WWE Royal Rumble has had some matches which were better than the Rumble matches themselves. John Cena and Chris Benoit each appear twice in this list, which is topped by a match from WWE Royal Rumble 2003.

5 WWE Royal Rumble PPV matches that were better than the Rumble itself

#2 AJ Styles vs. John Cena (WWE Royal Rumble 2017)

The Rumble match at WWE Royal Rumble 2017 had no shortage of star power. From Goldberg to Brock Lesnar to Undertaker making their presence felt, it ensured the fans never had any room for a breather. There was so much going on at the same time that nobody cared about the quality of the action. Goldberg eliminating Lesnar just mere seconds after making his entry into the match and then having a staredown with The Deadman was legendary.

However, no surprises could be more fulfilling than the adrenaline rush produced by the tremendous in-ring action we witnessed during the AJ Styles and John Cena clash earlier in the night. The two veterans outdid themselves and had one of the greatest matches of either men's career.

I think AJ Styles vs John Cena from Royal Rumble 2017 is AJs best singles match in WWE. Both Cena and AJ told a great story and San Antonio was behind both guys. Every time you put Cena and Styles in the ring together, magic is made pic.twitter.com/XyCWw89Xcv
— Samster203 サミー・カラフ (@KhalafSammy) September 13, 2020

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In a way, it also gave birth to WWE's modern big match template, with the action escalating until the two Superstars in the ring go on a finisher hitting spree. While this format has gotten a bit tiring of late, the two masters here executed it to sheer perfection.

The ending with John Cena coming up on top and winning his 16th World title in the process was a pretty great moment unto itself.

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