Top 5 Favorite Royal Rumble Matches

It's no secret that the Royal Rumble is my favorite match type and PPV in WWE. The build, the mystique of it and the long lasting effects make for a wondrous event. Just think of how many amazing moments have come from this event. Shawn Michaels lasting from the #1 position until the end and faced near elimination by having only one of his feet touch the floor. Rey Mysterio lasting from #2 and setting a Royal Rumble record of lasting over an hour in the match. ALL the massive and unexpected returns from injury, like John Cena and Edge. How about the debut of AJ Styles last year? This event has great moments. They go hand in hand. Now, there are a lot of dark moments for the event as well, especially the 2014 and 2015 editions, which the crowd overwhelmingly booed the face winners. This post isn't about moments, it's about the entire matches themselves. This is my top 5 favorite Royal Rumble matches, not matches on the PPV, just the 30 (or 20 or 40) man Royal Rumble match itself is going to be included. Let's get started!

5. Royal Rumble 2008 - Length: 51:26 - Winner: John Cena from the #30 entry (1st time winner)

Heading into the Royal Rumble, in my eyes, Triple H was the person most likely to win. Randy Orton was WWE Champion and it would give Wrestlemania a familiar student VS teacher type of match. This Rumble was a good one. It started off with the last two from the previous year's match, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. They renewed their rivalry as it was a precursor to what was to come in the next couple Wrestlemanias. They would both end up lasting over 30 minutes. Cody Rhodes, Batista and Umaga all had good showings in the match as well, with Batista lasting the longest of anyone in the match at 37 minutes and 40 seconds as he was entrant #8. One of the best moments from the show was definitely seeing Jimmy Snuka entering at #18 to mix it up with some of the stars, only to see Roddy Piper enter at #19. This match was held inside Madison Square Garden so to see these two legends in the great arena again was awesome. It was a spectacle to see as they literally made the whole match stop as these two legends did battle. My favorite, Triple H, finally made his appearance at #29, quickly eliminating 4 guys before #30 made his way out. To everyone's surprise, it was John Cena. Cena had just gone down with a torn pectoral muscle in October and was expected to be out for a year. He made his return in 3 months. That is crazy. The final four came down to Batista (#8), Kane (#20), Triple H (#29) and John Cena (#30). Triple H and Batista took Kane out the match before it came down to the final three. Triple H and Batista had won the match before, Cena came close in 2005. Triple H took care of Batista and it came down to The Game and Cena, two Raw superstars. They had a great battle but Cena would not be denied, giving HHH the FU over the top rope to give Cena his first Royal Rumble win. This would be the 2nd time back to back numbers won the Royal Rumble match (1993 and 1994) and the 2nd time #30 won.

Cena's win was shocking and it took away everything The Game worked for during the match. At the time, I hated the move but it's simply one of the most shocking moments in Royal Rumble history. If you say you called that, I will call you a liar. Great match filled with fun moments and a great victory for the franchise player.

4. Royal Rumble 2003 - Length: 53:21 - Winner: Brock Lesnar from the #29 entry (1st time winner)

This Rumble was filled with giants, big strong stars that I'm sure Vince loved. It started off with Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. Jericho used Christian to do his entrance and got a cheap low blow on HBK to start the match off. Thanks to the blind side attack, Jericho was able to quickly eliminate HBK, not before busting him open with a steel chair though. Jericho would be the MVP for this Rumble, eliminating the most stars (6) and lasting the longest at 38 minutes and 54 seconds. Not many surprise entrants this year but BIG superstars like I said. This Rumble had Brock Lesnar, Batista, A-Train, Rikishi, Kane and The Undertaker. It was really a who's who of big guys. Though Jericho lasted the longest, he didn't win as HBK came back out to get some revenge and continue their feud. One of the best moments was between Maven and The Undertaker. Maven tried to dropkick and eliminate The Undertaker from behind like he did in 2002. That didn't work so well this time. The final four came down to Kane (#22), Batista (#28, which is the same number he won both his Rumbles from in the later years), Brock Lesnar (#29), and The Undertaker (#30). The big men from the present VS the big guys of the future. Two guys from Raw, two from Smackdown. Batista was eliminated first and just when it looked like Taker and Kane were going to team up, Taker eliminated his brother. This allowed Lesnar to scoop Taker over the top rope and secure the victory in his first Royal Rumble, only lasting just under 9 minutes in the match. It was good to see the present vs the future and even better that the obvious winner won to set up his Wrestlemania main event. Great match.

