The 411 Wrestling Top 5 1.25.12: Week 158 – The Best Royal Rumble Performers

Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.25.2012

From Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and Kane to Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan and more, the 411 staff breaks down their top 5 Royal Rumble performers of all-time!



Hello everyone and welcome to 411 Wrestling's Top 5 List. What we are going to is take a topic each week and all the writers here on 411 wrestling will have the ability to give us their Top 5 on said topic, plus up to three honorable mentions. Most of our topics will be based on recent events in the Wrestling World, looking at those events that make us think of times past.

So, on to this week's topic…

TOP 5 BEST ROYAL RUMBLE PERFORMERS




TJ Hawke
HM - Ric Flair: His performance in the 1992 Rumble is still one of (if not) the best performances in a Rumble match. His other Rumble PPV appearances held him back from getting into the Top 5.
HM - Chris Benoit: His ladder match with Jericho (2001), WWE Title match with Angle (2003), and performance in the 2004 Rumble (which he won) deserve to get him a mention.
HM - Rikishi: The phat man has competed in 10 Rumble matches. He, Kane, Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels are the only wrestlers with double-digit Rumble match appearances.

5. Kane - Kane makes the top 5 for two reasons: He has made 15 appearances in Rumble matches (1st place all time) and he has eliminated 35 people in all of those events (good for a tie for 3rd all time). Kane's best performance by far (kayfabe and in-ring) came in the 2001 Rumble where he lasted 53+ minutes and eliminated 11 people, before finally being the last person eliminated (by the winner, Steve Austin). That match was arguably Kane's best in-ring performance of his career (and I think I read somewhere that he thinks so too).

4. Edge - After a series of somewhat forgettable Rumble PPV appearances, Edge's performances started to pick up with his defeat of Shawn Michaels at the 2005 Rumble PPV. He was fantastic in his appearance at the 2007 Rumble (when Rated RKO was running wild) and he won/retained a world title in a good to great match 3 times (Mysterio in 2008, Jeff Hardy in 2009, and Dolph Ziggler in 2011). Edge and his beard also co-won the 2010 Royal Rumble when they made an unannounced return.

3. Mick Foley - Foley's two best Rumble PPV matches (vs. Rock in 1999 and vs. HHH in 2000) are two of the best matches in the attitude era, and they are also 2 of the best non-Rumble matches to air on the Rumble PPV. On top of that, Foley also made 3 very memorable Rumble match appearances in 1998 (all three Foleys!), 2004, and 2008. Foley's run on the Rumble PPV lacks quantity but makes up for it in quality.

These next two are far and away the best performers in the Rumble PPV history

2. Steve Austin - Austin has won the Rumble match 3 times ('97, '98, and '01), finished second in 1999 (and really they should have just have him win there too) and finished in the top 4 in 2002. That is a stretch of truly dominant performances from a kayfabe perspective. Austin would have become a big star regardless of his success in the Rumble matches, but his victories cemented his place as the company's biggest star for 4 years and helped to make the Rumble the biggest gimmick match every year in wrestling.

1. Shawn Michaels - Much like Austin, Michaels ascent to wrestling super stardom coincided with his winning of multiple Rumble matches (1995 and 1996), and this helped make this gimmick match so important. Michaels gets the edge because of his multiple standout non-rumble matches at this annual PPV (his matches in 1991, 1993, 1998, 2005 come to mind). Michaels also was excellent in the 2007 and 2010 Rumble matches in losing efforts.

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NAME
HM - Rey Mysterio: Rey always shows great stuff in the Rumble, the little guy fighting it out with everyone around him. His hour-long victory in 2006 was a great moment but every year, Rey does his best to spark up the match.
HM - Chris Benoit: Putting aside his sad ending, Benoit did have great Rumble moments such as his classic match with Angle in 2003 and his 2004 victory that's a bit bitter to look at today.
HM - Edge: A later starter, he turned in great appearances in 2005 and '07, charging up the match with his style and making a surprise comeback to win it in 2010, a great feather in his cap.

5. Hulk Hogan - The first back-to-back winner, Hogan was still THE guy in WWF in 89-91 and showed it in the Rumble. His first appearance pushed the Megapowers break-up but 1990 was great with him facing the Warrior en route to winning it. In 1991, he helped boost the U.S. favor during the first Gulf War with a great win. Mock him today but at the time, Hogan was the star of the company and helped set the Rumble as a key event in WWF.

4. Steve Austin - His Rumbles are always unique as he was eliminated in '97 but thanks to the refs not seeing it, dumped out Bret Hart to win it. I still loved how in '98, when his music hit, everyone in the ring got ready to face him, only for Austin to run in from the crowd to attack. His '99 appearance was long to push his feud with McMahon and winning the crowded 2001 field was great too. The Rumble helped launch the stardom of "Stone Cold" and showed how effective the match is for fans.

