the 2004 Royal Rumble had to be a close second.

In winning the match he punched his ticket to the aforementioned Mania main event but he went through the ringer to get there. The Crippler was the first entrant in the match alongside with Randy Orton as number 2 and for the next 35 minutes, the two future world champions took care of business, together totaling 11 eliminations before Mick Foley came in and spoiled Orton’s fun. From there it was all Benoit. He took a tremendous amount of punishment and gave it back in spades, eliminating monsters like Matt Morgan, JBL, and The A-Train.

But no elimination was more impressive than his final one. After over 60 minutes of Rumble warfare, Benoit dug down deep one last time against the 500 pound Big Show. After a human tug-of-war, The Crippler finally made good, dragging the World’s Largest Athlete over the top rope for the win. It was the biggest moment of Benoit’s career up to that point and propelled him into one of the greatest main events in Wrestlemania history.

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2. Rey Mysterio – 2006

Winning a Royal Rumble is an incredibly difficult feat for any WWE superstar. But it’s that much harder when you’re a 5’6′, 175 pound luchador. But not only did Rey Mysterio pull it off, he did it in style. Just 2 years after Benoit’s marathon performance, Rey did the same. Entering at number 2, he lasted 62 minutes and forced 6 eliminations, no more impressive than when he took out Triple H and Randy Orton, the latter being his final one on this magical evening.

Fighting in honor of his best friend Eddie Guerrero who had passed away 2 months prior, “The Ultimate Underdog” battled with a heavy heart. It was an emotional evening for all involved and even more so at Wrestlemania 22 that year as he captured his first world title. Like Benoit, Mysterio took a massive beating but on this night he would not be denied and after fending off 9 past world champions, “The Biggest Little Man” reigned supreme.

Clearly one of the most heroic performances in the event’s history, Mysterio battled through in front of over 16,000 adoring fans at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. For a guy deemed too small while a member in WCW, his success had come circle and he cemented himself firmly as the best luchador the WWE has ever had.

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1. Ric Flair – 1992

This just has to be number 1. The best wrestler in the world at that time, winning the best Royal Rumble of all-time, for the biggest championship in the world on the line, well it really was a perfect match. When Ric Flair signed with the then WWF he was already an 8-time world champion between the AWA, the NWA, and the WCW. He was the most decorated wrestler on the planet at that time not named Hulk Hogan and he appeared to be destined to accomplish that same feat in his new company.

The Nature Boy wasted little time in becoming world champion, winning the 92 Rumble just 5 months after signing with the promotion. His performance in the match proved that the WWF was justified in signing Flair, as he was a revelation that night in Albany, New York. Flair, as the 3rd entrant was magical, tangling with the likes of The British Bulldog, Shawn Michaels, Tito Santana, Hulk Hogan, and Sid Vicious, the who’s who of the WWF’s baby faces. From a booking point of view, it was perfect as the story told was all about Flair. A side story would occur, but then right back to Flair. A baby face would enter and get all fired up, then back to Flair again. He was the focal point of the entire match and he earned every second of the victory.

Flair’s first run with the WWE would end rather abruptly a year later as he returned to WCW but the mark he left on the Royal Rumble match was undeniably. The greatest performance from one of the best of all-time The Nature Boy reminded the world that night of his in-ring mastery and set the bar for any future winner.