10 Times A Royal Rumble Winner Almost Lost Their Title Shot

The Royal Rumble is one of the most important annual matches for WWE, with each year creating new memories. WWE found the perfect prize to put on the line with the winners getting to challenge for a world title at WrestleMania. The ability to likely main event the biggest show of the year and maybe even win a title is the pinnacle for WWE stars.

However, there have been a few occasions of wrestlers losing or almost losing their title shots during the build. Most scenarios see wrestlers putting their title shot on the line against rivals before WM, since it adds importance to any placeholder PPVs while ramping up the stakes. Find out which names came close to missing out on their WrestleMania title shot after winning the Rumble match.

10 Shawn Michaels (1996)

While Shawn Michaels won his second Royal Rumble match in 1996, it was the first win coming from the face side. Owen Hart resurrected an old rivalry with Michaels by egging him on to put the title shot on the line at an In Your House event.

The finish kept the audience guessing since both had ideal stories with WWE Champion Bret Hart for a potential WrestleMania title shot. Michaels won a great match to keep the title shot and defeated Bret for the title at WM.

9 Steve Austin (1997)

The 1997 Royal Rumble match featured a shocking ending of referees missing Steve Austin getting eliminated. Austin made his way back into the ring to eliminate Bret Hart and steal the win in heel fashion.

Plans already called for Austin to put the title shot on the line at the next PPV, but WWE Champion Shawn Michaels vacated the title after his “lost my smile” retirement speech. Austin ended up facing Bret in the legendary WrestleMania 13 match.

8 Becky Lynch (2020)

It goes without saying that Becky Lynch winning the 2020 Royal Rumble was a great moment, with a huge crowd response when she came out with the 30^th and final entrant spot. The WrestleMania 35 fan dream match was to see Lynch dethrone Ronda Rousey.

Charlotte Flair found her way into the program when Vince McMahon tried to replace Becky with her. The build ended up seeing it becoming a triple threat match with Lynch still winning the first women’s main event in WM history.

7 Vince McMahon (1999)

Fans were shocked when Vince McMahon won the 1999 Royal Rumble by eliminating Steve Austin thanks to The Rock’s distraction. At the time, McMahon was playing the hated heel authority figure who stacked the odds against Austin, so this was all going according to the script.

WWE ran this angle to have Vince put the title shot on the line against Austin at In Your House: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. The two had a violent and compelling cage match, which ended with Austin winning to face Rock at WrestleMania 15.

6 Chris Benoit (2004)

Chris Benoit was given the biggest push of his career in 2004 when winning the Royal Rumble match. WrestleMania 20 had the top RAW match of Benoit vs Triple H for the World Championship until the contract signing.

Shawn Michaels hit Benoit with a superkick and signed his name on the contract when looking to finish his blood feud with Triple H. As a compromise, RAW co-General Manager Steve Austin made it a triple threat with all three men main eventing the historic show.

5 The Rock (2000)

The Rock became the face of WWE in 2000 when stepping up in Steve Austin’s absence. Royal Rumble 2000 was an action-packed show in front of a red-hot Madison Square Garden crowd with Rock winning the battle royal.

However, the photo finish saw his feet touching the floor the same time as Big Show. Rock put his title shot on the line at No Way Out and lost it to Big Show thanks to Shane McMahon’s interference. The WrestleMania 16 main event turned into a fatal four-way match of Rock vs Big Show vs Triple H vs Mick Foley.

4 Roman Reigns (2015)

WWE did not expect such a negative reaction to Roman Reigns winning the Royal Rumble. Fans completely turned on Reigns after WWE put Daniel Bryan aside and had Reigns dominate the match as the next contender.

The aftermath saw WWE surprisingly feeding into the reaction by having Roman put his title shot on the line against Bryan. Both wrestlers had a great match with Reigns winning and heading to WrestleMania 31 for a shot at Brock Lesnar.

3 John Cena (2008)

It's widely agreed upon that John Cena pulled off the biggest surprise appearance in Royal Rumble history. All reports claimed an injured Cena would miss another five months before he returned significantly earlier than expected to win the Rumble.

The injury caused by Randy Orton saw Cena cashing in his title shot before WrestleMania 24 and losing it due to a DQ finish. Triple H entered the title picture to deliver a triple threat with Raw’s three top stars.

2 Rey Mysterio (2006)

The emotion involved in Rey Mysterio’s 2006 Royal Rumble win saw him dedicating the match to the deceased WWE superstar and his longtime friend Eddie Guerrero. Mysterio lasted the entire match as the second entrant to pull off the miraculous win.

Randy Orton’s heel character crossed the line when making disparaging comments about Eddie to upset Rey into putting his title shot up for grabs. The win for Orton gave him the title shot until it was changed to a triple threat. Mysterio won the World Championship defeating Orton and Kurt Angle.

1 Triple H (2002)

Triple H’s return from an injury in 2002 made him the most beloved face heading into the Royal Rumble match. The battle royal saw Triple H outlasting Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect and many others in a star-studded field.

A feud with Angle and the McMahon family saw Triple H forced to put his title shot on the line. Stephanie McMahon was named the special referee helping Angle defeat her ex-husband. Triple H won his title shot back one night later on RAW and defeated Chris Jericho to become Undisputed Champion at WrestleMania 18.

NEXT: 10 Failed Royal Rumble Winners That Should Have Worked