2005
Sure, there have been better Royal Rumble matches than this one. But to us, this is probably the most memorable Rumble match of all time. Seriously, look at all the craziness that happened in this match:
- Eddie Guerrero hilariously attempted to steal Ric Flair’s number earlier in the show. Guerrero was entrant number one while Flair was number thirty.
- Speaking of Guerrero, this was his final Rumble appearance. Viva La Raza.
- Daniel Puder was brutally hazed live on pay-per-view. This was bad.
- Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels started their WrestleMania 21 feud in an epic fashion.
- Batista and John Cena successfully executed the “last two guys eliminate each other at the same time” spot. The only problem? It was a completely unplanned accident that ruined the finish of the match.
- Vince McMahon came out to restore order post-botch. He was so upset he tore both quads while entering the ring. A seated McMahon completely no-sold the pain and got the show back on track.
- Batista and Cena, the final two participants, would both go on to win World Championships at WrestleMania 21 a few months later.
2008
If we had it our way, every Royal Rumble pay-per-view would take place at Madison Square Garden. The unique TV camera setup is not only super-nostalgic, but also works well with the entrance-heavy Rumble concept.
The 2008 Rumble match is just a ton of fun, to keep things simple. You’ve got WrestleMania feuds starting, legends returning, and even a surprise winner that nobody saw coming. Pun intended.
2018
In 2018 we got not one but two really great Royal Rumble matches. The men’s Rumble, in particular, was especially great and gave us everything we love from a Rumble match, plus a little bit more.
For the first time in what felt like forever, fans were happy with the last person left standing and didn’t boo the winner out of the building. And the first ever women’s Rumble ended with an instant-classic debut that is sure to be talked about for years to come.
2001
This Rumble match is our personal favorite of all time. In fact, the entire 2001 Royal Rumble pay-per-view is one of our favorite shows ever. Try to watch this show from beginning to end if you can, even if you’ve seen it before, because it really is superb.
As far as the ’01 Rumble is concerned, there were a few memorable moments that we especially enjoyed:
- Drew Carey’s involvement, specifically him “noping” the hell out of the match once Kane arrived.
- Kane whooping ass and eliminating nearly half the field.
- The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin’s bloody-but-epic stare-down toward the end of the match. This helped set up one of the best WrestleMania main events of all time.
1992
No controversy here. The 1992 Royal Rumble match, while not our favorite, is clearly the best of all time.
The field was absolutely loaded and the WWF World Heavyweight Championship was on the line. Ric Flair stole the show, went the distance, and won the big one.
Also, how great was Bobby Heenan? It’s not fair to Heenan if we don’t mention his performance on commentary.
On top of the Rumble match itself, the post-match promo from Flair (along with Austin’s “3:16” promo) is probably the greatest wrestling promo of all time.
