10 WWE Undercard Matches That Outshone The Royal Rumble

4. Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Benoit (2003)

Chris Benoit Kurt Angle
WWE Magazine/Wiki

The previous year, Benoit wasn't even in the Royal Rumble match. Neither was his opponent for the night, Kurt Angle. WWE rightly gave them the gift of sole focus on a 20-minute head-turner for the WWE Title, and oh what a match it turned out to be. This was a solid 10/10 in terms of technical wrestling, storytelling, and making the match look like a real struggle.

Angle and Benoit must have been pleased to learn that Scott Steiner vs. Triple H would be going on before them. That match would turn out to be a stinker, clearing the field for both workhorses to prove that they were the real deal. They even managed to take attention away from Brock Lesnar's journey towards Rumble success.

That was no small achievement. Lesnar had quickly turned into one of the most over babyfaces in the entire company and an outstanding performer in his own right. The fact Angle and Benoit managed to absorb fans so much they temporarily forgot about 'The Next Big Thing' is astounding and just shows that WWE fans will enjoy technical wrestling if there's a story to back it up.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.