100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

1. Fair to Flair (1992)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE

The greatest Royal Rumble match of all time, with the WWF Title on the line in the Rumble for the first time ever, and featuring an absolutely stacked list of competitors, Ric Flair’s 1992 victory had to nab the top spot here. Or to again grab a line from Bobby Heenan, you’ve got to be fair to Flair.

There was star power dripping out of this match, with Flair joined in there by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, The Undertaker, Sid Justice, Davey Boy Smith, Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, Kerry Von Erich, Sgt. Slaughter, Tito Santana, and Colonel Mustafa - all names who had been, or would later be, main event talents.

Flair started at #3, lasting an hour on his way to victory - dumping Sid for the win - and revisiting plenty of old rivalries along the way, all as Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon delivered a masterclass on commentary. The Brain in particular stole the show, desperately begging for Flair to somehow stay in the match when elimination was threatened, then breathing a sigh of relief at every eventual escape. Heck, Bobby even praised Roddy Piper at a point Hot Rod helped the Nature Boy… only for Heenan to immediately turn on Piper once RP started taking it to Flair again.

Throw in the “With a tear in my eye…” post-match interview, the smug excitement of Heenan and Mr. Perfect, ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund telling a crew member to put out their cigarette, and the Ric Flair win has to stand as the greatest moment in Royal Rumble history.

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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.