There’s nothing quite like the Royal Rumble. This is a match that comes along once a year and delivers an atmosphere like no other. It’s the atmosphere that anyone can show up, anyone can win it and anything can happen. Recent Royal Rumbles haven’t really lived up to those last two points but there’s so much more in the match for you to enjoy in one of the most unpredictable matches of the year.
However, it is widely accepted that the finish is the most important part of any match. It doesn’t really matter how it starts and it doesn’t really happen what happens in the middle as the thing you take away from the match and will always remember is the finish. The Royal Rumble is an hour long, so there is a lot of memorable moments and surprise returns in the middle to keep the fans tuned in. However, the ending is the most important part. It doesn’t matter how good the 2014 rumble was. The thing that everyone remembers is Batista being booed at the end. It doesn’t matter what happened in the middle of the 2015 rumble. The thing that everyone remembers is Roman Reigns being booed at the end. If the ending doesn’t work, it hurts the entire pay-per-view as that is the match that everyone is mostly interested in.
We are going to look at ten Royal Rumble endings that the WWE got right and dramatic finishes to the Royal Rumble match.
Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels (Royal Rumble 2007)
The biggest thing people remember from the 2007 Royal Rumble was the final two with Shawn Michaels facing the Undertaker in an epic encounter. That was awesome, but one thing which I’ve always loved over the years was the ten minutes prior to that final battle, which built up the finish with Shawn and Taker really well. If you take the seven minutes or so that Shawn and Taker were fighting for by itself, the ending was pretty damn good. If you add in the The Great Khali dominating, Undertaker eliminating him and Rated RKO teaming up to take out these two legends, this ending was simply fantastic. I always loved the stuff that lead into the final two and once we got to Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels, you knew you were in for a treat. In a match which was really difficult to call, Michaels was about to Super Kick Taker out of the Rumble in similar fashion to his win in the 1996 Royal Rumble. However, Taker reversed it to dump Michaels out and win his first Rumble match ever. If you ever want to know how to do a great final two, give this match a watch.
Sheamus vs Chris Jericho (Royal Rumble 2012)
John Cena in 2013, Batista in 2014 and Roman Reigns in 2015 were all really predictable Royal Rumble winners. The one before that in 2012 was far from predictable. I think WWE really did swerve a lot of fans at this Rumble and actually in a good way. The two big favourites going into this Royal Rumble was the home town hero Randy Orton and the recently returning Chris Jericho. Jericho dumped out Orton which lead to Jericho vs Sheamus as the final two of a Royal Rumble which was really disappointing up until this point. However, my theory earlier about the finishes of matches really does give this Rumble a huge boost. You will groan at Michael Cole being in the Royal Rumble but you will not forget the finish, where Sheamus and Jericho really did deliver. Despite their size differences, these two were able to put together an entertaining final two, which saw a number of points being believable finishes to the match. In the end, Sheamus brogue-kicked Jericho to the floor to earn a World Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestlemania 28. Not in the same league as Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, but this was really good.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kane (Royal Rumble 2001)
This Rumble usually ranks high on my list of favourite Royal Rumble matches of all time, and the finish of the match is a huge reason why. In one of Kane’s most glorious moments in his career, he was on a path of destruction. He smashed his way through the Rumble. He eliminated eleven men, including The Rock, just before an intense showdown with the Texas Rattlesnake. Steve Austin had been out of action for nearly a year but was coming back to reclaim his position as the top dog of the company, and winning the Rumble would earn him a championship match in his home state of Texas at Wrestlemania 17. Even after being in the match for over 50 minutes, Kane was still standing tall and it would take a lot to knock him down. After a steel chair shot, one last Stone Cold Stunner and a clothesline over the top rope, Austin was finally able to eliminate the big red machine to earn the title shot at the gold that he had been more than a year without. Kane has rarely ever looked as great as he did in this rumble and this was a fantastic finish to a great Rumble match as a whole.
Batitsa vs John Cena (Royal Rumble 2005)
I always liked the whole RAW vs SmackDown! dynamic when the brand extension was in its first few years, and this rumble really did play up this idea of brand competition. There were a number of moments in the match which you would rarely ever see, as the two shows would rarely interact (other than at the big four pay-per-views) on WWE television. It came down to two RAW superstars (Batista and Edge) and two SmackDown! superstars (John Cena and Rey Mysterio), and it was not like these four were the top guys on their respective brands. These men were all rising stars that were given the opportunity to shine in the ending of the match. This was a really well paced final four, with Edge eliminating Rey initially and then getting eliminated by Cena and Batista. The final two ended with Batista and Cena both hurdling over the top rope and hitting the floor. Mr McMahon declared that the match would be restarted and no, that did not mean the #1 entrant Eddie Guerrero had to come back out! It was sudden death and Batista won. This was fantastic to watch and it’s interesting when you think about this particular final four. Before this match, none of these men had ever been world champion. Just over one year later, all of these men had won world titles with Rey Mysterio being the last at Wrestlemania 22.
Ric Flair vs Sid Justice vs Hulk Hogan (Royal Rumble 1992)
This Rumble also ranks high on my list of favourite Royal Rumble matches of all time, and it’s for a lot of reasons. Firstly, the stakes were so great with the WWF Championship on the line, which made the match feel a lot more important. Secondly, the star power throughout this match was just insane at a time, where character-building was at its finest in the WWF. Thirdly, the finish was awesome. The final reason… is Ric Flair. When Ric Flair debuted on WWF television, it was monumental. No move from one major wrestling organisation to another was as big as this one. Ric brought the “big gold belt” with him and declared himself the real world champion. At the 1992 Royal Rumble, he put in the performance of a champion. He entered at #3 and lasted an hour. He sold and sold, and sold, and sold like a true hero. He was a true star, as he was really the showcase of the match. It ended up with the last three entrants being Flair, Sid Justice and Hulk Hogan. In a shocking turn of events, Sid eliminated Hogan to a huge reaction (with the WWF trying to go with the angle that Sid “sneaked up” on Hogan to eliminate him). A shocked Hogan grabbed Sid’s arm, which led to Flair tossing out Sid to win the Rumble and the championship. This was a truly tremendous way for WWE to put Flair over and it was an emotional victory for him. Flair hadn’t been in the company for long and he was already the man.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart (Royal Rumble 1997)
This finish gets in the list, largely because of how significant this was to the careers of the two men involved in the final two of the match. Bret Hart had hoped to reclaim the WWF Championship, which he had lost a year ago at Wrestlemania 12. He was hoping to rectify his loss against Shawn Michaels and prove that he was in fact the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. One man hoping to tarnish his legacy was Steve Austin. After winning the 1996 King Of The Ring, Austin had been running down Bret and feuded with him throughout the year. At the Royal Rumble, Austin was clearing house until he heard the music of his arch-nemesis Bret Hart. Austin and Bret were both in the mix at the end of the match, when Bret threw Austin over the top rope. The only problem was that the referees were breaking up a fight between Terry Funk and Mankind on the outside, when Austin was eliminated. Therefore, they missed the elimination and Austin re-entered the match. After Bret threw out Fake Diesel (who would end up becoming Kane), Austin eliminated Bret to win the Rumble match right from underneath Bret’s nose. This played a key role in Bret’s heel turn and the ascension of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Shawn Michaels vs British Bulldog (Royal Rumble 1995)
Fun fact about the finish of this match – Cody Rhodes has actually called this ending his favourite in Royal Rumble history. It was a monumental Royal Rumble for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Royal Rumble was changed to a lot more faster-paced Rumble than before. Instead of coming out every 90 seconds, a new entrant came out after every 60 seconds. It was not a change which stuck around. Secondly, this was the first Rumble which saw the first entrant win the whole thing. Lastly, this was a Rumble which saw Michaels take advantage of the rule stating that both of his feet must touch the floor to be eliminated. British Bulldog threw Michaels out and began to celebrate, thinking he had won the match. However, Michaels jumped back into the ring and eliminated Bulldog to officially win the match, as it was revealed that only one of Shawn’s feet touched the floor. It was an ending that was fitting of Shawn’s character at the time and really elevated his stardom to new heights.
John Cena vs Triple H (Royal Rumble 2008)
John Cena’s dedication to WWE and leading the company by example are two of the reasons why I have such huge respect for this man. You can say whatever you want about Cena, but you can’t say that this man is lazy. That would be such a huge lie as Cena is a true workhorse when he needs to be. We could kind of argue that he is someone that works a lot more harder than he should some times. Even when he’s dying for a break, he’d still be there on RAW putting smiles on the faces of his fans. That’s respectable. There’s another reason why I think so highly of Cena… he’s freaking superhuman. When John Cena went down with a torn pectoral muscle, he was estimated to be out action for possibly a year. This man could not possibly be considered an entrant for the Royal Rumble two months later right? As it turns out, John Cena returned from a torn pectoral muscle in just two months, to a huge reaction at Madison Square Garden. After coming in and running wild, he eliminated Triple H to win the Royal Rumble and earn a title shot at Wrestlemania (which he invoked at No Way Out). This was an honest to god shocker to everyone in professional wrestling, from fans to a lot of people backstage. This will probably go down as the biggest shocker in Royal Rumble history.
Chris Benoit vs Big Show (Royal Rumble 2004)
As soon as Paul Heyman declared Chris Benoit as the #1 entrant for the Royal Rumble, it became pretty obvious that he was going to go the distance and win the whole thing. However, the finish to this match was very simple and played out really well by Benoit and the Big Show. The final six were Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, John Cena, Big Show, Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho, with the heavily promoted favourite Goldberg being eliminated by WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Angle directed traffic as he, Benoit, Cena, RVD and Jericho tried to get rid of literally the biggest threat in this match. Big Show survived elimination and proceeded to lay waste to everyone in the ring. He eliminated Cena, legitimately injuring him after Cena landed funny. RVD was thrown out next, with Jericho following suit. Big Show eliminated Kurt Angle by tipping himself over the top rope to hurl Kurt to the outside, who had him locked in the Ankle lock. It sounds amazing and it actually looked a lot better than it sounds! Big Show was about to throw out Benoit, who locked onto Big Show in a front face-lock. Benoit got onto the apron, and was able to tip the big man over the top rope and onto the floor to pick up the win in a well played out David vs Goliath scenario. When Michaels went the distance, it was a big deal. As I mentioned earlier though, that match saw entrants coming out every sixty seconds. That match was considerably shorter than this one as Benoit broke Bob Backlund’s record for Royal Rumble longevity and it got Benoit his big Wrestlemania moment, where he won the World Heavyweight Championship.
Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton vs Triple H (Royal Rumble 2006)
I still hold a grudge with this Royal Rumble, over the fact that I really wanted Triple H to win when watching this as a kid. When looking back now, I still feel that Triple H should have won the Rumble to better promote his match with WWE Champion John Cena, which was going to be the main event of Wrestlemania 22. For Rey to win it and then go on to have a really short match in the middle of Wrestlemania for the World title just threw the whole “headline Wrestlemania” gimmick out of the window. It just took away from future Rumbles, when the winners wouldn’t even have their title match at the end of the show.
With that said, Rey’s Royal Rumble win was executed very well. In a touching segment backstage, Rey was about to pick his number, with Vince McMahon believing that the late Eddie Guerrero would give Rey a bit of luck. After picking his number, Rey laughed as Eddie had somehow “got him” with the number that he drew. It was in fact revealed that Rey had drawn #2, making this a tall order for the little man. Rey was able to go the distance and after inadvertently eliminating his friend Rob Van Dam, it was down to him, #1 entrant Triple H and #30 entrant Randy Orton. Rey was able to fight them off and eliminate Triple H. Triple H angrily threw Rey into the steel steps before he departed, leaving Rey seemingly down for the count. Randy picked up Rey and was about to throw him over the top rope. In a great counter, Rey reversed it into a hurricanrana to win the Rumble and set a new record for longevity in the Rumble match.
With the exception of the 2014 and 2015 Rumbles, it’s hard to think of really bad endings to the Royal Rumble match. Usually, the endings to Royal Rumbles are all OK and accomplish what they set out to do. However, these ten really stood out from the crowd. It’s up yo you whether the 2016 Royal Rumble gave these ten a run for their money.
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