WWE Royal Rumble: Best Performances From Every Entry Slot
Let's get ready to Royal Rumble.
There is nothing quite like the Royal Rumble. It is a simple concept; 30 men enter one at a time and one man leaves as the winner. Yet in the time it takes for 29 participants to be thrown over the top rope, anything can happen.
Over the years we have seen surprise returns, celebrity guests, double eliminations, controversial finishes, and much more. So much so, that these things are now a standard, almost expected part of the January PPV.
The one thing we can never predict is who will ultimately win the match. For obvious reasons the favourites are always the bigger superstars, like The Big Show or The Undertaker, and those superstars lucky enough to pull a late entry number.
But how much does the entry slot affect the odds of a superstar actually winning the match? We have seen No. 30 entrants eliminated in minutes, much earlier entrants enjoy success, and vice versa, suggesting that no matter when a superstar enters the Rumble, they will have a shot at winning.
Is that truly so, or are there some entry slots you want to grab with both hands, and some you want to avoid?
30. John Cena - 2008 & Triple H - 2016
For obvious reasons, the No. 30 slot is the most coveted by every Royal Rumble entrant. On occasion WWE superstars have competed for the opportunity to enter at No. 30, after every other competitor has entered the competition. Yet, through 30 Rumbles, it has produced just three winners.
The Undertaker eliminated three men on his way to victory in 2007, while John Cena and Triple H each eliminated four men in 2008 and 2016 respectively.
Cena shocked the world when his music hit revealing him as the final entrant in 2008, returning from injury earlier than planned, eliminating Carlito, Chavo Guerrero and Mark Henry in a matter of seconds, before hitting entrant No. 29 Triple H with an FU over the top rope for the victory.
Eight years later in 2016, Triple H also returned from injury to win the Rumble, eliminating Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt (with Sheamus' assistance), World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns, and finally Dean Ambrose to become the second ever superstar, after Ric Flair, to win a WWE title in the Royal Rumble match.