7. Bob Backlund Lasted Over 60 Minutes In 1990 Royal Rumble (And Didn't Win)
In the entire of the history of the Royal Rumble there's only been 3 men to have lasted over one hour in a single contest - Bob Backlund, Rey Mysterio and that guy we can't talk about (some claim Ric Flair also did, but he fell short by just a few seconds). Mysterio, Benoit & Flair's performances in the Royal Rumble were not just epic, but they were victorious - meaning their status was immediately raised to main event superstars, while Backlund's 60 minute plus performance was pretty much unrewarded, and he remained a midcard star for some time afterwards. Of course Bob Backlund had been WWE Champion in the 1980s, but he was clearly relegated to the midcard again by the time the 1990s rolled around. The crowd's initial reaction to Backlund was deadly silence, but his long, defensive performance was one of the best Royal Rumble performances of all time, and by that point was the longest anyone had stayed in the match ever. In fact, Backlund's record for longevity remained intact until Chris Benoit's performance in 2004. Backlund remarkable performance won the crowd over that night, turning the crowd's non-reaction into something a lot more (there were strong boos when he was ultimately eliminated), but he remained on the midcard until the summer of 1994.
