5 most memorable WWE Championship wins in Royal Rumble history

The WWE Royal Rumble is arguably the most anticipated show of the year, besides Wrestlemania. The match itself is interesting due to its unpredictability with regards to special appearances, returns and the eventual winner of the match. The upcoming Royal Rumble event will emanate from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday, January 28th. This will be the 30th anniversary of the event and will officially kick off the road to Wrestlemania 34.

Apart from the 30-man Royal Rumble match, there are always other matches on the card. The WWE title is usually also defended on the show in high profile matches. However, there have been two instances in which the Championship was contested in the Royal Rumble match itself rather than in one on one contests, that is the 1992 and 2016 Royal Rumble matches.

Winning the WWE Championship in such a huge pay-per-view show is normally a remarkable feat. Winning the title at Royal Rumble is even more special since it is the first stop on the road to Wrestlemania. It, therefore, gives the winner the coveted main event spot as defending Champion in the show of shows.

Here are the 5 most memorable Championship wins in Royal Rumble history.

#5 Shawn Michaels defeats Sycho Sid - 1997 Royal Rumble

Shawn Michaels defeated Sid Vicious at the 1997 Royal Rumble to capture the then WWF Championship

The 1997 Royal Rumble took place at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, the hometown of Shawn Michaels. The main event was a WWF World Heavyweight Championship match between Shawn Michaels and Sycho Sid. Shawn's family was in attendance to support him and the entire crowd that was present voiced their support for the hometown hero.

Shawn Michaels challenged Sid for the WWF Championship at the Royal Rumble, however, their feud dated back to the 1996 Survivor Series where Sid defeated Michaels to win the WWF Championship after hitting him with a television camera and performing a Powerbomb.

Sid got his comeuppance at the 1997 Royal Rumble when Michaels ironically hit Sid with a camera and delivered Sweet Chin Music, to allow the referee to count to three. Shawn celebrated this win with his family and the fans in attendance. He went to the ringside and kissed each member of his family that was present and also proceeded to give Vince, who was a commentator for the match, a kiss on the forehead. It was such an emotional moment for HBK and a championship win to remember.

#4 Triple H wins the 2016 Royal Rumble match

Triple H eliminated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE Championship at the 2016 Royal Rumble

On January 4, 2016, an episode of Raw, Vince McMahon decided that Roman Reigns would have to defend his title in the 2016 Rumble match which took place at the Amway Center in Orlando Florida. The Royal Rumble match was the second that was contested for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship (after the 1992 Rumble), and the first match in which the champion defended his title in the Rumble match.

Triple H entered the Rumble at number 30 and eliminated Dolph Ziggler. He thereafter teamed up with Sheamus to eliminate Wyatt. Triple H then eliminated the defending Champion Roman Reigns after Roman had just eliminated Sheamus following a "Superman Punch". The final two men remaining were Dean Ambrose and Triple H. After a back-and-forth scuffle, Triple H eliminated Ambrose, resulting in Triple H winning his second Royal Rumble and becoming WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the ninth time, and a 14-time World Champion overall in what was a moment to remember.

#3 John Cena makes history at the 2017 Royal Rumble

John Cena made history when he won the WWE title at the 2017 Royal Rumble

The 2017 Royal Rumble match culminated from the Alamodome in San Antonio Texas.AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship against John Cena in what has been described as the 2017 match of the year. Prior to the match, Ric Flair held the record for most World title wins at 16 followed closely by Cena who had 15 wins.

On September 11, 2016, at Backlash, AJ Styles defeated Dean Ambrose to become the WWE World Champion for the first time after a low blow and a Styles Clash. This was his first championship in the WWE and eighth world title overall. Styles held the title for 140 days before defending it against Cena.

At the 2017 Royal Rumble, Styles lost his WWE Championship to John Cena who then tied Ric Flair for the most world title reigns at 16. Cena pinned Styles after four "Attitude Adjustments" in a match that was full of near-falls and has since been acclaimed as a 5-star match. Cena's record-tying feat was a milestone in his illustrious career and a moment to remember.

#2 Ric Flair wins the 1992 Royal Rumble match

Flair was the last man standing at the 1992 Royal Rumble match

The 1992 Royal Rumble match was historic since, for the first time, the last man standing would win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. The WWF World Heavyweight Championship had been vacated in December 1991 after Hulk Hogan used ashes from Taker’s urn in their title match to win at the Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view event.

Ric Flair, the eventual winner of the Rumble match, entered the Rumble at number 3 and lasted for one hour two seconds. He had the most impressive performance in the match, registering a total of 5 eliminations. He last eliminated Sid Justice with the help of Hulk Hogan from the outside to win the match. Hulk grabbed Sid's arm and distracted him long enough for Flair to eliminate SId to win the match and become the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion.

Flair's Royal Rumble win was quite a memorable one since it was the first 30-man Rumble match in which the WWF title was on the line.

#1 The Rock defeats CM Punk - 2013 Royal Rumble

The Rock won the WWE title at the 2013 Royal Rumble

On July 23, 2012, during the 1000th episode of Raw, The Rock announced that he would challenge for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. In the main event of the 2013 Royal Rumble, then WWE Champion CM Punk defended his title against The Rock.

The match itself was intense and had its share of drama. First, there was an awkward moment when The Rock attempted to perform a Rock Bottom through the Spanish announce table on Punk, but the table collapsed beneath them. He went on to perform the move outside the ring instead.

When Rock attempted a People's Elbow in the middle of the ring, the arena went dark and Rock was attacked by an unknown entity, believed by the commentators to be The Shield. When the lights came back, Punk covered The Rock for the pin. However. Vince intervened and restarted the contest and Rock won the match with a "Spinebuster" followed by The "People's Elbow". This win was a special one to The Rock as it marked his first WWE title win in over ten years.