5 WWE Superstars who overshadowed the winner of the Royal Rumble match 

#3 CM Punk (WWE Royal Rumble 2011)

In the 2011 Royal Rumble match, @CMPunk & @WWEDanielBryan were #1 & #2. In 2012 they entered the PPV as WWE & WHC. pic.twitter.com/G3jveerthp

— Wrestling Stats (@WrestlingsFacts) February 11, 2016

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.

TBH, my favourite moments from the Royal Rumble 2011 was CM Punk's showing & the returns of Booker T & Diesel.

— Kieran (@StraightEdge_CR) July 8, 2013

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.