12 Best WWE Royal Rumble Performances Ever

9. Rey Mysterio (2006)

shawn michaels royal rumble 2010
WWE.com

As 2006 began, the wrestling world was still grappling with the sudden death of Eddie Guerrero, and WWE was looking for a way to pay homage to Latino Heat.

Enter Rey Mysterio, Eddie’s good friend and frequent partner (and opponent). Rey dedicated the 2006 Royal Rumble to Guerrero, then got saddled with the #2 entry into the match. But Mysterio was up to the challenge, eliminating six men (including Triple H, Randy Orton and Rob Van Dam) and lasting 62 minutes to win the Rumble.

The undersized underdog overcame the odds, set a longevity record (that still stands for the “traditional” Rumble) and went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22.

Before that Rumble, no one would have thought that in Vince McMahon’s Land of the Giants a 5-foot-6, 175-pound wrestler would win a world title, but after watching Rey triumph, everything changed.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.