10 Most Surprising WWE Royal Rumble Winners Ever

For decades, the Royal Rumble winners have come to include some of the most popular, heavily-promoted, successful main event level superstars in the history of sports-entertainment. More often than not, the man who walked away as the winner of the Royal Rumble would go on to bigger and better things, specifically the WWE Championship, many times within that very same year. There were years, however, when the superstars that were chosen to win the Royal Rumble came as a complete shock to the viewers, some times in a good way and some times making the whole match feel incredulous. It shouldn't come as a surprise to hear that superstars like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena are all multi-time Royal Rumble winners, but not all of the winners of the yearly January battle royal always made the most sense. Despite the historical significance and prestige that the Royal Rumble Match has come to be associated with since its inception, the selected winners did not always pan out, and some of the choices have come to be considered less than wise. Whether fueled by a desire to change the title picture, to push talent that may have otherwise been less than main event caliber, or simply to fool the audiences, the WWE has made some surprising, even strange choices over the years when it came to deciding their Royal Rumble winners...