Best Royal Rumble Match ever!!

[Ruthless-RKO]

There have been 23 Royal Rumble matches, 20 different winners, Stone Cold has won it 3 times, Rey Mysterio has lasted the longest in a single match in 2006 - 1:02:12, Santino Marella has lasted the shortest amount of time in 2009 - 00:00:01, Kane has eliminated most men in a single match 2001 - 11 eliminations, Shawn Michaels holds the current record of most eliminations made in Royal Rumble history - 39.

What I want to know is what is your all-time favourite Royal Rumble Match?
One that has kept you interested, made you laugh and had a great ending.

There are so many matches to choose from, but for me it would have to be Royal Rumble 1999, the overall event was good IMO, but the rumble match is the only rumble match I have seen so many times. The feud between Austin and Vince was just incredible and was still progressing. Out of the rumbles that have had a story behind it, this is my pick of the best. I mean it's simple, Austin had no chance in hell, and with a bounty on his head, everyone was after him. The scenes were they went backstage and Undertaker making an appearance to kidnap Viscera(before the event he was called Mabel) and then after putting him into the boot of a car, we hear sirens, ambulance sirens, with Austin driving it, the look on Vince's face was just classic.

The match had some good wrestlers stepping up and trying to take the stage for themselves including Test, Triple H, Road Dogg, the big bossman, val venis, Edge(who I thought was brilliant) and how can you forget Chyna entering #30.

The ending was cool aswell, it came back down to Vince and Austin, with The Rock(who just an hour ago made Mankind "QUIT") coming out and costing Austin the match. Giving Vince the Royal Rumble win with only 1 elimination the whole match(Austin).

These are the reasons why 1999 is my favourite out of the lot. I have to mention 2001, which was another great match, but for me it has to be 1999.

So what is your favourite Royal Rumble Match??

 

[Draper1989]

I always kinda liked the 2005 rumble. Had a really interesting dynamic throughout. never got boring, never had any lulls or slow spots and easily showcased almost every competitor. I always really liked the 2009 rumble.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

1992 had the perfect Royal Rumble. First of all, it was for the then-vacant WWE Championship. So, the ante had never been that high before.

Secondly, the roster of the Royal Rumble was one of the best of all-time: DiBiase, Bulldog, Flair, Michaels, Von Erich, Valentine, Santana, Boss Man, Piper, Roberts, Savage, Slaughter, Undertaker, Hogan, Snuka, Sid, and others I'm probably forgetting. A lot of people in this Rumble are either in or will be in the Hall of Fame one day.

Third, you had the legendary performance of one Ric Flair who stayed in the match for about an hour and won the match. Flair didn't lie down and didn't hide in a corner. He didn't run out of the ring and call commentary until the final two. He actively participated for the whole time, which is definitely an impressive feat.

Finally, the commentary between Monsoon and Heenan was absolutely classic during that match. Heenan was singing Flair's praises one moment and begging for God to let Flair win on the other. Classic Line: "I'll never do another bad thing in my life." Heenan and Moonsoon's commentary was always great, but on this night, not even Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler could have done better.

This to me is the crucible upon which all future Royal Rumbles have been measured. Some have come close to matching it, but none, I feel, match the emotion, drama, and even hilarity of this Royal Rumble match.

 

[maar130]

For me, eventhough I am a Taker fan, the best one was the first one Stone Cold won.

I was rooting for Bret but Stone Cold dominated that rumble like none else before, mocking the crowd, making fun of the eliminated guys, as soon as the Hit-Man got there, you knew the war was on.

My support changed when I heard the GONG form The Undertaker, since I didn't know he was in I was surprised about because earlier in the night Taker lost to Vader when Paul Bearer interfiered.

Then Bret eliminated Austin but the damn ref. didn't see it, so he was still there, eliminated both Vader and Taker and just when Bret though he won Austin toased him from the ring.

I mean I was pissed as Hell at first, but looking into it a little later, I was just laughing at the fact that he tricked everyone and well, he said he was going to do it and he did won the Rumble.

 

[Judah's Lion]

great thread to a great topic. i own the first 20 on the DVD Anthology set and so this is an area in which i am well educated. at least i enjoy watching them over and over.

i'll get down to my favorite in a sec, but i'd have to say that 2003 - 2007, that last disc on the anthology set, is really awesome.

in 2003, you had the HBK/Jericho feud, Undertaker/Lesnar history and so much more. just a great match with two really great swerves, both involving Kane (throwing out RVD and getting thrown out by Undertaker).
in 2004, you had Benoit going the distance. that was really special. plus Goldberg coming in at #30 and not dominating like many thought he would. that was a pretty unique way to not be predictable. and the way Big Show eliminated Angle was crazy.
in 2005, you had a great finish with Batista and Cena, and both eventually went on to Mania to win their first world titles, respectively. plus who could forget Eddie and Benoit beating the fire out of Puder? and then the beatdown between Raw and Smackdown and the between of both brands on Hassan. just a classic match.
in 2006 was Triple H, Mysterio and Orton, #1,2 and 30 in the final 3. that was totally a great showdown with an emotional (if not entirely exaggerated) finish. but it was great.
in 2007 was the most star-studded rumble in history. and it was pretty sweet. Khali dominated at the end by eliminating 7 guys in about 2 minutes, until the Undertaker came out at #30 and won the whole thing. that was good too.

the others that were great (though already mentioned) were 92 with Flair winning the title in a who's who of all-time great wrestlers and 97 with Stone Cold winning his first of three and taking out 10 guys in the process. just a fantastic performance.

