Every WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

28. 1999

In 1999, the rivalry between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon was at its apex, with McMahon getting physically involved with Stone Cold more and more frequently. WWE had wrested control of the Monday Night Wars from WCW on the back of this rivalry, and as the Rumble loomed on the horizon McMahon made it clear that there was no chance in hell of Austin walking out the winner. Now, booking a whole Royal Rumble match around one story isn't a terrible idea by any means; the nature of the match means that lesser stories will advance after all. The problem with the 1999 edition of the Royal Rumble was that the hour long story was dependant one a non-wrestler who was in no condition to perform for that length of time and a top star who was showing more and more strain under the weight of his serious injuries. The way it played out was an utter shambles. Austin was beaten down and taken out of the match early (not eliminated however), giving McMahon the chance to avoid getting involved at all. This meant that until it inevitably came down to those two, everyone was merely treading water. Nothing happened - nothing of note anyway - and Austin and McMahon were the final two. McMahon won via distraction, mercifully ending the worst Royal Rumble in history, but none of this ultimately mattered anyway, as Austin still got the WrestleMania title shot. Nonsensical, boring and forgettable, this was everything a Royal Rumble shouldn't be.