100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

The very best moments from WWE's Royal Rumble matches over the decades.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE

Dreamt up by the legendary Pat Patterson, the Royal Rumble match is forever a highlight of the wrestling calendar. With shocks, surprises, and all manner of intriguing match-ups, this over-the-top extravaganza has long been a wrestler's chance to put their first foot on that famed Road to WrestleMania.

Officially beginning life in 1988 - after being tested at a house show the prior year - the Royal Rumble has taken many a superstar to that next level and helped cement many a legacy. Just looking back through Rumber winners reads like a who's who of the business, with Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes just the tip of the iceberg. And that's without even taking a look at the women's Royal Rumble, which debuted in 2018 and has A-listers aplenty - Asuka, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Ronda Rousey, Rhea Ripley, and Bayley - on its winners list.

But the Royal Rumble isn't just about the winners, for there are a multitude of other iconic moments that have taken place in that elaborate battle royal. So with that in mind, here are the top 100 of those Rumble match moments.

Article written by Jamie Kennedy and Andrew Pollard.

100. Billie Kay Goes Recruiting (2021)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE.com

WWE didn't deserve Billie Kay in 2021.

She filled the same kind of comedy quota as R-Truth over on the men's side, and had a blast doing it. During the 2021 Rumble, Billie entered as #4 and immediately started campaigning to recruit some followers to help her win the match. In fact, Kay also fancied a brand new tag-team partner generally. This was a 'ha ha' spot early in the match, and it worked a treat.

The ex-IIconics member hung out around the entrance waiting for the likes of Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler and Toni Storm. She offered them an 8x10 with her resume on the back, but nobody took poor Billie up on her offer. Spoilsports! Seriously, this will hardly go down in history as one of the best women's Rumble moments ever longer-term, but Kay's antics do deserve space here for now.

She was a riot on TV for a while. It's a slight surprise WWE creative didn't do more with Billie before terminating her contract mere months later in April. Thankfully, she'd go on to hand in a CV to IMPACT/TNA for real and enjoy a decent run there.

Senior Writer
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, Jamie Hayer, 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.