Batista won the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

After four years away from WWE, Batista returned to the ring at Royal Rumble 2014 and outlasted 29 other Superstars to win the Royal Rumble Match and earn a WWE World Heavyweight Championship opportunity at WrestleMania XXX. Check back later for the full results.

Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations

Entry Number	Name	Eliminated	Eliminated By
1	CM Punk	Damien Sandow, Kane, Alexander Rusev	Kane
2	Seth Rollins	Alexander Rusev, Rey Mysterio	Roman Reigns
3	Damien Sandow		CM Punk
4	Cody Rhodes	Alexander Rusev	Goldust
5	Kane		CM Punk
6	Alexander Rusev		Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston
7	Jack Swagger		Kevin Nash
8	Kofi Kingston	Alexander Rusev	Roman Reigns
9	Jimmy Uso		Dean Ambrose
10	Goldust	Cody Rhodes	Roman Reigns
11	Dean Ambrose	R-Truth, Jimmy Uso	Roman Reigns
12	Dolph Ziggler		Roman Reigns
13	R-Truth		Dean Ambrose
14	Kevin Nash	Jack Swagger	Roman Reigns
15	Roman Reigns	Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Nash, The Great Khali, Goldust, El Torito, JBL, Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Antontio Cesaro, Sheamus	Batista
16	The Great Khali		Roman Reigns
17	Sheamus	Big E Langston	Roman Reigns
18	The Miz		Luke Harper
19	Fandango		El Torito
20	El Torito	Fandango	Roman Reigns
21	Antonio Cesaro		Roman Reigns
22	Luke Harper	The Miz, Jey Uso	Roman Reigns
23	Jey Uso		Luke Harper
24	JBL		Roman Reigns
25	Erick Rowan		Batista
26	Ryback		Batista
27	Alberto Del Rio		Batista
28	Batista	Erick Rowan, Ryback, Alberto Del Rio	Winner
29	Big E Langston		Sheamus
30	Rey Mysterio		Seth Rollins

CHECK BACK FOR THE FULL RESULTS.

PITTSBURGH — He came. He saw. He conquered.

In his first match back after a nearly four-year absence from WWE, Batista proved he hadn’t lost any of his killer instinct as he eliminated Roman Reigns to win the 2014 Royal Rumble Match. With his epic victory — his second in the 27-year history of the over-the-top-rope melee — Batista began his deliberate march toward WrestleMania XXX, where he will attempt to achieve the one goal that led to his return: win the WWE World Heavyweight Title.

Check out more than 50 photos from the 2014 Royal Rumble Match

It was a commanding performance from The Animal, who entered the fray at No. 28 and eliminated four Superstars to stand tall. Long before that, however, it was CM Punk who kicked things off, entering at No. 1 for the second time in his career before displaying the kind of marathon man endurance that made Royal Rumble Match icons out of WWE Hall of Famers like Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. First squaring off with No. 2 entrant Seth Rollins, Punk scored the bout’s first eliminations by dumping Damien Sandow and Kane, who entered the match in slacks and dress shoes.

Full Royal Rumble Match scorecard with entrants and eliminations

WWE NXT standout Alexander Rusev — a Bulgarian powerlifter with scary agility — made a shocking entrance in the No. 6 spot, and manhandled Punk, Rollins and Cody Rhodes with the clout of a ring veteran. For a brief period of time, the rookie became an unexpected favorite until the combined efforts of four Superstars took the brute out of the match.

Watch Batista's most dominant Royal Rumble Match performances

Before the big man left the ringside area, however, Punk tossed Kofi Kingston, who landed in Rusev’s arms. The Bulgarian strongman planted Kingston on the barricade, but the high-flyer’s feet never touched the floor. As he did in his last two Royal Rumble Matches, Kofi found a way to survive as he balanced himself atop the thin railing, took a running start and miraculously jumped back onto the ring apron.

The first Royal Rumble shocker came at No. 14 when the massive Kevin Nash returned to WWE and immediately eliminated Jack Swagger before going after both Rollins and Dean Ambrose at the same time. Big Sexy didn’t last long, though, as the No. 15 entrant — Roman Reigns — tossed Nash, Kofi and Dolph Ziggler in short order. It was just the beginning of what would become a legendary Rumble Match performance for the muscle of The Shield.

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The surprises continued from there as Goldust eliminated his brother, Cody, and Reigns eliminated Goldust, leaving Punk alone in the ring with all three members of The Shield. Just when it looked like a public mugging was about to transpire, the clock struck zero and Sheamus made his return as the 17th entrant. Clearly not intimidated by The Hounds of Justice, the fiery Irishman went right for the trio with wild haymakers like he was in the middle of a Dublin pub brawl.

The smallest Rumbler entered at No. 20 as El Torito charged into the squared circle and picked a fight with Punk. The Straight Edge Superstar may have dismissed the little bull, but that was before he had been nearly flipped out of his boots by a hurricanrana. The luchador even scored an elimination when he launched Fandango over the rope with a flying headscissors, but he was then nearly hurled into the mezzanine by Reigns.

Find out which Superstars have the most Royal Rumble Match eliminations

The mayhem continued from there as JBL left the commentary table at No. 24, and entered the ring in a shirt and tie. Yet by the time he handed off his coat to Michael Cole, he was sacked by the domineering Reigns. Despite his limited appearance, JBL still inspired chants of “You still got it!” from the WWE Universe.

