WWE Royal Rumble: 5 Most Impressive Performances in Match History
By Tim Sherry
wwe.com
4. Kane – 2001
Kane, a veteran of the WWE for close to two decades has quite a resume. He was the 8th Triple Crown Champion as well as the 3rd Grand Slam Champion but as far as Royal Rumble’s go, he’s been in the most of any other superstar. With 19 appearances in the match, The Big Red Machine is certainly a wily veteran of the event. But it was his performance at the 2001 Rumble that was not only his best showing in the match but unquestionably the best performance of his career.
Like Austin in 1997 Kane broke the record this night with the most eliminations with 11, and after entering the match at number 6 he lasted a staggering 54 minutes, an incredibly difficult feat for a man pushing 350 pounds. He was the consummate pro with seemingly endless cardio and he put over Steve Austin, in the end, a fantastic finishing sequence.
Kane has clearly had ups and downs in his WWE tenure. For every great moment, there was one that set him back. But he had his shining moment at 2001 Rumble even in losing fashion. The only man on this list to make it without winning the match, The Demon saved his brilliance for close to an hour and dissected his opposition before falling victim the Attitude’s Era biggest star.