Ranking the 7 best Royal Rumble matches in WWE history (2024)

The Royal Rumble has been a staple of the WWE calendar ever since it was brought to PPV for the first time in 1989. Since then, the Rumble matches have become the highlight of the year for many fans, with the 30-man and 30-woman contests usually serving up surprises, shocks and encounters between Superstars that we never thought would have been possible in years past. The Rumble also serves as the start of ‘WrestleMania season,’ with the winners of the Men’s and Women’s iterations in modern-day WWE going on to challenge for a title of their choosing at ‘Mania just a couple of months later. Pat Patterson is regarded as the man who created the now iconic match, which usually involves 30 participants heading to the ring in intervals of around 2 minutes each until every competitor has been thrown over the top rope and eliminated by both feet touching the floor.

Here, we break down the seven greatest Rumble matches in the history of the iconic match, featuring massive names such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey, with the criteria for our ranking being the quality of the match, the star power of the Superstars involved and the historical importance of the match.

7 Royal Rumble 2018

Winner: Asuka

2018 would bring the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble to fans from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WWE had started to introduce more gimmick matches to the women’s division in line with what the Men’s roster had been doing for years prior, but the Rumble match would prove to be the best thus far.

This match was a proper Rumble match, it had star power in the form of Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley, but it also featured some iconic one-off returns from legends like Molly Holly, Michelle McCool, Beth Phoenix and Mickie James, so it had the right ingredients to create the spectacle that a 30-person Rumble match should produce.

Asuka would end up winning the match and going on to WrestleMania to face Charlotte Flair. The Japanese star was the right person to win the match after a dominant run in NXT and her elimination of Nikki Bella from the ring apron, although slightly botched, was a great way to cap off the historic first.

Here is the full list of entrants from the match:

6 Royal Rumble 2010

Winner: Edge

The Royal Rumble in 2010 was a showcase of how you can tell multiple stories across the span of the 30-man match. Edge would end up making his return to the company in the number 29 spot after months out with injury, but there was even more intrigue scattered throughout the match.

CM Punk’s early run in the match (littered with microphone work between eliminating opponents) was a highlight, as the then-leader of the Straight Edge Society would rip into the crowd in attendance.

Shawn Michaels’ run was arguably the most incredible story throughout the match, as HBK would desperately attempt to win the match so he could get another shot at The Undertaker and his WrestleMania streak. ‘Taker was the World Heavyweight Champion and he had refused to give Michaels a rematch after beating him at ‘Mania 25, so this was the only way that Michaels could get the match he so craved. Michaels then getting eliminated by Batista after nearly 24 minutes was a heart-wrenching moment for fans watching on PPV.

Here is the full list of entrants from the match:

5 Royal Rumble 2018 (Men’s)

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

The 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble match tends to be forgotten, but it's the best Rumble match of the 2010s. Although the match was littered with great moments and returns, it was when the match reached the final three Superstars that the magic truly began to happen.

Shinsuke Nakamura, Roman Reigns and John Cena were the final three Superstars in the contest, and the company were aware that the fans did not want to see Reigns or Cena get the win. The final few moments were all built around Nakamura having to fight through two of the biggest names in the company, with his elimination of Cena getting a huge reaction from the audience and his elimination of Reigns to win the match being the biggest moment in his WWE career to that point.

The finish of the match was goosebumps-inducing, and while Nakamura’s WrestleMania match against AJ Styles did not live up to the hype, at all, this Rumble and finish will be remembered as being a highlight in the late 2010s for the company.

Here is the full list of entrants from the match:

4 Royal Rumble 2007

Winner: The Undertaker

It was again the final moments of the match that put the 2007 Royal Rumble into the pantheon of WWE greats.

The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels managed to up the excitement level of the match and go a decent amount of time before HBK would go for the Superkick and get eliminated by ‘Taker.

This finishing sequence of the match set the tone for what the two men would be able to pull off at WrestleMania 25 and 26 just a few years later, with fans being electric for everything that the two tenured legends were doing as the Rumble match drew to a close.

Here is the full list of entrants from the match:

3 Royal Rumble 2020 (Men’s)

Winner: Drew McIntyre

When WWE fans sat down to watch the 2020 iteration of the Royal Rumble, no one had any idea that it would be the last time a PPV event would take place in front of a live crowd for quite some time.

Even besides this being the last Rumble before the pandemic, it was an epic match that had arguably the biggest return in history; with Edge returning to the ring after having to retire following WrestleMania 27 in 2011 due to neck injuries.

Brock Lesnar would start the match as the WWE Champion in #1, determined to prove that no one in the company could match him. When Drew McIntyre was able to eliminate him the crowd was elated, and when McIntyre went on to win the match they were euphoric.

Here is the full list of entrants from the match:

2 Royal Rumble 1992

Winner: Ric Flair

The 1992 Royal Rumble was rife with star power, with legends like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, The Undertaker and Roddy Piper all making appearances in the match.

This was the first-ever Rumble match to be contested for the WWE/WWF Championship, with Ric Flair going all the way from #3 to win the belt epically. It would take decades for that stipulation to be re-upped, with the 2016 Rumble being the next time that the top title would be on the line in the 30-man match.

This would be the best Rumble match for quite some time before it was just, and only just, eclipsed in 2001.

Here is the full list of entrants from the match:

1 Royal Rumble 2001

Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin

The 2001 Royal Rumble would kickstart one of the greatest WrestleMania seasons ever, with No Way Out 2001 and WrestleMania X-7 also being incredible shows to match the brilliance of the 2001 Rumble.

Kane would get a record-breaking 11 eliminations during the match, but would last be eliminated himself by Stone Cold Steve Austin, who would be going on to WrestleMania X7 to face the WWF Champion.

All of the stars from the late Attitude Era were present during the match, and as a great Rumble match, it fits at every level of nostalgia for anyone who was watching during that era.

Here is the full list of entrants from the match: