If WrestleMania is the “Grandaddy of them all” in WWE then the Royal Rumble is the younger, but much more popular uncle. Easily the fan-favorite pay-per-view, the Rumble is must see event every year and appropriately starts the Road to WrestleMania for WWE. With that being said, not all Royal Rumbles, and certainly not all Royal Rumble winners are created equally. As such, this article will list the 8 Best and 7 Worst Royal Rumble Winners.
Ranging from the first Rumble in 1988 to last year’s battle royal won by Triple H, this is meant as a fairly comprehensive look at the Rumble as an annual phenomenon. In grading what’s good and bad we will look at the strength of the winner as a performer, other possible winners who were available, how the winner figured into relevant WWE storylines, and the level of surprise in regards to the winner. All facts and dates featured in this article are from WWE.com.
All facts and dates featured in this article are from WWE.com.
15. Best: Chris Benoit (2004)
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It’s a pretty bold choice nowadays to start off any list with Chris Benoit, however, I decided not to ignore the “Rabid Wolverine’s” monumental 2004 Royal Rumble win the way that WWE has largely done. Prior to 04, Benoit was a longtime worker in WWE (and for other wrestling organizations) but had not yet had that one shining moment atop the WWE mountaintop. The Rumble that year, therefore, would serve to be Benoit’s coming out party as a legitimate main event player in WWE. Not only would Benoit serve as the underdog for most of the match, he would make the final two with the colossal Big Show. By eliminating the near 500 pounder, and following it up with a defeat of two all-time greats (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) at WrestleMania, Benoit would pave the way for other undersized superstars like Daniel Bryan.
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