Every WWE Royal Rumble Women's Match - Ranked From Worst To Best

7. Mickie James Vs. Michelle McCool (2010)

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A twenty-second payoff to a three month storyline, the Women's Championship match between Michelle McCool and Mickie James utilised its abbreviated length to vindicate the challenger for the torrent of abuse she'd suffered from McCool and her partner Layla in the build-up to their Royal Rumble clash.

Ludicrously haranguing Mickie for her non-existent weight problems, LayCool were sensationally cruel in their mistreatment of beloved babyface James, who had been traded to 'their show' SmackDown the previous October.

Labelling her 'Piggy James', the two were determined to run Mickie off SmackDown altogether, but James bravely remained resilient in the face of the abuse.

Despite the possible uncomfortable behind-the-scenes machinations of the storyline in the image-obsessed WWE of the time, fans bought into the bullying for what it was, confident that the two heels that would at some point receive their comeuppance.

The angle peaked in a hard-hitting segment shortly before the match, as James was covered in junk food and left humiliated by LayCool and their accomplice Beth Phoenix as part of a demeaning assault.

Providing fitting closure to the storyline after the squash, SmackDown's babyface female roster united to celebrate the win and joined Mickie in smashing an enormous cake into both heels' faces.

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, 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