8 WWE Royal Rumble Winners Who Put Their Title Shot On The Line

7. Stone Cold Steve Austin (1997)

The sole Superstar in history to win the Royal Rumble on three separate occasions, Stone Cold Steve Austin made history in 1997 when he became the first Rumble winner since 1993 to not compete in a WWF Championship match at WrestleMania. Although he was set to face Shawn Michaels for the belt that year, plans were thrown into disarray when The Heartbreak Kid announced his was "injured" and vacated the title. With the 'Mania main event up in the air, a Four Corners match was made official for February's In Your House pay-per-view featuring Stone Cold, Bret Hart, Vader and The Undertaker to crown a new WWF champion. Despite emerging victorious in that contest, Hart was screwed out out of the strap by Stone Cold on an episode of Raw several weeks later, setting the stage for an encounter between the two at WrestleMania 13. Seemingly, the original plan was to put on a WrestleMania rematch between Hart and Michaels that year, so The Texas Rattlesnake may not have been penciled in for the title match at 'Mania from the start. Fortunately for Stone Cold, his shortcomings in 1997 would lead to two more Rumble wins for him in 1998 and 2001, respectively, both of which would result in successful championship victories on the grand stage.