10 Best WWE Royal Rumble Final Fours
8. 1997 (Steve Austin, Bret Hart, "Diesel", The Undertaker)
Not even the beloved Royal Rumble could escape the WCW ascendency ahead of the Monday Night Wars, with WWF’s plodding roster depth suffering hard during these events. Finding 30 Royal Rumble calibre superstars was simply impossible at the time. Thus, the likes of nauseatingly bad New Generation characters such as Jesse James, Fake Razor Ramon and Aldo Montoya were called upon to populate the fields.
Nevertheless, coming into 1997, the Attitude Era was drawing nearer and Vince McMahon did have a roster full of both potential and name value, albeit not everyone was in their prime. With the assistance of a CMLL Lucha Libre quartet, there was renewed hope that the WWF would present a Rumble justifying the major stadium buzz of San Antonio’s 60-thousand strong Alamodome crowd.
The most memorable aspects of a reasonably good Rumble largely revolved around eventual winner Steve Austin, especially the creative finish. It was executed with such ease it almost undermined the stature of fellow final four members Bret Hart and The Undertaker. The less said about Fake Diesel the better. Austin cheating to win by eliminating Hart, after The Hitman had just seconds before eliminated him, was an iconic act of Rattlesnake genius.
It was a move well-received by a loyal and patient fan base, and one which foreshadowed the brash new direction the company were headed in.