10 Worst WWE Royal Rumble Winners Ever
Every Bland For Himself! Featuring John Cena - and who else…?
January is a great time for WWE fans, and this year promises more greatness than most. The upcoming men’s Royal Rumble match can’t yield a bad winner.
One benefit of introducing a second World Heavyweight title - even though the other one is meant to be undisputed - is that there are at least two favourites for the match.
CM Punk has declared for the iconic annual spectacular, but has teased some sort of storyline with Roman Reigns. Roman himself is entering the match. It would suit Punk’s mischievous babyface persona, were he to eliminate Roman after Roman eliminates him. This device never made any sense, but that has never stopped WWE before.
John Cena should at a minimum want that “record”-breaking 17th World title, even if he ultimately fails in the pursuit.
Who knows?
Perhaps Punk will make good on his promise to finally headline WrestleMania, only for the Rock to strike twice, swoop back into WWE, and take his spot. God, can you imagine? How would Punk react?
Punk would give Rock the nod through gritted teeth, then post to his Instagram story something like ‘Don’t let toxic people rent space in your head. Raise the rent and kick them out”.
This is something he likely knows a little about.
This year’s WrestleMania season is creatively open and politically fascinating - unlike…
10. Sheamus (2012)
Jim Duggan and Big John Studd may seem like notable omissions, but the Rumble wasn’t really the Rumble in 1988 and 1989. It was an experimental attraction, a prize unto itself with no bearing on what wasn’t even called the road to WrestleMania yet.
Sheamus, conversely, was a bad winner when the Rumble was meant to mean something.
In 2025, Sheamus is a profoundly respected upper midcard stalwart praised for his enduring reliability. He’s not exciting, and while you might not clamour to see what he gets up to next, what’s he doing now is always good, bruising fun.
In 2012, Sheamus was the latest guy Vince McMahon wanted you to like in a scene that was hardly overflowing with options - one of several guys on the roster who could masquerade as a main eventer for a bit because an unchallenged WWE had the luxury of doing as they wished.
He was a jovial unfunny guy who was also a bit of a nasty asshole - one of those heavily ironic Be A Star era babyfaces - who after smashing Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania XXVIII probably feuded with Alberto Del Rio or something, who cares.