Ranking All 30 WWE Royal Rumble Winners

Every January, wrestling fans begin to look forward to what is WWE’s version of the postseason, the Road to WrestleMania. For a three-month period, the sports entertainment juggernaut ramps up its product, building to the biggest PPV event of the year. All of that starts this month with the Royal Rumble.

The Rumble match also gives fans the first official confirmation of a world title match, with the winner of the Rumble “headlining” Mania. Since the Rumble is a once-a-year event, winning it is seen as a distinct and prestigious honor – those who have won are held in varying degrees of high esteem.

In theory, if you win the Royal Rumble, you’ve got a huge spotlight cast on you for at least three months, longer if you manage to win the world title at WrestleMania. The Rumble can seriously help launch a career.

But not all Rumble winners are created equally, and not all Rumble winners ascend the ladder of success. Before 1992, there was no tangible prize attached to winning the Royal Rumble. The ’92 Rumble was contested for the then-vacant WWF World Championship, while nearly every Rumble since has been for a WrestleMania world title shot. Some of those who have won the Rumble have gone on to win at Mania and become major stars. Others have lost, squandering months of build-up.

So let’s take a look at the 30 men who have won the 29 Royal Rumbles and see how they stack up against each other.

WrestleMania title shot: Never cashed in; Went to runner-up “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Without a doubt, this is the worst Royal Rumble winner on record, as Steve Austin and Vince McMahon entered at #1 and #2 respectively and proceeded to spend the vast majority of the match outside the ring. The ending pretty much mirrors how many Raw matches end today: someone (in this case, the Rock) comes out and distracts someone (Austin) and the opponent (Vince) picks up the victory (eliminating Austin, in this case).

McMahon refused to face Rock, so WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels named runner-up Austin the #1 contender. McMahon would face Austin in a steel cage match for the title shot at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, where Big Show would debut and inadvertently help Austin win.

Austin went on to win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania XV, but what should have been a straight road to WrestleMania instead was full of unnecessary hairpin turns.