Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

16. 2005

Royal Rumble 2005 End
WWE

If it wasn’t for Vince McMahon tearing both quads and the subsequent peeling back of the curtain at the 2005 Royal Rumble, one could realistically believe that the double elimination of John Cena and Batista was all simply part of the plan.

At this point in time, Cena and Big Dave were two of the hottest rising stars in the game, both on the cusp of truly breaking out as top-tier talent. Thus, a double elimination could feasibly give both men the right to call their shot at WrestleMania 21, or could even set up a mini-feud between the two ahead of ‘Mania.

But nope, Batista was always intended to win, and that double elimination spot was a botch that miraculously saw both men tumble to the outside at the exact same time. Of course, an angry McMahon would stomp his way to the ring, tear both quads in the process, sit bizarrely slouched in the ring, and order the match to be restarted - resulting in Batista winning to challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21, and for Cena to later earn himself a shot at JBL’s WWE Championship.

Another decent Rumble match, the 2005 offering did suffer somewhat in how John Cena and Batista were the only realistic winners. However, seeing Kurt Angle lose his mind after being eliminated in quick fashion by Shawn Michaels - setting up their own ‘Mania 21 match - was fantastic to watch, and Paul London was on the end of a ludicrous elimination at the hands of Gene Snitsky. Then there was also the opening few minutes where Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Hardcore Holly legitimately beat the snot out of Daniel Puder in a showing of on-screen bullying disguised as ‘paying dues’.

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.