20 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Undercard Matches

1. Triple H Vs. Cactus Jack (2000)

Matt Hardy Powerbombed through a table Royal Rumble 2000
WWE.com

Triple H vs. Cactus Jack remains one of the greatest matches in company history, let alone Royal Rumble folklore.

Following weeks of mental and physical abuse at the hands of the malevolent Triple H & Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley, Mick Foley's famed transformation from fun-loving Mankind to his devastating alter-ego Cactus Jack brought his budding rivalry with the WWE Champion to this bloody climax in front of Jack's 'hometown' crowd of Madison Square Garden.

Coincidentally, the two had already worked a seminal Falls Count Anywhere match in the Garden back in 1997, when Triple H was still in the midcard and Foley introduced WWE fans to his most maniacal persona for the very first time.

However, dwarfing the original in both status and quality, this iconic brawl came to symbolise the perfect balance of emotive storytelling and hard-hitting action the company had managed to perfect, and thanks to the selfless Foley, proved finally to be the programme to project Triple H into the upper echelon once and for all.

Culminating in a devastating Pedigree into hundreds of drawing pins, Hunter comprehensively beat Jack at his own game, and would 'retire' Foley the following month in the two's equally gratifying final battle inside Hell in a Cell.

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett