5 Multi-time WWE Royal Rumble winners with the longest gaps between victories 

Every WWE Royal Rumble participant has odds completely stacked against them. Despite that, several iconic wrestlers have won this challenging match more than once.

Last year, Cody Rhodes became the fourth wrestler in WWE history to win back-to-back Royal Rumble matches. However, the list of stars who have won multiple Rumbles has more than four names. It's just that the majority of said stars had gaps between their victories.

The aforementioned gaps were quite short in the cases of Stone Cold Steve Austin (three years) and John Cena (five years). But other multi-time winners had to wait close to or even more than a decade to multiply their Royal Rumble success. Here are five such cases:

#5. Randy Orton (8 years)

The Viper's presence on the short list of WWE Superstars with multiple Royal Rumble wins comes as no surprise. After all, he is among the most gifted stars of the modern era.

Randy Orton won his first Rumble in what many fans deem his best year as a heel: 2009. In that match, The Apex Predator received substantial help from his then-Legacy teammates, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr. In the end, he tossed out archrival Triple H to secure his spot in the main event of WrestleMania 25.

Eight years later, in January 2017, Orton conquered the 30-man bout again. Interestingly, at the time, he was a member of another villainous faction, The Wyatt Family. If The Apex Predator takes part in the upcoming Men's Rumble Match and wins it, the gap between his second and third wins will be the same as that between his first and second wins.

#4. Batista (9 years)

Two decades have passed, but WWE fans refuse to stop appreciating the pure storytelling brilliance that was Batista's slow-burn babyface turn.

One of the most significant developments during The Animal's aforementioned on-screen arc was his Royal Rumble victory. That crucial win set the wheels in motion for him to challenge his then-Evolution stablemate, Triple H, at WrestleMania 21. He would not only defeat The Game at The Show of Shows but also go on to keep the World Heavyweight Championship for the remainder of 2005.

Batista remained a main-event player until his departure from the company in mid-2010. He would then make an epic comeback in January 2014 and end yet another Royal Rumble match as the last man standing in the ring.

#3. Cope (FKA Edge) (11 years)

The fact that the erstwhile Edge secured back-to-back world championship matches at WrestleMania 24 and 25 without winning the Royal Rumble is a testament to his reputation as The Ultimate Opportunist.

But given his tremendous work throughout the mid and late 2000s, WWE had to reward him with a Rumble victory. Thus, in the 2010 edition of the fan favorite bout, The Rated-R Superstar kicked off his babyface run by winning his first-ever Royal Rumble.

Tragically, he had to close the book on his in-ring career in 2011 due to critical neck injuries. But as it turned out his story was far from over. The former world champion made his miraculous return in 2020 and became a two-time Royal Rumble winner a year later.

#2. 2025 WWE Hall of Fame inductee, Triple H (14 years)

Triple H recently received a heartwarming surprise in the form of an announcement from The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels that he would headline the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

The Game's two Royal Rumble victories are, without a doubt, an integral part of the list of accomplishments that made him highly deserving of such an honor. However, being a two-time winner of the grueling contest wasn't an easy feat for him. It took The King of Kings 14 years to achieve that.

Only his first Rumble win, in 2002, was during his prime. His second was in 2016 when The Cerebral Assassin had already become a part-time competitor, thanks to his increasing responsibilities as a corporate figure in the company. However, his 2016 victory was special because that year's Royal Rumble was for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

#1 Brock Lesnar (19 years)

To this day, Brock Lesnar's first year on the main roster is touted as one of the best WWE debut years. It's hard to argue against that since in those 12 months, The Beast Incarnate became a two-time WWE Champion, a Royal Rumble winner, and a WrestleMania main-eventer.

Speaking of his 2003 Royal Rumble win, it tremendously helped in solidifying Lesnar as a megastar. After all, that match featured top talents such as Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, and several others. So, the fact that WWE chose The Mayor of Suplex City over all the other veterans spoke volumes about how high the officials were on him.

After returning to the company in 2012, The Beast Incarnate embarked on multiple unsuccessful Rumble outings. But all those setbacks were just hurdles in his path to finally securing his second victory in the 30-man spectacle in 2022. As the number 30 entrant, Lesnar won in less than three minutes, creating a new record for the shortest time spent in the ring to win the match.

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