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

18. 2006

Royal Rumble
WWE

The Good: The Royal Rumble could have done with less nods to the late Eddie Guerrero by an increasingly-irritating Rey Mysterio, but no criticism can be levied at the 'Biggest Little Man' for his efforts going 62 minutes along side fellow 60-minute man Triple H. The pair went the distance in a contest that also featured long stretches for Carlito, Chris Benoit, Johnny Nitro and Rob Van Dam. With no blatantly obvious winner and a star-loaded field, this Rumble provided far more than it first promised.

The Bad: Edge and John Cena would have great matches for years following this WWE Championship rematch, but the air of inevitability around 'The Champ's regaining of his title here contributed to a growing disdain for 'Big Match John'. Edge had been excellent in his short first reign, but this match - perhaps not by design - briefly put him back in his box.

The Ugly: Kurt Angle's World Heavyweight Championship match with Mark Henry only went on last to facilitate some f*cking stupid Undertaker ring-collapsing stunt. It damaged the prestige of the eponymous battle royal as well as Angle's own credibility when he had to sell such silliness.

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