Alternate Royal Rumble Winners History

Context: So I challenge a friend to rebook the entire history of Royal Rumble Winners, but the constraint is that he must not have any multi-time winners, so Cena can only win 2008 or 2013, and he is free to make any changes he wants, so he can choose any winners, the only constraint is that no repeats.

My friend challenged me to something worse, his challenge was to do my own booking of the "no multi-time winners" challenge, except that I can't repeat any picks from his own list. so if he chose CM Punk for 2025, I can't choose CM Punk for 2025, and even if he chose to keep Edge in 2010, I am gonna have to choose a different winner for 2010 too.

So here's the list I came up with, let me know your thoughts! Please note that this is not necessarily better than real life, I am just doing my best with the heavy constraints I have to work with, but I think it ended up being fun, so I decided to share it with you!

Also as an extra challenge for me, I tried to avoid real life winners even if it is not an actual constraint, and I only got 2 winners like real life, so it is a win I'd say. I also tried to give it to as many big names as possible, these big names that never won a Royal Rumble despite their illustrious careers.

Men's Royal Rumble Winners (1988-2025)

  1. 1988: Jake Roberts - The first few Rumble matches are inconsequential, but I decided to use them to give some legendary names some extra accolades, and I think Jake Roberts is the best option from this particular Rumble other than names who have better years to a Royal Rumble in later
  2. 1989: Andre The Giant - He definitely deserves it, Andre is a legend of the business, he helped shape WWF early on in its lifetime, and this is the tail end of his careers, so he can add this accomplishment to his record to thank him for his efforts, also he is a big name that adds to the Royal Rumble's prestige early on.
  3. 1990: The Ultimate Warrior - This was tough, my friend picked Mr. Perfect, so Hogan and Warrior were my options, and given this is the only time Hogan can win it in this timeline, it was tricky, but I ultimately went with Warrior (no pun intended), this was his year, the Rumble's biggest worth is to catapult promising talents to the top, and I think Warrior is a great example of a talent who can use the Rumble to solidify himself as a Main Eventer, he can take the momentum into Wrestlemania to win the title.
  4. 1991: Randy Savage - Can't go with Hogan here, and there's only one other big name in this match, even though he didn't actually participate. In this timeline, Warrior retains and faces Savage at Wrestlemania. I know the prize was not a thing back then, but Hogan did win the Rumble and challenge the champion, so at this point it is an unspoken rule.
  5. 1992: Roddy Piper - Ric Flair is totally the best pick, but since I can't go with him, by process of elimination, Hogan would be a boring pick since he just vacated the title, so what is the point of a Rumble match for the title? Sid is the most logical pick, but not the most fun one. I think a satisfying winner would be Piper, finally winning the big one after 8 years of trying and failing, he has definitely earned a win of this caliber. He can take the title to Wrestlemania and drop it there, tying his WWF career with a bow.
  6. 1993: Ric Flair - My friend went with Randy Savage and this is definitely the best pick. There aren't many good options for this year, I decided to go with Ric Flair since he didn't win the year prior, so this could be where we get Bret Hart vs Ric Flair, I think it is a Wrestlemania caliber match.
  7. 1994: Diesel - There aren't many options left, other than the real life winners and my friend's pick Owen Hart, Diesel is the only big name left from this era that makes sense, and he does end up getting his World Title push later this year. He is one of these big names who never won a Royal Rumble despite defining the era he was in, He can win the title from Yokozuna at Wrestlemania, Bret Hart got his big win at Wrestlemania 9 without Hogan ruining it, so he can survive without a main event spot here in this timeline, I hope.
  8. 1995: Shawn Michaels - The first of two real life winners I am keeping. My friend picked HBK to win 1996, so I can pick HBK here. It's tempting to give HBK his Rumble win in his 2000s run, but there are too many good picks for the 2000s Rumbles whereas there are too few good picks for New Generation Era, so I will have to pick the boring choice and keep HBK as the winner with no change. He could either challenge Diesel like real life, or he even gets his match with Bret a year earlier here, since Diesel's reign started earlier so it can end earlier in time for Bret to win it back and go into Wrestlemania as the champion.
  9. 1996: Bret Hart - He gotta win a Royal Rumble match, and I can't think of any other good option for 1996, so that works. Bret Hart would go on to challenge Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania in their legendary match, but with champion and challenger role swapped. It would feel less special since there's no "boyhood dream" aspect, but compromises must be made for this challenge. We can have HBK vs Bret at WM11 like I said earlier, and that one is a rematch, so HBK still gets his big crowning moment at Wrestlemania, just a year earlier.
  10. 1997: The Undertaker - This one makes the most sense, Undertaker did end up challenging for the world title in the main event of Wrestlemania, but a lot of shenanigans happened that rendered the Rumble useless. In this timeline, he just wins the Royal Rumble here, 10 years earlier than he does in real life.
  11. 1998: Triple H - I know, I know. This is one of the most frustrating moments in this challenge. There's no other right winner for this year other than Stone Cold, that was his rise. But we must pick someone else, and worry about Austin's crowning moment later, sadly. By process of elimination, seeing that the champion is Shawn Michaels and that is his last match until he returns in 4 years, Triple H makes the most sense. There are no other big stars on the roster, they all left at this point and the Attitude Era top stars are still not at their peak, so as weird as Triple H's pushing coming in early 1998 is, there aren't many options to work with. we get a DX Civil War at Wrestlemania. Shawn Michaels vs Triple H is a Wrestlemania Main Event caliber match, even if it is at a bad timing.
  12. 1999: Stone Cold - I hope this will make up for his win getting robbed a year prior. Austin makes the most sense for 1999, this is a situation where this makes sense even more than the real life winner, he did get a title shot at Mania, but some shenanigans happened before that. Here he gets his sole Rumble victory, and we get the same Wrestlemania match. My friend picked Mankind given his popularity, and that would've been my pick if Austin was needed elsewhere (like 1998, sigh)
  13. 2000: Big Show - If it ain't The Rock, it gotta be Big Show, he is one of the biggest names to never win a Royal Rumble, despite how many ones he has been in, he won almost everything he could in WWE, only a Royal Rumble victory remains, and that was his year, he was very close to winning it. both him and Rocky end up being in the main event anyways, so it doesn't matter who wins. I also considered Mick Foley, but I think Big Show is a bigger name in the grand scheme of WWE history so gotta give it to him, even if I like Foley more.
  14. 2001: Kurt Angle - Another tricky one, It definitely should go to either Austin or Rocky to get that iconic main event, but my friend picked The Rock, and Stone Cold won in real life. Look at other options, there only two strong contenders left (removing Undertaker and Triple H due to no-repeat constraint as well), it could be Kane's year, he gotta win a Royal Rumble at some point, but I think it would just ruin Wrestlemania too much, I can't imagine Kane main eventing Wrestlemania in 2001. Instead, I went with Kurt Angle, he was red hot at the time, coming off the best starting year in anyone's WWE career, Angle could lose his title earlier, and win the Royal Rumble to add more to his list of accolades within the first year and half. I would have him challenge Triple H at Wrestlemania to finish their heated feud, meanwhile Stone Cold vs The Rock happens in a non-title match.
  15. 2002: The Rock - Like the previous year, I would swap the title match with a non-title match, Triple H vs Chris Jericho goes down the card as a non-title match, instead, we get a title match main event between Champion Hollywood Hulk Hogan and Challenger The Rock. Seeing that The Rock can't win 2000 or 2001 due to constraints, 2002 is still a good year for him to win, and get a big moment in the main event of Wrestlemania to put a book end on the Attitude Era.
  16. 2003: Chris Jericho - We can't go Brock Lesnar like real life nor Kurt Angle since he won in 2001, so we gotta think about World Heavyweight Championship, which makes sense. Royal Rumble winner going after the big gold could give it an early prestige boost. Booker T is a good option and so is Rob Van Dam or even Kane, but I think the best title match from Raw's side for Wrestlemania 19 has to be Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho, so HBK doesn't lose the title in December and keeps it until Wrestlemania 19 where he drops it to Chris Jericho. Hopefully this will make up for Jericho not main eventing Wrestlemania the year before.
