Heels generally get their comeuppance at the biggest pay-per-views events of the year, but these heels managed to walk in and walk out of the Royal Rumble with their World Championships intact.The road to WrestleMania traditionally starts at the Royal Rumble, and the World Championship matches at the event have a huge significance on the title picture heading into WrestleMania. The Royal Rumble match is the main selling point of the pay-per-view but there have been instances where the World Championship match has been miles better.
14 Yokozuna - 1994
The WWE Championship was defended in a Casket match for the first time at Royal Rumble 1994. Yokozuna put his WWE Championship on the line against The Undertaker, who was a specialist in this type of match.
This was an underwhelming Casket match. The Undertaker was close to winning the WWE Championship but several heels aided Yokozuna in his successful defense. He became the first heel to retain the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble.
13 The Miz - 2011
For the second year in succession, Randy Orton challenged for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. The 2011 iteration of the event saw Orton looking to recapture the championship he lost to The Miz a couple of months prior.
The Miz and Orton's WWE Championship match was better than many expected it to be. The Miz's maiden WWE Championship reign received mixed reviews, but all thanks to outside interference from CM Punk, The Awesome One continued his run as WWE Champion.
12 The Fiend - 2020
The Fiend and Daniel Bryan collided at the Royal Rumble for the second time in seven years in 2020. The Fiend's Universal Championship was up for grabs in a Strap match. Moreover, their chemistry together was outstanding.
It was one-way traffic in the early exchanges with The Fiend having everything go his way. Bryan grew into the match, and he made The Fiend look like a million bucks. Bryan put on a valiant effort but The Fiend once again retained his Universal Championship.
11 JBL - 2005
At Royal Rumble 2005, JBL had a huge task ahead of him as he defended the WWE Championship against former champions Big Show and Kurt Angle in a Triple Threat match. JBL played his role as a cunning heel to perfection and he allied with Angle.
Show was outnumbered but he speared JBL through the barricade. JBL's cabinet, and Angle's cronies, Mark Jindrak and Luther Reigns, interfered to remove Show from the equation. Enter JBL's Chief of Staff Orlando Jordan who dragged JBL back into the ring. He then nailed Angle with a devastating Clothesline from Hell to retain the WWE Championship.
10 Kevin Owens - 2017
Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns contested the first Universal Championship match to take place at the Royal Rumble in 2017. Their No Disqualification match was spectacular, and Chris Jericho was erected above in the ring in a shark cage.
There was no shortage of drama in this match with weapons being used. The Big Dog was closing in on the Universal Championship but Braun Strowman got involved by putting him through a table. KO picked up the scraps to remain as Universal Champion.
9 Randy Orton - 2008 & 2014
Randy Orton had his fair share of World Championship matches at the Royal Rumble with contrasting results. However, at the 2008 Royal Rumble, Orton put the WWE Championship on the line against Jeff Hardy. Orton got the best of Hardy with a sublime counter of the Twist of Fate into the RKO to retain the WWE Championship.
Six years later, The Viper faced off with his eternal rival John Cena in a marquee WWE Championship match. But it wasn't well-received by fans. There was interference from The Wyatt Family and Orton planted Cena with the RKO to keep the WWE Championship intact.
8 Edge - 2008
Inside Madison Square Garden, former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Rey Mysterio clashed over the Rated-R Superstar's World Heavyweight Championship at Royal Rumble 2008. Edge and Mysterio knew each other's skillsets very well, and they had a decent match.
Edge was in cruise control but Mysterio had some opportunities of his own. Vickie Guerrero interfered, and she tasted the 619 with Edge executing a Spear in mid-air to put Mysterio away and he remained as World Heavyweight Champion. Edge and Orton's victories at the 2008 Royal Rumble marked the first time that two heel World Champions retained their titles in singles matches by pinfall at the event.
7 Daniel Bryan - 2012 & 2019
Daniel Bryan became the final heel to defend the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble in 2012. Bryan overcame Big Show and Mark Henry in a Triple Threat Steel Cage match to retain the coveted World Heavyweight Championship.
Seven years later, Bryan was now the WWE Champion, and walked into Royal Rumble 2019 with AJ Styles as his challenger. It was another hard-fought battle from Bryan to retain the WWE Championship, although he had a helping hand from Erick Rowan.
6 Chris Jericho - 2002
The longstanding feud between Chris Jericho and The Rock was finally coming to an end at the 2002 Royal Rumble with Y2J's Undisputed WWE Championship at stake. This match is often forgotten about with their matches at No Mercy 2001 and Vengeance 2001 being spoken about more often.
Jericho and The Rock had a hard-hitting match, and there was outside interference from Lance Storm and Christian. The Rock dealt with them but Jericho had to cheat to retain the WWE Championship by putting his feet on the rope.
5 Roman Reigns - 2021
The roles were reversed in Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens' second Royal Rumble meeting for the Universal Championship at the 2021 pay-per-view. This time Reigns was the reigning Universal Champion, and he was the heel in their Last Man Standing match.
Reigns and KO produced a fantastic match and they utilized their surroundings. The only negative was Reigns' Special Counsel Paul Heyman took longer than expected to remove the handcuffs from Reigns. KO pushed Reigns to the limit but The Tribal Chief gained his revenge from their meeting in 2017, and he ensured that a heel would walk out as Universal Champion.
4 Kurt Angle - 2001 & 2003
Kurt Angle thrived as being WWE Champion and he had two formidable foes in his two title defenses at the Royal Rumble. Angle squared off with Triple H at the 2001 Royal Rumble. The Olympic Gold Medalist prevailed with Steve Austin attacking Triple H.
Two years later, Angle had an even better WWE Championship match with Chris Benoit. This was one of the best WWE Championship matches in history, which is not spoken about because of Benoit's involvement. Both brought out the best in each other with Angle once again retaining.
3 Shawn Michaels - 1998
The trilogy of matches between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker came to a close in a Casket match at the 1998 Royal Rumble. Unfortunately, Michaels sustained a career-threatening back injury early on in the match as he landed awkwardly on the casket.
Nevertheless, it's a testament to Michaels' professionalism as he had a few grimaces but managed to operate at a high level. It's the best Casket match in WWE history. Michaels survived by the skin of his teeth as he closed the lid with Kane putting The Undertaker away in the casket with a chokeslam.
2 Triple H - 2000 & 2005
Between 2000-05, Triple H entered as WWE Champion or World Heavyweight Champion no less than four times at the Royal Rumble. The Cerebral Assassin faced off with Cactus Jack in a brutal Street Fight at the 2000 edition with Triple H narrowly escaping with his WWE Championship.
A few years later, Triple H and his former Evolution stablemate Randy Orton battled in a decent World Heavyweight Championship match at the 2005 Royal Rumble. There was no interference from Evolution, which kept things interesting, but Triple H became the first man to successfully defend the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble.
1 Brock Lesnar - 2004, 2015, 2018, & 2019
No top heel has enjoyed more success than Brock Lesnar when it comes down to defending a World Championship at the Royal Rumble. Lesnar's first outing was an underwhelming WWE Championship match with Hardcore Holly to blow off their feud in 2004.
Eleven years later, Brock successfully defended the WWE Championship in one of his finest outings against John Cena and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match. In 2018, Brock oversaw two giants in Kane and Braun Strowman to retain the Universal Championship, and a year later, Finn Balor felt the force of Brock in another successful title defense at the Royal Rumble.