Every WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

By John Bills /

10. 1997

The 1997 Royal Rumble was one of the few examples in history of a major match having an extremely screwy finish that was the right call. Despite being the 26th man eliminated from the contest, StoneCold Steve Austin was declared the winner after the referees failed to clock him being thrown out due to a brawl between Mankind and Terry Funk. Austin would crawl back in, throw Vader, Undertaker and finally Bret Hart out to win the match. Controversy reigned supreme, and a four-way match was booked between the four to decide who would go on to main event WrestleMania. Taker won that match, but the beef between Hart and Austin was where it was at. The match itself was a lot of fun and represented the first in a run of Rumbles with stacked fields. 12 men involved would be World Champions at some point in their career, with Owen Hart, Jake Roberts and Goldust among the names that wouldn't. That means at least 50% of the field was top drawer performers. A really fun Rumble with a memorable ending. You can't ask for more really.