  17. 2004: Eddie Guerrero - If we try not to go with Chris Benoit, the best options are with Eddie Guerrero or Goldberg, and Goldberg might be the overall more known name, but I think there is just a better story for Eddie Guerrero. Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship would be weird given both leave after Wrestlemania, and also Goldberg already won a world title a few months back. Instead, Eddie Guerrero could win here, and there are a lot of paths to take. he could challenge at No Way Out and win like real life, or he could challenge at Wrestlemania against either his real life Wrestlemania opponent Kurt Angle or Brock Lesnar a month later. He could even swap places with Benoit, with Benoit winning the WWE title and facing Angle, while Eddie beating HHH and HBK for the big gold. Whichever route you prefer, Eddie winning the Royal Rumble would be very satisfying to see!
  18. 2005: John Cena - We are getting in the territory of Ruthless Aggression top stars who should definitely win a Royal Rumble, but we will have to change the order around to get around the constraints. My friend picked the real life winners from 2005 to 2010, so no way around it. Starting with 2005, this is a very easy choice, Batista and John Cena were final two in the Rumble and ended up challenging for and winning world titles at Wrestlemania. If Batista ain't winning, it gotta be John Cena. Cena could keep his choice ambiguous, prompting Triple H to pull some strings to insert Batista into a multi-man match to earn a world title shot at Wrestlemania, Triple H thinks John Cena would choose him since he kept teasing it, but he ended up choosing JBL after Batista earned his shot. Batista initially inserts himself in JBL vs Cena to make it a triple threat, until he changes his mind and choose Triple H like real life.
  19. 2006 - Randy Orton - The final 3 in this match were Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton and Triple H, and they are the clear best picks here, and seeing Triple H can't win since he won in 1998, that leaves Randy Orton as the only option. This would change nothing about Wrestlemania though, Rey Mysterio would challenge Randy Orton to put his shot on the line, but Orton would be forced into it by management rather than Mysterio choosing this in real life. Rey Mysterio wins, then wins the title at Wrestlemania 22.
  20. 2007: Batista - This was quite tricky, but both Taker and HBK already won Royal Rumble matches before, and by process of elimination, this is quite possibly the best year for Batista to win it. In this timeline, Batsita doesn't beat King Booker for the title in late 2006, instead, Undertaker wins it. Batista has to wait a bit longer to regain the title he never lost, I think he is a solid pick in 2007.
  21. 2008: Jeff Hardy - The window is getting narrower, less and less good options every year. Fortunately, we know one man who was quite popular in 2008, and although his moment was more rewarding in late 2008, I don't think anyone would mind if he won the Royal Rumble that year. Both champions are good options for him, so either Jeff Hardy vs Randy Orton for the WWE Championship or Jeff Hardy vs Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship works, it depends on whether you wanna keep Undertaker vs Edge or Randy Orton vs Triple H vs John Cena. He could either win here or lose only to win the big one at Armageddon like real life.
  22. 2009: Edge - This might be the only year he could win in his prime, and there aren't many good options left for 2009 either. Edge could lose against Jeff Hardy earlier in the night or even not get a title shot at all, he can challenge John Cena for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania, meanwhile Triple H wins the WWE Championship from Jeff Hardy in the Elimination Chamber match with Matt Hardy screwing over Jeff.
  23. 2010: Rey Mysterio - This one was quite tricky as well. All the big names are off the table: Edge, John Cena, Batista, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Randy Orton, The Undertaker. There were only three strong candidates left, the first is Sheamus, rather than winning the title 2 months into his career, he could win the Rumble 3 months in and challenge John Cena or Triple H for the title at Wrestlemania. CM Punk is another option, seeing how great his heel work at the time is and straight off a strong year for him, he could challenge Cena for the WWE title or Mysterio for the big gold. I ended up going with Rey Mysterio, I think it would be a great feel good moment for him, he is a big name that deserves a Royal Rumble victory under his belt, and this is his last chance to do so, and it is the second best year in his career after 2006. we could get Punk vs Mysterio for the title and Jericho vs Edge in a non-title match, and Rey Mysterio can win the gold 3 months earlier.
