5 WWE stars with the most Royal Rumble appearances in history

Royal Rumble is one of WWE's most anticipated events. It offers two superstars WrestleMania title match opportunities. The match started in 1988, with 'Hacksaw' Jim Duggan winning the first contest.

Big John Studd won the next year. Starting with the 1993 contest, winners were awarded a title match against the champion of their choosing.

Women have participated only since 2018 and don't have as many appearances as the men. Hundreds of superstars have participated in over 30 Royal Rumble matches in WWE history.

Participating is one thing. Winning is entirely another thing. Stars with longevity in WWE will have taken part in more Rumbles than others.

Performers like Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, and Kane have over 10 years of service with the company. Here are the superstars with the most Royal Rumble appearances in WWE history.

(Note: This also takes into account the Greatest Royal Rumble.)

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#5. The Undertaker and two others have competed in 11 Royal Rumbles

It's not a surprise that The Deadman has competed in over 10 Rumbles. He has been a key member of WWE since 1990. In his 11 appearances, The Undertaker has won once, in 2007. With the win, he challenged and defeated Batista at WrestleMania 23.

The Undertaker last competed in a Rumble in 2017, when the likes of Goldberg and Brock Lesnar also entered the match. Along with The Deadman, Chris Jericho and Shelton Benjamin have also participated in 11 Rumbles.

2017 was also the last year Jericho took part in the match. Benjamin competed in 2019 and 2020 but wasn't a part of the festivities last year. If he enters this year's Rumble, he will surpass both Jericho and The Undertaker.

While the roster has been whittled down over the last year and a half, a trusted veteran like Benjamin can help the action move along. With his recent storyline with Lashley, the former Gold Standard might encounter The Almighty. Lashley could enter the match if he's unsuccessful against Brock Lesnar.

#4. Shawn Michaels and two others have appeared in 12 Royal Rumbles

Shawn Michaels is one of the greatest of all time and has won Royal Rumble twice. During his illustrious WWE career, he entered the match on 12 different occasions. His last entrance was in 2010. Michaels faced The Undertaker at WM 26 and was forced to retire after losing to The Deadman.

The Heartbreak Kid is one of only eight people to win multiple Rumbles, with his last win being in 1996. He was the runner-up twice, finishing second in both 1994 and 2007.

In addition to Michaels, both Big Show and Rey Mysterio have also competed in 12 Rumbles. The Big Show last competed in 2017 but never won. He was runner-up in both 2000 and 2004.

On the flip side of being huge, Rey Mysterio has also appeared in 12 Rumbles. He competed last year and won in 2006. Since he's the only active member of these three, he will add another appearance to his resume this year.

#3. Randy Orton and three other stars have competed in 13 Royal Rumble matches

Three active WWE stars have made 13 Royal Rumble appearances. In addition to Goldust, The Miz, Kofi Kingston, and Randy Orton have all shown up in the match 13 times.

Randy Orton has won twice, in 2009 and 2017. He has also been the runner-up twice, finishing second to Edge last year. The Legend Killer will put another appearance on his resume this year now that his run with the RAW Tag Team titles is over.

The Miz and Kofi Kingston have also made 13 Rumble appearances. Both have never won the match. Kingston started the trend of finding unique ways to stave off elimination. The Miz is facing Edge at this year's show but may still enter the match.

Like The Miz, Kofi has been with WWE for over a decade. Since he's so athletic, his antics have often become part of the festivities. While his chances of winning are slim, he'll still have a memorable appearance.

#2. Dolph Ziggler has entered 14 Royal Rumbles

While others will match this number this year, Dolph Ziggler will likely enter another Royal Rumble in 2022. The Showoff has been a part of 14 Rumbles in his WWE career.

Ziggler is such a trusted and reliable veteran that he can be counted on to move the action along. Stars like Ziggler and Jericho can call the spots and eliminations during the match.

While he competed in the 2021 Rumble, Ziggler's first appearance was in 2009. His main-event prospects haven't been as high as they were in 2009 through 2012.

Ziggler and Robert Roode have been embroiled in an ongoing feud with US Champion Damien Priest. The feud could boil over into the 2022 Rumble. Priest costing Ziggler a shot at a major championship would be a win for Ziggler.

After this year, he'll be the only star with 15 appearances. Ziggler might never have won, but he's still an important piece of each match. He always makes his eliminations look very real.

#1. Kane holds the record with 20 Royal Rumble appearances in his career

Like The Undertaker, Kane has had an illustrious WWE career. While he hasn't won a Royal Rumble, The Big Red Monster has the most appearances in history. Kane has participated in 20 matches in his WWE career. That means that he's been in almost two-thirds of all Rumbles.

He competed for over 50 minutes in 2001. The surprising fact is that with 20 appearances, he doesn't have the most cumulative time accrued. In those 20 matches, Kane has a combined time of 3:19.40. Over three hours is still impressive, but it puts him in seventh place all-time.

Since he has 20 appearances, Kane also has the third-most eliminations in a single Rumble. He tossed out 11 stars in 2001. Kane does, however, have the most combined eliminations in Rumble history with 46. That's two more than The Undertaker.

The WWE Hall of Famer even competed in last year's match and was eliminated by Damien Priest. He could pop up in this year's match.