Every Heel WWE Royal Rumble Winner Ranked From Worst To Best

4. Mr. McMahon (1999)

Ric Flair Vince McMahon Charlotte Flair
WWE.com

A tremendous joke extended to the exact point of expiration without ever crossing the line completely, Vince McMahon's Royal Rumble mere participation from the #2 spot was deemed terrifying enough for the boss, let alone the sh*tkicking he was due to take from Steve Austin as well.

The ill-gotten victory was so inspired, too. Interference from new WWE Champion The Rock set things in motion for the dream WrestleMania XV main event at the exact moment it was technically pitched that the Chairman was going to headline it himself.

It also satisfied another Attitude Era staple - the ends justifying the means on and off screen. McMahon got his reward for his suffering, and WWE crafted a memorable finish from one of the worst Royal Rumble matches in company history. Nobody recalls the moments wrestlers were left alone in the ring, the inelegant transparent divide between the nobodies in the first half of the match and the select stars towards the end. It's all about the conclusion, and what an epic ending it was.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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