WWE Royal Rumble: 10 Best Performances By Losing Superstars
8. (tie) CM Punk & John Cena - 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4GPcCO_oA0 In what would prove to be a landmark year for both the Doctor of Thuganomics and the Voice of the Voiceless, each man would have an indelible impact on the first (and, thankfully, the only) forty-man Royal Rumble from start to finish. Through it all, the fierce rivalry between Cena and the Nexus would be resolved, and the roots for a much deeper and engrossing conflict between the two men would be planted. The 2011 Rumble began with CM Punk drawing number one, being forced to face Daniel Bryan from the outset. The two men battled fiercely at the opening, with each superstar struggling to press their advantage. Bryan would take out Justin Gabriel and Zack Ryder early as the ring started filling up, but it was Punk who was wisely biding his time. He laid low until he was joined in the ring by fellow Nexus members Husky Harris at number nine and Michael McGillicutty at number thirteen, only then asserting himself fully. With his cronies for support, Punk would press his advantage, eliminating Daniel Bryan, Chris Masters, and John Morrison, leaving only the Nexus and Mark Henry in the ring. David Otunga would join the match at number fifteen, allowing Nexus to use nearly its full power to take out the Worlds Strongest Man. From that point on, Punk would dispatch of each new superstar that took to the ring, directing his stablemates to deliver savage beatings to Tyler Reks, Vladimir Kozlov, and R-Truth, allowing Punk to pitch each man out one by one. Nexus ran into a slight roadblock when The Great Khali entered the match at number nineteen. Unfortunately, Khali was only able to dispatch of Husky Harris, as Mason Ryan, the Nexus fifth member, dashed to ring in order to help his buddies toss out the Punjabi Playboy. Ryan would similarly rid the Rumble of surprise entrant Booker T at twenty-one, re-establishing Punks dominance in the match. It seems as though CM Punk, protected by three other superstars, would eliminate the second half of the Rumbles field much the way hed taken care of the first half. John Cena changed all of that when he charged the ring at number twenty-two. Cena attacked Nexus like a man possessed, throwing out Ryan, Otunga, and McGillicutty before rounding on Punk. CM Punk gave his all trying to gain advantage on Cena, setting him up for a Go To Sleep, but Cena proved too quick, countering his way into an Attitude Adjustment that tossed the Voice of the Voiceless from the match. After allowing Hornswoggle to share the ring with him, both Cena and the bite-sized warrior would create a makeshift team, taking out Tyson Kidd and Heath Slater with their alliance, putting Cena at six eliminations in under ten minutes, a furious pace. Cena appeared unstoppable throughout much of the rest of the match, staving off elimination on multiple occasions, even managing to throw out Mizs protégé Alex Riley with some timely help from Kofi Kingston. The leader of Cenation looked poised to win his second Rumble match, but WWE Champion Miz had other plans in mind, sending Cena sprawling from the ring with a sneak attack. Though Cena would lose the Rumble, he would set his sights on Mizs title, putting the two on a crash course for WrestleMania XVII.