10 Best WWE Royal Rumble Eliminations Ever

Over The Top.

WWE Royal Rumble 2005 Paul London Gene Snitsky
WWE.com

There are a multitude of reasons why the Royal Rumble is an annual favourite of most wrestling fans, but the meat and potatoes of the 30-man war are often overlooked in place of all eyes turning to the entrance ramp as the clock counts down to zero every 90 seconds or so.

From the spectacular to the silly and almost everything in between, the ostensibly simple act of exiting the ring over the top rope has never been so complex. Wrestlers are suddenly wrapped around one another in corners in an apparent struggle to haul out an opponent of similar stature, but the 2018 contenders should probably just reminisce on some of these efforts to reduce their workrate this year.

Underrated as a danger zone amongst the caged fury of an Elimination Chamber or metal mayhem of a Ladder Match, the Royal Rumble can be a painful night for talents taking the tumble. Taka Michinoku rather infamously suffered a concussion from an unofficial elimination by the Big Boss Man in 2000 after smashing his head on the floor.

The invading Kai-En-Tai star wasn’t even in the actual match that year, and endured endless bullying from Jerry Lawler on commentary as a result of the darkly amusing splat. At least these exciting ejections were authorised exits.

10. Matt Hardy (2003)

WWE Royal Rumble 2005 Paul London Gene Snitsky
WWE Network

Brock Lesnar had just despatched Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin when he spectacularly F5'ed Matt Hardy into their less-than-waiting arms.

As top babyface and heavy favourite to win in 2003, 'The Beast' had a number of scores to settle going into a Royal Rumble he'd had to defeat The Big Show just to qualify for in the evening's opener. Then the scourge of SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman and his handpicked WWE Champion Kurt Angle, Lesnar was no longer in the mood to jump over any more hurdles the pair had placed between him and the gold he'd had stolen from him at November's Survivor Series.

Fortuitously entering at #29, Lesnar went on a tear as soon as he hit the ring, targeting Kurt's Team Angle accomplices before decimating Hardy for having the temerity to compare himself to 'The Next Big Thing' during their time together on SmackDown.

The pile of bodies he left in his wake foreshadowed his eventual success. Brock would dump The Undertaker from the match last to stamp his ticket for 'The Show Of Shows'.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett