Top Ten Royal Rumble Matches of All Time

Honestly nothing against most of the 80s and 90s ones, I just happen to really enjoy the 2000s ones. Especially 2004-2010.

#10 – 2016 Royal Rumble

Roman Reigns was forced to defend his WWE Championship in the Royal Rumble match which led to some great narratives. Reigns ended up getting thrown under the ropes and destroyed by the League of Nations. We also got AJ Styles making his debut and a surprise entrant in the form of Sami Zayn. The Wyatt Family dominated the majority of the match until Brock Lesnar made his way in. Despite being eliminated, the Wyatts helped Bray eliminate Lesnar. Triple H came in as number 30 and nearly got eliminated by Ziggler, getting superkicked on the apron. The final four were Triple H, Sheamus, Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns. Reigns eliminated Sheamus but was tossed out by Triple H right after. Ambrose, who had already competed in a Last Man Standing match that night, put up a valiant effort but Triple H eliminated him, winning the Rumble.

#9 – 2004 Royal Rumble

We start off with Chris Benoit and the Intercontinental Champion, Randy Orton. These two would dominate the early portions of this match. At number 21, Mick Foley stole Test’s spots and went after Randy Orton, eliminating Orton and himself. They would go on to brawl to the back. In the final spot, Goldberg came out and began cleaning house, before Brock Lesnar came down and distracted him, allowing Kurt Angle to eliminate him. The final four here were Benoit, Jericho, Angle & Big Show. It came down to Big Show and Benoit, where Benoit managed to eliminate the giant, becoming the second person to win the Rumble from the first spot.

#8 – 2014 Royal Rumble

This was a controversy filled Rumble due to Daniel Bryan not being in it, despite having a match earlier in the night and not being advertized for it, and Batista winning it all. But despite the crowd turning on it towards the end, I think it’s an awesome Rumble. We got Roman Reigns breaking the eliminations record, The Shield dominating for a bit and some cool foreshadowing between Rusev and Jack Swagger, who would go on to have a great feud later that year. It also featured a crazy elimination save for Kofi, jumping from the barricade to the ring. The final four were Sheamus, Roman Reigns, Batista & CM Punk. Punk got eliminated by Kane, who came back in and chokeslammed Punk through a table, disappearing him forever. Reigns eliminated Sheamus, breaking the record, but was eliminated by Batista to end the match.

#7 – 2008 Royal Rumble

This Rumble started off with the two finalists of the 2007 one, Shawn Michaels & The Undertaker. Madison Square Garden made for a great venue, as the crowd was super hot. One of the coolest moments was Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper brawling while the rest of the roster just watched in awe. Most shocking moment, however, was John Cena being the final entrant. Cena had needed major surgery in October and the rumor was that he’d probably miss Wrestlemania. Instead, he shows up in the Royal Rumble and wins it in spectacular fashion. The final four were Cena, Triple H, Batista & Kane, with Cena getting the final elimination on Triple H.

#6 – 2005 Royal Rumble

This Rumble had a lot of great talent through the majority of it. Guerrero, Benoit, Benjamin, Booker, Mysterio and Edge are just a few of the people that dominated the middle portion. Shawn Michaels gets into the match and eliminates Kurt Angle. Angle retaliates, eliminating Michaels and beating the hell out of him. The final four is Batista, Edge, Rey Mysterio and John Cena. As just Cena and Batista are left, both men fall out at the same time, prompting Vince McMahon to run down to the ring and actually tear both his quads getting in the ring. They restart the match with Batista winning.

#5 – 2006 Royal Rumble

Triple H and Rey Mysterio start this one off, which is a dream match of mine. Both of these men go on to be in this match over an hour. There’s a cool portion of the match where there are a few entrants in a row were all recent enemies of Triple H. Shawn Michaels has a great run towards the end before Vince and Shane McMahon interfere and eliminate him. The final four are Triple H, Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam & Randy Orton. RVD geos out first, then Rey Mysterio eliminates Triple H, who attacks Rey for it. Orton tries to dump Rey out but Rey flips him over the ropes and gets the victory!

#4 – 2010 Royal Rumble

This match has a unique start where CM Punk dominates early on and cuts a promo after clearing the ring. We also get a surprise female entrant, with Beth Phoenix coming in and even eliminating The Great Khali! Punk is in control until Triple H enters and dispatches of him. Going into this match, Shawn Michaels’ plan was to win the Rumble and challenge Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship, since Taker would not accept his original challenge. After a fantastic effort, even eliminating his tag partner, Triple H, Michaels gets eliminated by Batista and loses it. He even attacks the referees and storms off. It comes down to Edge, John Cena & Batista, with Batista going out first, then Edge eliminating Cena and getting the win.

#3 – 2001 Royal Rumble

This Rumble was heavily dominated Kane, who set the record for eliminations at the time and held it for 13 years. The middle portion of this match actually turns into a hardcore match once the likes of Raven and Al Snow enter. We even get a surprise Drew Carey entry, who eliminates himself. After The Rock managed to eliminate Big Show early, Show drags him under the ropes and chokeslams him through the announce table. The final four are Kane, Steve Austin, Billy Gunn & The Rock with Gunn going out first. Rock puts up a good fight but goes out next. It comes down to Austin and Kane and Austin manages to get him out with the help of a chair, winning his 3rd Royal Rumble match.

#2 – 1992 Royal Rumble

Just take a look at the names in this Royal Rumble and it’s extremely difficult to not proclaim it the most stacked field WWE has ever produced. Ric Flair enters as the 3rd entrant and becomes the highlight of the match. This is also, in my opinion, one of the most entertaining matches in terms of commentary, with Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon absolutely killing it. Flair uses his smarts to weasel his way around the ring, staying out of trouble for much of the match. The final four are Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Sid Justice and Randy Savage. Savage goes first, then Hogan. Hogan grabs Sid Justice and Flair manages to eliminate him, winning the Rumble from the number three spot, the earliest spot anyone had won it until 1995.

#1 – 2007 Royal Rumble

Nothing tops this amazing match for me. It kicks off with Ric Flair and Finlay out of the first two slots and the action never stops from the second the bell rings. The ECW wrestlers got their first Rumble, with Sabu even getting eliminated through his own table that he set up. Towards the end, The Great Khali comes in and starts cleaning house. This might have been the best booked match Khali ever had. With the final spot in the Rumble, Undertaker comes out and manages to eliminate Khali. The fina four is Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Edge & Randy Orton and I truly believe this is the most entertaining final four showdown of all time. Orton and Edge work together and beat down both of the legends before them. Michaels has one last flurry of offense and manages to eliminate both, leaving it to just HBK and Taker. Both men battle for at least five minutes as the final two, trying to eliminate each other before Undertaker dodges a Sweet Chin Music, sending HBK over the ropes.