If HBK is Mr. Wrestlemania...

[Ruthless-RKO]

Despite having a losing record at the event, can we start calling Kane Mr. Royal Rumble, even though he's never been the last man standing? I mean, his record speaks for itself:

Most Rumble Entries: 13 (plus one each as Issac Yankem and New Diesel)
2nd Most Total Eliminations: 36 (plus one as Yankem)
Most Eliminations in a single Rumble: 11 (2001)
Tied for 2nd Most Final Fours: 4 (2000, 2001, 2003, 2008, plus 1997 as Diesel)
8th Longest Time Spent: (54:49) 2001
Tied for 4th and 5th Most Consecutive Eliminations: (6 in 2001 and 5 in 1999)

Hogan, Austin and Michaels may all have claims, but I don't believe anyone has as many impressive stats that Kane has in the Rumble.

 

[Nate DaMac]

There's a small difference there. Shawn Michaels has actually won at Wrestlemania and has put on a lot of high quality matches there. Kane may have a lot of elimination records at the Rumble, but how can you be Mr. Royal Rumble without having ever won a Royal Rumble?

Besides, Mr. Royal Rumble sounds ******ed.

 

[klunderbunker]

Not when he's never won one of the things.

If anyone else deserves the title, it's probably Austin, who won a record three Rumbles to Kane's zero. As for the list of stats you gave, here are Austin's:

Total eliminations: 34 in only five Rumbles to Kane's 13
Eliminations in one Rumble: 10, second best all time
Final Four's: 5 (97, 98, 99, 2001 and 2002), as in every single year he was in the match and the most ever.
Longest time in the Rumble: over 56 minutes in 1999, good for longer than Kane
Consecutive eliminations: 5 in 2002, 6 if you count the one that HHH helped with, also good to tie Kane's record. Oh apparently one of Kane's was with Undertaker's that year so yeah Austin ties this too.

On top of all those numbers either tying/passing/being just behind Kane, Austin won a record three Rumbles and came in no worse than fourth ever. Kane has simply been in a lot more than Austin which is why his stats are comparable over time. Austin is by far the best performer in the Rumble match ever and it's not really close. The only person that could make a comparison based on these stats would be Shawn. Kane is a distant fourth at best, as Austin is #1 and Michaels and Hogan could argue over #2.

 

[klunderbunker]

Actually for fun let's look at Hogan and Shawn's stats by comparison, with the top stat being that they both won two Rumbles to Kane's zero. Starting with Hogan:

Hulk Hogan
Total Rumbles - 4. Remember he has less than 1/3 of the total appearances of Kane when compiling this list.
Total eliminations - 26, which has to put him way up on the list. Also he was only in four Rumbles so his average is just below Austin's.
Most Eliminations In A Single Rumble - 10 in 1989. It took him 11:31 to eliminate that many people. It took Kane 54 minutes to eliminate 11.
Final Four's - 3, as in two less than Kane in 9 fewer appearances.
Longest time in the Rumble - 19:55. Kane dominates Hogan here and that's likely about it.
Consecutive eliminations - 8. Get away from me with your weak little 6.

Again, Hogan dominates in everything but longevity and time spent in one single match. Now let's look at Shawn.

Shawn Michaels
Total Rumbles – 9
Total Eliminations – 39 (most ever I believe)
Most Eliminations In A Single Rumble – 8 (twice)
Final Four's – 4 (two wins)
Time Spent In A Single Rumble – 38:41
Consecutive Eliminations – 6

Two other names I see come up a lot are Undertaker and HHH. Let's look at them also.

Undertaker
Total Rumbles – 9
Total Eliminations – 35
Most Eliminations In A Single Rumble – 7
Final Four's – 3 (one win)
Time Spent In A Single Rumble – 32:33
Consecutive Eliminations – 6

Triple H
Total Rumbles – 8
Total Eliminations – 28
Most Eliminations In A Single Rumble – 6 (twice)
Final Four's – 4 (one win)
Time Spent In A Single Rumble – 60:09
Consecutive Eliminations – 4

Oh why not do Big Show too.

Big Show
Total Rumbles – 10
Total Eliminations – 25
Most Eliminations In A Single Rumble – 6
Final Four's – 3
Time Spent In A Single Rumble – 22:38
Consecutive Eliminations – 6

Of all these people, the ONLY one that Kane is better than is Big Show, and even then it's not by much. Austin, Hogan and Michaels are miles better in the Rumble than Kane and HHH is comparable to him. Basically Kane had one really good Rumble and then was just ok the rest of the times he appeared. It's more that he's been in a lot of them rather than being good at them. To say he's Mr. Royal Rumble is absurd.

