10 Royal Rumble Eliminations That Set Up WrestleMania Matches

The Royal Rumble has traditionally kicked off WrestleMania season signaling the start to the long, arduous road to WrestleMania. The titular Royal Rumble match has a lot riding on it as the winner of the men's and women's iterations of Rumble matches finds themselves challenging for a World Championship at WrestleMania. However, not every winner of the Royal Rumble match has been challenging for a World Title at WrestleMania for several reasons.

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There is a lot of talk about top wrestlers who get eliminated from Royal Rumble matches, and sometimes these key eliminations have set up a feud that builds up for a couple of months before WrestleMania. Sometimes a championship has been involved, and other times it has been a grudge match.

10 Giant Gonzalez Towers Over The Undertaker (1993)

Giant Gonzalez Made His WWE Debut

The Undertaker was going about his business smoothly in the 1993 Royal Rumble match until Harvey Wippleman came down the aisle alongside his latest client Giant Gonzalez. Gonzalez wasn't an official entrant in the 1993 Royal Rumble match but he towered over Undertaker.

Gonzalez pummeled Undertaker and he eliminated him from the Rumble. This led to Undertaker engaging in one of the worst feuds of his career. He squared off with Gonzalez at WrestleMania 9, and this was Undertaker's only WrestleMania victory in his unbeaten streak that resulted in him winning via disqualification.

9 Ronda Rousey Topples The Queen (2022)

Rousey Returned To Win The Women's Royal Rumble Match

"The Baddest Woman on the Planet" Ronda Rousey marked her return to WWE as a surprising entrant in the 2022 women's Royal Rumble match. Rousey was the 28th entrant, and she eliminated Charlotte Flair to win the women's Royal Rumble match.

The Queen was the reigning SmackDown Women's Champion, and Rousey had a history with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, who was the Raw Women's Champion. Rousey opted to face Charlotte at WrestleMania 38, and she was expected to win the SmackDown Women's Championship. That failed to materialize with Charlotte battling past Rousey to remain as champion until Rousey beat her for the title in an "I Quit" match a month later at WrestleMania Backlash.

8 Roman Reigns Is Unable To Retain The WWE World Heavyweight Championship (2016)

Triple H Becomes A 14-Time WWE World Champion

The deck was stacked against Roman Reigns as he was forced to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the 2016 Royal Rumble match from the unenviable number one position. Reigns was close to defending his title but Triple H entered the match as the 30th entrant, and there were huge cheers from the crowd when Triple H eliminated Reigns.

Reigns' WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign ended and Triple H became a 14-time WWE World Champion when he dumped Dean Ambrose over the top rope. Inevitably, Triple H and Reigns would battle for the gold in the main event of WrestleMania 32, and Reigns regained the title in one of the worst WrestleMania main events in history.

7 Kurt Angle Has A Night To Forget (2005)

Kurt Angle And Shawn Michaels Have A Dream Match

The 2005 Royal Rumble wasn't Kurt Angle's finest hour as he took the fall in the triple threat match for JBL's WWE Championship that included Big Show. Angle had a second bite at the cherry as he stole Nunzio's spot to enter the Royal Rumble match as the 20th entrant.

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Angle's stint was short-lived as Shawn Michaels eliminated him just 37 seconds later. The Olympic Gold Medalist didn't take that lightly, and he returned by eliminating Michaels from the Rumble, he busted Michaels wide open after he nailed him with a steel chair shot to the head. Despite Angle being on SmackDown, and HBK being on Raw they had some entertaining segments leading up to their WrestleMania 21 epic. At WrestleMania 21, Angle got the victory over Michaels by cinching in the Angle Lock.

6 The Mega Powers Are On The Rocks (1989)

Tension Brews After Hulk Hogan Eliminates Randy Savage From The Royal Rumble Match

Hulk Hogan was on a tear in the 1989 Royal Rumble match, but cracks began to show between the Mega Powers. Hogan eliminated The Warlord from the Rumble in two seconds which was a record that stood for two decades. Hogan shifted his attention towards Bad News Brown who was fighting with Randy Savage on the ropes.

