WWE legend reveals why Stone Cold Steve Austin won the 2001 Royal Rumble match - "It was exactly what it was set up for"

Current AEW commentator and WWE legend Jim Ross recently discussed the 2001 Royal Rumble on his podcast.

The 2001 WWE Royal Rumble match was won by Stone Cold Steve Austin. He came in at the number 27 position and got three eliminations, eliminating Kane last to win the Rumble. Kane put in an amazing performance on the night, coming in at the number six position and lasting just under 54 minutes, getting 11 eliminations in the process. Stone Cold went on to challenge The Rock for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 17. Stone Cold won the match after turning heel and aligning himself with Vince McMahon, using McMahon's help to bring home the title.

Jim Ross recently discussed the 2001 Royal Rumble match on his podcast, Grilling JR. Ross said that the plan all along was for Stone Cold to win the Rumble so that he could go on to face The Rock at WWE WrestleMania 17. JR also had a lot of praise for Kane's performance in the match for lasting almost an hour and being the last person eliminated by Stone Cold:

It was exactly what it was set up for. That finish was a promotional vehicle for WrestleMania 17’s main event. Simple as that. Very basic, fundamental, and logic in booking. The kudos can go to a 6-9, 300-pound guy that stayed almost an hour in Kane. Pretty damn impressive when you think about it. I don’t know if anybody that big, size-wise, ever lasted that long in a Rumble match. I can’t think of anybody. H/T: 411Mania

Stone Cold won his third and final Royal Rumble match #2001 #wwe pic.twitter.com/hmZria5RIe

— StoneColdSteveAustin (@StoneCo28609694) August 28, 2015

Jim Ross on why Vince McMahon was unique as a character in WWE

Jim Ross also discussed Mr. McMahon's character. JR said that Vince McMahon was unique because he was the actual owner of the WWE which gave his character a different dynamic. Ross also put over Vince McMahon's ability on the microphone:

Vince was a great mouthpiece. Vince was a great promo. He had a unique perspective because he was the owner of the company, and that made that heel character different than anything else we had.

The simulcast seen and heard from around the world. Mr. McMahon addressing the #WWE and #WCW. That was a night I’ll never forget. #RAW #NITRO pic.twitter.com/azimYKxVHp

— Anthony (@AnthonyX_34) January 16, 2021

Jim Ross added that Vince McMahon helped elevate Stone Cold Steve Austin to being a top babyface, which in turn then helped WWE to build up heels like Triple H.