Is there a more iconic annual single match in professional wrestling than the Royal Rumble itself? Every year it acts as kickstarter for the year to come, setting off the stories that will make up WrestleMania and beyond, as 30 superstars head to the ring in an attempt to be the last man standing pointing at the WrestleMania sign. 28 Rumbles have already passed us by, and with them a torrent of memorable moments. Whether it is Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior having their first face to face, Shawn Michaels ousting a celebrating British Bulldog, a shocking John Cena return at number thirty or Santino Marella almost pulling off the greatest shock in professional wrestling history, the match brings on more nostalgia than most. But how do the Rumbles stack up against each other? Over the past 28 years we've seen matches covering the entire quality spectrum, from perfectly put together classics to forgettable dirges and everything in between. A whole lot of them have been somewhere in the middle of that too, relying on individual moments as opposed to the strength of the entire match. So here we are, 28 Royal Rumbles from worst to best. We can only hope that the 2016 edition will slot in somewhere towards the end of this list...
Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.
