AJ Styles and 5 WWE Royal Rumble Star-Making Performances

2. Kane – 2001

Reigns may have broken Kane’s elimination record in 2014, but when looking back on it, the original star-making performance gets the nod here. He had already been a marquee name within WWE too—this just put him on the map more than ever as he became a star of the mid-2000’s.

Kane entered the 2001 Royal Rumble at No. 6 and proceeded to just rip through everyone in the ring and those who entered after him. He ended up eliminating entrant No. 7 to 12 within minutes of them joining the match. This was followed up by Tazz within seconds, Albert, Crash Holly, Scotty 2 Hotty, and the Rock. He even scared Drew Carey out of the ring, which didn’t count as an elimination.

The Big Red Machine looked dominant and seemed to be in line for the Royal Rumble win. Then came Stone Cold Steve Austin, who entered at No. 27 and eliminated Kane to walk out victorious.

Given his size and presence, Kane has always been booked as a force in battle royal matches. WWE never pulled the trigger on him winning a big one, though, and often fell just short. He and Big Show faced this problem for years, until the latter won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal in 2015.

Kane never quite became a bonafide main event star from this, having always played second fiddle to the Undertaker. However, this all-time great performance solidified his status as one of the most dominant stars in WWE.