Best WWE Royal Rumble Matches

The Royal Rumble match is one of the most iconic concepts ever introduced to WWE. Starting back in 1988, WWE has held one or two of these matches yearly, and they always garner a lot of excitement from fans. Not every Rumble match has delivered over the years, but some have stood out as brilliant bouts.

TheSportster’s rating system will determine the very best of the best when it comes to the Royal Rumble match. These ratings will also be compared to those on cagematch.net and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

UPDATE: 2024/12/01 21:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY

It has often been said that even an average Royal Rumble match can be enjoyable, with fans loving the concept. The excitement of the countdown and not knowing who is about to come out next can be a driving force in ensuring constant energy from the audience and attention being kept throughout the whole thing. In this latest look at the best Royal Rumbles of all time, we will assess the most recent edition, which saw Cody Rhodes’ second Royal Rumble match victory, a unique match in 2021 that had no live audience, and the first and only 40-man match from 2011.

24

2011 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.62

The first and only 40-person Royal Rumble match in 2011 was one of ups and downs. On one hand, the novelty of having so many men was entertaining, and there were some strong storyline threads such as The Nexus’ domination, a shock moment in Santino Marella’s near-upset, and the great returns of Kevin Nash and Booker T. Unfortunately, the match was filled with a lot of dead weight, periods of nothing happening, and a lack of star power in the final stages of the match, leading to an audience who were in and out of the bout. The choice of winner in Alberto Del Rio was a terrible one too.

23

2021 Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.68

The lack of a real crowd severely affected what could have been a terrific Royal Rumble match. Edge’s performance was one of the most stunning in Royal Rumble history, the continuation of his rivalry with Randy Orton was great, returns from Christian, Carlito, Kane and Hurricane were shocking and would’ve been amazing with an audience, and there were several potential winners making the match very unpredictable. However, the ThunderDome Era makes this a hard match to sit through when going back, and there were some negatives such as a lack of a proper thread, some messy moments, and the ring getting way too crowded.

22

2024 Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.83

Cody Rhodes bounced back for a second year in a row, winning a pretty decent Royal Rumble match that didn’t offer too much in terms of surprises. The in-ring work was very strong, with plenty of talented individuals making up the match. Bron Breakker’s involvement was strong, Gunther looked dominant once again, and CM Punk’s return to the ring was a nice moment, but all in all it was a pretty safe and basic Rumble. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly isn’t among the best matches of all time.

21

2021 Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.19

Even though there were no audience members in attendance, which did adversely affect this match in a great way, the Women’s 2021 Royal Rumble bout managed to impress on multiple fronts. There were so many great and unique character moments in this one, and the lack of an audience enabled more of this with more creativity, talking in the ring, and more. The final stretch in particular was fantastic, as Bianca Belair & Rhea Ripley both elevated themselves as stars when battling it out in the final two.

20

2019 Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.57

The ending of this match was fantastic, with Becky Lynch taking Lana’s place, inserting herself for an electric finish as she won the match in front of a red-hot crowd. The rest of the match was fine, with strong performances from the likes of Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, Nia Jax, and Naomi, the latter of whom pulled off another impressive Rumble save. There was some sloppy action in the middle of the match, which did take it down a peg or two.

19

2009 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.71

This match got a little too busy at times, with a lot of wrestlers filling up quite a boring portion of this bout. However, from a technical standpoint this was very sound all the way through, with several enjoyable portions. The first part of the match flowed well, with a lot of big stars entering early. The storyline between Triple H and Randy Orton was a big part of this match, and it helped carry the match and give it structure until the very end. RVD’s surprise return was a very strong moment too.

18

2006 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.77

Rey Mysterio’s performance in this match was iconic, going from number two, lasting longer than anyone else in Royal Rumble history (a record held until 2023), and winning the match in the memory of Eddie Guerrero. Other standouts in the match included Randy Orton and Triple H, who both helped to carry this match. It did lack in quality and star power at times and the returns were lackluster, but this Rumble did well to tell many interweaving stories throughout.

17

1990 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.90

The 1990 Royal Rumble match felt like the one where the concept was really starting to find its feet with a strong structure, plenty of excitement, and a whole bunch of star power which got the crowd on their feet. The likes of The Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, Andre The Giant, Hulk Hogan, Mr. Perfect, Randy Savage, and Jake Roberts were just a handful of the countless legends in this bout. The face off between Hogan and Warrior was of course enough for this match to go down in history, but there was some good action throughout the rest of the match too, even if it did drag at times.

16

2002 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.32

This was a pretty solid Royal Rumble match, which really kicked into a higher gear in the final stretch. Triple H looked very strong in his victory, Mr. Perfect’s return was a lovely moment, The Hurricane’s double choke spot was amazing, Mabel eliminating The Undertaker was an all-time great Rumble spot, and Steve Austin showed up once again in a match type where he is legendary. The first half of the match was slow though and pretty basic, and the lack of impact from several big stars in the match was frustrating, such as Kane, RVD, DDP, and Booker T.

