Your favorite Royal Rumble

[wrestlingfan2]

I've been thinking about what my favorite Royal Rumbles since it's almost here again and was wondering your thoughts on it. In my opinion the Royal Rumble is second only to Wrestlemania (and WM had been lame the last few yrs so it's inching closer as my favorite although it will always be 1B) I first should give you mine I guess huh?

1. Royal Rumble 91: This has to be one of the best RR in WWE history. Strong undercard with the Rockers v Orient Express, Big Boss Man v The Barbarian, WWF Championship: Warrior v Sg. Slaughter and Rhodes v the Million Dollar Man and Virgil. Hogan wins the Rumble at a time America was at war. The WWE universe rallied behind Hogan to take down Slaughter at Wrestlemania 7.

2. Royal Rumble 92: While the undercard isn't as good that included The New Fountation v Orient Express, Bushwackers v Beverly Brothers, and LOD v The Natural Disasters the Rumble itself was the biggest, star studded group of Superstars in WWE history. A lot of them WWE H of F. Ric Flair got the win after going in the rumble for about an hour.


If I had to pick the worst, I would have to be Royal Rumble 95. It was short, had a bunch of gimmick nobodies and the only match that was worth anything was the championship match.


Make sure you read my previous thread entitled: "Today's WWE crowds are contributing to ruining the show" I know, shamless plug but it's good.

 

[ccotreau1]

Personally, one of my favorites was 2007, only because The Undertaker won the Rumble...Also I enjoyed 2002 as well, all the matches for that one were good, and HHH won that one (whereas HHH was born in my hometown, kinda makes me root for him no matter what)

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I would have to agree with a few of you and go with Royal Rumble 1992. It had Savage, Undertaker, Hogan, Jake Roberts, Ted DiBiase, Greg Valentine, Roddy Piper, Sid, Shawn Michaels, and of course, the winner, Ric Flair. That was a hell of lineup for a rumble match, and I think Flair put on the most entertaining Rumble performance you could have asked for. Undercard wasn't great, but the commentary with Heenan and Monsoon was amazing. Heenan was a big part of why that pay per view was so much fun to watch. Piper vs. Mountie wasn't bad either.
Royal Rumbel 1997 was another personal favorite, first time Austin won the Rumble, and Sid vs. Michaels wasn't bad either. I also enjoyed Royal Rumbe 2009, not because it was great, but because Orton won it and I was there to see it live.

 

[wrestlingfan2]

I would have to agree with a few of you and go with Royal Rumble 1992. It had Savage, Undertaker, Hogan, Jake Roberts, Ted DiBiase, Greg Valentine, Roddy Piper, Sid, Shawn Michaels, and of course, the winner, Ric Flair. That was a hell of lineup for a rumble match, and I think Flair put on the most entertaining Rumble performance you could have asked for. Undercard wasn't great, but the commentary with Heenan and Monsoon was amazing. Heenan was a big part of why that pay per view was so much fun to watch. Piper vs. Mountie wasn't bad either.
Royal Rumbel 1997 was another personal favorite, first time Austin won the Rumble, and Sid vs. Michaels wasn't bad either. I also enjoyed Royal Rumbe 2009, not because it was great, but because Orton won it and I was there to see it live.

I forgot to mention the Piper v Mountie match. Good call. And you are correct about the Monsoon/Heenan pairing was always good. You could go wrong with Monsoon/anyone.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

oh man...the earlier rumbles were all so great...really the only one i hated was the 1 minute interval rumble or whatever it was...have to keep it 2 minute intervals to really get something going. My favorite rumble now would have to be the one with bret and lex both winning. I don't remember the year but that was just an amazing rumble, helps that I was a huge bret hart fan and i didn't expect him to make it out after being attacked earlier (in a great undercard match) and then with that finish i remember arguing with friends over who won. Also that was the same rumble that had undertaker attacked by damn near every heel in his match against Yoko, again another amazing scene with the exception of him levitating above the arena that went too far...but having every heel come out to beat him down and throw him in the casket was a hell of a sight, plus that event had a lot of star power as well including guys like bam bam and JJ