  24. 2011: Christian - This might be bending the rules a bit, but I think he was cleared by this point, they just didn't want to bring him back at Royal Rumble. I think he could come back here as a surprise entrant and win the whole thing, similar to what Edge did in 2010 in real life. There aren't many good options for 2011, I think Christian is a solid pick here.
  25. 2012: Kane - As I said earlier, Kane absolute should have won the Royal Rumble at some point given how synonymous he is with the match. It might has been tricky in 2001 since there was only one world title and the roster was much more stacked, but here in 2012 he is legitimately one of the strongest names on the roster, especially hot off a strong return with the mask. Kane can win the title at Wrestlemania, maybe from Randy Orton who could win the title back at Elimination Chamber, then he can drop it to Sheamus later. I think modern masked Kane deserved one world title run at least. Also him being in the match means we don't get Rise Above Hate, which is a plus.
  26. 2013: Brock Lesnar - A very strange pick for 2013, but I think Brock Lesnar was at his best in his second run during 2012-13, he was less repetitive and boring. I think Lesnar entering as a surprise pick and winning the match he never won 10 years earlier could be pretty cool to see. I would have him challenge Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship (cuz ADR vs Brock sounds so unappealing) and win it, giving the big gold a much needed prestige boost to bring it up back to its main event status.
  27. 2014: Bray Wyatt - Yeah, I know, Daniel Bryan is most definitely the best pick for 2014. But you guessed it, my friend picked Bryan for 2014. So my hands are forced here more than any other year, which forced me to turn my thinking around and come up with something creative. I would have Bray Wyatt win here last eliminating Daniel Bryan, and instead of challenging for the world title at Wrestlemania, he decides to challenge Undertaker, saying breaking the streak is a bigger glory than some prop. Bryan cuts an emotional promo about how the title means more than just a prop, it is a representation of something bigger, and they go at a clash of ideologies at Elimination Chamber with the condition that if Bryan wins, he earns at title shot at Wrestlemania. Bray Wyatt wins, which leads to the YES! movement and all. Bray Wyatt is one of these big names that deserve a Royal Rumble, so I am not too mad about this one. He was at his strongest back then with the allure of his freshness, before he lost his appeal from losing over and over, so why not.
  28. 2015: Dolph Ziggler - Another hot take, but he was fresh off one of his biggest career moments at Survivor Series 2014, and it is sad WWE never capitalized on it. It doesn't matter who wins this Rumble anyway since he can't win the title thanks to Heist of the Century, but I think Ziggler is one of the best picks here, he has the potential to main event Wrestlemania, and he has the potential to get a great match out of Brock Lesnar. Seth Rollins still ends up cashing in though, ruining his moment.
  29. 2016: Dean Ambrose - Sometimes you just gotta go with the obvious pick, and 2016 is one of those times. Roman Reigns retaining the title after they made such a big deal of one vs all is so boring and the worst thing they can do to Roman. Everyone was rooting for Dean Ambrose both in the Survivor Series tournament final, and the final two of the Rumble match, I think it would be exciting to see him win the title here, and it would definitely save Wrestlemania. Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns is definitely a solid main event match, regardless of who is the heel, they can turn it into gold for sure.
  30. 2017: Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns - I know, this is a headscratching pick. I am using the double winner here instead of 1994. This is mostly fueled by my desire to give these two living legends Royal Rumble victories, but there aren't many other years where they can be strong options. I would have them both win the Rumble here, and challenge for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania, and Dean Ambrose wins the title off John Cena in the Elimination Chamber match. there are two options for how the Wrestlemania card would look like. Either we get Shield Triple Threat in the main event, with the 3 of them getting matches earlier, Seth Rollins vs Triple H, Roman Reigns vs Undertaker, Dean Ambrose vs John Cena for WWE Championship. The other option is Seth Rollins vs Triple H and Dean Ambrose vs Roman Reigns for WWE Championship, then the main event being Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins for WWE Championship. I'd take the first option, but all options are on the table.
