20 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Undercard Matches
6. Bray Wyatt Vs. Daniel Bryan (2014)
Though unintentionally signifying the start of an uncomfortable Royal Rumble trend that continues to this day, the 2014 opener between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt remains one of the best contests in the history of the show.
Working off Bryan's spine-tingling Wyatt Family exit the previous week on Raw, the match was centred around 'The Eater of Worlds' absorbing repeated rapid-fire attacks from his fired-up nemesis.
Working out of his skin, Bryan flew at Bray from every angle, including an array of high angle splashes, dropkicks, and a vicious tornado DDT to the floor. Surviving the onslaught, Bray caught Bryan diving through the ropes and converted it into a wicked Sister Abigail into the railings, subduing him long enough to hit another in the ring and score a huge win.
The audience remained tolerant of the defeat, excited for Bryan to appear unadvertised in that evening's Royal Rumble match. His no-show would lead to a chain of events that saw the last three Rumble 'favourites' vociferously booed and leave the beloved gimmick on life support heading into 2017. But this match holds no blame, and will fondly be remembered as one of Bryan's last great singles encounters.