One of the most exciting nights of the year for WWE fans is the Royal Rumble. The Royal Rumble sets the stage for WrestleMania by determining who will move on to face the champion. It's when we see the top storylines of the year take shape.
The Rumble has produced surprises, new feuds, new alliances, and a lot of excitement through the years. Some Rumbles have been better than others, however. Below we rank the top-5 Royal Rumble matches in history. Scroll down to reveal #5.
By early 2001, the wrestling promotional war was almost over. Rumors that World Championship Wrestling was close to its demise were ever-present. The promotion would eventually present the last ever episode of WCW Nitro on March 31st of that year.
WWE was once again back on its pedestal as the greatest wrestling promotion in the world. The Attitude Era wouldn't last for much longer but come the Rumble that year, they still had names like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, the Rock, Triple H, and more. Austin would pull out his record 3rd Rumble win in 2001. Other history-making events that year included Kane eliminating a then-record 11 opponents after teaming up with his brother the Undertaker. Drew Carey, Haku, and the Honky Tonk Man would all make surprise appearances as well in what was one of the best-received Rumbles in history.
Scroll down to reveal the 4th best Royal Rumble in history.
NFL sideline reporter Erin Andrews opened up on some uncomfortable moments she's lived while on duty.
The 2007 Royal Rumble is fondly remembered for what happened at the very end. The Undertaker dramatically entered in at the #30 position. It was a spot that nobody had actually won the Rumble from by that point. Undertaker would be the first, however, but not before an epic encounter with Shawn Michaels.
Michales and the Undertaker were the final two left at the end of the match. They would battle for a near 10-minutes before Taker finally eliminated Shawn. Taker would then go on to win the World Championship from Batista at WrestleMania that year.
Scroll down to reveal the 3rd best Royal Rumble in history.
The 2nd ever women's Royal Rumble match is one of the most important Rumbles ever.
Becky Lynch was not even supposed to be in the match. After she lost her title to Asuka earlier in the show, however, she came out as a late replacement at the #28 spot. She'd end up tossing out Charlotte Flair as the final elimination to become just the 2nd ever woman to win a Rumble.
Lynch would go on to make history at WrestleMania that year by winning the first-ever all-female WrestleMania main event against Flair and Ronda Rousey.
Scroll down to reveal the 2nd best Royal Rumble in history.
By 1992, WWE had established the Royal Rumble as one of the most important nights of the year. They had yet to attach the rule that the winner would go on to the main event of WrestleMania, however. In 1992, the WWF Championship was declared vacant by President Jack Tunney stemming from the controversy from the Hulk Hogan vs the Undertaker match at This Tuesday in Texas. He declared that the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble would be the new champion.
Ric Flair lasted all the way from the #3 position to win the match and the title. Flair's post-match interview that night is one of the most iconic promos in wrestling history.
Scroll down to reveal the top Royal Rumble in WWE history.
The 1998 Royal Rumble is arguably the most important Rumble WWE has ever held. At the time, WCW was still winning the ratings war but WWE was catching up. A tide was turning based on the popularity of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
Many credit the success of WrestleMania 14, Mike Tyson's involvement, and the beginnings of the Austin vs McMahon storyline for winning WWE the war with WCW. Royal Rumble 98 set the stage for all of that. Austin would go on to defeat Shawn Michaels and win the WWF Championship for the 1st time. WIth that, WWE cruised out ahead of WCW and never looked back. There was no more important Rumble in history than 1998.
