20 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Undercard Matches

18. Ted DiBiase & Virgil Vs. Dusty Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes (1991)

Matt Hardy Powerbombed through a table Royal Rumble 2000
WWE

As the final night in the company for the Rhodes family before Dusty would return to WCW as their booker in 1991, the payoff to DiBiase's campaign of abuse to the father and son was cannily switched to the many years of mistreatment he'd given bodyguard Virgil, culminating in one of the most gripping babyface turns in WWE pay-per-view history to that point.

After dominating the inexperienced Dustin for the bulk of the contest, DiBiase forced an exhausted Virgil to nail 'The Natural' with a stinging right whilst he held him prone.

Rhodes ducked, and Virgil would inadvertently connect with 'The Million Dollar Champion', triggering a nasty attack in response from DiBiase to further drive home the blatant abuse the bodyguard was made to suffer.

Sealing victory over their opponents following DiBiase's roll up on Dusty, 'The Million Dollar Man' revelled in the glory, commanding Virgil grab his Million Dollar Belt and strap it around his waist as an act of penance for the early mistake.

But after nearly four years on the corrupt millionaire's payroll, Virgil finally decided enough was enough, decking DiBiase with the title as the fans exploded at the longstanding victim fighting back once and for all.

Contributor
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