 

[JayBriscoe2010]

Hmmm.........92 was really good but I like 98/2001/2004 alot as well. In 98 everyone was targeting Stone Cold but nobody was able to eliminate him as Austin won his 2nd Royal Rumble, 2nd year in a row. 2001 saw Stone Cold grab it again but not in dominating fashion like he did in 98, it was Kane who owned that shit but not able to rid of Austin. 2004 was special because Chris Benoit FINALLY caught a big break in winning The Royal Rumble and entering in as #1. 2004 gets the edge for me as far as The Best Royal Rumble match its self.

 

[Jetspete]

I'm gonna have to take this old school and say it is a toss up between 1992 and 1993. Both featured the legendary team of Heenan and Monsoon behind the mic, and they could make any match exciting. But the 1992 rumble was the culmination of the flair/taker/hogan mess that started at Survivor Series, and it might go down as Flair's all-time best performance. 1993 had a better undercard (bret v ramon, the rockers one on one, and bam bam vs the boss man), but a relatively forgettable Rumble match, albeit highlighted by a legendary performance by Bob Backlund.

I would also put in a vote for 2007. The Rumble match was interesting, but more importantly it had Cena v Umaga as possibly the best undercard match ever featured at a royal rumble. I also remember the kennedy/batista match being well done.

For the worst, well i'm going to say 1994. For whatever reason WWE conducted it on a saturday night. The rumble match ended in a tie. And the main event, Taker v yoko ended with like 37 guys cheating and Taker turning into green smoke. great at the time, but in hindsight tacky.

 

[Checkmate]

2004 for me, with 2001 as a close runner up. These are my personal favorites, as I haven't seen any rumble prior to 1998.

2004's card was really solid from top to bottom.

WWE Tag Team Championship: Batista/Flair vs Dudleys in a Table match: Decent match to fill the card. Who doesn't like someone going through a table?

Cruiserweight Championship: Rey Mysterio vs Jamie Noble: A solid match that showcased the Cruiserweights.

Eddie Guerrero vs Chavo Guerrero: Good match for Eddie to get some revenge on Chavo.

WWE Title: Brock Lesnar vs Hardcore Holly: By far the weakest part of the night, but had the courtesy to be short.

World Heavyweight Title: Triple H vs Shawn Michaels in a Last Man Standing match: Back when their feud was really good. This match was hyped well and had a great finish, which led to the Wrestlemania triple threat that also stole the show.

Royal Rumble Match won by Chris Benoit: Benoit went coast to coast. Orton had a great showing. Foley made his return. Big Show dominated. Lesnar screwed Goldberg. Undertaker's return was forshadowed. What wasn't there to like.


So, those are my reasons behind 2004 being one of my favorites. 2001 also has a solid card, with Triple H/Angle, E&C/Dudleys, and Jericho/Benoit. Austin winning the rumble was also really cool too.

 

[Hulkster84]

As far as the entire Royal Rumble card goes, i would have to agree with Royal Rumble 91. Hogan wins. Warrior loses title to Slaughter, which was the first time the WWE title had been defended at a Royal Rumble, and the first time it changed hands at a Royal Rumble. Savage v Warrior was set up for WM 7 also. The big Rumble match included the Undertaker - and it was his first Royal Rumble, Legion of Doom - also their first Rumble, Hogan of course, Mr Perfect, Earthquake, Bret Hart, Jake Roberts, Texas Tornado, British Bulldog, Rick Martel and Randy Savage who no showed.