3. Ric Flair - I know, only a few Rumbles but his 1992 performance is still amazing as he lasted the entire hour against one of the heaviest fields ever, fighting off every single man in his path and going through constant attacks to win it all and the WWF title to boot. His appearances since aren't as memorable but the Nature Boy's performance still puts him on the list of great Rumble moments that resonate for fans today.

2. Kane - For some reason, this man just comes alive at Rumbles. The 2001 performance was fantastic as he lasted fifty-three minutes and set the all-time record for eliminations in one Rumble with 11. He's shown his stuff in Rumbles since, always a dominant force able to toss guys with ease and it usually takes something big to get him out. When Kane hits a Rumble, bodies fly and that's something to respect.



1. Shawn Michaels - His Rumble appearances have been great for a long time. In 1991, he and Marty Jannetty opened the show with a five-star tag match against the Orient Express. The next year, he showed his great bumping for the Rumble as a heel and he's showcased that since. He became the first man to draw #1 and win (albeit a shorter Rumble) and winning back-to-back years made him a face to remember. He's been even better in it since his 2002 comeback and with 39, has eliminated more men than anyone else. Always the Showstopper, HBK really pulls it out for the Rumble with amazing skill and ability to stay in longer than you'd expect.

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Wes Kirk
HM - "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan: The very first Royal Rumble winner!
HM - Big John Studd: The winner of the first PPV Royal Rumble in 1989.
HM - Hulk Hogan: The first back-to-back Rumble winner in history.

5. Bret Hart - One of the only men who was not only around during the Attitude Era but also when the Rumble began was Bret Hart, who used the match to continue putting himself on top with great performances at each one he entered. He would co-win the 1994 Rumble with Lex Luger in the most controversial Rumble finish of all time while holding 27, the number that has produced the most winners in history. Hart would also appear to win the 1997 Rumble until Steve Austin tossed him out of the ring when the referees did not see Austin's elimination, thereby adding to the feud that would make Austin a true superstar. Although any records he set have been surpassed with time, he was one of the early constant Iron Men in the Rumble and was able to work the match well, a trait since picked up by guys like Rey Mysterio today.

4. Steve Austin - The one man who owns the most Rumble victories ever with three Rumbles won in 1997, 1998, and 2001 used the match to help jumpstart his already skyrocketing career. Austin has been in the final six on five occasions, spent 56:38 in the Rumble in 1999 for sixth place in longest time spent in the match, won the 2001 Rumble after spending only 9:43 in action and has eliminated ten men in a single Rumble in 1997, which was his first major Rumble appearance. He would throw six men in a row out in 2002, and has 36 total eliminations in only six Royal Rumble showings! In 1997 he used the Rumble to propel himself to the top of the card, in 1998 he cemented his place with a victory, and put himself into the history books by winning the most Rumbles in 2001 when he eliminated The Rock.

3. Kevin Nash - The Royal Rumble mostly features the attempts to team up and eliminate the big men but unfortunately for most, Nash was able to eliminate most of his opponents before he went out. In 1994 as Diesel, Nash eliminated 9 wrestlers with 7 of them being consecutive, putting him second only to Hulk Hogan. It took five men to eliminate him, and he was the first champion to defeat the Rumble winner at WrestleMania in 1995 when he beat Shawn Michaels in the main event. He returned to the Rumble as Diesel in 2011 with the best reception of all the wrestlers and ultimately ended up returning to wrestle on RAW as part of the HHH/Punk storyline.

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2. Kane - Very few wrestlers can achieve the records Kane has set without actually ever winning a Royal Rumble. Kane ties with HBK as being in the final six the most times in Rumble history, has eliminated 11 men in the 2001 Royal Rumble which is the most for one consecutive match and also puts him second only to HBK in total eliminations with 37 out of 15 Rumble showings. Kane also was able to eliminate six guys consecutively in 2001 and placed runner-up to Steve Austin with an over fifty-minute match wrestled. Although he's able to score big eliminations he has never won the Rumble yet, but who knows if this could be the year?

1. Shawn Michaels - HBK has a long and illustrious history with the Royal Rumble, as he currently sits in first place with 39 eliminations in 12 Royal Rumbles and has appeared in the final six competitors six times. He also eliminated 8 men in 1996 for fourth place in the most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match and six consecutive eliminations in a single match in 2010. With twelve Rumbles under his belt, HBK pulled off great performances and victories in 1995 and 1996 back-to-back and would go on to challenge for the WWF Championship, finally winning it in 1996 after his Rumble victory. In 1998 he'd suffer an injury defeating the Undertaker in a Casket Match defending his WWF Title, and he'd come back to compete seemingly better than ever! His two Rumble wins put him on the map as a main event talent and WrestleMania just finished the deal.

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