3. Royal Rumble 2010 - Length: 49:24 - Winner: Edge from the #29 entry (1st time winner)

The 2010 Royal Rumble had a lot of interesting storylines. With the main event speculated as being Shawn Michaels VS The Undertaker II, HBK was a heavy favorite to win the match as Taker was the current World Heavyweight Champion. HBK has previously asked the Deadman for another shot but Undertaker laughed him off so Michaels had only one way to get what he wanted; by winning the Royal Rumble match and pick The Undertaker to face. This Rumble also featured John Cena who of course, is a favorite in any match he's apart of. Triple H and Chris Jericho were included as favorites too. The first two entrants were Dolph Ziggler and Evan Bourne, two relatively fresh faces to the WWE Universe. #3 was CM Punk, who began to preach and dominate for the next 10 minutes, throwing out all who entered. This stopped once #8 Triple H came out and ended Punk's night. Punk had the 2nd most eliminations that night with 5. The next big entrant was 10 spots later, #18, Triple H's best friend Shawn Michaels. The two eliminated the rest of the entrants and had a brief staredown while awaiting #19, who turned out to be John Cena. All three had a confrontation before HBK gave Triple H a Sweet Chin Music, which sent HHH over the top rope and out of the match. #28 was Chris Jericho, another favorite. As he was catching his breath, the clock ticked down to welcome the #29 entrant. After a brief pause, Edge came out, wild eyed and ready to compete. Edge went down with a torn Achilles heel injury back in July and was said to be out for a year. As with Cena, that wasn't the case. He started spearing all in the ring and quickly eliminated Chris Jericho, getting some revenge after he called Edge the weak link of their team. It was now time for #30, Batista, who was working as a heel for the past two months. As Batista entered, history was made as this was the first time when #30 entrant came out, he was automatically apart of the Final Four, which were Shawn Michaels (#18), John Cena (#19), Edge (#29) and Batista (#30). All numbers except 19, which would have two later winners, have had previous winners. After battling for a few minutes, HBK got in a precarious situation and ended up getting eliminated by Batista. The dream was over. No rematch. HBK was obsessed with this and ended up attacking a ref on his way out. John Cena next eliminated Batista, a foreshadowing to their feud coming up. Edge laid in wait, trying to attack Cena. Cena countered with a kick and prepared to throw Cena over the top, but Edge reversed the counter and threw Cena out for the shocking return victory, winning the match while only lasting 7 minutes and 19 seconds, the shortest amount time any winner needed. Awesome stuff from all involved but HBK's desire to win was on full display here. WWE did a great job and it truly felt like it was anyone's match to win, that is, until Edge made his entry. Great moment for him, adding to his already legendary pedigree.