Oh and for clarity's sake: one of Kane's eliminations in the 99 Rumble was himself.

 

[anvilx8]

I'd name Ric Flair 'Mr. Royal Rumble'. Only person to win the rumble AND the wwe title at the same time!

 

[crippler]

I would give this to Shawn Michales also after all he is the 1st guy ever to win the Rumble after entering at #1 and he has won 2 rumbles

 

[HBsam31]

I would be on board with this if Kane had a win or two under his belt. I always wondered why Kane never did win one. It would seem fitting for him to have at least won one. Kane does indeed have some impressive stats, but like it was mentioned there are several other guys who have just as impressive stats, but have actually won the match. When i think of the Rumble I always think of Kane's number of eliminations, but even still I don't think it can quite be called his match or ppv.

 

[fenderjapan]

Steve Austin won 3. He is Mr. Royal Rumble, IMO.

There are lots of ways we could look at it, some might say the greatest home run hitter is the player with the most home runs per at bats, the most home runs in a season, the most home runs in a career, etc. etc.

I would say Austin, having won three, is Mr. Royal Rumble.

 

[ted sheckler]

I think if you need to ask the question "Who is Mr Royal Rumble?" then the answer is there isn't one.

Shawn is Mr Wrestlemania because year after year he was having great matches and almost always had the Match of the Night.. and many time Match of the Year. To the point where people said WOW.. this guy always delivers at WM!!

When you try to say... Who's Mr Summerslam?? Who's Mr Royal Rumble it just feels like its forced...shoehorned.. and most the time the answer is "I don't know but I guess if I had to pick one then it would be....." To me that's not deserving of a moniker ..

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

I think if you need to ask the question "Who is Mr Royal Rumble?" then the answer is there isn't one.

Shawn is Mr Wrestlemania because year after year he was having great matches and almost always had the Match of the Night.. and many time Match of the Year. To the point where people said WOW.. this guy always delivers at WM!!

When you try to say... Who's Mr Summerslam?? Who's Mr Royal Rumble it just feels like its forced...shoehorned.. and most the time the answer is "I don't know but I guess if I had to pick one then it would be....." To me that's not deserving of a moniker ..

I agree it seems forced. I definitely wouldn't pick Kane as Mr Royal Rumble though, as explained in some of the earlier replies. Definitely looks like Steve Austin would get that claim. Or maybe even HBK again, he was impressive in back to back 95 and 96 wins.

But you're right if it's not obvious, there probably isn't one.

Though you could make a case for Bret Hart being Mr. SummerSlam:

SummerSlam 90: Hart Foundation vs Demolition for the Tag Team Championship
SummerSlam 91: Bret Hart vs Mr Perfect for the Intercontinental Championship
SummerSlam 92: Bret Hart vs British Bulldog for the Intercontinental Championship
SummerSlam 94: Cage Match - Bret Hart vs Owen Hart for the World Championship
SummerSlam 97: Bret Hart vs Undertaker for the World Championship - HBK as guest referee

There's some classics in there.

 

[Just Do It]

Mr Royal Rumble Kane - who hasn't won the event ever, lol. That's like calling 123 Kid Mr King of the Ring because he had some great qualifying matches over the years.

 

[FlairFan2003]

I would give this to Shawn Michales also after all he is the 1st guy ever to win the Rumble after entering at #1 and he has won 2 rumbles

You have to remember that when HBK entered #1 and managed to win the RR had cut the time between entrants in half, down from 2 minutes to 1 minute. HBK wrestled almost 20 minutes less than Flair did winning when he entered #3.

That tidbit of obscure trivia aside, HBK isnt "Mr WrestleMania" because he won all the time. He did have some pretty big victories there, most notably the Iron Man Match vs Brett Hart & Win Or Retire Match vs Flair, but win or lose HBK always put on a great show, his matches were almost always among the most hyped and talked about matches at the event regardless if it was Main Event or Undercard, HBK wasnt "Mr WrestleMania" as much as he was "The Show Stealer".

Even in a losing effort, HBK was often in the biggest match of the card and delivered a sterling performance (vs Austin, The Three Way Dance for The Title, twice vs Taker, etc). He had some great moments in victory but win or lose he always delivered a "Show Stopping" match.

The only one who I think in WrestleMania history who really comes close to HBK here is Randy Savage, he easily pulled out the greatest match Ultimate Warrior ever had, gave Hogan probably one of the Top 3 or 4 best matches he ever had, put on absolute classics vs Steamboat & Flair, and his initial title win vs DiBiase was very good. Win or lose, Savage routinley stole the show with his performance, main event or undercard, and his match was always among the most talked about and most important on the card. Some people will argue that having a great match vs Steamboat or Flair back then isnt a challenge but what he did to elevate Warrior in their bout as legit performer was unreal. People give Flair credit for making average performers like Lex Luger look great, Luger looks like Kurt Angle compared to Ultimate Warrior.

You also have to include Undertaker in the conversation. Even though his streak wasnt a big deal until around WrestleMania 17 & 18, twenty straight years without a loss is huge at one event, and certainly in recent years his matches have been at or near the top of the card pretty much every year since WM 17. Triple H, HBK, Flair, Batista, Edge, he's had some big time matches in the last ten years to keep the streak alive and just as important has delivered very good to great performances every time.

As for Kane, it's hard to call him "Mr Royal Rumble" when he has never won. If he had maybe two victories under his belt alongside his impressive numbers for eliminations, etc, then maybe he would worthy of that monicker. It's like great quarterbacks, you have to actually win a couple times to really be in the conversation for greatest all time. People may debate Unitas vs Montana vs Elway vs Brady but they never add Drew Bledsoe, Dave Krieg, or Boomer Esiason in the conversation. They were all successful, pro bowl caliber players, but they didnt have the post season wins and hardware the other guys have.

 

[Toroc102]

Although I respect the heck out of HBK(as a wrestler)I definitely don't consider him Mr. WrestleMania. Just had to put that out there.

As for Mr. Royal Rumble, if you haven't won one you ain't Mr. Royal Rumble. I would say Austin is Mr Royal Rumble, since imo, winning three Royal Rumbles is probably a record that won't ever be broken, but honestly the Royal Rumble is more about eras. I don't think you would be mistaken by giving that title to Shawn Michaels or Hulk Hogan.

Mr. WrestleMania however is obviously the Undertaker. And after him I'd put a few people before HBK.

 

[King Patrick Star]

If Shawn Michaels is Mr. WrestleMania, based off performances, then Kane is Mr. Royal Rumble. If Undertaker is Mr. WrestleMania, based off records, then Stone Cold Steve Austin is Mr. Royal Rumble. So now the question becomes, are these PPV nicknames based on performance at that particular PPV or are they based on W-L records at that particular PPV?? By the way, my picks are Shawn Michaels for Mr. WM and Stone Cold Steve Austin Mr. RR.

 

[klunderbunker]

If Shawn Michaels is Mr. WrestleMania, based off performances, then Kane is Mr. Royal Rumble.

No, he isn't.

While Shawn hasn't had perfect success at Mania, he's often been the featured attraction there and has won the world title in the main event before. He's also headlined four other Manias. Kane has never been the featured attraction at the Rumble and as I said before had ONE match where he did very well, another where he did pretty well, and the rest of the time he's done nothing of note. Also as I pointed out earlier, other people's stats either surpass him or match him while having more wins than his zero.

Kane isn't Mr. anything no matter how you look at it.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Okay, fine. You provided great stats, but I think the following are the 5 most important stats to take into consideration when it comes to the Royal Rumble match.

Most Ruble Victories – Stone Cold Steve Austin – 3 in 1997, 1998, and 2001

Longest Time Spent in a Single Royal Rumble – Rey Mysterio – 1:02:12 in 2006

Most Eliminations in a Single Royal Rumble – Kane – 11 in 2001

Total Eliminations in Cumulative Royal Rumbles – Shawn Michaels – 41 in 12 Royal Rumbles

Most Rumble Appearances – Kane – 15

To summarize, I’ll give a point to Austin, Mysterio, and Michaels for their record breaking accomplishments in this match type. Kane participated in the most Royal Rumbles in history, and had the single greatest Royal Rumble performance, outside of winning the damn thing, so two points for him. How can you not even consider Kane as one of the Top 4 candidates (because there are only 4 I would even consider) for the title Mr. Royal Rumble??

