The Iron Man in the Rumble is the superstar who spends the most time in the match. Legends such as Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect and Stone Cold have all held this coveted role.
However, there is a handful of Iron Man performances that stand out above the rest.
Honourable Mention: Triple H – 2006: Coming in at number one, the only reason Triple H doesn’t make the main list is because of another entrant from that year’s Rumble. The Cerebral Assassin lasted just over an hour, and was always once of the main points of attention. Whether it be his elimination of Ric Flair or RVD, Triple H was one of the key components of the Rumble match, and made it that little bit more exciting.
5. Kane – 2001
Kane was an absolute (Big Red) Machine in the 2001 Rumble. He eliminated eleven men, a record he held until 2014, when it was broken by Vince’s new project, Roman Regins. Coming in early, Kane was immediately built as a monster, taking shot after shot of trash can lid to the head, before eliminating five superstars in quick succession. Lasting fifty-three minutes, Kane was the backbone of the Rumble, making it easy to assume he’d win.
However the fact he did not win the Rumble is a reason for his low entry on this list.
At the time, it seemed like a good idea; Austin was so over with the crowd. However reflecting on the result, it’s fairly disappointing that Kane missed out on a big push. Furthermore, despite being built as a monster at first, as the match went on, he began to take a back seat to the likes of The Rock and Big Show.
Kane was a very impressive Iron Man, however he ultimately played second fiddle to Rock and Austin. Had he won, his Rumble performance would go down as the greatest of all time, as opposed to one of the greatest.
4. Shawn Michaels – 1995
Pre-injury Shawn Michaels was cocky, a show-off and a heat magnet. This was perfectly displayed in his 1995 Iron Man performance. The match itself was underwhelming, being too fast-paced with entrants coming in every sixty seconds. Luckily, Michaels and the British Bulldog managed to carry the match.
Michaels always sold his heart out, putting on a performance that was un-rivaled during the match. Furthermore, Micheals absolutely owned the huge swerve at the end, dangled by the second rope, touching only a single foot on the floor. Being a constant presence in the match, helped by Jerry Lawler’s commentary, Michaels eliminated the most superstars in that years
Despite being the first man to win a Rumble coming in at number one, Michaels’ win will be tainted for two reasons. Firstly, the fact the match was so short, approximately thirty-eight minutes, makes Michaels’ achievement seem lesser, as other Iron Man performances are generally around fifty minutes to an hour. Furthermore the British Bulldog going the length of the Rumble with Michaels shifted some of the attention away from Michaels. This is especially the case, considering how big the crowd popped when Bulldog believed he had won.
3. Chris Benoit – 2004
Living up to his name of the ‘Rabid Wolverine’ Benoit performed at high intensity throughout the 2004 Royal Rumble, German-suplexing superstars left, right and centre. Although he wasn’t the main focus of the Rumble, as several other feuds were developed throughout the match, from a technical standpoint he was the epicentre (even though I still refute his victory as Spike Dudley never was eliminated).
In most Iron Man performances, the superstar takes breaks – not Benoit, who was never off camera for very long. Not only that, he wasn’t afraid to take a beating, being hit with finisher after finisher. This made his victory all the more spectacular as even after all that punishment, he still managed eliminate the Big Show single-handed.
Throughout the match, Benoit showed off his wrestling prowess, taking on all competitors.
On the one hand this made Benoit look great and a true championship competitor, however it did make the result of the Rumble seem obvious, despite him entering at number one.
Unfortunately, due to the events surrounding Benoit’s death, WWE try to avoid talking about the result of the 2004 Rumble. Yet this can never take away the fact that Chris Benoit put on one of the best Iron Man performances in Royal Rumble history and was more than deserving of the push he received from it.
2. Ric Flair – 1992
The stylin’, profilin’, limousine riding, jet flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin’ n’ dealin’ son of a gun Ric Flair was the first man to win the WWF Championship in the Royal Rumble, and boy did he deserve it.
Coming in at #3, Flair was the first man to go an hour (some sources dispute this) in a Royal Rumble. Not only that, but Flair won one of the most star studded Rumbles ever, featuring the likes of Hogan, Piper and Roberts.
Much like Benoit, Flair was always in the fray, very rarely taking time out of the match to rest.
He also performed as if he was genuinely enjoying himself in the ring – evident by the greatest Flair flop of all time, after taking a spinning punch from the Texas Tornado.
To make his Iron Man performance even more impressive, he eliminated five men, the second most in the Rumble. To top it of, after a grueling hour in the ring, Flair went backstage and cut one of the most iconic promos of all time, cementing his place as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.
1. Rey Mysterio – 2006
Rey Mysterio’s victory was one of the most surprising in Rumble history. Not only because he was the number two entrant, but also because his style of wrestling simply does not suit the Rumble match. From start to finish, Mysterio took a beating, and was teetering over the top rope and clinging to safety on several occasions.
His selling perfectly fit the Iron Man role. He made some sloppy mistakes and was almost sent over the top rope by punches from Carlito. Throughout the match he always had a presence, trying to eliminate men much bigger than himself. Furthermore being a smaller man in the competition, his resilience made the crowd get right behind him.
Going a punishing hour and two minutes, when Mysterio finally eliminated Randy Orton for the win, it epitomised what it means to be an Iron Man. A superstar who has gone through it all in the Royal Rumble, but through sheer determination comes out a winner, with the respect and support of the crowd and the locker room.
That is why Rey Mysterio is the ultimate Royal Rumble Iron Man.
That was my top five ‘Iron Man’ Performances in Royal Rumble history, but what are yours? Do you agree that Ray Mysterio’s 2006 performance should be number one? Let me know below or tweet us @SLTDWrestling
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