WWE Royal Rumble 2017: Ranking All 30 Match Winners

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27. John Cena – 2013

Roman Reigns and Batista winning in 2015 and 2014, respectively, were obvious decisions. Before these two, though, John Cena’s Royal Rumble victory in 2013 looked to be the most predictable one of them all.

At WrestleMania 28, the Rock defeated Cena in what had been thought to be a “once in a lifetime” match. This would not turn out to be the case by the time the 2013 Royal Rumble pay-per-view concluded.

First, the Leader of the Cenation won the Royal Rumble match. Then the Rock defeated CM Punk to win the WWE Championship, setting up what fans had suspected would happen even one year prior. This took the drama and steam out of the 2013 Royal Rumble match, even it was going to set up another big-name bout for the main event of WrestleMania. When that happens with the Rumble, as evidenced by 2014 and 2015, it can make the match boring and lose its appeal.

However, based on the other members of the final four of that match—Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, and Ryback—Cena stood out from the pack, even if those three received a push during the spring of 2013. One of those three could have won and received a World Heavyweight Championship opportunity, however, and then went down the path of Cena vs. Rock for the WWE Championship.