  31. 2018: AJ Styles - I would do what I think they should have done in real life, which is Shinsuke Nakamura beating Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship at Summerslam, which means AJ Styles wins the Royal Rumble to challenge him at Wrestlemania, swapping roles. The other best option would be Finn Balor, but luckily he can be saved for later.
  32. 2019: Finn Balor - Kofi Kingston is the best option other than Seth Rollins probably, but I will talk about him in a moment. Finn Balor is another popular name that could definitely win a Royal Rumble at some point, and he was pretty hot in the late 2010s, he lost the luster from 2016 definitely, but he still got fans backing him up. He can win and challenge Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania rather than at Royal Rumble, and hopefully he wins, getting his probably world title run after 3 years from getting robbed by an injury.
  33. 2020: Kofi Kingston - Sadly, looking at the Wrestlemania card, there aren't many good options for this particular card. Drew gotta win the title off Brock this year, let's not ruin that. so that leaves Universal Championship, and there aren't many good options to challenge The Fiend (or Goldberg), Roman Reigns makes sense here, but people are so fed up with him at this point. I think there is a story to be told with Kofi Kingston redeeming himself after the embarrassing loss to Brock Lesnar instead, and he wins the match he is so synonymous with, hot off the strongest year in his career. Another option is Braun Strowman, but no one cared when he won the title at Wrestlemania sadly, so he might not be the best option either. It's a loss-loss situation no matter who we pick, so let's at least give it to Kofi to reward him for his efforts all these years.
  34. 2021: Daniel Bryan - There is a reason I didn't have him win in 2015, he is a strong pick for this year. Bobby Lashley is another good pick, but my friend picked him, so I can't pick him. Daniel Bryan probably should have won in real life, and they were already trying to build up Roman Reigns vs Daniel Bryan. We could still get the triple threat though, it was a fun match.
  35. 2022: Drew McIntyre - Thankfully there is a blessing in disguise to Drew not winning 2020, cuz he is quite possibly the only good option for 2022. He is easily one of the the biggest star on the roster, and he could challenge Roman Reigns a few months earlier, he did start feuding with the Bloodline immediately after Wrestlemania, so he can feud with them here instead.
  36. 2023: Cody Rhodes - The second and last winner I am copying from real life, but Cody Rhodes gotta win a Royal Rumble at some point, and as great as his first run in WWE was, he was far from being a good contender for Royal Rumble victory. he participated in only two Rumbles after his return, and he won both of them, so gotta pick him here since my friend picked him for 2024. Nothing else to say here, Wrestlemania goes like real life.
  37. 2024: CM Punk - The one I thought would win in real life, and it didn't seem to matter whether he or Cody won since they were both challenging for the world titles at Wrestlemania here, unfortunately he got injured mid match. I can see a scenario where WWE gave the win to Punk not knowing he would end up getting injured, so they have to change their plans, maybe they do a "Final Four" situation like 1997, where Cody beast Gunther, Drew and Sami in a fatal 4 way (final 5 along with Punk in the Rumble) to determine who takes Punk's spot. Then we can take the same route as real life. A tragic aftermath for Punk's long-awaited Rumble victory, but injuries are never fun.
