WWE Royal Rumble: 5 Longest Runner-Up Performances in History

There is no gimmick match in professional wrestling right now that is more exciting and breathtaking than the Royal Rumble. An argument can be made that Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Elimination Chamber are as legendary as the Rumble, but the longevity and surprise factor gives Royal Rumble an edge over all other matches.

An encounter that involves 30 performers and lasts over an hour, in some cases, it is not just about surprise and innovation in the Rumble match. The number a superstar draws definitely ranks among the most important factors while participating in the Royal Rumble, but survival instinct and technique also rank right at the top, given that the goal is not getting eliminated from the match.

Over the last 34 years, there have been over a dozen superstars who have managed to instigate their will and stayed in the Rumble match until the closing stretch. While a handful of them actually managed to go all the way to win the match, some of them were not so lucky, as they were the last men to be thrown out.

Let's look at 5 superstars who had the longest runs in the Royal Rumble match as the Runner up.

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#5 Triple H - 50:00 minutes (Royal Rumble 2009)

The Game fell victim to the number game after a gutsy performance.

Triple H is no stranger to being the Iron Man of the Royal Rumble match, only to end up falling just short of winning the whole thing. After all, he lasted for over an hour in 2006, starting at #1, only to end up being the second last person to be eliminated from the match.

Exactly three years later, luck was not on his side once again at the Royal Rumble as he fell short of going all the way, despite being in the match for the longest period.

This time, however, he ended up being the last man to be eliminated after putting up a gutsy fight against the three members of Legacy, before Randy Orton brought an end to his stay in the match

His run of exactly 50 minutes was the longest in the match, and he eliminated 6 men, including both Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. His elimination from the match, which led to Randy Orton's victory, further fueled their Mania rivalry.

#4 Charlotte Flair - 50:01 minutes (Royal Rumble 2019)

The Queen was once again bested by Lynch in the 2019 Rumble match

The 2019 edition of Royal Rumble is famously remembered for Becky Lynch's marvelous victory. She entered the match as a replacement and ended up winning the whole thing. But she wasn't the only one who gave a brilliant performance in the Women's Rumble match.

The woman she eliminated to win the Women's Royal Rumble, Charlotte Flair, was an absolute beast throughout the match. Giving an example of why she is constantly regarded as the greatest female performer of the modern era, The Queen entered the match at #13 and stayed for a whopping 50 minutes and 1 second.

Along with Natalya and Ember Moon, Flair acted as the anchor for the longest traditional Royal Rumble match. She eliminated 5 superstars, the most in the match, before Lynch halted her dreams of winning the Rumble.

Even though she was a part of WrestleMania's main event that year along with Lynch and ended up winning the Royal Rumble match the very next year, Flair's performance from 2019 can easily be considered among the most dominant in Rumble history.

#3 The Rock - 51:32 minutes (Royal Rumble 1998)

The Rock had no answer to Austin's Juggernaut in 1998.

The Royal Rumble from 1998 is a legendary pay-per-view, and there are a handful of reasons why it is considered a great show. From Shawn Michaels' unfortunate injury to Steve Austin's iconic Royal Rumble win, the 1998 show was a show to remember.

One thing that often gets lost among all the memorable moments is The Rock's performance in the Rumble match. Still, in his days as a mid-card heel, the then Nation of Domination member gave a performance that was miles above all his other Rumble match appearences.

Entering at #4, The Brahma Bull lasted a monumental 51 minutes and 32 seconds in the match. During that course, he not only eliminated his arch rival Ken Shamrock but also brought an end to his fellow Nation member Faarooq's Royal Rumble evening.

Despite all that, The Rock had no answer to Steve Austin's will to win, as The Rattlesnake threw The Great One over the top rope after the stunner to win his second consecutive Royal Rumble match, and forced him to wait for two more years to win the match for himself.

#2 Kane - 53:46 minutes (Royal Rumble 2001)

The Most Dominant performance in the history of Royal Rumble 2001.

When we talk about the most dominant performers in the history of the Royal Rumble, the name Kane usually floats around the top of that list. After all, the Big Red Machine has held the records of the most appearances and the most cumulative eliminations in the match's illustrious history.

Hence, it's quite baffling when we fail to see his name in the list of all the former Royal Rumble winners, and only see his name in the unfortunate list of the superstars who outlasted all but one oter star in the bout. Kane had his best performance in the 2001 Rumble match, and it was the type of performance that every avid wrestling fan remembers better than many other moments.

Entering the match at #6, The Devil's Favorite Demon went on a rampage as he eliminated a total of 11 superstars from the Royal Rumble, a record that stood for a whopping 13 years. From Raven to Al Snow, and from Honky Tonk Man to The Rock, everyone faced the wrath of the Monster as he went past the entire field of superstars to make it to the final two.

Just like it happened with The Rock in 1998, a certain Redneck brought an end to Kane's Iron Man performance in the Royal Rumble match. After he had spent 53 minutes and 36 seconds, and taken three chair shots to the head, Steve Austin clotheslined Kane over the top rope to win the Royal Rumble for the third time. Kane's performance, however, was engraved in WWE history forever.

#1 Stone Cold Steve Austin - 56:38 minutes (Royal Rumble 1999)

The Royal Rumble in 1999 revolved around Austin-McMahon Rivalry.

It is quite ironic that someone who thrashed two Iron Man performances to win two of his three Royal Rumble matches was also a victim of the same fate. The Attitude Era was at its peak in early 1999, so was the rivalry between Steve Austin and Mr. McMahon, and Royal Rumble in 1999 was centered around this very rivalry.

Steve Austin had won the Royal Rumble match in 1997 and 1998, and to make sure he didn't win it for the third straight year, Mr. McMahon had him enter the match as the #1 entrant and himself as the last entrant. To the Boss' dismay, he was chosen as the #2 entrant by Commissioner Shawn Michaels, forcing him to start the match with Austin.

While McMahon, after taking an early beating from Austin, stayed outside the ring for most of the match, the Rattlesnake fought his way through 28 other Superstars. He eliminated 8 Superstars and made it to the final two of the match, with only McMahon left to deal with.

The two brawled for some time, both outside and inside the ring, before Austin gained the upper hand. However, before he could eliminate McMahon from the match, a distraction by The Rock, Austin's nemesis and WWF Champion, allowed The Boss to eliminate him and win the 1999 Royal Rumble match.

Austin, the first to enter and the last to be eliminated, stayed in the match for 56 minutes and 38 seconds, a record that still stands as the longest time spent by a Runner Up in the Royal Rumble match.