Every WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

By John Bills /

5. 2002

If you forget the two minutes (and sometimes longer) between entries, this was a fantastic Royal Rumble featuring one of the most memorable Royal Rumble moments in the history of the event. And no, I'm not talking about Diamond Dallas Page eliminating Scotty 2 Hotty, shocking as that was. I'm talking of course about the interaction between The Undertaker and Maven. Maven was the very definition of a 'rookie' at the time, hot off his Tough Enough win with all the enthusiasm of a very enthusiastic thing. Undertaker was Big Evil and spoke mostly about yards and how he owned them. He entered the match at #7, cleaned up everyone and waited patiently; Maven came out, and after a distraction from those damn Hardy Boyz, Maven eliminated Taker with a beautiful dropkick to his back. Maven eliminated Undertaker. What follows was the most vicious and one-sided beatdown in the history of professional wrestling. Taker sold the shocks of his elimination beautifully, before slowly heading back into the ring to dish out some southern justice. Needless to say, it didn't end well for Maven. This was by no means a one spot match however, as the rest of the match was full of interesting interactions, memorable spots and great characters. Mr. Perfect even made a return, getting to the final three before being dumped by Triple H. Trips would go on to win the match, eliminating Kurt Angle for the duke.