5 Royal Rumble winners who went the distance to win

#2. Rey Mysterio did wonders in Royal Rumble 2006

Not only did Rey Mysterio win the Royal Rumble match, but he also did it after entering at number 2.

WWE tends to slightly overuse the David versus Goliath trope. However, Goliath generally comes out on top in Vince McMahon's promotion. Rey Mysterio is one of those 'Davids', who managed to overcome various giants. In the process, he also won the 2006 edition of the Rumble.

He began the match against Triple H and remained in the ring for 62 minutes and 12 seconds. This meant that he broke the record for longest time spent in the match previously held by Chris Benoit.

Mysterio threw superstars such as Rob Van Dam, Triple H and Randy Orton over the top rope in order to triumph. He would go on to headline WrestleMania, alongside Kurt Angle and Randy Orton, even winning the World Heavyweight Championship.

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#1. Edge outlasted everyone else in 2021

Edge entered the 2021 Royal Rumble at number 1, facing off against former tag team partner Randy Orton. Both men would go on to survive as the final two competitors in the match.

Though Edge and Orton survived for 58 minutes and 30 seconds, Edge had only 3 eliminations and Orton had none. Edge eliminated Braun Strowman (with the help of Rollins and Christian), Seth Rollins and finally The Apex Predator himself to challenge Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

However, this resulted in the Rated-R Superstar creating an unfortunate record. He is the only two-time Royal Rumble winner to fail to capture the title in both of his WrestleMania matches.