10 Worst WWE Royal Rumble Winners Ever
Everyone loves the Royal Rumble, which makes WWE's poor choices even worse...
WWE has a spotty track record when it comes to speciality match types. Through Money In The Bank, Elimination Chamber, Hell In A Cell, and more, we've seen some legendary winners - and some total stinkers.
The Royal Rumble is the single best stipulation in wrestling (there will be no room for arguing the merits of the Kennel From Hell match), and the first Rumble of the Lockdown Era is fast approaching.
Unlike its contemporaries, the January event has a highly respectable hit rate. Across the 37 Rumble bouts to date, it was genuinely difficult to pick out 10 winners worthy of this list. However, by taking into account the situations in which they won and who they beat to do it, each of these selections can be defended confidently.
The bulk of these entries have come from the 2010s, so take from that what you will about the state of the creative team at that time. The peak of WWE's tone-deaf booking decisions - the influence of The Authority - may be appearing more than once here.
10. Sheamus (2012)
The Celtic Warrior won the Royal Rumble match in 2012; in theory, it wasn't the worst call in the world. After the lightning-quick start to his WWE career, Sheamus was building his way back to the main event in the two years prior to his Rumble victory. He won King Of The Ring in 2010 and had a decent run with the US title, competing with the likes of Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston.
When it came time to add the Rumble to his burgeoning portfolio, however, Sheamus was in the midst of a generic babyface run, smiling his way down the ramp to middling reactions. What made the decision to put Sheamus over even worse was, as is so often the way with bad Royal Rumble winners, the fact that the fans had another man in mind.
Chris Jericho had just returned with a new attitude and a brighter jacket and had promised to 'change the world' at the Rumble. Entering at 29, this had to be Y2J's year, thought everybody watching, but Vinny Mac had his mind made up. Sheamus went on to beat Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII in another decision that did not go down terribly well.