98 with Austin as the marked man and the three faces of Foley was pretty classic and of course 2000 at MSG with the Rock last eliminating the Big Show.

okay, apologies for the novel of an answer, but i seriously really appreciated the efforts and results of about 10 out of the first 20 rumbles, but my all-time favorite rumble ppv and match combined would have to be 2000. first Tables Match, Tazz debuts to beat an undefeated Angle, Acolytes destroy the New Age Outlaws but still can't get the Tag Titles, Cactus Jack vs. Triple H for the World Title and the Rock winning. just too many great matches and a great rumble. that's my all-time favorite thus far.

 

[wushady]

My favorite rumble match was I think 2000 when it became a hardcore rumble for part of the match. When they brought weapons into the ring it was something original and exciting that will never be done again. The '92 rumble was also original being the only time the title was on the line.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I've always liked 92', 97', 98', 04'. Out of those my favourite is possibly 97' but 04' really is excellent. In 97', you had a whole batch of possible winners: Austin, Bret Hart, Vader, Undertaker, Mankind etc... Even when Austin won it was a suprise because Austin wasn't quite a main eventer just yet. In 04', you had a similar scenario with Benoit, Kane, Kurt Angle, The Big Show, Goldberg etc...The same thing when Benoit won. He was the only guy with a storyline going in but no one was that sure if he would do it and when he did it was huge. He would go on to become big and it was the same with Austin. Both great Rumbles.

 

[greatest of all time]

i have to say that the 07 rumble was my favorite.
The ending was great when it was down to HBK and Taker: two veterans and one more time to headline wrestlemania
Great moment for me

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

i have to say that the 07 rumble was my favorite.
The ending was great when it was down to HBK and Taker: two veterans and one more time to headline wrestlemania
Great moment for me

That was definitely a great Royal Rumble moment, and in my opinion, it was the greatest closing to the Rumble match. You just sort of got the feeling that you were watching something special that night, and ironically, after all those years when the two never crossed paths, there they were: finally face to face with each other with a trip to the Main Event of WrestleMania on the line. Great storytelling and the match itself is one of my favorite Rumbles as well, although as I said earlier, 92 is still my personal overall favorite.

 

[steveh0481]

1992 had the perfect Royal Rumble. First of all, it was for the then-vacant WWE Championship. So, the ante had never been that high before.

Secondly, the roster of the Royal Rumble was one of the best of all-time: DiBiase, Bulldog, Flair, Michaels, Von Erich, Valentine, Santana, Boss Man, Piper, Roberts, Savage, Slaughter, Undertaker, Hogan, Snuka, Sid, and others I'm probably forgetting. A lot of people in this Rumble are either in or will be in the Hall of Fame one day.

Third, you had the legendary performance of one Ric Flair who stayed in the match for about an hour and won the match. Flair didn't lie down and didn't hide in a corner. He didn't run out of the ring and call commentary until the final two. He actively participated for the whole time, which is definitely an impressive feat.

Finally, the commentary between Monsoon and Heenan was absolutely classic during that match. Heenan was singing Flair's praises one moment and begging for God to let Flair win on the other. Classic Line: "I'll never do another bad thing in my life." Heenan and Moonsoon's commentary was always great, but on this night, not even Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler could have done better.

This to me is the crucible upon which all future Royal Rumbles have been measured. Some have come close to matching it, but none, I feel, match the emotion, drama, and even hilarity of this Royal Rumble match.

Disciple, I completely agree. This was my favorite Rumble ever. I love the epic confrontation between Sid and Hogan at the end. The fact that the fans live were booing Hogan and cheering Sid and the WWE dubbed over that in the weeks after since they didnt intend on turning Hogan heel. Amazing Rumble and the commentary was amazing. Even the matches leading up to the Rumble were great. Piper beating the Mountie for the IC title was great.

 

[god-soldier]

The best royal rumbles of all time honorable mentions are 90,94,97,2000,2002,2004, and 2006 The winners were Hogan 90 94 Lex Luger and Bret Hart 97 Stone Cold 2000 Rock
2002 HHH 2004 Beniot and 2006 Rey Mysterio

The best royal rumble of all time is...............
Royal Rumble 1992 when Ric Flair outlasted the best WWE had to offer including this hall of fame list of superstars Hulk Hogan Randy Savage Undertaker Jake Roberts British Bulldog Sid Ted Dibasie Tito Santana Texas Tornado and a host of WWE Legends and Hall of Famers Nature Boy not only won the royal rumble but won the WWE title
"with a tear in my eye I now hold the greatest wrestling championship of them all"
Nature Boy Ric Flair

 

[Jsaturn14]

Well, to me the best Rumbles are when History is made at the event. The 1992 Rumble springs to mind because it was the only one to have the WWE title on the line. The 2001 Rumble was great because you had Kane just dominating the Rumble and threw out 11 people, a Rumble record. The 2007 Rumble had one of the best endings to a Rumble ever with HBK and Taker going at it for about 10 minutes at the end before HBK finally got thrown out. My favorite Rumble ever though was the 1995 Rumble Match. Sure, the roster wasn't all that good in the match, but to see Davey Boy and HBK start the match and end it, and then to have that ending with HBK hanging on for dear life, and only having one of his feet hit the floor. I was on the edge of my seat, and I thought it was a brilliant moment, and the best ending to a Rumble ever.

 

[Tastycles]

The 2001 Royal Rumble event is the best one ever, and one of the main reasons for that is the match itself. It had everything, something a bit different in the hardcore section, an impressive performance in Kane, the continuation of the Austin vs HHH feud, and a nice bit of nostalgia with the Honky Tonk Man. Just a really solid performance from everyone really, and it sums up the Attitude Era pretty well, but fortunately, mostly concentrating on the good bits.