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

12. 1994

Royal Rumble
WWE.com

The Good: Bret Hart has the best and worst night of his life and the story is utterly mesmerising. The collapse of his relationship with brother Owen following their Tag Team Title loss is devastating, with his Rumble win still tarnished by a shared honour alongside Lex Luger and the lingering tension with Owen all too Raw. The Royal Rumble match is exquisitely booked, birthing the "Diesel" push that remains a trope to this day and foreshadowing of Shawn Michaels' successes in the match over the following two years.

The Bad: Bam Bam Bigelow's opener against Tatanka feels tired compared to the intended (and fresher) rematch against the then-injured Ludvig Borga. The WWE Championship match between Yokozuna and The Undertaker is unfairly pilloried despite the fact that deploying ten heels to defeat 'The Deadman' makes loads of sense. Critics today are probably put off somewhat by the silliness...

The Ugly: ...because the silliness is silly as f*ck. A beaten Undertaker floating off into the rafters only to return when he needs to defeat his double? Nah thanks.

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