Hogan eliminated both men, and Savage who was the reigning WWE Champion was angry with Hogan. Miss. Elizabeth entered the ring to stop Hogan and Savage from arguing. This led to the Mega Powers imploding a month later with Savage turning heel, and Hogan defeated Savage for his second WWE Championship reign at WrestleMania 5.

5 Big Match John Returns The Favor (2010)

John Cena And Batista Trade The WWE Championship

Batista turned heel for the first time in four years when he attacked his former tag team partner Rey Mysterio in late 2009. The Animal was looking to win his first Royal Rumble match since 2005, but his hopes were dashed by John Cena.

Ironically, Batista eliminated Cena to win the 2005 Royal Rumble match. Batista and Cena's reignited feud didn't end there as Batista defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber 2010 all thanks to Mr. McMahon. The two biggest stars of the Ruthless Aggression Era clashed over the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 26, and Cena saw off the Animal to regain the WWE Championship.

4 Steve Austin Cheats To Win The 1997 Royal Rumble Match

The Hitman Was Unlucky To Not Win His Second Royal Rumble Match

Unquestionably, the rivalry between Bret Hart and Steve Austin was one of the best rivalries of the 1990s. The Hitman defeated Austin at Survivor Series 1996, and Hart almost cemented his dominance in the feud by eliminating Steve Austin from the 1997 Royal Rumble match.

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The referee didn't see Austin's elimination which allowed Austin to get back into the match, and he lastly eliminated the Excellence of Execution to win the 1997 Royal Rumble match. Hart and Austin clashed at WrestleMania 13 in a submission match which was unquestionably the best match of the night. The Hitman won the match and he turned heel with Austin becoming a babyface in a five-star epic.

3 The Rated-R Superstar Seizes The Opportunity Once Again (2010)

Edge And Chris Jericho Square Off At WrestleMania 26

Batista and John Cena's interaction in the 2010 Royal Rumble match wasn't the only future World Championship match to happen at WrestleMania 26. Edge and Chris Jericho won the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in the summer of 2009, but Edge suffered an Achilles injury which brought an end to their partnership and title reign. Jericho belittled Edge, and the Rated-R Superstar returned in the 2010 Royal Rumble match as the 29th entrant.

The Ultimate Opportunist eliminated Jericho en route to winning the 2010 Royal Rumble match. A month later, Jericho clinched his third World Heavyweight Championship inside the Elimination Chamber. Inevitably, Edge chose to face Jericho for the Big Gold Belt at WrestleMania 26. Edge was the favorite to prevail, but Jericho managed to hang onto the World Heavyweight Championship.

2 The Big Dog Sets Up A Clash With The Deadman (2017)

Roman Reigns Receives A Chorus Of Boos After Eliminating The Undertaker

The Undertaker entered the 2017 Royal Rumble match for the final time as the 29th entrant, and it was a decade since he won the Rumble once in 2007. Reigns was the 30th entrant, and the pair locked horns inside the squared circle.

The Big Dog eliminated the Phenom from the Royal Rumble match, and some boos reverberated around the arena. This led to Reigns and Undertaker going on to face each other at WrestleMania 33. Undertaker was far past his prime, and it was an underwhelming match between the pair with Reigns scoring one of the biggest wins of his career, by handing Undertaker just his second loss at the Show of Shows.

1 Chris Jericho's Obsession With Shawn Michaels Takes Over (2003)

Jericho Sent Shawn Michaels Packing Early

Shawn Michaels was the number one entrant in the 2003 Royal Rumble match, and Chris Jericho entered second after he won an over-the-top-rope challenge on Raw. Michaels was competing in the first Rumble since he won the 1996 Royal Rumble match.

HBK was the first one in and the first one out as Christian was disguised as Jericho which allowed Y2J to sneak up behind Michaels. Jericho brutalized Michaels, and he removed him from the Royal Rumble match. The two former World Champions had a dream match at WrestleMania 19 with Michaels beating Jericho in an outstanding technical wrestling match.