Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best
1. 1992
The 1992 Royal Rumble match is just absolute perfection in so, so many ways.
Given that this was the first Rumble with an actual tangible prize on the line - that being the vacant WWF Title - the match was overflowing with star power. Yes, Ric Flair was the one to outlast 29 other men, but those other men consisted of a who’s who of heavy hitters.
There was Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Sid Justice, Undertaker, Jake Roberts, Jimmy Snuka, Ted DiBiase, Kerry Von Erich, Sgt. Slaughter, Colonel Mustafa, Tito Santana, Shawn Michaels, and Davey Boy Smith - all names who had been, or would later become, main event talents.
This was a true masterclass from Flair, entering at #3 and managing to constantly squirm his way out of being eliminated. Even better, the Nature Boy got to briefly reignite rivalries with some of those he’d battled across various promotions in years gone by.
While fans had been long conditioned that Hulk Hogan would always win out in such situations - the Hulkster having won the previous two Rumbles, for example - it was refreshing to see Ric Flair eek out the win, eliminating Sid Justice (with Hogan assistance in a horrendous babyface move, as per the norm for Hulk), and back up all the braggadocious trash talk Flair had spouted since arriving in the promotion in September ‘91.
Of course, making this all the better was the stunning soundtrack provided by the legendary duo of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan, with the Brain on a rollercoaster of emotion as he lived out every near-scrape for Flair. And that’s without making mention of Ric Flair’s “With a tear in my eye…” post-match celebration with Heenan and Mr. Perfect.