WWE Royal Rumble: Ranking Every Winner After Lynch, Rollins Wins

Credit: WWE.com

22. Yokozuna

Think of all the times that a “giant” character has entered the Royal Rumble Match. Every single time, commentators stare in awe at the big man, claiming that absolutely no one will be able to get him over the top rope.

Now think of every time such a competitor has actually won the match. Do so, and you’ll find that it’s happened exactly once, with Yokozuna’s victory in the 1993 Royal Rumble. The big man entered the match at Number 7 and proceeded to absolutely clean house, notching seven eliminations. Memorably, Yokozuna last eliminated “Macho Man” Randy Savage after Savage bizarrely attempted to pin him after a flying elbow. Yokozuna managed to kick out with such force that Savage flew over the top rope and was eliminated.

1993 was the year in which the Royal Rumble’s title match at WrestleMania stipulation was established, so Yokozuna was granted a shot against then-champion Bret Hart.

You may recall from The Rock’s slide that at WrestleMania 2000, Triple H became the first heel to leave WrestleMania as WWE Champion. He was not the first heel to win the belt at WrestleMania, however. That honor belongs to Yokozuna who defeated Bret Hart after a salt-throwing assist from Mr. Fuji. Infamously, this injustice brought out Hulk Hogan who Yokozuna promptly granted a title match, only to be pinned in less than 30 seconds.

Yokozuna would regain the WWE Championship at King of the Ring in June, with the added bonus that the match was Hogan’s send-off before he departed for WCW, though, naturally, Hogan did not put Yokozuna over clean, losing instead via exploding camera. Yokozuna’s second title reign was much longer than his truncated first, but ultimately the company seemed uninterested in allowing him to be the dominant force he was initially presented to be. He feuded with Lex Luger, who defeated him by disqualification at SummerSlam, and also captained a losing team at Survivor Series.

Though he would hold the belt until WrestleMania X, Yokozuna was never treated as anything more than a particularly long-reigning transitional champion.