100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

28. The Rumble Welcomes ‘Marked Man’ Steve Austin (1998)

Steve Austin Royal Rumble 1998
WWE

There was a Mr. McMahon-approved bounty out on Steve Austin's head before the 1998 Rumble. That'd become a show-long theme; various members of the roster wanted to earn an easy payoff by finding Stone Cold and beating him to a pulp so he wouldn't be able to win the titular match. Everyone would fail.

One of the best moments of the entire pay-per-view came when Austin's music hit to signal his arrival as #24. Every wrestler trading kicks, punches, and holds in the ring stopped dead in their tracks and faced the entrance. It was going to be a mugging, but not the one they had in mind. Austin slid in from behind (he entered through the crowd), and started hitting anything that moved.

The live crowd went bonkers for this, and Jim Ross put it over expertly by saying Stone Cold didn't know when he faced impossible odds. Everything calmed enough for Austin to win the match by lastly eliminating The Rock. He'd go on to achieve immortality at WrestleMania XIV.

Timeless.

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 and Presenter, 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 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 and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.