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

13. Royal Rumble 2013 - CM Punk Vs. The Rock

Was it disappointing to see CM Punk thrown to one side when Vince McMahon saw something 'better' coming along? Absolutely. Still, that didn't stop Punk and the Rock from putting on a strong outing at the 2013 Royal Rumble.

Famously, the Straight-Edge Superstar's mammoth 434-day reign as WWE Champion was brought to a halt here, with that incredible run stopped with a People's Elbow.

The finish wasn't great, the way Punk was again robbed of a chance to truly headline WrestleMania wasn't great, but the match itself delivered as the Chicago native once more showed why he was way more valuable than McMahon ever viewed him.

Jumping ahead here to 2026, and it remains to be seen what role, if any, CM Punk will have to play at this year's Royal Rumble, with the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion obviously not going to be in the men's Rumble, but also not with a title defence lined up right now.

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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