With another Royal Rumble upon us, I was wondering what the favorite Royal Rumble of my fellow W's is. I'm only talking about the match itself, not the card.
My favorite is the 1992 Rumble for a few reasons 1) It was the first WWE PPV that I attended in person. 2) It was probably the most star-studded Rumble they've ever had and 3) I loved the idea of putting the WWE title up for grabs in the match, it really had a feel that anyone could have walked away with the championship
My honorable mentions would have to be the 2008 Rumble and the 1990 Rumble.
2010 - partly because I was there, partly because of Punk, partly because of Edge.
But I do think it was one of the better laid out Rumbles of the past while. There was a period between HHH's and Shawn Michaels' entrances that may have dragged some, but it was aces the rest of the time.
2004. Chris Benoit (my favorite at the time) won it, and he did it while looking like a badass, because he started #1 and took out most of the "big guys", such as Mark Henry, Bradshaw, Matt Morgan, A-Train and finally The Big Show.
Even before the Benoit tragedy, people were talking about Ric Flair's win as looking better than Benoit's. To them I retort: "Did you even WATCH 1992?" Flair was... Flair. Playing the chickenshit heel like only he can. He even left the ring under the bottom rope several times when he was outmatched.
It also featured some of my other favorites like Matt Hardy, The Hurricane, Christian, Goldberg and Kurt Angle. It foreshadowed the return of The Undertaker by playing the gong once and freaking Kane out. It had Brock Lesnar screw Goldberg out of the match, leading later to Austin giving Goldberg a ticket to No Way Out with the admonition "Don't do anything I wouldn't do". This in turn led Vince McMahon to retort, "There isn't a DAMN THING you wouldn't do!"
'04 was great.
"Has it never occured to anyone that maybe Kane attacked him, because no one likes The Miz?" --John Bradshaw Layfield, RAW 10/28/13
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1992 is the gold standard for Royal Rumbles. Great roster, great extra gimmick (the world title on the line), lots of potential winners and the fabulous commentary performance from Gorilla and the Brain. If I had to pick the single greatest one-match commentary of all time, it'd a tough pick between Gorilla/Bobby here and JR/King during the Taker/Foley Hell in a Cell.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
2004. I thought the pacing was pretty much perfect, I loved the storyline of Benoit going coast-to-coast, and I really enjoyed the end segment with Benoit/Jericho/Angle/Cena/RVD/Big Show. There were almost always multiple good workers in the ring and very few dead spots.
I was at 2004 and it was the greatest match I have ever seen. Sadly, the events have tainted it for me. I still think 1992 is the best one due to the insane amount of talent. I think 2001 is very underrated.
The Wee Baby Sheamus.Twitter: @realjoecarfley its a bit more toned down there. A bit.
1992, hands down. So many things to love: Heenan going ape when Flair comes out at #3, nearly every new entrant going right after Flair, the place coming unglued when Savage enters and Jake Roberts is in the ring, Piper going for both belts after just winning the I-C title, Hogan being revealed as the poor sport he is and, most important, one of the best post-match interviews with Flair.
2004 was quite good, but I always liked 2003 better. Maven tried the drop kick again. Lesnar rise to #1 face. Undertaker giving him respect after the win. I still have one question look back at it, did they plan for a Undertaker vs Batista match at WM XIX? Why else would they have Batista run back in with a chair going after Undertaker? I know Batista gets injured soon after the rumble. We ended up that that handicap match instead.
1992 was pretty perfect. Great story, great roster, great ending.
I also really like 2001. Austin's comeback story, Kane being a badass, and the WWF as a whole being really solid at the peak end of the Attitude Era was well done.
2004 is also up there, as is 2006, in my book.
I haven't really been into the Rumbles that have happened in the past few years, since 2010/2008. Hoping this year really kicks ass, since they seem to be loading it up with unexpected names and it's really anyone's game.
2004 - best Rumble 2007 - best finish 2008 - best moment 2011 - best spot (Morrison) 1990 - best booking 1992 - most fair to Flair 2010 - best argument for Straight Edge
Originally posted by texasranger9 I still have one question look back at it, did they plan for a Undertaker vs Batista match at WM XIX? Why else would they have Batista run back in with a chair going after Undertaker?
I think Undertaker was just a jag and wasn't getting thrown out straight up. Which was a weird way for your #1 babyface to win.
I was remiss in not mentioning Ernest "The Cat" Miller's hilarious contribution to the '04 Rumble (Tazz: "The WIG'S been eliminated!"), and I also loved The Honky Tonk Man in '01 (Kane hitting him with his own guitar, and shaking his head slowly) and The Hurricane trying to double-chokeslam Triple H and Austin in '02.
"Has it never occured to anyone that maybe Kane attacked him, because no one likes The Miz?" --John Bradshaw Layfield, RAW 10/28/13
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Co-Winner of Time's Person of the Year Award, 2006
Know what I really miss watching all these old rumble highlight videos? Blood. I'm not asking for buckets every match, but bring it back. HBK vs HHH, Cena vs Umaga, JBL vs Y2J.
Originally posted by texasranger9Know what I really miss watching all these old rumble highlight videos? Blood. I'm not asking for buckets every match, but bring it back. HBK vs HHH, Cena vs Umaga, JBL vs Y2J.
Originally posted by texasranger9Know what I really miss watching all these old rumble highlight videos? Blood. I'm not asking for buckets every match, but bring it back. HBK vs HHH, Cena vs Umaga, JBL vs Y2J.
Which Rumble had the most blood?
To be fair, HBK/HHH got shit over by the fans. I think the bloodiest one has to be 2001 Rumble where there is a giant blood spot through the entire match.
The Wee Baby Sheamus.Twitter: @realjoecarfley its a bit more toned down there. A bit.
The 92 rumble is definitely the gold standard, even if you only wintessed nothing but the commentary from Bobby Heenan. His rooting for Flair made it that much more entertaining. Personally though, I have a soft spot for the 95 rumble when HBK went coast to coast. Fun rumble, great ending that set the standard for dramatic eliminations and non-eliminations.
To be even more fair, HBK/HHH in '04 was shat over by the fans because it ended in a double-KO. "DAMN, must this feud continue?!" The crowd was about to revolt the following night when they were about to sign a straight-up rematch for WrestleMania. Then in walks Benoit!
And I loved how both Trips and Shawn got heel heat at WrestleMania XX, with the MSG crowd solidly behind the clear underdog trying to break through the glass ceiling.
"Has it never occured to anyone that maybe Kane attacked him, because no one likes The Miz?" --John Bradshaw Layfield, RAW 10/28/13
Certified RFMC Member-- Ask To See My Credentials!
Co-Winner of Time's Person of the Year Award, 2006
It's my belief that the WCW invasion of the WWF, like the nWo invasion of the WWF, could have been successful if they'd been booked properly. But Vince absolutely refused to let anything WCW/nWo get over against anything WWF.