Winning a Royal Rumble match is something that every WWE superstar will dream of doing, as it is a sure-fire way to reaching one of the main event matches at Wrestlemania, and potentially winning a World Title. However, just a win in the Rumble is sometimes not enough, with more notoriety coming from winning along with a great performance in the match.RELATED: 10 Best WWE Wrestlers Who Never Won A Royal Rumble (But Came Runner-Up)It isn’t just the winners who get noticed, as often it is one of the losers who catch the eye of fans as either someone who looked like a million bucks in the match, eliminated a sea of individuals, or became the iron man or woman during the contest, lasting for a longer time than anyone else. Being the best performer in a Rumble is a close second to winning the whole thing.
10 Men’s Royal Rumble 2021: Edge
It is hard to argue that the person who started the match at number one and becoming only the third man to go the distance and win from that position, isn’t the best performer in the match. Edge conserved his energy well, but he spent the entire fifty-eight minutes inside the ring, not taking a break. This was even more impressive given that this was his first match in months.
There were other standout performers in the match, with Damian Priest and Big E having good showings, and a returning Christian who looked great, but Edge’s iron man journey was incredibly impressive, even within the strange atmosphere of the Thunderdome.
9 Women’s Royal Rumble 2021: Bianca Belair
Bianca Belair, like Edge during the same year, lasted the longest time, and emerged victorious in the match. Coming out at number three, she lasted the entirety of the contest, impressing as she always does, with four eliminations to her name.
The runner up in the Rumble, Rhea Ripley, may have eliminated a huge seven opponents in the match, but she was in the ring for less time, and Belair performance overall took all the headlines, with her eventually going on to main event Wrestlemania Night One that year.
8 Men’s Royal Rumble 2020: Brock Lesnar
Coming in at number one as the WWE Champion was unique enough but equalling the record for most eliminations in a single Rumble match with thirteen, was even more special. Lesnar had been a little stale for a few years, with repetitive title reigns and matches, but his showing in the 2020 Rumble showed just why he is at the position he’s in.
Lesnar oozed cockiness and arrogance throughout the match, easily dispatching of several other superstars, looking like an absolute monster and beast whilst doing so. Though WWE’s booking would leave a lot to be desired in the year after, Lesnar would help to make both Keith Lee and Drew McIntyre look like stars, especially in the case of McIntyre, who would go on to win the match.
7 Women’s Royal Rumble 2020: Bianca Belair
Entering at number two, Belair put on a stunning performance the year before she won would win the whole thing. She would once again spend the longest time in the match, and would eliminate eight women, equalling Shayna Baszler in the same night setting the record for the Women’s Rumble in terms of most eliminations in a single match.
RELATED: 10 Random Matches You Forgot Happened At The Royal Rumble
This was an even more striking performance due to the fact Belair was still in NXT at the time, so this was a precursor of great things to come for the following year, where she dominated once again.
6 Men’s Royal Rumble 2019: Seth Rollins
This was another case of the winner of the match being the iron man of the Rumble. Rollins entered at number then, lasting all the way to the end. The fans rallied behind him, and made this moment mean a lot, despite the somewhat predictability of the match, especially in the latter stages.
Rollins would also eliminate three people, managing to outlast the huge Braun Strowman at the end, eliminating the big man on his way to winning the Universal Title at Wrestlemania.
5 Women’s Royal Rumble 2019: Charlotte Flair
Although she would win the match the year after, Charlotte Flair had a great showing at the 2019 event. She would last an incredible fifty minutes and one second in the match, after entering at number thirteen, and she eliminated five superstars, holding the most eliminations in that year’s contest.
Unfortunately for Flair, an impromptu entry for Becky Lynch cut her celebrations short, as she came runner up to the red-hot Lynch, as the crowd erupted for her. Flair would still find her way into the Wrestlemania main event regardless.
4 Greatest Royal Rumble 2018: Daniel Bryan
This was WWE’s first and only fifty-man Royal Rumble match, and though it didn’t take place at the annual event, it is still recognised as being part of WWE’s history books. Daniel Bryan, who had sensationally returned to action a month prior, broke the record for the longest spent in a Rumble match, lasting one hour and sixteen minutes.
Though he would only get three eliminations, he was on fire throughout the contest, bringing a huge feeling of purpose and brutality to the match, something which it was seriously lacking. He elevated the contest hugely with his hard-hitting performance.
3 Women’s Royal Rumble 2018: Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks was the very first entrant to ever step foot into a Women’s Royal Rumble match – a historic moment. Not only that, but she was the very first iron woman of the Rumble, reaching the fifty-four-minute mark before getting eliminated late on into the match.
She would pick up some major eliminations too, dumping out Trish Stratus and Bayley, on her way to getting to the final four in the match. She remains one of the biggest female names on the roster without a Rumble victory so far.
2 Men’s Royal Rumble 2018: Finn Balor
Balor entered the match at number two, lasting nearly an hour throughout. He would also eliminate four men, including the likes of Baron Corbin and Rey Mysterio. Though Balor’s time on the main roster has felt like a failure at times, this Rumble performance was great.
RELATED: The 9 Best Royal Rumble PPV Matches (That Aren't The Rumble), According To Dave Meltzer
He would be a part of the huge, generational showdown in the latter stages of the match, feeling like a big star on the main roster, going face to face with some of the biggest names of all time – something which hadn’t happened all too often.
1 Royal Rumble 2017: Braun Strowman
Strowman only spent a total of 13 minutes in the match, but in that time, he made a huge impact. Although Chris Jericho surpassed the one-hour mark during the match, he spent a lot of that time on the floor or on the mat. Strowman made the most of his time in the ring, eliminating seven men and making himself feel like a favourite in an otherwise clunky Rumble match.
Strowman dominated when he entered, dumping out wrestlers left and right, before being teamed up on by everyone else in the match in order to eliminate him. This would set up a good year for Strowman, as he became one of the more over acts in the company.
