WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Ranking All 30 Match Winners

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6. Batista – 2005

The Evolution stable would see both Randy Orton and Batista break out into successful singles stars. This left Triple H and Ric Flair in the dust, for the time being, with the stable. They eventually went back to having regular and successful singles careers, but the careers of the younger members of Evolution took off, especially Batista’s in 2005.

Batista would steadily rise as a fan-favorite (until his face turn went further) and the beginning of him becoming a good guy. He showed enough to go solo, including the in-ring ability and his character coming along within the group, so a breakout seemed on the horizon.

This all came together with the 2005 Royal Rumble match. The Animal joined the match at No. 28 and had a short but successful run. He would have a controversial finish with John Cena, as when they were the final two in the match, they both fell over the ropes and landed on the floor simultaneously. After a match restart, Batista eliminated Cena to become the winner.

From there, we would see Batista officially turn on Evolution by deciding to take the World Heavyweight Championship opportunity at WrestleMania, the belt held by Triple H. This infuriated the Game, so much that he and Batista fought on Raw, officially leading to the latter’s face turn. It culminated with the protege defeating the mentor in the WrestleMania headliner, creating a new main event star in the process for WWE.