Ranking Every WWE Title Match At Royal Rumble - From Worst To Best

22. Royal Rumble 2019 - Daniel Bryan Vs. AJ Styles

Prior to this Royal Rumble 2019 match, Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles had torn it up against one another in ROH, IWA Mid-South, PWG, and even in WWE.

For whatever reason, though, the pair couldn't hit the admittedly high heights of their previous - or future - bouts here.

Technically, the match was as sound as you'd expect, but the Chase Field crowd just couldn't get into this encounter. Coming directly after Becky Lynch had won the women's Royal Rumble match, Bryan vs. Styles going 25 minutes and having a cheap finish - Rowan taking out AJ and aligning with D-Bry - was too much for those in attendance.

Still, Daniel Bryan's win here and his Planet's Champion persona would, by happenstance, wind up being the perfect 'final boss' for the organic rise of KofiMania to topple at WrestleMania 35. Not only was Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston a fantastic contest, but it made for a true WrestleMania Moment when Kofi, his New Day brothers, and his family shared an emotional post-match celebration to mark Kingston's first (and only) WWE Championship win.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

Posted On: 26th Jan 2026

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