2. Royal Rumble 2007 - Length: 56:18 - Winner: The Undertaker from the #30 entry (1st time winner)

The 2007 edition of the Royal Rumble match will always be remembered, at least for me, for the epic confrontation between the final two participants that has not been matched by any final two yet. Not Cena/HHH in 2008, not Jericho/Sheamus in 2012 (though great), not Cena/Ryback 2013. This is the ultimate test of will between the final two in a Royal Rumble match. This year didn't feature any surprise entrants, just stars who've been in the company. They called it the most star studded Rumble in history. It started with two experience guys, Ric Flair and Finlay. Edge entered at #5 and ended up lasting the longest of any star in the match. Edge clocked in at 44 minutes. Edge also had the 2nd most eliminations in the match. It was all fun and games until #28 came out. The entire field gasped as The Great Khali came down to the ring and completely destroyed everyone in the ring, throwing out anyone within his giant grasp. He ended up eliminating 7 guys before The Undertaker came out at #30. The Undertaker was Phenom enough to get Khali out. The Final Four this time came out to Edge (#5), Randy Orton (#16), Shawn Michaels (#23) and The Undertaker (#30). Orton and HBK were in the match for awhile as well, both lasting over the 20 minute mark. This was during the time of Rated RKO. They had just injured Triple H during their tag team war at New Year's Revolution and HBK wanted to get into the main event in honor of his friend. Though they brought in a chair, which busted open The Undertaker, HBK was able to eliminate both Orton and Edge, leaving the final two to be HBK and The Undertaker, two home state heroes as their were battling in Texas. These two went at it, with so many near eliminations. This was a edge of your seat type of affair. HBK would not be given his 2nd Rumble win as The Undertaker caught HBK and dumped him right over the top for the victory. This would be the first time in the 20 year history of the Royal Rumble that the best number to draw, 30, would win the match. Cena and Triple H would both win at the same number in the years 2008 and 2016 respectively. This was a war from two bonafide Hall of Famers and a tease at what was to come in the next few years. The match itself was good but the final two coming down to The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels is some legendary stuff that can't be topped.

1. Royal Rumble 2005 - Length: 51:27 - Winner: Batista from the #28 entry (1st time winner)

There is not a better Rumble than 2005. Everything about it was fantastic, a top to bottom joyride from beginning to end. The first two were Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, two guys who had their biggest moment at Wrestlemania XX the year before. This Rumble's promo was all about West Side Story and with the Raw and Smackdown rivalry going, it fit perfectly. One of the best parts of the match is when the eight men in the ring all started to group up based on what show they were on. Edge, Jericho, Benoit and Shelton Benjamin from Raw VS Guerrero, Booker T, Rey Mysterio and Luther Reigns from Smackdown. The crowd went nuts for it. Right after, controversial star Muhammad Hassan came out and stopped the Rumble in its tracks. All 8 men stopped what they were doing to eliminate him. The youth in this match man....There were only three guys in the match (Benoit, Michaels and Ric Flair) who had previously won this match so there was a good chance someone new was going to win. The overwhelming favorites were two upstarts, Batista from Raw and John Cena from Smackdown, both on the fast track at getting pushed. Cena was a huge fan favorite over on Smackdown, holding the US Title multiple times. Batista was still in Evolution but tensions were rising with Batista in the Rumble. Would he win and then challenge mentor Triple H at Wrestlemania?  Both favorites entered at high numbers, Cena at #25 and Batista at #28. The Final Four this time were Edge (#7), Rey Mysterio (#8), John Cena (#25) and Batista (#28). Two guys from Raw, two from Smackdown, representing the youth of the company, None of these guys were WWE or World Champion at the time but all would eventually win both titles down the line. Edge would take out Mysterio and Cena and Batista would take out Edge. Edge and Mysterio lasted the longest this year, Edge at a little over 40 minutes and Mysterio at 38 minutes and 25 seconds. It came down to the two favorites, Cena and Batista, in a dream final two. The two battled and as Batista lifted Cena over his head for a powerbomb, Cena's momentum caused both guys to go right over the top rope. There was plenty of confusion. Who's feet touched first? Raw refs declared Batista the winner while Smackdown refs gave it to Cena. Vince McMahon came out, PISSED OFF. As he entered the ring, he tore both of his quads. BOTH. How even....Anyway, Vince said the match had to be restarted. Cena put up a great effort but Batista planted Cena with a spinebuster and sent him straight over the top rope, giving Evolution's Animal the victory and ticket to the Wrestlemania main event. Obviously, Cena rebounded quickly and both Cena and Batista won World Titles on the same night at Wrestlemania 21.

This was the Royal Rumble that brought about a new year. It gave rise to two of the biggest post Attitude Era stars. It also highlighted other stars as well, like Mysterio and Edge. Oh, and how could I forget, it set up the fantastic first ever meeting between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 21. Best Rumble EVER!

There you go! Just a little something to prep you for the Rumble come Sunday.