The laughs stopped when the 28th Superstar joined the fray. Making his long-awaited homecoming, Batista stomped to the ring and eliminated Erick Rowan, Ryback and Alberto Del Rio with immediacy. By the time Rey Mysterio entered as the final Superstar in the No. 30 spot, the ring was buckling under the weight of serious behemoths like Big E Langston, Sheamus and Antonio Cesaro.

At this point, the notion that the Royal Rumble Match was every man for himself became clear as Ambrose attempted to eliminate Reigns, but failed. Now running off pure adrenaline, the powerhouse set his Shield unity aside, then dumped both Rollins and Ambrose — along with Cesaro — out of the ring at the same time.

Who invented the Royal Rumble Match? Find out in this fascinating story

With that, Punk, Batista, Sheamus and Reigns stood as the final four, but The Straight Edge Superstar didn’t last long as Kane reemerged and pulled Punk out of the ring. The Director of Operations continued his vicious assault on the former WWE Champion by chokeslamming him through the Spanish announce table.

Sheamus was the next to go as he was dispatched by Reigns, who eliminated 12 Superstars — 40 percent of the contest’s participants — to break Kane’s 13-year-old record for the most competitors eliminated in a single Royal Rumble Match. With anticipation reaching a fever pitch, Batista and Reigns squared off like silverbacks fighting for their territory. Bone-jarring spears were exchanged as the upstart tested the veteran’s resolve; ultimately, though, it was The Animal who survived as he launched Reigns out of the ring with one arm.

Watch the 100 greatest Royal Rumble Match eliminations ever!

With the ring now clear of every Superstar but one, Batista stood supreme as the winner of his second Royal Rumble Match. As many greats have done before him, The Animal pointed into the rafters where the WrestleMania XXX sign hung. What awaits him there remains to be seen, but the Road to WrestleMania has begun, and an Animal is leading the stampede to New Orleans.

Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations

Full list of Royal Rumble Match participants and eliminations

Entry Number	Name	Eliminated	Eliminated By	Time
1	CM Punk	Damien Sandow, Kane, Alexander Rusev	Kane	49:13
2	Seth Rollins	Alexander Rusev, Rey Mysterio, The Great Khali	Roman Reigns	48:31
3	Damien Sandow		CM Punk	2:17
4	Cody Rhodes	Alexander Rusev	Goldust	21:01
5	Kane		CM Punk	1:10
6	Alexander Rusev		Seth Rollins, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston	7:06
7	Jack Swagger		Kevin Nash	12:24
8	Kofi Kingston	Alexander Rusev	Roman Reigns	12:42
9	Jimmy Uso		Dean Ambrose	7:53
10	Goldust	Cody Rhodes	Roman Reigns	12:00
11	Dean Ambrose	R-Truth, Jimmy Uso, The Great Khali	Roman Reigns	33:56
12	Dolph Ziggler		Roman Reigns	6:09
13	R-Truth		Dean Ambrose	0:36
14	Kevin Nash	Jack Swagger	Roman Reigns	0:36
15	Roman Reigns	Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Nash, The Great Khali, Goldust, El Torito, JBL, Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, Antontio Cesaro, Sheamus	Batista	33:58
16	The Great Khali		Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins	0:53
17	Sheamus	Big E Langston	Roman Reigns	28:22
18	The Miz		Luke Harper	12:09
19	Fandango		El Torito	3:02
20	El Torito	Fandango	Roman Reigns	1:49
21	Antonio Cesaro		Roman Reigns	17:16
22	Luke Harper	The Miz, Jey Uso	Roman Reigns	15:21
23	Jey Uso		Luke Harper	4:32
24	JBL		Roman Reigns	0:49
25	Erick Rowan		Batista	5:05
26	Ryback		Batista	4:01
27	Alberto Del Rio		Batista	3:00
28	Batista	Erick Rowan, Ryback, Alberto Del Rio, Roman Reigns	Winner	13:02
29	Big E Langston		Sheamus	2:49
30	Rey Mysterio		Seth Rollins	2:10

Total Rumble Time: 55 minutes, 10 seconds

RUMBLE FACTS:

• This is Batista’s second Royal Rumble Match victory as the No. 28 entrant. In his first win in 2005, he eliminated five competitors (Edge, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Snitsky, Christian).
• No Superstar other than Batista has ever won the Rumble Match as the No. 28 entrant.
• Batista is the fifth Superstar to win multiple Rumble Matches. The others are Hulk Hogan (1990 and 1991), Shawn Michaels (1995 and 1996), “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (1997, 1998  and 2001) and John Cena (2008 and 2013). All but Cena are WWE Hall of Famers.
• This was CM Punk's second Rumble Match appearance as the No. 1 entrant. As the No. 1 entrant in 2011, he lasted 35:21 and eliminated seven competitors (Daniel Bryan, John Morrison, Mark Henry, Chris Masters, Tyler Reks, Vladimir Kozlov, R-Truth).
• Kane participated in his record 15th Royal Rumble Match. His first was in 1999 and he has competed in all since with the exception of 2012's contest.
• Roman Reigns' 12 eliminations breaks Kane's 2001 record of 11 eliminations.
• Last year, Cody Rhodes eliminated Goldust. This year, Goldust eliminated Cody.
• Seth Rollins was the longest-lasting Rumble Match rookie. Only CM Punk lasted longer.
• Eight nationalities were represented in the 2013 Royal Rumble Match: United States, Ireland, Mexico, Switzerland, Ghana, India, Samoa and Bulgaria.