Ranking the last 20 Royal Rumble matches from worst to best

#3 2018 (Men's)

The first satisfying Rumble finish in years.

Last year, the men's match was bumped down to the mid-card. It was the first time a Rumble match went on so early into the pay-per-view, but this was a real banger. It felt like every participant had a place in the match. The match began with the ever so popular Rusev and the incredibly over Finn Balor. From then, we were thoroughly entertained for an hour. A running gag in this match was Heath Slater, who got attacked by an already eliminated Baron Corbin before he could enter the match at number 5. Other entrants attacked him on their way to the ring until entrant number 11. Sheamus picked Slater up and tossed him into the ring, only to be eliminated by the One Man Band in two seconds. A satisfying payoff to a long-standing gag. Another fun bit was how Kofi Kingston survived elimination from the match. He was saved by Xavier Woods and then later, a plate of pancakes before Woods and Big E catapulted him back into the ring over Jinder Mahal, who had eliminated two-thirds of the New Day.

There are a couple of reasons why the 2018 men's Rumble was so well received. The surprise entrants were all great and were a perfect blend of the past and the future, with NXT champion Andrade 'Cien' Almas and Adam Cole (Baybay) showing up after their respective gruelling matches at the previous night's Takeover event. The Hurricane also entered, but the biggest surprise of all was Rey Mysterio, who looked incredible. It was such a great return that it makes up for the underwhelming showing by number 30 Dolph Ziggler, another surprise. The final four was a divisive one, involving John Cena, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura. The Japanese legend overcame both Cena and Reigns to come out victorious, after an incredible showing. He lasted around 40 minutes after entering at number 14. Because of all these reasons collectively, this Rumble will always be fondly remembered. Nakamura might be damaged goods right now but back when he won the 30-man match last year, he was the star of the show. The fact that it started less than one hour into the event did not diminish it one bit.

WWE should honestly follow a similar formula to this for every Royal Rumble match they book from now on. A cohesive story, a role for everybody involved and a well-received winner. Simple.

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#2 2001

This was prime WWF.

This Royal Rumble match was one of the most star-studded matches of its type, making it making it one of the best ones of all time. This was during WWE's biggest boom business and quality wise. The amount of talent, past, present and future in this match was unbelievable. There were so many possible winners of this match, ranging from Kane and The Undertaker to The Rock and eventual winner, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. We saw a variety of great Royal Rumble moments from the hardcore portion of this match to the surprise returns of the Honky Tonk Man, the Big Show and Haku.

We saw a great celebrity moment when Drew Carey entered the Rumble at number 5 before Kane came in and took over the match. The Big Red Machine put in a career-high performance here, eliminating a then-record 11 men. It was the best Royal Rumble performance by a non-victor. Kane lasted for over fifty minutes and made it to the final two against “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake entered at number 27 but was attacked, before he could make the ring, by Triple H, who wasn't a participant in the match. Austin was left bloody but would stand tall at the end, vanquishing the star of the show, Kane, to book his place in the main event of WrestleMania X7.

Evidently, it was a very eventful Royal Rumble match, one of the greatest of it's kind and at the heart of the greatest period in WWE's storied history.

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#1 2008

What a legendary Rumble.

The 2008 Royal Rumble match may just be the best one of all time. There are a plethora of reasons for it. The historic Madison Square Garden played host to this spectacular showdown. It was loaded with a balanced mixture of established main event stars, upper mid carders, up-and-coming Superstars and shocking entrants. This match started in the same way the previous one ended, with The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels entering at numbers 1 and 2, forming possibly the greatest opening pairing in Royal Rumble history. The pair dominated chunks of the match, but would not overstay their welcomes. 'Taker was eliminated by Michaels after over half an hour before HBK was eliminated himself by Mr Kennedy. One of the stars of the match was Batista, who entered at number 8 and lasted until the final three. ECW wrestlers John Morrison and CM Punk also had excellent showings, with both lasting over twenty minutes each.

But one of the biggest moments of the match was a blast from the past. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper made back-to-back surprise returns, before having an epic confrontation that caused the rest of the Rumble field to stop in their tracks. Hornswoggle also made an appearance, hiding under the ring before eliminating The Miz and then getting saved by Finlay, who got disqualified from the match for jumping the gun before his number was up. However, this Rumble belonged to only one person. And his name is John Cena!

Three months after suffering a torn pectoral muscle –an injury that was supposed to keep Cena on the shelf for 6 months– he made his epic return at number 30 and won the entire match, eliminating heavy favourite Triple H last. It was a legendary return by a legendary wrestler during a legendary match in a legendary building. And who could forget those doors at the stage entrance? Just legendary.

This match was already really good, containing lots of drama throughout, but the final entrant made it great. One could even say elite. John Cena's return in the 2008 match was quite possibly the greatest surprise return in Royal Rumble history.