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6 WWE Royal Rumble Winners with the Fewest Eliminations

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports | By Tevon King | Last updated Jan 27, 2026 11:01 AM ET

The Royal Rumble match is unquestionably one of WWE’s best gimmick matches. The Royal Rumble is hotly anticipated every year due to the chaotic nature of the titular bout. However, some years picking a Royal Rumble winner is obvious, and other years it’s hard to call.

However, several Royal Rumble winners have had dominant performances by eliminating multiple wrestlers to win the Rumble. Steve Austin in 1997 eliminated 10 wrestlers en route to victory, and Shawn Michaels eliminated eight in back-to-back triumphs in 1995 and 1996.

While some Royal Rumble winners have had record-breaking performances, some have done little to win the Rumble. Getting the job done and winning the Royal Rumble match is all that matters. A late entry and time spent out of the ring are some of the contributing factors as to why a Royal Rumble match winner has garnered a handful of eliminations.

6. Big John Studd – 2 (1989)

The 1989 Royal Rumble match was the first Royal Rumble to feature 30 men, which became the norm in Royal Rumble matches. However, if you asked a few wrestling fans with little knowledge about who won the 1989 Royal Rumble match, many would’ve said Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, or Ted DiBiase. The winner emerging from the pack was Big John Studd.

Studd’s appearance in the 1989 Royal Rumble match was his first outing in a Rumble. He entered from the 27th position, which at one point boasted the most winners in a Rumble match. In his 12-minute cameo, Studd eliminated Akeem and “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase to win the Rumble. A title match wasn’t awarded for the winner at WrestleMania until 1993, but Studd didn’t even have a match at WrestleMania 5.

5. Alberto Del Rio – 2 (2011)

Alberto Del Rio debuted in 2010, but he was pushed in 2011. The Mexican Aristocrat featured in the first-ever 40-man Royal Rumble match. Del Rio entered 38th, and his performance was far from vintage. However, he ensured that 2009 winner Randy Orton’s night ended in misery as he eliminated him from the Rumble.

With a field that included the likes of John Cena, Randy Orton, and Rey Mysterio, Del Rio and Santino Marella as the final two say everything you need to know about the 2011 Royal Rumble match. At one point, Marella was close to winning the Rumble, but Del Rio threw him over the top rope, edging one step closer to achieving his “destiny.”

4. Becky Lynch – 2 (2019 Women’s)

When the 2019 Royal Rumble kicked off, Becky Lynch challenged Asuka for SmackDown’s top women’s world championship prize. However, the Man failed to regain the women’s world championship from the Empress of Tomorrow. Nevertheless, with Lynch not leaving with the women’s world title, the Man, determined to headline WrestleMania, replaced Lana in the 2019 women’s Royal Rumble match as the 28th entrant.

Lynch ensured that she wasn’t going to be leaving the Rumble empty-handed. She eliminated the woman who broke her nose a couple of months prior, Nia Jax. Lynch and her former best friend Charlotte Flair were the final two participants, with both seeking their first Rumble triumph. The duo went back-and-forth, but the Man had the last laugh by overcoming her great rival, punching her ticket to the first women’s WrestleMania main event.

3. Edge – 2 (2010)

“The Rated-R Superstar” Edge isn’t a stranger to making dramatic returns in Royal Rumble matches. Both of his returns in Rumble matches in 2010 and 2020 were iconic. However, Edge was the penultimate entrant in the 2010 Royal Rumble match.

Edge wasted no time in eliminating his former tag team partner, Chris Jericho, from the Rumble. The 2005 winner Batista and the 2008 winner John Cena, with whom Edge has had a history, were the final three participants.

As the Ultimate Opportunist was making his way back from injury, he only lasted a little over seven minutes to win his first Rumble. The Rated-R Superstar got the better of Cena by throwing him over the top rope, punching his ticket to a world championship match at WrestleMania 26.

2. Mr. McMahon – 1 (1999)

The 1999 Royal Rumble match was massively centered around the rivalry between Mr. McMahon and Steve Austin. The bitter rivals kicked things off with Austin entering as the number one entrant, and McMahon entered second. However, Austin and McMahon spent a large chunk of the Rumble outside of the ring as the Corporation attacked Austin backstage. When the coast was clear, McMahon undertook commentary duties.

McMahon had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide when Austin returned from the hospital, and pummeled McMahon from the broadcast table and into the ring. Furthermore, Austin looked poised to win a record-breaking third Rumble in succession, but that failed to materialize.

The new WWE Champion, The Rock, distracted Austin, allowing McMahon to sneak up from behind and eliminate Austin to become the winner of the 1999 Royal Rumble.

1. Randy Orton – 1 (2017)

The 2017 Royal Rumble match was filled with a plethora of big names. Randy Orton, The Undertaker, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns were some of the former world champions featured. However, Orton’s triumph in the 2017 Royal Rumble match was nowhere near as dominant as his win in 2009.

The Viper entered the 2017 Royal Rumble match as the 23rd participant, and his Wyatt Family stablemate Bray Wyatt featured. However, Orton spent 20 minutes in the Rumble, and fans were booing when they thought that Reigns was going to prevail. Orton countered the spear and executed the RKO. He clotheslined Reigns over the top rope to win his second Royal Rumble match.

One elimination was enough to get the job done compared to 2009, when Orton eliminated three wrestlers. Furthermore, Orton’s win etched him in the history books as he became the seventh man to win multiple Royal Rumble matches. Unlike 2009, he converted his Rumble win into a 13th WWE world championship at WrestleMania 33.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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