The Definitive 10 Best WWE Royal Rumble Matches, Ranked
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.
10 Best Entrances In WWE Royal Rumble History
WWE's Royal Rumble has featured some memorable entrances that fans still talk about to this day.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.
To learn more about how we rank wrestling matches on TheSportster, please check out our match ranking criteria guide here.
10 2018 Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.5/10
Storytelling | 2/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 1.5/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 1.75/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- 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.
9 2008 Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.5/10
Storytelling | 1.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 1.75/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- 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.
8 2016 Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10
Storytelling | 1.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- 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.
10 Wrestlers In The 2010s Who Didn't Deserve To Be In The Royal Rumble
For one reason or another, it made no sense for these WWE wrestlers to participate in the Royal Rumble Match during the 2010s.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.
7 1992 Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8/10
Storytelling | 1.75/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- 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.
6 2003 Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.25/10
Storytelling | 2/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- 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.
5 2010 Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2/2.5 |
- 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.
4 2007 Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 8.5/10
Storytelling | 2/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.25/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.89
The magical finishing sequence between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels puts this Rumble in contention with the best of all time without anything else in the match needing to happen.
This was still a strong Rumble match throughout, though at times the star power did dwindle and there were some very slow and meandering moments. When the big names got involved though the action improved, and as noted the final portion of the match was full of excitement. It is arguably overrated elsewhere due to the great ending being what people remember most.
3 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.25/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.25/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.30
This match deserves more plaudits. It was such a well constructed Rumble match with nearly every single entrant doing something of note which added to the match and made sense with their character. There were so many great surprises such as NXT stars, The Hurricane, and Rey Mysterio, and a huge number of massive talents who could’ve all won.
The decision to put Shinsuke Nakamura over Roman Reigns and John Cena was bold, but the fans absolutely loved it, going crazy in the final stretch. A brilliant Rumble match that had very few negatives, with it being exciting all the way through.
2 2001 Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.25/10
Storytelling | 2.25/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.5/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.72
Although the Attitude Era was ending, this match represented everything that fans loved about that time. It had plenty of mega stars, weapons, absolute silliness, and a raucous crowd who ate everything up.
10 Most Emotional WWE Royal Rumble Moments Of All Time
The Royal Rumble is arguably the most exciting event in WWE history, and there have been several emotional moments at Royal Rumble over the years.Kane’s performance was sensational, ripping apart the field and only falling to the super hot Steve Austin. It is true that some parts of this match weren’t perfect, but it is still a top tier Royal Rumble match with so much variety and excitement.
1 2020 Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.5/10
Storytelling | 2.5/2.5 |
|---|---|
Technical Ability | 2.25/2.5 |
Character Work/Psychology | 2.5/2.5 |
Crowd Reaction | 2.25/2.5 |
- Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Cagematch.net Rating: 8.59
Nostalgia plays a part for many when it comes to ranking Royal Rumble matches, but TheSportster’s greatest Royal Rumble match is the Men’s one from 2020. There has never been a more unique Rumble match, with the opening half being very memorable. Brock Lesnar’s elimination spree was handled to perfection, it never tired, it featured surprises, and the pop for his elimination was insane.
From there, the match slowed at some points but the fans were still hooked and plenty of massive stars still came out, not to mention Edge who sensationally came out of retirement. Drew McIntyre also proved to be a popular winner with one of the largest Royal Rumble reactions of all time when he finally won.
