10 Wrestlers You Forgot Were A Royal Rumble Runner-Up

It can be very discouraging and disheartening to place 2nd in an event or competition. WWE's Royal Rumble match has a Hall of Fame plethora of winners as many of those names went on to have legendary careers; the runner-up in those matches is not celebrated but some have had just as big of careers as the winner.

Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and John Cena are some names who have not only won the Royal Rumble match but have also been runner-up. Many others who were on the cusp of what would have been one of their biggest career wins are forgotten.

10 Dean Ambrose

The 2016 Royal Rumble match is still fondly remembered by fans for it having the prize of the WWE Championship instead of a title shot. An homage to the 1992 Rumble, the match's background was heaving entrenched in the rivalry between WWE Champion Roman Reigns and The Authority.

The match's 30th entrant was surprisingly Triple H who would shockingly send Reigns over the top rope as the 28th elimination, leaving Hunter left alone with Dean Ambrose with the latter being eliminated last.

9 Ryback

On a handful of occasions, the runner-up of the Rumble received more support (cheers) than the match's winner. The Royal Rumble event sees the rowdiest, most critical, "hardcore" fans in attendance that will vocalize themselves in a way that can change the direction of booking and can also tell WWE what they may be missing out on.

The 2013 Rumble finalists came down to John Cena and the man who undoubtedly was the biggest rising star at the time, Ryback. Despite what fans may currently think of "The Big Guy", Ryback received strong cheers when left with Cena but John would ultimately get his second Rumble win.

8 Santino Marella

The promotion going into the 2011 Royal Rumble match was that it would be the biggest one of all time with 40 participants; that record would later be broken. Albeit historic at the time, the match was criticized for dragging on and featuring 'desperate' fill-ins like Michael Cole.

The outcome did become predictable when the finals came down to Alberto Del Rio and Santino Marella as Santino was more of a comedic act but for a moment, all belief was suspended. The underdog, Marella, connected with his Cobra finisher that sent the crowd into a frenzy but Santino would be countered when attempting to send Del Rio over the top rope.

7 Chris Jericho

The debate for which Rumble match had the worst booking decision is another discussion but in that discussion would be the 2012 contest; the two finalists being Sheamus and Chris Jericho. Sheamus wound up winning the match which upset fans. Jericho had recently returned to WWE after a series of promos over several weeks.

His new persona was being formed which was receiving heated reactions from fans. Jericho ended up challenging for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 28 and that title match received much more positively than the World Heavyweight Championship match which made fans question even more why Jericho did not win, especially when he was receiving greater responses than Sheamus.

6 The Undertaker

One of the notches on the Hall of Fame belt of The Undertaker came in 2007 when he won the Royal Rumble match by last eliminating Shawn Michaels, parlaying that win into a World Heavyweight Championship match and victory at WrestleMania 23. 'Taker is undoubtedly a menace in any match but that does not guarantee him to be the victor.

After being attacked in late 2002 in a manner that sent him into an absence, Undertaker returned to WWE as the 30th entrant in the 2003 Royal Rumble match. 'Taker made it to the finals of the match but his return and performance were overshadowed by rookie sensation Brock Lesnar who eliminated "The Deadman" to win the match.

5 Kurt Angle

Professional and personal goals for wrestlers can range although there are similarities. Many want to become world champions, main event WrestleMania, and/or make the Hall of Fame. Goals are circumstantial and can change based on achievements and progression. Kurt Angle is a man who seemingly had it all, achieving all three of the aforementioned goals.

Despite having done all that on top of winning an Olympic gold medal, Angle to this day wishes that he could have won the Royal Rumble match. He came incredibly close in 2002, being the last one eliminated by the recently returned Triple H.

4 Diesel

The usage of a finishing move to eliminate a participant is a well-received sight. A Stone Cold Stunner by Steve Austin sent Booker T over the top rope. A Chokeslam by Kane ended the night of Sabu. There have been several occasions where the finishing move was used to win the Royal Rumble match.

The first time a finisher was used to win the Rumble was in 1996 by Shawn Michaels which kicked off his "boyhood dream" journey. The unlucky recipient of Sweet Chin Music was Shawn's former tag partner, co-tag team champion, and former WWE Champion, Diesel.

3 Rusev

The 2015 Royal Rumble match is not looked back on with much fondness. The fans wanted Daniel Bryan to win, the fans were given Daniel Bryan, Daniel Bryan did not win. This created a major backlash from the crowd that guaranteed a poor reaction to any outcome, as was seen when Roman Reigns won. The fan resentment was confirmed when even The Rock was booed for his surprise run-in to help Roman.

Reigns was a finalist in 2014 where he was the overwhelming fan favorite but was eliminated by Batista. Reigns made the finals the year prior with Batista's fan reaction and in his prior year's spot, Rusev.

2 Nikki Bella

The women's Royal Rumble match has built a great foundation since its inception in 2018. Although the Royal Rumble match has been around since the 1980s, there was doubt if the women's roster would be able to perform an entertaining contest but that doubt has been scrubbed.

The inaugural women's Royal Rumble was opened by Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch where Sasha lasted nearly an hour. The final three came down to the Bella twins and Asuka. Memorably, Asuka won the match but it may take a few moments for fans to remember if it was Brie or Nikki that was eliminated last.

It was Nikki.

1 One Man Gang

The 2018 Royal Rumble did not have as much risk behind it as the inaugural Royal Rumble match in 1988. The match was in its pilot project stage, being presented as a television special. This was only a 20-man match with the first-ever entrant being Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

Every year we get reminded that the winner of the inaugural Royal Rumble match was "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan but a nod of acknowledgment should go to the inaugural runner-up, One Man Gang.