Ranking All 28 WWE Royal Rumble Winners

6. Batista €“ 2005

WrestleMania title shot: Defeated Triple H at WrestleMania XXI Put aside the godawful finish of the 2005 Royal Rumble match where both Batista and John Cena were eliminated at the same time, a la Lex Luger and Bret Hart in 1994. The entire storyline of Batista as a member of Evolution winning the Rumble and going on to challenge team leader Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship was perfectly done. It was everything that Randy Orton€™s ascension the previous year wasn€™t. Batista was Evolution€™s Animal, the physical enforcer for the group. At the time he won the Rumble, he was emerging as a massive fan favorite, and the slow burn would culminate on an infamous episode of Raw. That night, Batista was going to decide who to face, and Triple H and Ric Flair were desperately trying to convince Batista to challenge JBL on Smackdown instead of Hunter. Batista grew wise to the plot and gave Triple H the thumbs down, and it was on. Batista won the WHC at Mania, kicking off a nine-month reign. From that point, Batista was made as a main event star. That is a pretty valuable Rumble victory.