12 Best WWE Royal Rumble Performances Ever
4. Stone Cold Steve Austin (1997)
When Stone Cold Steve Austin entered the 1997 Royal Rumble,
he already was the King of the Ring and had delivered the infamous “Austin 3:16”
line that launched a million T-shirts.
But Austin wasn’t the iconic superstar that everyone remembers today. He still was the anti-hero, but hadn’t yet won a title in WWF. Everything would start snowballing here, with Austin entering at #5 and lasting until the end, tossing 10 men along the way.
However, Bret Hart actually eliminated Stone Cold toward the end, but the referees were tied up and didn’t see it. This allowed Austin to sneak back in and dump three of the four other remaining wrestlers (including the Hitman) to win the Rumble.
That victory didn’t lead to the traditional WrestleMania world title match due to his re-entry, but Austin did get to settle his differences with Hart at Mania, the infamous “I Quit” match that led to a double turn and launched Stone Cold as a bonafide hero to the masses.