Ranking Every WWE Title Match At Royal Rumbles Worst To Best

1. Royal Rumble 2003 - Kurt Angle Vs. Chris Benoit

The Rock CM Punk
WWE.com

If looking purely at great WWE Title matches at the Royal Rumble, no contest has ever surpassed Kurt Angle defending the gold against Chris Benoit back in 2003.

These two rivals-turned-allies-turned-rivals always delivered when up against each other, and this bout is absolutely their best - and is seen by many as being the greatest match, period, in Royal Rumble history.

This was pro wrestling in its purest form, with each man forcing their opponent to work for every inch of offense. There was no letting up, it was intense, there were several brilliant submission spots teasing a finish, and both men came out of this looking stronger by the time Angle tapped out Benoit with a heel hook-assisted Ankle Lock.

Kurt may have been the victor here, but it was the Rabid Wolverine who memorably received a standing ovation from the 15,000+ in attendance at Boston's Fleet Center on that January night.

As solely a wrestling contest, this is one of the best WWE has ever seen. Of course, it's also a match that is extremely tough to revisit due to the horrific actions that followed four years later.

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.