Every WWE Royal Rumble's Best Performer

2011 €“ CM Punk

Even though it was Alberto Del Rio who win this 40-man Royal Rumble, the most impressive outing belongs to the Straightedge Superstar, CM Punk. At this point in time, Punk was the leader of The Nexus and was on the cusp of breaking out as the huge superstar he€™d become during the Summer of Punk 2.0. And it was with the assistance of his Nexus brethren that Punk dominated the first half of the Rumble match, notching up 7 eliminations before he€™d eventually be thrown out by Super Cena. Punk entered at #1 and lasted 35 minutes, including the IWC getting excited by a few minutes of Punk battling #2 entry and fellow Internet darling Daniel Bryan. For those watching at the time, it really did look as if the numbers game of The Nexus would bring victory for CM Punk, but it was sadly not to be. Fortunately for Punk, he€™d soon shed The Nexus and deliver a €˜pipebomb€™ that was a game-changer.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.