 

[klunderbunker]

Kane participated in the most Royal Rumbles in history,

This really doesn't mean much. All it proves is that he's been in a lot. When he broke the record, do you know who held it before him? Rikishi. Does that mean Rikishi was on the list of Rumble greats before Kane? Of course not. Tito Santana was at the first nine Wrestlemanias. Does that put him in the running for Mr. Wrestlemania of the first nine years? Of course not. All this means is that Kane has been around a long time.

and had the single greatest Royal Rumble performance, outside of winning the damn thing,

Wrong. Hogan eliminated ten guys in about eleven and a half minutes. Kane eliminated 11 guys in over fifty minutes.

Point: Hogan, by a BIG margin.

Also in 1997, Austin threw out ten men in 45 minutes, didn't have any help on any of them, AND won the match.

Point: Austin, as in not Kane.

That argument about Kane having the most dominant performance ever in 2001 simply does not hold up at all.

so two points for him.

Two, zero, same thing.

Also if you want to go by this points jazz, Austin won three Rumbles, giving him three points and the win.

How can you not even consider Kane as one of the Top 4 candidates (because there are only 4 I would even consider) for the title Mr. Royal Rumble??

He's in top four.....maybe. Let's say for argument's sake he is. He's WAY behind Austin, Hogan and Michaels and to say otherwise is flat out wrong.

 

[King Patrick Star]

Touché. We can at the very least agree that without winning the Royal Rumble, Kane is still in the Top 4 among all-time Royal Rumble entrants.

 

[Brewski]

I'm beating a dead horse here but Austin is the Royal Rumbler. 3 wins, Tons of eliminations, nobody comes close. He was the star of the rumble Mcmahon won, I think he even got his title shot!

 

[HBKistheHOF]

There's a small difference there. Shawn Michaels has actually won at Wrestlemania and has put on a lot of high quality matches there. Kane may have a lot of elimination records at the Rumble, but how can you be Mr. Royal Rumble without having ever won a Royal Rumble?

I tend to agree with this. Until Kane has actually won a Royal Rumble or performs some highly memorable stunts like JoMo's spidy jump or Kofi's handstand, I don't think there is any way to calssify Kane as 'Mr. Royal Rumble'.

HBK got his moniker by winning multiple times at Mania, having the most generally memorable Mania matches & outperforming every other superstar at Mania.

Kane hasn't won a rumble, is only involved in a few memorable rumble moments & has clearly not outlasted or outperformed the rest of the roster at the rumble.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

At different times different people have had "honors" in a Royal Rumble... In the Hogan Era, Rick Martel was always someone who entered early and lasted a long time, at one point he may have had the record. Then it was Backlund beating Flairs record and so on. These always got referred to in the match itself so in 94 they talked about Bob's 60 minutes the previous year etc and like his title reign, it lasted a hell of a long time.

For those mentioning Shawn, computer is saying no based on the 95 Rumble being castrated to half an hour and the number 2 man, Davey Boy Smith being the last man eliminated. Shawn lasted one second more than DBS... Sure he went on and won next year and at Mania but the achievement is non existant for 95 as to win or be runner up they both spent less time in the match than Bob Backlund or Ric Flair or even Rick Martel in some years.

In Austin's case, yes he won a few but he also famously lost one to Vince... again great TV at the time but not a case for the best Rumble participant ever (which is what we are talking about).

Kane, has probably had the most success without winning a Rumble so the OP is right in saying it's "his match" to an extent, but in reality any big wrestler with push can be in that position, he has just been their best option more times than not in the last few years. This year it'll be Big E. who gets that slot or a returning Mark Henry... you watch...

I would personally call Mr. Royal Rumble whoever provides the most memorable moments as it's a spot based match and the honor changes nearly every year, in the late 80's and early 90's Mr. Perfect was always in the final 4 and doing unusual/important eliminations like dropkicking DBS off the turnbuckle in 1991 or taking Flair out. Mid-late 90's Shawn had a good case with the "skin the cat" manner of his wins in 95 and 96 but so did Diesel and Kane and Davey Boy for their performances in the matches without winning.

More recently it would be JoMo or Kofi for their jawdropping moments in the last 2 years, those define a rumble specialist, not how many people they take out but how they stay in the match after certain elimination, Shawn would skin the cat, JoMo became Spiderman and Kofi's handwalk last year was simply mindblowingly good.

Of course it now means they have to have that WFT moment every year, I think it's a good reason we might see Shelton Benjamin back in this Rumble, I would like to see Kofi take it on and come up with another jawdropping escape... if he does, I'd call him Mr. Royal Rumble without argument. One I can see happening this year, Reigns and Rollins get eliminated "unjustly" so they catch Ambrose and make sure his feet don't touch to save him...