15

2017 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.38

The winner of this match was frustrating, as was Roman Reigns emerging as the number 30 entrant, but much of this bout was quite enjoyable. It had a lot of star power with Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, and several more.

The opening portion of the match was great, with Braun Strowman looking like an absolute beast, and the likes of Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin, and Sami Zayn looking strong. A huge crowd was in attendance and reacting in a big way to everything, though the whole booking did leave a lot to be desired.

14

1997 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.25/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3. Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.02

This was all about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and his star-making performance in the match, dominating much of it and stealing a victory in a terrific heelish way.

Unfortunately, the star power wasn’t all too present in this one, which did lead to a lack of energy at times. However, the bigger stars like Austin and Bret Hart did do a lot of heavy lifting to still ensure an enjoyable match. Several rivals were involved, ensuring for heat to carry through the whole thing.

13

2023 Men’s Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.46

Gunther’s record-breaking performance in this was phenomenal, Cody Rhodes’ return and victory was a nice moment, and the jaw-dropping mid-air collision between Logan Paul and Ricochet was the moment of the match.

This was a Rumble which set the course straight after a lackluster previous year, though it did struggle from a structure standpoint. It was very much “one wrestler comes in and their rival is the next entrant”, so the whole thing followed a predictable and lazy formula at times.

12

2018 Women’s Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.14

The in-ring work in this match wasn’t the cleanest by any means, but it was a truly special match in its own right. The atmosphere, the celebration of women’s wrestling past and present with stars from yesteryear, and the fully invested crowd led to this being fantastic.

Seeing different generations clash was great, Sasha Banks put in a wonderful performance, and Asuka was treated like a massive star with her victory. Asuka eliminating Nikki Bella was a symbol of changing eras, something which was a thread throughout this whole match.

11

2008 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.34

The venue of Madison Square Garden helped to give this Rumble match a distinct feel and a special buzz. Starting out with Shawn Michaels & The Undertaker was genius, the throwback brawl between Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper was great, and John Cena’s insane return for the final part of the match was a wonderful way to close out the Rumble.

The storytelling in this match did get lost for a while, with several entrants feeling pointless. Things slowed right down at times as the ring filled up, which does take some points away from it overall.

10

2005 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: N/A
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.24

This will go down as one of the most infamous Royal Rumble matches of all time due to the botched finished which saw Batista and John Cena inadvertently crash over the top rope and land on the floor at the same time, causing Vince McMahon to emerge and tear both quads.

The rest of the match was still pretty good, with arguably one of the best eliminations of all time when Paul London nearly got decapitated. It was a match with ups and downs, but overall a strong Rumble with an iconic finishing sequence (for all the wrong reasons).

9

2016 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.43

After two terrible years of Rumbles, 2016 had a lot of pressure to deliver – and it did so. The whole storyline thread of Roman Reigns getting attacked and returning later was predictable and forced, though his elimination was one of the best moments of the match.

There was plenty of star power on hand, AJ Styles’ debut and performance was great, and lots of individual feuds played out within the action. The closing stretch with top names like Triple H, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, and more made for some brilliant interactions and an exciting finish.

8

1992 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.75
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.70

The star power in this match was through the roof, with so many Hall of Fame icons making up the field. This of course led to a strong match in many aspects. The storytelling was pretty good, though the finish of Hulk Hogan helping Ric Flair win will always remain as a major issue with the match.

Ric Flair’s performance was incredible, becoming the first real “Iron Man” of the Rumble with a stunningly long run in the match. His WWE Championship victory was still a good moment despite Hogan stealing the spotlight.

7

2003 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.25/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.60

The Ruthless Aggression Era was in full flow here with a match jam-packed with great wrestling and storylines, with many great fun interactions between wrestlers. Chris Jericho was the MVP here, dumping out Shawn Michaels in a shocking moment before going on to have a great run in the match.

Brock Lesnar, Kane, Batista, and The Undertaker all felt like huge threats when they came in, and they helped to carry the final portion. There was so much attention to detail in this match with everyone shining in some way.

6

2004 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.25/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 8.67

The 2004 Royal Rumble had a classic underdog story going the distance from number one to winning the bout, which acted as a strong thread to hold the whole match together. It did take some time for this match to get going as the star power wasn’t too huge, but when bigger stars like Goldberg and Kurt Angle were in the match, the bout took on a different energy.

It was certainly a Rumble match which introduced a new era of talent, but that did take a toll on the quality at times. Overall though, this was still a terrific Royal Rumble match with one of the more impressive victories of all time.

5

2010 Royal Rumble Match

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.5 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.58

This is one of the shorter Rumble matches in history, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It was a match with a lot of focus and a strong structure. CM Punk’s early dominance, Beth Phoenix’s surprise entrance, the shocking elimination of Triple H, Edge’s massive return, and of course the emotional Shawn Michaels performance all helped to make this match special.

There was a period of the match that didn’t quite deliver in the middle, with it running slowly as the ring filled up with some midcard fodder. Perhaps the ending did feel a little rushed too, but it was still executed well.