5 Best No. 5 Entries in the Royal Rumble

As we start to dig deeper and deeper into the middle of the Royal Rumble list, we start hitting the middle of the match.

The first two entrants have usually established themselves, and we no longer have candidates for the iron man of the match. Usually, by the time the fifth entrant has come out, the first person in the Royal Rumble has already been eliminated.

Unlike the previous entries, the fifth entry has usually not been the first eliminated, with it only having happened three times in the Rumbles history.

Given that the number 5 entry has finished in the top 6 on three separate occasions, it's a better spot to have than some others, despite its relatively early entry point.

The fifth entrant usually, but not always, comes out when the ring is beginning to fill up and wrestlers are separating into one-on-one duels around the ring. Usually, wrestlers are in the process of trying to eliminate one of the other competitors and the fifth entry will either try to help out in the elimination or make the save for the wrestler about to be eliminated.

The 5th entry of the Royal Rumble has only produced one winner in Stone Cold Steve Austin back in 1998, while Edge and Bray Wyatt have gotten closest after that. The number 5 entry has resulted in 48 eliminations, largely due to the 10 eliminations by Stone Cold Steve Austin at the 1997 Rumble as well as Rikishi's 7 eliminations in the 2000 Rumble as well as 6 by Bray Wyatt on debut in 2015 and Edge's 5 in 2007.

In the women's Rumble, the number 5 entry was Lita who managed 2 eliminations, those of Mandy Rose and Tamina before Lita was eliminated by Becky Lynch. Lita was the first legend or free agent to appear in the women's Rumble.

You can see the other entries in this series below:

Part 1 is here

Part 2 is here

Part 3 is here

Part 4 is here

#5 Drew Carey (2001) - Eliminated 5th - 1 Elimination (Himself)

At the 2001 Royal Rumble, famed TV star Drew Carey was backstage looking to get advice from Vince McMahon on how to promote his show on the PPV system. As Carey was hitting on Trish Stratus, Vince McMahon walked in and decided to punish Carey by putting him in the Royal Rumble match.

Carey came in at the number 5 spot with Matt and Jeff Hardy battling against each other in the corner. Carey happily watched as the Hardy boys eliminated each other leaving Carey alone in the ring. Unfortunately for Drew, the 6th entrant was Kane who slowly paced his way down to the ring. While Carey did his best to befriend the psychopathic demon and offer him money, Kane grabbed Carey by the throat and was about to pick him up for the chokeslam when Raven, the 7th entry, came to the ring and hit Kane from behind with a Kendo stick.

As Kane busied himself with Raven, Drew Carey was able to eliminate himself from the Royal Rumble. Carey was the first ever celebrity entrant in the Royal Rumble and was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Kane in 2011.

#4 Heath Slater (2018) - Eliminated 4th - 1 Elimination

Heath Slater and Sheamus outside the ring at the 2018 Royal Rumble

Not all memorable Royal Rumble performances involve going the distance, eliminating a large group of superstars and covering yourself in glory.

Slater was in the Royal Rumble for a grand total of 33 seconds and only had one elimination. However, despite being the 5th entrant into the Royal Rumble, Slater was attacked on the ramp by the recently eliminated Baron Corbin. As Slater crawled to the ring he was attacked by Elias, Andrade 'Cien' Almas, Bray Wyatt, Big E, Sami Zayn, and Sheamus. Each attacking Slater in a different, unique way to the delight of both the crowd at the arena and watching at home.

After Sheamus attacked Slater, he threw him into the ring. Slater was able to recover and eliminate Sheamus from the Rumble with a clothesline. Moments like these are commonplace in the Rumble but are unique to the Royal Rumble match itself. Often superstars are attacked backstage or on the ramp. It's a part of the unique atmosphere that only the Royal Rumble seems to create.

#3 Bray Wyatt (2015) - Eliminated 25th - 6 Eliminations

In his first Royal Rumble, Bray Wyatt was booked as a tour de force. Coming out as the fifth entry, Bray basically cleared house. While initially starting in the ring with Wyatt family member Luke Harper, Wyatt eliminated Harper and Bubba Ray Dudley. This left Wyatt alone in the middle of the ring and looking dangerous.

Wyatt would then go on to eliminate The Boogeyman, Sin Cara, and Zack Ryder within a minute and a half of them entering the ring, leaving time between each entry where he was in the ring by himself. Using the solitary moments in the ring, Wyatt beckoned each coming challenger out and at one point delivered a promo mid-rumble for the next challenger to come out and face him.

Wyatt then had to contend with Daniel Bryan, who he eventually eliminated making it all the way to the final 6, along with Roman Reigns, Rusev, Dean Ambrose, Big Show, and Kane. It finally took a combination of Big Show and Kane to get the cult leader Wyatt out of the ring.

#2 Edge (2007) - Eliminated 28th - 5 Eliminations

Edge sets up for a spear in the 2007 Royal Rumble.

Before 2007 Edge wasn't overly successful in the Rumble, on the sporadic appearances he would make in it. While the majority of the Royal Rumble events would see Edge competing for or defending a title, be it the tag team titles with Christian, or the WWE or World Heavyweight title, keeping him out of the Royal Rumble itself.

However, when it came time for the 2007 Royal Rumble, Edge was considered one of the top stars in the company. Coming in at the number 5, he quickly took care of Ric Flair and Kenny Dykstra, who were already in the ring, before the ring began to fill up with other superstars.

Edge would later eliminate Super Crazy and Jeff Hardy in succession as well as play a hand in the elimination of Viscera, helping tip the big man over the top rope with the help of 7 other superstars.

Edge made it all the way to the final 3 where he was eliminated by Shawn Michaels.

#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin (1997) - Winner - 10 Eliminations

The 1997 Royal Rumble was the first Rumble that Stone Cold Steve Austin participated in as the Stone Cold gimmick having previously appeared as the Ring Master in the 1996 Royal Rumble.

Stone Cold came out in the number 5 entry and proceeded to dominate the field as he would the company, in general, over the coming years.

On his way to being the last man in the Royal Rumble, Stone Cold eliminated Phineas I. Godwinn, Bart Gunn, Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, Owen Hart, Savio Vega, Jesse James, Vader, the Undertaker and lastly Bret Hart. This tied Austin with Hulk Hogan at 10 eliminations, a record at the time.

The victory is not without controversy, towards the end of the Rumble, Austin was eliminated by Bret Hart. With the referees' distracted by Vader on the other side of the ring, Austin climbed back into the ring and eliminated the remaining competitors including an irate Bret Hart.

The ensuing feud between Hart and Austin, in which Hart would win the WWF title, but lose it to Psycho Sid on account of interference by Austin, led to their memorable submission match at Wrestlemania 13.