Royal Rumble is one of the best match types that WWE has ever brought in and from its very first counterpart, it remains one of the most famous gimmick matches in the wrestling world. The first Royal Rumble match was brought into table was in 1988. In the first year, WWE organized a 20 man Rumble match.
From 1989, WWE started to host a 30 man Rumble, but there was actually no purpose of the Rumble match whatsoever, but that is until 1991. In 1992, WWE hosted the Rumble match for the WWE World title. From 1993, the winner of the Rumble is given a title shot at WrestleMania. This tradition still continues to date.
Top 5 Best Royal Rumble Matches of All Time
Let us go through the top 5 best Rumble matches WWE has produced since 1988;
V) 2003 –
The Rumble match of 2003 saw of a lot of stuffs. It had excellent storytelling, great sequences, and also the rise of the megastars of latter days like Batista, John Cena, and the winner of the match Brock Lesnar. It also featured one of the best beginnings of a Rumble match; the feud build up between Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho was amazing.
IV) 2010 –
2010 Rumble match is still known for the best storytelling Rumble match in the history. It started with the dominance of CM Punk, then it told the story of Shawn Michaels who wanted to win the Rumble so that he could challenge the Undertaker at WrestleMania, and then it continues with the return of Edge and his vengeance tour on Chris Jericho.
There are two questionable sides only, wrestlers got eliminated quite early as most of the names could not survive long, and John Cena being the final man to be eliminated by Edge was unnecessary, it should have been Chris Jericho to be in the final with Edge.
III) 2007 –
This Rumble match is memorable for a number of reason; it was the first Rumble match to be won by the entry no. 30, the final battle between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels was not only epic, but also the longest final two battle in a Rumble match, and it also had an ECW flavour with Sabu and Sandman being a part of it.
The first Royal Rumble match took place in 1988
It was also an amazing Rumble match and will be remembered as one of the best.
II) 1992 –
The 1992 Royal Rumble match is considered the best Rumble match in the history by many fans and pundits. It was the first Rumble match to offer something special, it was also first Rumble match to have a heel winner.
The most important thing about it, is its line up; The British Bulldog, Ted DiBiase, Shawn Michaels, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Roddy Piper, Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, The Undertaker, Randy Savage, Rick Martel, Hulk Hogan, Sid Justice….. you just can’t get enough of it.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was the only wrestler to win 3 Royal Rumble matches
The unpredictability of this match was also very important. Having a heel winning such a big match was really important and shocking at that time. 1992 Rumble match will always be remembered one of the best Rumble matches in the history.
Honourable Mention – There are other great Royal Rumble matches too that deserve to be on this list. Rumble 1990 is considered by many as the first proper Rumble match and it is one of the greatest. 1997 Rumble match was also superb, it also marked Austin’s first Rumble victory. Other great Rumble matches like 2004, 2008, and 2009 also deserves to be in any great Rumble match list.
I) 2001 –
The debate about the supremacy between Rumble 1992 and 2001 will be endless. Rumble 2001 did not have anything out of the world surprises, but it had everything. This Rumble match is widely considered the exact definition of the Attitude Era. Not only the triumph of Stone Cold Steve Austin, but also the line up.
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It gave us special moments The Brothers of Destruction teaming up and being unstoppable, Steve Austin and The Rock finally facing each other, the Hardcore battle at the early period, and of course, Kane being the iron man of the match and putting up one of his best performances ever. Royal Rumble 2001 still remains the most superior Rumble match ever, and it will always be really hard to match its glory.
