5 most important Royal Rumble matches in history

#3: 2001

Stone Cold's bloody triumph was iconic and foreboding.

Great changes had taken place in the WWF during the year 2000. It was arguably the company's peak year creatively and would have been its most profitable had it not have been for the XFL disaster. The Monday Night Wars were winding down as WCW was on its last legs. The Rock had fully emerged as the top star in the company while the Attitude Era's standard bearer, Stone Cold Steve Austin, was on the shelf for most of the year.

As 2001 began, it was an open question which man was the top star in the company. The story was that Stone Cold needed to prove himself after his long recovery. He began that process by winning this match.

In the end though, despite his victory at WrestleMania that year, the course of events would prove clearly that his peak had passed. The Rock had eclipsed him at roughly that time, though he was passed his 2000 peak as well.

And with the passing of their peaks, so had the peak of the industry passed. WrestleMania 17 was the greatest of all, but WWF/E would never again reach such heights. The Monday Night Wars were officially over and wrestling would never be so prominent in the cultural zeitgeist again.

2001 was a year of seismic shifts, and the Rumble that year began the transition into a new era.