Ranking All 30 WWE Royal Rumble Winners

14. Triple H – 2002

steve austin 2001 royal rumble
WWE.com

WrestleMania title shot: Defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania X8

So how did Triple H’s triumphant return from a career-threatening injury and subsequent Royal Rumble and WrestleMania victories rank this low? Hunter’s return was poisoned by silly booking decisions and poor planning at Mania.

At the time, the Undisputed World Champion was Chris Jericho. Instead of the feud centering on Jericho being involved in the match that put Helmsley on the shelf months earlier and Triple H wanting both revenge and the title, Jericho would be partnered with Stephanie McMahon, who was feuding with Triple H (her then-storyline estranged husband). To top it off, the match was the main event, when Rock versus Hollywood Hogan clearly should have closed Mania (that’s twice that a Triple H match went last when it shouldn’t have), and it showed with the crowd.

Triple H’s return at the Royal Rumble was a great moment for fans, but everything else that unfolded fell flat. He even lost the title a month after WrestleMania so the Hogan nostalgia act could be milked again. Yes, Triple H won at Mania, but everything that happened after his Rumble victory was a debacle.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.