5 AEW stars who almost won the WWE Royal Rumble
Winning the WWE Royal Rumble is no small feat, considering each one of the wrestlers has the odds stacked against them. However, the winner is rewarded for his hard-earned victory with a title shot at WrestleMania, leading to all participants fighting tooth and nail for the chance.
Over the years, several stars have come quite close to taking the win at the yearly Royal Rumble, only to fall short at the last moment. Several of these stars are currently signed to AEW. Here are five of them:
#5 Chris Jericho at WWE Royal Rumble 2012
The 52-year-old star is one of the most prominent wrestlers in AEW at the moment. His ability to re-invent himself has made him a top-tier superstar worldwide. Much of his popularity comes from his WWE run, where he bagged a number of championship titles over the years.
Just finished rewatching Royal Rumble 2012 when Sheamus took home the win! Really fun Rumble with a lot of surprises. Great final showdown between Sheamus and Jericho.
Side Note: The Miz and Cody both had 40+ minute outstanding showings. #RoyalRumble https://t.co/x5t5fY3pKM
Despite his star power, Jericho was unable to win the 2012 Royal Rumble match. Although he managed to get fair odds against Sheamus after The Big Show and Randy Orton were eliminated, the Irish superstar proved too resilient for him. Eventually, Sheamus used a running kick to knock Jericho off the ropes and secure the win.
#4 Christian Cage at WWE Royal Rumble 2021
Christian Cage has always been seen as a gem in the pro-wrestling business. While he is currently signed to AEW, much of his career was spent at the Stamford-based Promotion, where he built a reputation for himself from the ground up.
Edge & Christian reuniting at Royal Rumble 2021 was such a cool moment. https://t.co/mawUFosHyM
At the 2021 Royal Rumble, Christian got a chance to earn a ticket to WrestleMania. While it seemed quite possible that he would win the match, Seth Rollins tuned the tables on him to eliminate Christian during the final-four confrontation. The match was later won by Edge, who went on to face Roman Reigns and Bryan Danielson at WrestleMania 37.
#3 The Big Show at WWE Royal Rumble 2015
While the world's largest athlete may not be active in the pro-wrestling scene currently, he has built a notable reputation during his time under Vince McMahon. He is working in a non-wrestling capacity in AEW, although he has had a few matches since joining Tony Khan's company.
At the 2015 Royal Rumble, The Big Show was among the final four stars left in the ring. While he initially tried to team up with Kane to take out Roman Reigns, the alliance backfired. This gave Reigns the chance to eliminate both of them simultaneously. He further took out Rusev to win the match.
#2 Jon Moxley at WWE Royal Rumble 2016
The Purveyor of Violence is still one of the biggest stars in the pro-wrestling business, bagging the AEW World Championship title thrice since he jumped ship. He also had a significant run in his previous promotion.
At the 2016 Royal Rumble, Jon Moxley came extremely close to getting a title shot at WrestleMania. Left as one of the final participants in the ring with Triple H, Moxley tried his best to eliminate The Game. However, Triple H proved to be too much for him to handle as he reversed a move from Moxley to throw him out the squared circle and take the win.
#1 CM Punk at WWE Royal Rumble 2014
While the Second City Saint is currently absent from AEW, he is still signed to the Jacksonville-based promotion. While the 'Brawl Out' incident once again reinforced the public image of Punk as a controversial star, he had quite a stellar run in WWE before his release.
At the 2014 Royal Rumble, CM Punk was one of the final four participants left in the ring. In a burst of energy, he took out both Sheamus and Roman Reigns with the GTS. As he set up for his next attack at the turnbuckle, an enraged Kane dragged him out of the ring, thereby eliminating him from the match.
# Honorable Mention - Bryan Danielson at WWE Greatest Royal Rumble 2018
While the Stamford-based promotion has seemingly not taken into account Bryan Danielson's extraordinary feat at the special Royal Rumble show in Saudi Arabia, he did manage to almost pull off a win against the odds.
Danielson was one of the final three superstars left in the extraordinary 50-men Royal Rumble match, alongside Big Cass and Braun Strowman. However, he was eliminated by Cass with a big boot, causing him to lose despite surviving in the ring for an astonishing 76 minutes.
While the aforementioned AEW stars did not win the Royal Rumble, they nevertheless had quite successful runs in WWE. This has helped them carry over their fanbases as they explore new routes in Tony Khan's company. Furthermore, it remains to be seen what is next for them in the future.
Who would you have liked to see win the Royal Rumble in this list? Sound off in the comments section below!