The Royal Rumble...for over twenty-five years, the revolutionary force in sports entertainment. It does not get much bigger. Only WrestleMania compares on the level of fan anticipation and expectation. So, indeed, WWE has hit a home run with the gimmick match that they created in 1988 to swat the pesky fly that was the Jim Crockett Promotions-led NWA and its Bunkhouse Stampede PPV. Vince McMahon was on a roll back then, was he not? It seemed like everything that he tried worked not just to a degree, but substantially. There is not a more popular gimmick match in the modern era. For over a decade, it has helped the PPV bearing its name to financial success nearly unrivaled in the business. Perhaps that is, in part, because of its direct tie to WrestleMania. For some fans, however, the match that marks the beginning of the Road to Mania is actually more exciting than what lies at the end of the Road. Even without any hype, Rumble matches provide a caliber of excitement that no other match throughout the rest of the year can offer. It is, in a single word: special. So, let us celebrate the forthcoming spectacular by looking back at the 15 greatest Rumble matches.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
