10 Greatest Final Two Competitors In The WWE Royal Rumble

10. John Cena & Batista (2005)

To the untrained eye, this looks like a rehash of an earlier Rumble ending (on which more later) - the company’s two potential next big things hit the deck at the same time, proving the worth of both; the battle then goes to super sudden death overtime, with Dave Batista eventually triumphing over Cena.

It’s actually a whole lot more than that - a botch, a changing of the guard, and a perfectly booked final two that did exactly what it set out to do. The intention was for Batista simply to win, cementing his status as the guy. Instead, he managed to hurl himself out of the ring too.

The incident is handled well by the SmackDown and Raw referees, thinking quickly by arguing the case of their respective wrestlers. It’s handled less well by Vince McMahon, who becomes so instantly enraged that he storms the ring, inexplicably tearing both his quads upon entry. He dishes out instructions sat primly on the mat, and the match restarts.

There’s something for everyone here - high drama, ridiculous comedy, and classy wrestling between two perfectly picked guys ready to take that next step.