The history of the Royal Rumble event features many outstanding matches outside of the battle royal. WWE always tries to start a PPV off hot with an important opening match. Quite a few have left a mark on the audience when opening the Royal Rumble event. Diehard fans often prefer the Rumble to WrestleMania based on the unpredictable excitement of the show.

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We will look back at the best overall opening matches to come from the Royal Rumble event. The matches all provided hot starts to the show that began the night in grand fashion. Many instances saw the wrestlers involved competing against later in the Rumble match. Find out just which bouts to watch back on WWE Network. These are the top ten opening matches in Royal Rumble history.

10 Tazz vs Kurt Angle (Royal Rumble 2000)

The WWE debut of Tazz was a tremendous moment in the opening match of the Royal Rumble 2000 event. Madison Square Garden fans reacted with a huge roar when the ECW legend made his first WWE appearance as the mystery opponent of Kurt Angle.

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The match itself was fun with Tazz showing off his suplexes. Tazz defeated Angle with his Tazmission submission, but the commentators wondered if it was an illegal choke. Regardless of that complaint and the company giving up on his push, no one can take away from Tazz’s great night here.

9 Daniel Bryan vs Big Show vs Mark Henry (Royal Rumble 2012)

Daniel Bryan’s first World Championship reign in WWE came with massive challengers like Mark Henry and Big Show. The champion was forced to defend the title against both giants in a triple threat cage match at the Royal Rumble 2012 event.

All three men had a great performance in telling the story. Bryan survived once again by outlasting Henry and Big Show to keep his title reign going. This was an impressive outing for Bryan that won him more respect from the fan base.

8 The Hardy Boyz vs MNM (Royal Rumble 2007)

WWE reunited both tag teams of the Hardy Boyz and MNM for a rivalry in late 2006 and early 2007. Matt and Jeff were still quite popular with the fans loving to witness the legendary tag team becoming a strong fixture together again.

The heel trio of Mercury, Nitro and Melina were still strong heels and the perfect foes for the Hardy Boyz. Their Royal Rumble 2007 match was quite compelling and got the fans excited for the rest of the night. Matt and Jeff scored the victory to prove their tag team dominance.

7 Edge vs Dolph Ziggler (Royal Rumble 2011)

Edge faces Dolph Ziggler at Royal Rumble

Dolph Ziggler had his first taste of the main event picture in late 2010 and early 2011 when feuding with Edge for the World Championship. Edge was playing a face character for the first time in many years. Ziggler was now the love interest of Vickie Guerrero looking to get revenge against her ex.

The two would face off for the World Championship in the opening match of the Royal Rumble 2011 event. Edge and Ziggler had great chemistry on this night to get things off to a hot start. The win for Edge saw him retain the title and head into WrestleMania 27 as World Champion.

6 Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show (Royal Rumble 2013)

An underrated 2013 feud saw Alberto Del Rio and Big Show competing for the World Championship. Del Rio ended Big Show’s title reign during an episode of Smackdown and defended it at the Royal Rumble 2013 event in a Last Man Standing match.

The title bout opened the show with an exciting matchup of many twists and turns. Del Rio scored the huge victory over Big Show to give his face run some momentum. Not many fans would have guessed these two would have strong chemistry, but they did a great job opening the show.

5 Jeff Jarrett vs Razor Ramon (Royal Rumble 1995)

The Intercontinental Championship was viewed as a more important title in the 90s. Razor Ramon and Jeff Jarrett had a lengthy feud over the title that extended to the Royal Rumble 1995 event. They had an impressive match to open the show in an entertaining fashion.

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Jarrett stole the victory through a controversial method as with most of his victories as a heel. Razor was still one of the most popular wrestlers in the company and that added more excitement to this match. The win was huge for Jarrett at the time even though it didn’t lead to much else.

4 Asuka vs Becky Lynch (Royal Rumble 2019)

WWE is planning to have a huge match between Becky Lynch and Asuka at the Royal Rumble 2020 event for the second year in a row. The two talented stars had a great match in 2019 to open the Rumble event with an important match.

Asuka retained the Smackdown Women’s Championship over Lynch. This accidentally started the storyline for the 2020 match about Asuka having Becky’s number as the one person she can’t beat. Their match was quite compelling and one of the biggest wins of Asuka’s career.

3 Edge vs Shawn Michaels (Royal Rumble 2005)

The rivalry between Shawn Michaels and Edge from late 2004 to early 2005 featured a few great matches together. Edge was starting to get a bigger push closer to the main event picture against an established top face character.

The 2005 Royal Rumble opener featured Edge and Michaels having another good one as their chemistry was on point at the time. Edge scored the victory and it was arguably the biggest win of his career to that point. It helped him become a strong heel character which made him a legend.

2 Dean Ambrose vs Kevin Owens (Royal Rumble 2016)

The Last Man Standing match between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens opened the Royal Rumble 2016 event. Both men were involved in a violent feud for the Intercontinental Championship as they were climbing the ladder to the main event picture in WWE.

Ambrose defeated Owens in a must-see match with many dangerous spots and thrilling near falls. The win for Ambrose continued his momentum and he even had a strong performance as the last man eliminated in the Rumble match hours later.

1 Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan (Royal Rumble 2014)

WWE is booking the Universal Championship match of Bray Wyatt vs Daniel Bryan for the Royal Rumble 2020 event. Both men worked together six years prior in the opening match of the Royal Rumble 2014 show during their heated rivalry.

Bryan was at the peak of his popularity with fans wanting him in the title picture. The match was a classic with back and forth action winning over the audience. Wyatt scored the victory over Bryan, but fans were more upset later in the night when Bryan wasn’t involved in the Rumble match.

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