Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View From Worst To Best

19. 2013

Royal Rumble
WWE

The Good: 2013's undercard was far superior than the titular main event and arguably The Rock's return to the headline role, though absolutely none of it mattered in the long term. Team Hell No's match with The Rhodes Scholars and Alberto Del Rio's World Championship retention against The Big Show were both belters, even if the characters themselves were mostly wading in treacle. The only thing that really mattered was the WWE Championship - and even the man walking into the event wearing it was largely forgotten when it went off the air.

The Bad: Predictable to a fault, the WrestleMania logo may as well have had John Cena's name etched on it rather than the New York/New Jersey initials. The main event rematch with The Rock was nailed on, despite CM Punk's best efforts to chip away at Vince McMahon's instincts.

The Ugly: The Rock/CM Punk match was a disappointment, but the false finish was the only significant blemish worthy of inclusion all night. Punk getting a visual win may have helped set up a rematch, but even as a token gesture from Vince McMahon to 'The Voice Of The Voiceless' in eventual defeat, it was rather empty.

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