Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

4. 2024 Men's

WWE Royal Rumble 2024 Cody Rhodes CM Punk
WWE

Never say never is quite the recurring theme when it comes to the pro wrestling business. Case in point, CM Punk competing on a WWE broadcast for the first time in ten years at the 2024 Royal Rumble.

Having made his explosive, jaw-dropping return to the company at the Survivor Series two months before, Punk was finally in his gear, boots laced up, and cracking skulls at the Rumble. Going into the Royal Rumble, the heavy favourites were CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, and Gunther, and the match would indeed come down to those names as the final three.

Gunther put in a great Rumble shift for the second year in a row, there were extremely solid showings from both Usos - opening at #1 and #2, no less - Andrade made his return to WWE, Bron Breakker got an explosive few minutes to shine, and there was such a sense of freshness to this Royal Rumble.

It may not have ended well for Punk, suffering a tricep tear, but he and Cody were the last two standing, putting on a nine-minute back-and-forth where the Second City Saint even heeled it up a smidge. This was exceptional stuff from two masters, with each teased elimination getting the crowd off their feet. Some would say, this was truly elite work.

The American Nightmare would block a GTS and dump CM Punk over the top before glaring at Roman Reigns, finally setting in motion for Cody to finish the story. Well, bar a bit of a wobble courtesy of Dwayne, that is.

Also, the events here - as in CM Punk eliminating Drew McIntyre - would eventually lead to one of the greatest rivalries in recent memory, with Punk and Drew spending the rest of 2024 at war, be that one of words or of brutal, bloody actions.

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.