Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match From Worst To Best

9. 2001

Cody Rhodes
WWE

A joyous celebration of the Attitude Era before it departed as part of a WrestleMania love letter to it, the 2001 Royal Rumble over-spilled with entertaining eliminations, surprisingly funny segments and a glut of believable candidates to claim the golden ticket.

Winner Stone Cold Steve Austin led the field but could well have been usurped by The Rock, The Undertaker, The Big Show and record-setting runner-up Kane. It took vicious chair shots and a Stone Cold Stunner to knock out 'The Big Red Machine' - the contrast between those and the comedy spots with Drew Carey and the Honky Tonk Man earlier in the night expressed the sheer variation on show.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett