Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

20. 1994

Lex Luger Bret Hart Royal Rumble 1994
WWE.com

Ted DiBiase's lengthy "wooooooooow" on commentary when Diesel was chucking guys out of the '94 Rumble left and right seemed like a shoot. Beside him, Vince McMahon likely had dollar signs dancing in front of his eyes. He'd been looking for a new monster, and it looked like Kevin Nash was going to scratch the itch after earning rapturous applause for eliminating seven workers from the match.

Of course, nobody can talk about the 1994 match without bringing up Vince's other experiment. Bret Hart and Lex Luger worked a dual elimination so McMahon could find out once and for all which babyface his audience fancied most. Hart got a bigger pop, which spelled disaster for the Lex Express heading into WrestleMania X.

An influx of Japanese talent like The Great Kabuki and Genichiro Tenryu added some unique flavour to the 30-man lineup, but it was really top stars like Luger, Hart, and Shawn Michaels who mattered most. Diesel rocketing up the ranks and Bam Bam Bigelow entering an underrated 30-minute performance should also be recognised.

Special mention for Bret selling his knee after an earlier attack from brother Owen following a tag team loss to The Quebecers. That attention to detail truly made the Hitman one of the very best.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.