Ranking Every WWE Title Match At Royal Rumbles Worst To Best

23. Royal Rumble 2018 - AJ Styles Vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

The Rock CM Punk
WWE.com

We may have had three of the greatest workers of the modern era here, but sadly AJ Styles vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn suffered due to being part of some bizarre power struggle between Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan.

As WWE Champion, the Phenomenal One was defending the gold in a handicap match where Owens and Zayn had to tag in and out. The bout itself was solid, but the result was absolutely never in doubt - Styles winning - and all three were made to feel merely like pawns in the ongoing saga between Shane O'Mac and Bryan.

For AJ, this Rumble contest was part of a fantastic 371-day reign as WWE Champion, and he'd thankfully have far greater title defences throughout that reign than this bland handicap offering. Of course, that lengthy reign would eventually be brought to a halt by a back-in-action Daniel Bryan on a November 2018 edition of SmackDown.

Senior Writer
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, Jamie Hayer, 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.