The Royal Rumble: Top 5
The Royal Rumble is upon us, which means only one thing: the Road to WrestleMania has officially begun! The Royal Rumble has been a staple on the WWE calendar since the match’s inception in 1988. Although the inaugural match only had 20 competitors, it became an instant hit with fans, hence why it has stuck around for its 37th installment. Throughout the 37-year history of the Royal Rumble, there must have been some all-time greats, right? Depending on who you ask, 2001 is the greatest Royal Rumble of all time; for others, it's 1992. I’m here to settle the score… well kind of. This article is my list of the top 5 Royal Rumbles of all time (note: this is my own opinion. If you disagree, please let me know).
Honorable Mention: 2005
The action during the 2005 Royal Rumble is pretty standard. Guys getting thrown out left and right, but nothing really stands out. Business picks up at the final two, the final two being John Cena and Batista. Going into the match, both men were deemed the favorites, so things were very tense. The crowd was excited to see these two battle for a spot at the main event of WrestleMania. Cena goes for the FU, but Batista fights out. Batista goes for the Batista Bomb, Cena’s momentum takes them both into the ropes, Cena flips over and Batista goes over as well. They fall out of the ring and hit the floor at the exact same time. (This was not supposed to happen, which showed as all involved were confused about what to do next).
Here comes Vince McMahon. This is classic. Vince throws his jacket down, he’s angry, he slides into the ring, and he TEARS BOTH OF HIS QUADS as he tries to get up. Vince sits on the ground, leaning against the bottom rope. It’s so awkward to see Vince sitting there like that, yet it has me laughing so hard. The referees tried to explain to Vince what they say. Batista throws Cena out and then Cena throws Batista out. None of it counts. The Fink says on the microphone that the match will restart per the orders of Vince McMahon. The ring was cleared at that point. Batista and Cena went for their finishers, but neither guy gets it as Batista slipped out of an FU attempt. Batista hits the Spinebuster. Batista threw Cena over the top to eliminate him.
Number 5: 2007
The 2007 match featured several firsts. In his eighth attempt, Undertaker finally won his first Royal Rumble Match, last eliminating Shawn Michaels to secure a championship match in the main event of WrestleMania 23. In the process, he also became the first man to enter the Rumble at No. 30 and go on to win the match. Thirty men entered, but the final four were Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Edge, and Randy Orton, the latter two who both made their second consecutive run to the final four. When an RKO sent Shawn Michaels rolling under the bottom rope to the arena floor, things looked grim for The Deadman.
The Royal Rumble Match is every man for himself, but the World Tag Team Champions worked together to try to get The Deadman over the top rope. However, when Edge & Orton went for a Con-chair-to The Deadman, Michaels sprung back to life. After quickly tossing Orton, Shawn Michaels nailed Edge with Sweet Chin Music and eliminated him, setting up the final two, Undertaker and Michaels. Once it was down to the final two, Michaels and Undertaker went tooth and nail, with a record on the line for both (an HBK victory would have tied him with Stone Cold for the most Royal Rumble Match victories). Michaels was able to hit Sweet Chin Music once, but when he tried to hit a second, The Deadman grabbed the hometown hero and launched him over the top rope to the floor to earn the victory.
Number 4: 2008
To me, this match is a one trick pony, but boy does this pony have some sweet tricks. The 2008 Royal Rumble match marked the return of John Cena, who had been sidelined with a torn pectoral tendon nearly four months ago. There were reports he was going to be out for at least 8 months. Shocking the WWE universe, Cena made his triumphant return as the number 30 competitor.
In the end, it came down to three of the biggest and most beloved Superstars in WWE history -- Batista, Triple H and Cena. After The Game finally got the best of his former Evolution mate by dumping The Animal, it came down to the two men who met each other for the WWE Title just two WrestleMania’s ago. With 20,798 rabid fans torn over who to cheer for, they got their money's worth from the final two: Triple H and, of course, John Cena. Just when it looked like Triple H would take Cena down with a Pedigree in the final moments, Cena hoisted The Game on his shoulders and tossed him to the floor, finally winning the Royal Rumble Match and earning the right to face the champion of his choice at WrestleMania XXIV. I watch this match every few months or so, just to hear the crowd roar when Cena’s music hits. If it isn’t for this return, 2008 doesn’t even sniff my top 5.
Number 3: 1992
Controversial? You bet. For the first time in WWE history, the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble wouldn’t win a main event spot at WrestleMania, they would win the world championship itself! The winner would end up being Ric Flair, who outlasted Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Sid Justice to win the world title.
The final four are Hogan, Flair, Sid and Savage. That’s a good group to end the match in terms of star power. Not like the year before with Knobbs being in the final three. Sid’s got Savage close, so Flair runs over, delivers a knee and Savage is out. It’s Flair against two bigger babyfaces. Flair did the Flair bump in the corner. Hogan kicked away at him. Sid looked over and flipped Hogan out of the ring. The crowd cheered that! Yep, they were cheering against Hogan. Sid was a babyface at this point and was popular, but it was shocking that they’d boo Hogan at all. Hogan was pissed off, saying they were working together. Sid told him it’s every man for himself. Hogan, while on the floor, grabbed Sid’s right arm and Flair dumped Sid. Regarded by many wrestling fans as the greatest rumble match of all time, I have it at number three, because I feel there are two better.
Number 2: 2001
The hardcore rumble. The heart of the Attitude Era. Happening in January, the 2001 Royal Rumble kicked off, what many people believe to be, the greatest year WWE has ever had, even to this day. There were a lot of fun moments here. I liked how the first third of the match was hardcore style because that’s different for a Rumble. I also liked the Drew Carey thing. It was silly, but funny. You have an hour-long match, so you need to have light-hearted moments too. If you do it early in the match it works because the last half is usually the more serious part where you want to up the intensity.
The final four are The Rock, Kane, Billy Gunn and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin. Three of the four had an excellent chance to win (sorry Mr. Ass). Billy Gunn gets tossed almost immediately, but not before giving Rock a Fameasser. The Rock gets eliminated by Kane, who just set the record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble (11), who is then tossed out by Austin. This win marks the third win for Austin who, still to this day, is the only WWE superstar in the history of the industry to win three Royal Rumbles (8 other superstars have won 2 rumble matches). I wanted to put 2001 at the number one spot, but that 2020 match holds a special place in my heart.
Number 1: 2020
In my honest opinion, there is no better Royal Rumble than 2020’s rendition. Brock Lesnar drew number one, and he was also the world champion. The world title is not on the line however, as the advocate Paul Heyman, Lesnar’s manager, said Lesnar wanted to enter the match at one so he could prove to the world, “Nobody in that locker room is on the same level as Brock Lesnar!”. Spoiler: Brock doesn’t win.
As mentioned above, Brock Lesnar entered the match at number one and proceeded to tie the record for most eliminations in a single match, that record now being 13. The crazy thing is, he was eliminated before number 17 even made it into the match. After taking a low blow from Ricochet, Drew McIntyre hit Lesnar with a Claymore Kick, causing Lesnar to fly over the top rope, signaling his elimination. The final four consisted of a returning Edge (the second greatest return in Royal Rumble history), Randy Orton, Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre. Edge and Orton teamed up for a little while, until Edge turned his back on Orton, eliminating him. After Reigns tossed Edge, McIntyre hit him with one final Claymore, threw him over the top rope and was declared the winner. This was a story of two Royal Rumbles. The first half being the dominance of Brock Lesnar, the second half being the anticipation of who would win.
So, there you have it, my top 5 greatest Royal Rumbles of all time. Whether you agree with my list or not is completely up to you. I’m not here to tell you what to and what not to like, but if I’m going to be as honest as possible, the Royal Rumble match is the greatest match in the world of sports entertainment on planet earth. Enjoy the 2024 Royal Rumble, but most importantly, happy Road to WrestleMania.
