Ranking Every WWE Title Match At Royal Rumbles Worst To Best

19. Royal Rumble 2008 - Randy Orton Vs. Jeff Hardy

The Rock CM Punk
WWE.com

With Randy Orton the WWE Champion here, this 2008 bout came at a time when fans were desperate to see Jeff Hardy finally climb to the top of the mountain and win the big one.

This January night wasn't to be Hardy's night, as he'd ultimately come up short in a nice back-and-forth offering which saw the Charismatic Enigma largely dominate the second half of the match. Having landed a bunch of consecutive offense on his opponent, Jeff was caught completely 'out of nowhere'.

Special props here for an excellent RKO finish, with Orton reversing a Twist of Fate into his lethal finishing manoeuvre to pick up the three-count. To this day, that Rumble 2008 RKO ranks right up there with the very best examples of the Viper's patented finisher.

While Jeff didn't get his hands on the WWE Title at the Royal Rumble that year, the forever popular star would close out 2008 as the WWE Champion - having bested Triple H and Edge in a triple threat bout for that prize at December '08's Armageddon event.

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