Best/Worst Royal Rumble

[RMMA]

With it being Rumble time, what is your best and worst rumble that you watched. 92 is a obvious pick for best with Flair being no.3 and winning the title. The depth of the main event level talent was on display too (Hogan, Flair, Savage, Flair, Sid, Piper). Along with the brilliant commentary by Heenan/Monsoon it was a joy to watch.

99 imo is the worst Rumble due to lack of action and at one point the ring was completely empty. The overlying story of Austin/Mcmahon overshadowed the Rumble too much and everything else was irrelevant.

 

[DyslexicDave]

The '99 Rumble was my first live show ever followed by Wrestlemania 2000 and I am forever pissed that my first 2 shows are generally considered two of the worst PPVs. Only highlights were Rock/Mankind at the Rumble and the Triangle ladder match at Mania

 

[Death]

Best - 92. Worst - Probably 88 since friggin Duggan won. It meant nothing. Just my opinion.

 

[NewJackCity]

Best - 92. Worst - Probably 88 since friggin Duggan won. It meant nothing. Just my opinion.

 

[Hitman81]

92 is definitely my favorite and my least is probably when Big John Stud won. Dibiase should have won that.

 

[Goatenstein]

1992 is the best by far. The worst are all since 2001.

 

[GSPSAKU]

'92 is the GOAT, no questions asked. A superb wrestler in Flair winning it all by going nearly an hour. You had the who's who of wrestling at the time and not just a bunch of lower end guys filling it out. Flair, Hogan, DiBiase, Piper, Savage, 'Taker, Sid, Jake Roberts, Michaels, Valentine among others.

As for the worst one, shoot any of the first 3 could take the cake. '93 and '12 sucked as well and to have Sheamus win, blah.

 

[Hitman81]

Speaking of the Rumble, one thing that really pisses me off is when they have someone in at the end that you know isn't going to win. Like the Big Show, they had him in the final two at least twice against Rock and Benoit and you already knew who was going to win. You gotta have the two legit guys there are the end, like a Bret and Luger, or Cena and Batista. Otherwise it kills the drama.

 

[the ambush]

^ Probably another reason 1992 was the best RR. You had Flair, Hogan, Sid, and Savage left in the ring at the end.

 

[RMMA]

A great Rumble needs a great roster as seen by the 92 Rumble. The 96 Rumble had the most random entrants of all time: Dory Funk, Doug Glibert, Takao Omori and the Squad Team (Headhunters). A thin roster can make a Rumble boring to watch.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Obvious answer is 1992, but other than that I have to say 1994.

The whole angle with the Hart bros really resonated with me growing up with an older brother who was an asshole (lol). As I grew up I could really relate to Owen Hart and the things he said about Bret. Also Diesel got over huge which was really cool. Shitty ending though.

I also really liked 2002. Awesome Rumble roster, and a great hardcore match between Flair and McMahon.

Worst - I'd say anything after 2006. Just stopped caring for the product after that.

 

[TennBJJ]

Echoing 1992. Since no one has done a full listing yet: Bold/Underline denote WWE HoF(Half of all contestants!)

Add in Taker who is a no doubter, two HoFers on commentary in Brain and Monsoon, HoFer Finkel in ring announcing plus a ton of mid to upper mid talent - Boss, Herc, Bulldog, Model, its not even funny how far this outranks other RRs.

1 The British Bulldog
2 Ted DiBiase
3 Ric Flair
4 Jerry Sags
5 Haku
6 Shawn Michaels
7 Tito Santana
8 The Barbarian
9 The Texas Tornado
10 Repo Man
11 Greg Valentine
12 Nikolai Volkoff
13 Big Boss Man
14 Hercules
15 Roddy Piper
16 Jake Roberts
17 Jim Duggan
18 Irwin R. Schyster
19 Jimmy Snuka
20 The Undertaker
21 Randy Savage
22 The Berzerker
23 Virgil
24 Col. Mustafa
25 Rick Martel
26 Hulk Hogan
27 Skinner
28 Sgt. Slaughter
29 Sid Justice
30 The Warlord

Looking at that list, I think its fair. . .

 

[RMMA]

Also 92 is perhaps the most open and un-predictable rumble of all time too. Flair, Savage, Sid, Hogan, and even Piper can be consider contenders to win the Rumble. These days it's a predictable one/two horse race with a obvious direction as according to the storyline leading up to the Rumble.

 

[My Spot]

Best: 92
Worst: 88

 

[shinobimusashi]

Flair facing the ghosts of his past territory days, running the gauntlet to win the 92 Rumble is one of the best for sure.

2001 was damn good, also enjoyed 2004 a lot. 1990 is underrated. 1994 is one of my favorites just for nostalgia.

For me 99 and 2000 were the worst, just not a fan of that era and those Rumbles feature everything I dislike about it.

 

[Zezima]

2001 is my fav, slightly beats 92, 92 had a lot better talent depth no question.

Worst is either 2012 or 2014 IMO.

 

[HereticBD]

I think last year's Rumble was easily one of the worst. Not just bad, but insulting. Reigns winning wasn't the problem either. It was how Vince decided to vindictively fuck over the fans. It was one big troll job, that accomplished nothing, and hurt everyone.

You know when The Rock can't win over the fans, you done fucked up.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Flair facing the ghosts of his past territory days, running the gauntlet to win the 92 Rumble is one of the best for sure.

2001 was damn good, also enjoyed 2004 a lot. 1990 is underrated. 1994 is one of my favorites just for nostalgia.

For me 99 and 2000 were the worst, just not a fan of that era and those Rumbles feature everything I dislike about it.

Agree with most of this but I thought 2000 was fantastic. Shitty finish, but there was that awesome Tables match (I think the 1st one ever), Angle vs Tazz, and Cactus vs HHH. Solid PPV all over, the Rumble match was forgettable though.

 

[Gambitpool]

I always thought 2007 Rumble was underrated. It's not the best, not even close, but that Michaels/Taker ending was incredible. It was also the 1st time Taker won a Rumble and the number 30 contestant was victorious.

Plus it reinvigorated their rivalry, influencing storylines for 2 years that led to Shaun's retirement and the End of An Era Cell match.

 

[Ayin]

I think last year's Rumble was easily one of the worst. Not just bad, but insulting. Reigns winning wasn't the problem either. It was how Vince decided to vindictively fuck over the fans. It was one big troll job, that accomplished nothing, and hurt everyone.

You know when The Rock can't win over the fans, you done fucked up.

Yeah, I've hardly watched as many as most here, and the vast majority I didn't experience live so doubtless some of the understanding of the narrative was lost on me, but the last years was just so bizarre and uninspiring.

It had a very strong beginning, Bray beings super dominant, but then it just completely collapses on itself. Obviously neither Kane nor the Big Show was going to win, and since they were their to protect the Authorities choice for winner, who was...no one? It just made no sense.

Even at the end, with Russev running up from under the ring, only to be (from what I remember) immediately thrown out with no drama or danger. Ugh.


Contrasted with the year previous to that, where the crowd was loving Reigns and the Shield, and it was crazy to see how effectively the company could turn the crowd against someone.