  38. 2025: Sami Zayn - This is quite tricky, I can't go with Cena, Punk, Rollins, Reigns, Drew or Jey, even Styles and Orton are off the table due to the repetition constraint there aren't many strong options left here. I think Sami Zayn could win here and challenge Gunther at Wrestlemania, he is certainly popular enough amongst the fanbase, and he is not any crazier of a pick than Jey Uso. Only other reasonable picks are Logan Paul and Goldberg and they challenge Gunther..... and yeah no, no one wants to see that. It could also go to Solo Sikoa, Damian Priest or Kevin Owens, but they are overexposed to the title picture at this point,

Women's Royal Rumble Winners (2018-2025)

  1. 2018: Bayley - This is the most tricky one, the Women's division wasn't deep enough by this point, Asuka was the only option that made sense and was satisfying for the fans, Ronda Rousey or Nikki Bella would receive unnecessary backlash that would give a bad start to Women's Royal Rumbles. Looking at the later years, by process of elimination, This is the only year where it would make sense for Bayley to win it, and Bayley one of those names who most definitely should win a Royal Rumble at some point. I think the story works well here though, Bayley's moment was robbed by losing the title to Alexa Bliss two months into her reign, she wants to get back at top and win the big one again. This victory could lead to either a triple threat between Alexa, Bayley or Sasha, or my favorite idea, Face Bayley vs Heel Sasha Banks. They teased them turning on each other for too long and never delivered on it for some reason, they just stayed friends forever until they turned heel together in 2019, so I think they should do it here.
  2. 2019: Charlotte Flair - The woman I thought would win in real life, I think this is fine, it doesn't ruin anything about Wrestlemania. Becky Lynch winning is much more satisfying, but if we had to change it, giving it to Charlotte Flair would still give us the triple threat, Becky can earn her way into the match. I think Charlotte is a big name that can give the Women's Royal Rumble much-needed early prestige boost.
  3. 2020: Sasha Banks - My friend picked Shayna Baszler, who I think should challenge Becky definitely. So that leaves the Smackdown Women's Championship, and there's one name that makes the most sense to challenge for it. Let's get Bayley vs Sasha Banks at Wrestlemania again, this time the roles reversed, it is an iconic enough feud to warrant multiple Wrestlemania matches. Sasha Banks is one of those names who should have won a Royal Rumble (she should have in 2022 for sure), so she makes sense.
  4. 2021: Rhea Ripley - Easy choice, if it ain't Bianca Belair who challenged for the Smackdown Women's Championship, then it should be Rhea RIpley who challenged for the Raw Women's Championship. Both women followed a similar path and made their rise at the same time, so either of them can win here.
  5. 2022: Bianca Belair - Another easy choice, Bianca Belair is overall the best pick to win this year's Royal Rumble, the only reason she didn't is because she won the year prior, so it would be boring to have a repeat winner with the same story, she can win it here though since she doesn't win in 2021.
  6. 2023: Asuka - 2023 may not be Asuka at her peak, but I think Asuka has earned the honor of adding a Royal Rumble victory to her accomplishments for sure, and she does end up challenging for the Raw Women's Championship in real life, so she does it via a Royal Rumble victory here.
  7. 2024: Becky Lynch - Like the previous 3 years, I picked the one who challenged for the other title, Becky Lynch challenged Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship, so she does it here via winning the Royal Rumble.... I am only now noticing how many Women's Royal Rumble Winners challenged for the Smackdown title. Back to Becky, she is yet another one of these mandatory Royal Rumble winners, 2019 was the ideal time to give it to her, but since we ruined that, we gotta settle on 2024.
  8. 2025: Alexa Bliss - Iyo Sky would be the best pick here, but..... you guessed it, my friend picked her. so with Iyo Sky off the table as well as all of the big names, we gotta think creatively. I think Alexa Bliss winning off her surprise return could be the most hype option. Alexa is a pretty big name in the women's division and her 2 years absence means she didn't have enough time to feud with Rhea Ripley nor Tiffany Stratton, so she would have a fresh matchup no matter who she challenges. I would personally keep the title on Liv Morgan though and do Liv Morgan vs Alexa Bliss, it's a dream match at this point given how similar they are.

And that brings an end to this post, I hope you enjoyed it. Again, these picks aren't ideal, I would've loved to pick different winners for some of these matches, but there were too many constraints. It was a fun challenge though, hope you enjoyed it as much! Thank you for reading!