Now, in saying that, i think the best EVER Royal Rumble MATCH was the Rumble match in 1990. We saw Hogan v Warrior for the first time. They were huge. It was like the unthinkable, the impossible. Hulk Hogan v Warrior. Hogan was the man, Warrior was coming up. The big stars in that match were: Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, Dusty Rhodes, Jake Roberts, Roddy Piper, Ted Dibiase, Honky Tonk Man, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Eartquake, Rick Rude, Mr Perfect. WHAT A LINE UP!!
And both of these were Rumbles that had 2 minute intervals. Perfect amount of time and allowed the match to flow and the to minutes was enough time for you to build anticipation for the next entrant. With the 1 minute interval, by the time you digest the most recent entrant, next person is already out. No room for anticipation and therefore less enjoyable!

 

[Chopper]

2001 was simply the best. Ever.

Quite a solid card

Dudleyz vs Edge & Christian Tag Titles: nothing special here, just a tag title match to further their feud.

Jericho vs Benoit IC title Ladder Match: This match is on the Ladder Match dvd from a few years back. The best match in their long feud. Most amazing moment had to be the Walls of Jericho on top of the ladder

Ivory vs Chyna: womens title: Should of been left off the card.

Triple H vs Kurt Angle: Solid match, but predictable finish. HHH gets screwed, in the heat of his feud with Austin.

Rumble Match was incredible enough to forgive the appearance of Drew Carey. Low Down won a tag match to determine one of them (D-Lo) to enter the RR on Heat. Carey basically plugged his Improv PPV (Who's Line Is It Anyway is an awesome show by the way).

The rumble brought in an amazing performance by Kane, eliminating 11 people. This record has not even come close. The best parts had to be: the mini hardcore match.. Al Snow hitting Raven in the nuts with a bowling ball? Priceless!! The shocking (but short lived) return of Haku. Nobody saw it coming, as he was the WCW Hardcore title on Nitro the week before. Big Show also returned from OVW and a weight-loss hiatus and seemed indestructible... for a few minutes, eliminated by The Rock.
Stone Cold put on a hell of a performance to eliminate Kane (who lasted 53 minutes) after a few chairshots (ironic he won the WWF Title at 'Mania after several chairshots)



2001 trumps it.

Honorable mention: 2004, see checkmates reply

 

[ashe draven]

RR has always been my fav ppv. But my fav RR? Good question! Hard to narrow down, benoit winning the 04 rumble is my alltime fav wrestling moment. Also the benoit/angle match at 02 was the best undercard match. but i gotta go w/92. the title was ON THE LINE in the rumble match. 30 superstars had the chance to be champion! As a kid i was so hyped for this event. Cept i was pissed cuz bret was not on the card after losin the i.c. to the mountie. But i had no idea who would win the rumble & the title. It was truely an exciting 60+ minutes. Hogan screwed Sid. And had a great fear of god look afterward.

 

[straightedge martyr]

2004 was the best for me.

Solid rumble and undercard was great too. that is sadly a rarity nowadays.

Maybe next year

 

[Royal Arthur]

favourite royal rumble (the match itself not the ppv): 2002, the return of triple h after 8 months out, this was the match that really put triple h on the map, this rumble had big names, undertaker, triple h, austin, kurt angle, kane, RVD, booker t, big show, and the returning mr perfect don't forget

worst royal rumble: 2000, for the simple reason, you knew the rock was going to win it, it was always going to happen, and he was the only BIG name in it, the only others you could consider as main eventers were kane and the big show, that was it, jericho was in it but he had only been in the wwe like a month or two and he wasn't yet established in wwe

 

[bainesymcfc]

i have 2 fav royal rumbles, 1992 when ric flair won it, i loved the bobby heenans commentart throughout, and the i told you so, we told u so speech at the end.
also the 99 royal rumble wen vince won it with help off the coperation, 99 was the glory years for the wwe

 

[boozinjedi]

favourite royal rumble (the match itself not the ppv): 2002, the return of triple h after 8 months out, this was the match that really put triple h on the map, this rumble had big names, undertaker, triple h, austin, kurt angle, kane, RVD, booker t, big show, and the returning mr perfect don't forget

