Top 5 WWE Royal Rumble PPVs of all time

We are under two weeks away from the first pay-per-view of the year, and the decade, the Royal Rumble. It is possibly the most anticipated show on the WWE calendar, because of the Royal Rumble match. The intrigue, drama, and excitement linked to the 30-person match are unlike anything in the entire wrestling industry.

But there is more to the event other than the Rumble matches. While the titular gimmick match would obviously take up the majority of the show, other matches are also required in order to make the show successful. It isn't easy to evaluate a pay-per-view like that, but it is worth a go.

Here are the five greatest WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-views of all-time. But first, a couple of honorable mentions.

• Royal Rumble 2007 (Undertaker wins)
• Royal Rumble 2010 (Edge wins)
• Royal Rumble 2016 (Triple H wins)

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#5 Royal Rumble 2000

This was prime Attitude Era WWF.

Out of every event on this list, Royal Rumble 2000 might have the least engaging Rumble match. Aside from a few names like The Rock and Big Show, it was filled with midcarders and the winner was fairly obvious. The end of the match was also pretty controversial.

Luckily, the rest of this pay-per-view was just pure Attitude Era fun. It opened with one of the hottest debuts in WWE history, as Tazz made his first appearance with the company against Kurt Angle. This would eventually remain the peak of his WWE career.

The Hardy Boyz and the Dudley Boyz had a thrilling tables match, one that set the stage for the iconic triple threat TLC matches between the two sets of brothers as well as Edge and Christian. But the show was stolen by the Street Fight between Triple H and Cactus Jack, for the WWF Championship.

This match was brutal, in a better way than Mick Foley's 'I Quit' Match against The Rock one year prior. There was the iconic use of thumbtacks, among other things, which ended up making Triple H's career. That was the night that made The Game.

#4 Royal Rumble 2018

A historic event.

Contrary to the 2000 edition, Royal Rumble 2018 finds its way onto the list solely because of the two Rumble matches. The undercard of this show was nothing too special, as AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar retained their world championships, in a handicap match and a triple threat respectively.

The men's Royal Rumble match took place right in the middle of the show and boy, was it a thriller. From the action and comedy to the stories and eventual winner, everything in the match was close to perfect.

The highlights included a shocking Rey Mysterio return and Shinsuke Nakamura eliminating Roman Reigns to win the match. However, the main event was an epic piece of history. It was the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match.

We got the perfect mix of current stars and returning legends, as Asuka stood tall at the end of the 30-woman match. But the biggest moment of the night belonged to the debuting Ronda Rousey, whose appearance was expected and shocking at the same time. With two excellent Royal Rumbles, the 2018 edition is looked back pretty fondly.

#3 Royal Rumble 2019

What a fantastic undercard.

Again, there is a contrast to the reason why the last two Royal Rumble pay-per-views are so good. While 2018's Rumble matches were really good, 2019's were average and lacked intensity. The one positive in each match were the winners, as Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch earned popular victories.

The Man herself opened the show with a barnburner against Asuka for the SmackDown Women's Championship, before taking over the Rumble. RAW's female title match was similarly fantastic. Ronda Rousey faced Sasha Banks in one of the former's greatest matches in the company.

The rest of the undercard was pretty fun as well, with Brock Lesnar vs Finn Balor for the Universal Championship and a feel-good Tag Team Title victory for The Miz and Shane McMahon. Even Daniel Bryan vs AJ Styles was a good match, despite the crowd being asleep for most of it.

Royal Rumble 2019 was a great show, probably the best of the year. A tremendous undercard, along with two inspired choices to win each Royal Rumble would make for one hell of a pay-per-view every single time.

#2 Royal Rumble 2017

A star-studded night at the Alamodome.

Speaking of stacked undercards, Royal Rumble 2017 was an absolute gem of a pay-per-view. It was the first Rumble after the brand split returned, meaning we got two world championship matches. Both of them set the state of Texas on fire.

Just before the most star-studded Royal Rumble match in history, John Cena won his 16th world championship in WWE by defeating AJ Styles in another classic between them. It was a fantastic match, which may have exceeded the pair's SummerSlam encounter.

Elsewhere, Neville's Cruiserweight Championship reign began and Kevin Owens retained the Universal Championship in a hellacious No Disqualification Match against Roman Reigns. The spots in this match were brutal, particularly Owens tumbling onto a pyramid of chairs.

The Rumble was a decent affair, but it lacked surprises. Brock Lesnar, Goldberg and The Undertaker may have made up for that fact, but Reigns entering the match at #30 put a dampener on the match. Also, Randy Orton turned out to be a slightly underwhelming winner considering the options.

Despite the hiccups, Royal Rumble 2017 was mostly positive thanks to the immense star power and big-time nature of the entire event.

#1 Royal Rumble 2001

Simply excellent, from top to bottom.

Every event on this list either had a classic Royal Rumble or an excellent undercard. This show, Royal Rumble 2001, had a combination of both. This is when WWF at its absolute prime, the road to WrestleMania X-Seven.

Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian opened the show in a tremendous way, before a scintillating Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship, between Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. Its legacy will forever be tainted, but it stood out at a time when everything was top class.

After an all-heel WWF Title match between Kurt Angle and Triple H, it was time for one of the greatest Rumble matches of all time. Flanked with some impressive star power with the likes of The Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, some of the surprises only made things more exciting.

Honky Tonk Man and the Big Show provided those pops, but one man stole the Royal Rumble in 2001. Kane went on a massive tear and eliminated a then-record 11 Superstars from the match, lasting over 53 minutes before being the last one out at the hands of Austin.

Royal Rumble was followed by another couple of classics, in the form of No Way Out and WrestleMania 17. This will forever be remembered as the strongest string of pay-per-views in WWE's storied history. And it began at the Royal Rumble.