Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match From Worst To Best

Counting down each incarnation of WWE's greatest gimmick...

Cody Rhodes
WWE

There are a few parameters to get to before hitting the full rundown of WWE’s most beloved and irrepressible gimmick match.

Though the fans somehow taping them in their entirety on relatively primitive technology deserve modicums of credit for capturing quirky footnotes in wrestling history, the 1994 house show 30-man Royal Rumbles in New York and Osaka will not be counted here because they were never intended to be seen by an audience beyond those in attendance on the night. They are worth your time as curios if you’ve got the time to waste and find memories of the era, but that’s about it.

Similarly, a 12-man October 1987 run-through of the eventual 1988 inaugural edition was for Vince McMahon to see if he liked the idea, the St Louis live event attendees, and eventual victor One Man Gang. Ditto a March '88 20-man one won by Rick Rude. If footage exists of either, let it be for the Network's Hidden Gems section, not a critical evaluation here.

Thats not to say all scaled-back versions are prohibited. The organisation has committed several other incarnations of the match to television beyond the pay-per-view headliners over the years. Indeed, though most fans view the Rumble as the finest convergence of stipulations in company history, WWE themselves have occasionally been a little slapdash in preserving it.

These incarnations are very eligible for discussion, and in some cases very, very bad...

48. 2015

Cody Rhodes
WWE

A wretched sequel to a wretched mistake, the Royal Rumble as we all knew it died on January 25th 2015. It took big gimmicks, big stars and a big addition in 2016, 2017 and 2018 respectively drive its reinvention, so hideous was this particular edition.

A scientifically engineered selection of "f*ck you" gestures even bigger than the year before, the unrelenting and unwelcome push of Roman Reigns reduced the rest of the upper-midcard to near-literal sacks of sh*t in a sequence of closing Big Show and Kane eliminations that even now beggar belief.

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