By Allan “AWESOME” Proskin
28) Men’s Royal Rumble 2020 (Winner: Drew McIntyre)
On to the men’s side of the Rumble before shuttingdown. This was a good Rumble. A big return plus Brock entering at the number 1 spot as champion just to run through the locker room were the main points for this Rumble. It was also this Rumble where Braun Strowman’s elimination record was no pun intended eliminated. Brock would set the record for eliminating 13 people! With help from Ricochet, Drew Claymored the hell out of Brock and eliminated the beast. Later,in the night Edge would return after being forced to retire years ago and it was an awesome surprise by Edge. He has a thing for surprises at the Rumble. More on that soon. It was such a shame that there was no one in attendance when Drew would go on to beat the Beast Incarnate at the no fan WrestleMania. I frankly still think he deserves that moment again but hey time will tell right?
27) Royal Rumble 2011 (Winner: Alberto Del Rio)
Welcome to 2011 the year of the 40-man Rumble. Why they made it 40 men is beyond me. Much of the match was just the war between two factions, The Corre and the Nexus. A couple of surprise returns by Booker T and Diesel couldn’t overshadow the back and forth between the Nexus and the Corre. Alberto Del Rio would end up winning by eliminating Santino Marella who was hiding on the outside of the ring for a bit. Not going to lie when I was watching it, I absolutely forgot he was still in the match. At that time, I kind of wanted him to win but for some reason they were pushing Del Rio instead. Anyways on to the next one!
26) Royal Rumble 2000 (Winner: The Rock)
When I mention the 2000 Royal Rumble, what do you associate the event with more? Sure, as hell wasn’t the Rumble match itself, no it was the street fight between HHH and Cactus Jack. That match trumps the Rumblewhich is why this is where it is in the ranking. Also,even though I know they went with this angle anyways but yea the Rock’s feet hit the floor way before Big Show’s did but that’s besides the point. Can’t change the outcome now am I right? I mean Big Show wound up in the Main Event of WrestleMania that year anyways, so it was a win-win! Top 25 here we come!
25) Royal Rumble 2009 (Winner: Randy Orton {1})
This Rumble had some star power. This would be Orton’s first Rumble win; I mean he did have help from the likes of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase aka Legacy. Randy would go on to face the Game at WrestleMania 25, but no one remembers that match thanks to the Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels. Let’s continue!
24) Royal Rumble 1998 (Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin {2})
The Attitude Era is just on the cusp of beginning and leading the way winning his 2nd Royal Rumble in a row, becoming the 3rd person to win a Rumble back-to-back and currently the last to do it was the Texas Rattlesnake Stone Cold Steve Austin. You knew right away especially with the arrival of Iron Mike Tyson, (who was watching in a box suite with Shane O Mac) that it had to be Austin. He would go on to beat HBK at WrestleMania XIV with Mike Tyson as the enforcer who made the count for Austin to win. This will not be Austin’s last Rumble win. This was also the Rumble where Mick Foley came out with all his personas.
23) Men’s Royal Rumble 2019 (Winner: Seth Rollins)
The winner could have gone either way in this one. The talent in this match could have carried the weight on their shoulders. Seth winning the same night as his girlfriend is a freaky coincidence. I personally would have given this Rumble to Braun but I’m just a fan, what do I know? This would also feature Nya Jax attacking R-Truth and becoming the 4th woman in history to enter a men’s Royal Rumble, joining the likes of Chyna, Beth Phoenix, and Awesome Kong.Still, it was nice to see JE Double F JA Double R EDouble T, Jeff Jarrett again. And we continue onward.
22) Royal Rumble 2001 (Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin {3})
DREW CAREY COME ON DOWN! YOU’RE THE NEXT ENTRANT INTO THE ROYAL RUMBLE! That’s right celebrity Drew Carey was added into this match. He eliminated himself when the Big Red Machine came out. Honestly, I do not blame him! I mean I personally would have at LEAST tried to take out Kane but that’s me. This was also the Rumble where Kane had the record for most eliminations, a record which would be intact for 13 more years. CRAZY! Austin won this Rumble from the coveted number 27 spot and would be the last person to win from that spot. There have only been 4 superstars who have won from that spot and Austin was the last one to do it. Let’s continue!
21) Royal Rumble 2012 (Winner: Sheamus)
I remember watching this live with a few friends and predicting Chris Jericho to win. I was so close as he was the final two and eliminated by that year’s winner Sheamus. I really thought Jericho would win this. He should of in my opinion. He’s done so much in his career at that point, so why not add a Rumble win to his legacy?! This was also the year Kharma/Awesome Kong made her way into the men’s match. Sheamus would go on to beat Daniel Bryan in 18 seconds……18 SECONDS!! at that year’s WrestleMania! Talk about a push! NEXT!
Author: Allan “AWESOME” Proskin. Follow Allan on Twitter