Ranking Every WWE Title Match At Royal Rumble - From Worst To Best

33. Royal Rumble 2005 - JBL Vs. Kurt Angle Vs. Big Show

WWE Royal Rumble 2026 Cody Rhodes Kevin Owens
WWE.com

One really does have to feel sorry for Kurt Angle here...

No matter how hard the Olympic Hero worked his ass off at the 2005 Royal Rumble - and he absolutely did! - he was still stuck in the ring with the lumbering frames of Big Show and WWE Champion JBL.

Of course, this was in the midst of JBL's lengthy reign as SmackDown's top dog, but that was a reign that only truly shone in-ring when a favourable stipulation or gimmick was at play. Here, even Angle couldn't steer the ship to create anything even passable, with this triple threat being dull and dour as Bradshaw eventually hit the Clothesline From Hell on Kurt for the win after a whole bunch of interference.

All three competitors would have vastly better Royal Rumble outings than this 2005 disappointment, with Angle in particular completely stealing the show when it comes to certain other Rumble events.

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Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.