Thirty men head to war every January with hopes of somehow surviving all of the other bodies flying around just to get the opportunity to face the top champion at WrestleMania. Everyone comes to the Royal Rumble amped up and full of adrenaline. The Road To WrestleMania starts and every superstar thinks that they have a shot at winning the Rumble.
After all, anyone can be beaten on any day and certainly, anyone can heave another wrestler over the top rope at any moment. That leaves the door open for any main event star to meet the end of their Rumble run by anyone, as even a lesser midcarder can score a quick elimination.
10 Maven Eliminated The Undertaker - 2002
With Big Evil throwing soup bones left and right and tossing opponents over the top, it seemed early on that the 2002 Royal Rumble was going to be all about The Deadman.
That was until Tough Enough winner Maven decided to make a name for himself. He dropkicked The Phenom right out of the Rumble. In retaliation, Taker beat the ever-loving heck out of the poor kid and left him bloody and laying in the concession stands.
9 Baron Corbin Eliminated Braun Strowman - 2017
In 2017, Braun Strowman had a massive upward trajectory feuding with the likes of Roman Reigns. Baron Corbin still had long hair and many detractors. But then Lone Wolf stormed into the 2017 Rumble with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.
He made a beeline right for The Monster Among Men. Along with several other competitors who beat on Strowman for a few minutes, Corbin would be the one to deliver a massive clothesline, eliminating Strowman.
8 Test Eliminated Chris Jericho - 2003
Let it be said that no matter how big Chris Jericho has gotten in the Sports Entertainment world, he still doesn’t mind putting anyone over when it makes sense to do it. In the 2003 match, Y2J got the honor of starting the match out along with his idol, Shawn Michaels.
He must’ve thought he was so clever when he eliminated HBK at the start. But somehow another fellow Canadian, Test was able to get the better of the Ayatollah in his one elimination of Jericho, with assistance from the returning Michaels.
7 Dolph Ziggler Eliminated Chris Jericho - 2013
No matter how talented and gifted he is, and no matter how many world titles he’s won in the past, it’s clear that Vince McMahon just doesn’t see Dolph Ziggler as a main event player. So when Mr. Money In The Bank has started the 2013 Rumble match along with Chris Jericho, it was evident that The Show Off wasn’t going to be winning the match.
But he was able to outlast Y2J and become the Iron Man of this year, clocking in just over 47 minutes.
6 Ezekiel Jackson Eliminated The Big Show/Wade Barrett Eliminated Kevin Nash - 2011
In 2011, the WWE tried adding ten more slots into the Royal Rumble match, making it the biggest traditional Rumble match of all time, which was won by Alberto Del Rio. There were also several times that a couple of hungry young lions working their way up the midcard tried to make a name for themselves.
The former leader of the Nexus Wade Barrett knocked off returning surprise, Kevin Nash. Meanwhile, the last WWECW champ, Ezekiel Jackson was able to get The Big Show up and over.
5 The Great Khali Eliminated Rob Van Dam - 2007
For nearly a decade, Rob Van Dam was one of the most consistently amazing performers in the world. He was a top guy in ECW, and he finally reached the mountain top in WWE at the One Night Stand in 2006 and is one of the driving forces behind the revival of the brand.
Unfortunately, he got pulled over while dual champion embarrassed the company and his main event status was never the same again. He even got eliminated by The Great Khali during the 2007 Rumble match.
4 Bad News Brown Eliminated Roddy Piper - 1990
One of Roddy Piper’s most (in)famous moments came in Toronto during WrestleMania VI where the Hot Rod painted half of his body black to get under the skin of Bad News Brown.
But their feud began at the Royal Rumble when the former Judo champion eliminated the Rowdy One after Roddy dumped him. The two brawled to the back and then all the way to WrestleMania.
3 Stone Cold Steve Austin Eliminated Bret Hart - 1997
To this day, Stone Cold is the biggest star ever in WWE history. But in early 1997, the Rattlesnake was still on the rise. Bret Hart was in the process of helping to get him over to the next level.
Austin was cleaning house at the 1997 Rumble until The Hitman tossed him. But the referees were trying to break up a fight between Mick Foley and Terry Funk and didn’t realize, leaving Austin able to slither back in and eliminate Bret. He also threw out Vader and The Undertaker.
2 Mr. Kennedy Eliminated Shawn Michaels - 2008
There was a period of time when it seemed that Mr. Kennedy was given the rocket ship push and the Midas Touch for extra measure. Kennedy had defeated just about every former World Champion the WWE had to offer and was getting over with the fans as a nasty heel to be reckoned with on Smackdown.
He hadn’t made it over to Raw yet, but he added to his impressive resume when he tossed Shawn Michaels out of the 2008 Rumble match.
1 Andrade Eliminated Randy Orton - 2019
In NXT, Andrade was a floundering fresh-faced babyface. But once he paired up with Zelina Vega and tweaked the heel persona he perfected in Mexico, he began to showcase his full potential. He came to Smackdown and continued his path to the top of the card.
Unfortunately, that journey seems to have halted slightly these days due to Vega’s departure and Andrade being off of TV. But while he was red hot, Andrade made one elimination at the 2019 Rumble and it was a big one - Randy Orton.