WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Ranking All 30 Match Winners

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1. Stone Cold Steve Austin – 1997

Stone Cold Steve Austin rose to WWE fame with his classic “Austin 3:16” promo during the 1996 King of the Ring event. This gave him all kinds of momentum with the fans and led to him becoming arguably the company’s greatest Superstar ever.

In the middle of the journey, Austin would compete at the 1997 Royal Rumble match. He entered No. 5 and was an instant favorite to win. He dominated for the 45 minutes he stood in the ring, showboating in the process by pointing to the “watch” on his wrist every time he eliminated someone.

What put over the Rattlesnake was setting the single match record for eliminations in a Royal Rumble. He eliminated 10 Superstars. Kane would break this four years later with 11, and Roman Reigns topped this mark in 2014 with 12.

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This jumpstarted his push into WrestleMania season and turned him into the top babyface that the Attitude Era fans exploded for as the 1990’s closed. It continued with the double-turn with Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13, and pushed him into superstardom, making this one of the best Royal Rumble winners ever for the 1997 performance.