I would have to agree on that one,The return of Triple H,Mr. Perfect went pretty deep into that one if I remember.
Had a good stretch toward the front,Benoit and Eddie going at it,then the Tough Enough winner..Puder? got on the mike before he went in...Eddie and Chris took turns on who's chop could light him up louder,THEN Bob Holly comes out takes over that part and cleans Puder's clock..
I also remember at one point Austin had cleaned the ring,had it all to himself did the looking at wrist thing waiting....HHH's music kicks in...the crowd goes wild,that then led to one of the funniest moments in Rumble history..right after that Hurricane comes out,goes to throw BOTH Austin and Triple H out..they look at him as if to say...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

All in all a great rumble!

 

[gully side adidja]

2001 royal rumble was the best IMO, you had 5 legit contenders to win it(undertaker,kane,rock,austin,rikishi) thats the most people i think who were genuine contenders to win it in a rumble match, it had everything suprise entrants(honky tonk man, big show, haku,) a hardcore rumble for 10 minutes, the rock stone cold confrontation, and the star of the rumble, kane, who eliminated more people in one rumble match ever, this one of kane's top moments in history, and of course, the best part my favourite superstar, stone cold winning it, the perfect rumble

honorable mention: royal rumble 92.

 

[INDYjon22]

I would have to go with the 2001 Royal Rumble. It had such a great build up especially considering it was coming off of the heels of the pretty awesome Armageddon card the previous month.

The show started out with a very good bout between Edge & Christian and The Dudley Boyz. It had a decent build up in the weeks leading into the show, which saw E&C give both Dudleyz concussions. The match itself saw The Dudleyz overcome adversity and defeat the ever dominate E&C dynasty. A very decent match to open the card.

The next card was the epic ladder match between Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. Those men had some of the very best chemistry I have seen between two competitors. Benoit's suicide headbutt into the chair was brutal and the come from behind win by an injured Jericho had me cheering very loudly.

The Chyna versus Ivory match was okay for a very short match. Nice setup for the match these ladies had at Wrestlemania 17.

The World title match between HHH and Kurt Angle was great. Both men put on a very good show. Steve Austin's interference at the end was predictable but necessary to continue his program with HHH. The Stephanie McMahon and Trish Stratus angle also began to take flight at this show with them going at it and Vince carrying Trish off.

The Royal Rumble was great. You had elements of drama, good wrestling, hardcore, high spots and even a celebrity. It literally catered to every kind of fan. The hardcore section of the match was some of the most fun I have had watching a Rumble in a long time and has not been duplicated since, at least to a good level. Kane had a brilliant showing with his 11 eliminations and total domination of the match. We also saw the Brothers of Destruction reunite and the building feud between Rock and Austin begin. Also, Austin did not even look like a legit winner in the match, but like a man who got lucky at the right time. He pulled off the amazing upset of Kane, which I still personally feel was bullshit, but it did in turn lead to a mega classic at Wrestlemania 17.

All in all it was a great show with a lot of great moments. It also helped begin the build for what I consider the greatest Wrestlemania of all time. It really was a win win for us the fans and the WWE. However, a close second would be Royal Rumble 2000.

 

[will5979]

also the 99 royal rumble wen vince won it with help off the coperation, 99 was the glory years for the wwe

THE GLORY YEARS???

The 1980s were the glory years for the wwF...fuck that wwE shit. That was back when wrestling was serious, kayfabe was protected and even some adults thought the shit was real. The allure of wrestling was taken away when promoters began telling people the behind the scenes secrets.

The 80s had Hogan (best ever hands down fuck Austin, Rock, and everybody else who wouldn't be wrestling if not for that great man), Andre, Backlund, John Studd, Chico Santana, Jesse Ventura, Steamboat, Savage, Demolition, Honky, Warrior, the Rockers, Sammartino, Morales, Jake the Snake, DiBiase, etc.

Storylines were better, characters were more colorful and intruiging, and most importantly matches, titles, and fueds meant something. Vince really lost his way over the years.