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The latest edition of WWE Royal Rumble is only a handful of days away, and fans are waiting with bated breath to see the Superstars who will be getting their WrestleMania moment this year. While Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Edge, and more have announced themselves for the Men's Royal Rumble, Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Bianca Belair, and more are confirmed for the Women's Rumble match.
Though there will be no crowd this around time due to the pandemic, the Superstars will still look to create an atmosphere of excitement through their performances. The WWE creative has been mostly successful in not projecting any clear-cut favorites for the Royal Rumble matches, which has led to high fan interest going into the PPV.
Over the years, there have been several Superstars who found their WrestleMania dream coming true after winning the Rumble match. However, in a few instances, the winners were seemingly overshadowed by other star performers in the Rumble.
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That said, let's take a look at five Superstars who overshadowed the winner of the Royal Rumble match. Do share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
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#5 Braun Strowman (WWE Royal Rumble 2017)
Before he had a string of star-making performances later in the year against Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman had a memorable outing at Royal Rumble 2017. Entering at number 7, The Monster Among Men ran amok on the other participants and accumulated as many as 7 eliminations during his relatively short 13-minute stay in the ring, before he was eliminated by Baron Corbin.
In a match that had Superstars like Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and The Undertaker making appearances, it was Strowman who stood out with his dominant performance. He had displayed bursts of greatness in his matches on RAW, but it became apparent after this night that the former Wyatt Family member was sure to become a notable figure in WWE.
While the match was eventually won by Randy Orton, fans mostly remember this bout for the appearances by multiple legends and the birth of a star like Braun Strowman. He had another dominant showing at Royal Rumble 2019, where he eliminated 6 participants. With his absence from WWE programming in recent weeks, many fans are expecting Strowman to make a surprise return at this year's Royal Rumble match, and possibly find his way into the main event of WrestleMania 37.
#4 Kane (WWE Royal Rumble 2001)
Kane's dominance in the 2001 edition of Royal Rumble is regarded as the most terrifying and greatest performance in the history of the PPV. Entering at number 6, The Big Red Machine stayed in the match for over 53 minutes and eliminated 11 participants in the process. Though nobody had expected him to win the bout, Kane made it feel like he might pull-off a shocker of an upset victory.
Kane was eventually eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who entered the match at number 27, and stayed for a mere 9 minutes before winning. While nobody can ignore what Stone Cold achieved here and his all-time great clash at WrestleMania 17 against The Rock, Kane was easily the star performer in the bout. Whenever people look back at this match, it is mostly for The Big Red Machine's jaw-dropping performance.
The two-time WWE Champion is widely considered to be the greatest Royal Rumble performer, as he holds the record of the highest collective eliminations in the Rumble history with 44 total eliminations.
#3 CM Punk (WWE Royal Rumble 2011)
The 2011 edition of the Royal Rumble was a special one as it has 40 competitors instead of the usual 30. As expected, there were several surprise entrants in the match, though none of them quite stood apart. However, it was CM Punk who stole the show on the night.
Entering at number one, Punk stayed in the match for 35 minutes while accumulating a total of seven eliminations. Though he was ably helped by his Nexus stablemates, he still shined and had memorable interactions with Booker T, John Cena, and more.
Punk was eventually eliminated by John Cena, who himself had a memorable outing with as many eliminations as The Voice of the Voiceless. The match was eventually won by Alberto Del Rio.
While Punk is a two-time Money in the Bank winner, a Rumble win and a highly-deserving WrestleMania main event spot eluded his career. These are some of the prime reasons why Punk was disgruntled and left the WWE.
#2 Bianca Belair (WWE Royal Rumble 2020)
Bianca Belair's performance at Royal Rumble 2020 impressed many and instantly made her a force to be reckoned with in WWE's women division. Entering the match at number two, Bianca stayed in the bout for over 35 minutes and accumulated a total of eight eliminations. The athleticism and in-ring prowess displayed by The EST of WWE during this bout made the viewers believe she might end up winning the whole thing and find her way to WrestleMania 36.
However, it was Charlotte Flair who came up victorious. While The Queen herself had a great showing as she stayed for over 27 minutes in the match, she couldn't equal what Bianca achieved in terms of impact. Apart from Bianca, even Shayna Baszler shined with her destructive performance, where she eliminated as many as eight participants during a short albeit effective four-minute stay.
Bianca is a favorite to win this year's Women's Royal Rumble match, and a marquee championship match against Sasha Banks seems to be on the cards for her at WrestleMania 37.
#1 Roman Reigns (WWE Royal Rumble 2014)
The current Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, had a dominant showing at Royal Rumble 2014. In fact, saying it was dominant would be an understatement. He eliminated a record-breaking and staggering 12 participants from the match. Entering at number 15, Reigns lasted for over 30 minutes in the bout and was the runner-up, ultimately being thrown over the top rope by Batista.
But 2014 was the year of Daniel Bryan, and the fans were unwilling to accept anyone other than him as the winner. However, the five-time champion never entered the match, and the only other Superstar the fans warmed up to was Reigns. The eventual winner of this Royal Rumble match, Batista, was vehemently booed by the audience, as they wanted the Tribal Chief to go over when it came down to the final two.
His performance here clearly overshadowed that of The Animal, who was in the match for 14 minutes and had four eliminations to his name. It also seemingly made WWE creative believe that Reigns would be the next face of the company. Though it backfired in the following year's Royal Rumble where, despite winning, he was met with reservations from every corner.
