Read update
- Outside of WrestleMania, there isn’t a more anticipated PPV every year in WWE than the Royal Rumble. Even with more competition coming from AEW on the PPV front, the Royal Rumble is often must-see television every year for wrestling fans. This year saw Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey win, but it wasn’t enough to match up to the best of the best. However, with 35 Royal Rumble events in WWE history, there are so many to enjoy if for nothing else than the main Rumble match. We have added five more shows based on Cagematch.net ratings, from the early 1990s up to Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair’s big wins in 2020, and everything in between.
Every year since January 1988, WWE has hosted the Royal Rumble. New Year's Revolution from 2005-07, and Day 1 in 2022 have preceded the Rumble, but the Royal Rumble is where the road to WrestleMania begins. The Royal Rumble is one of WWE's "Big Four" events, and there has always been a lot of noise surrounding the Rumble. Even casual wrestling fans tune in to watch the Royal Rumble as the Royal Rumble match is unpredictable, and some surprising returns are featured.
However, the Royal Rumble pay-per-view isn't just about the Royal Rumble match. There have been several marquee World Championship matches on the card, which has set the tone for potential main events at WrestleMania. The Royal Rumble is a jam-packed show, and on Cagematch.net, the ratings of the best Royal Rumble pay-per-views can fluctuate with regular updates.
UPDATE: 2022/03/13 12:25 EST BY Shawn S. Lealos
Outside of WrestleMania, there isn’t a more anticipated PPV every year in WWE than the Royal Rumble. Even with more competition coming from AEW on the PPV front, the Royal Rumble is often must-see television every year for wrestling fans. This year saw Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey win, but it wasn’t enough to match up to the best of the best. However, with 35 Royal Rumble events in WWE history, there are so many to enjoy if for nothing else than the main Rumble match. We have added five more shows based on Cagematch.net ratings, from the early 1990s up to Drew McIntyre and Charlotte Flair’s big wins in 2020, and everything in between.
UPDATE: 2023/01/20 07:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY
Outside of a few horrendous exceptions, such as the 2022 event, the Royal Rumble PPV is among the most consistently entertaining shows within the WWE PPV calendar. A big part of that all comes down to the Royal Rumble match itself, which elevates everything else due to the huge anticipation that fans have for the bout. There is a certain special atmosphere when it comes to the title matches and undercard contests too though, and they can help to create a brilliant card overall. The list of good Rumble PPVs continues with three extra additions to this list, which all have positives to offer.
18 Royal Rumble 2017 - 6.94
The 2017 Royal Rumble match may not have been the best ever, but it did feature some star-studded entries such as Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, and The Undertaker. The size of the arena added to the spectacle, with an enormous ramp in place for wrestlers to make their entrance.
John Cena won the WWE Title from AJ Styles further down the card in what was a match of the year candidate which undeniably stole the show, though Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens put on a great performance in their Universal Title match too. The pacing of the Rumble and focus on part-timers did unfortunately drag this show down slightly though.
17 Royal Rumble 2021 - 6.94
In 2021, WWE had a tough job on their hands to produce a Rumble event with zero fans in attendance due to the pandemic. With two incredible performances by winners Bianca Belair and Edge in their respective Rumble matches, they managed to distract from the strange circumstances of the event.
Drew McIntyre vs Goldberg was a bit awkward but was over quickly enough, and the Roman Reigns vs Kevin Owens Last Man Standing match was great up until a botched finish. Overall, the lack of fans did take away from the show, but given that, the wrestlers put in a remarkable effort to make up for that.
16 Royal Rumble 2003 - 7.05
The show-long story of Brock Lesnar earning a Rumble spot and going on to win a very physical and fun Rumble match was a great thread, and it held the event together. The main event saw some big names go at it, in addition to furthering Lesnar’s ascent up the WWE ladder.
The undercard was a mixed bag, with a phenomenal WWE Championship match but a truly abhorrent and legendarily awful World Heavyweight Championship match between Triple H and Scott Steiner.
15 Royal Rumble 2002 - 7.07
In 2002, WWE held its final Royal Rumble before the company began its first brand extension. Outside the Royal Rumble, Chris Jericho defended his Undisputed WWF Championship successfully against The Rock, Ric Flair beat Vince McMahon in a street fight, and William Regal beat Edge for the IC title.
As for the Rumble itself, this was the year that Maven shocked the world by eliminating Undertaker. The former Tough Enough winner then took the beating of his life by Undertaker. The end of the match came with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mr. Perfect, Kurt Angle, and Triple H as the final four. Triple H won, eliminating Angle last before beating Jericho for the world title at WrestleMania 18.
14 Royal Rumble 2010 - 7.14
In 2010, WWE had three brands running with ECW, Raw, and SmackDown, and the Royal Rumble in that year had more matches than usual. There were six matches outside of the Royal Rumble match, with Undertaker successfully defending his World Championship against Rey Mysterio being the best among them.
Sheamus defended his WWE title against Randy Orton, The Miz defended the U.S. title against MVP, and Christian defended the ECW title against Ezekiel Jackson. The only title that changed hands was Mickey James, winning the Women's Championship from Michelle McCool. As for the Rumble, Edge made his surprise return from injury to eliminate John Cena and win it all.
13 Royal Rumble 1991 - 7.15
The fourth Royal Rumble match in WWE took place in 1991. Hulk Hogan had won the match the year before and he was back in the Rumble again this year. At this time in WWE history, the match was not for the world title. Despite this, Hogan's win in the Rumble match ended up leading to him getting the world title shot at WrestleMania 7.
What this year's Royal Rumble remains most known for was Sgt. Slaughter cashing in his heel turn as an Iraqi sympathizer and beating Ultimate Warrior for the world title here. The two other notable matches saw The Rockers beat The Orient Express and Ted DiBiase teaming up with Virgil to beat Dusty and Dustin Rhodes.
12 Royal Rumble 2019 - 7.16
The 2019 Royal Rumble featured one of the most memorable moments in the Women's Royal Rumble match history. Earlier on the show, Asuka beat Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women's Championship. In the Rumble match, Lana was injured and Lynch came in and took her place, eliminating Charlotte to win the match.
In the men's match, Seth Rollins eliminated Braun Strowman to win the match. There were seven total matches on the main show, including Brock Lesnar beating Finn Balor in a Universal title match and Daniel Bryan beating AJ Styles in a WWE Championship match.
11 Royal Rumble 2020 - 7.42
The 2020 Royal Rumble looked to lead to a very special moment for Drew McIntyre. After years of being misused on the main roster, McIntyre won the men's Rumble match, setting up a huge moment where he could finally win his first world title on the biggest stage of them all. The show also saw Edge's incredible return.
Thanks to COVID-19, Drew won the title from Brock Lesnar in an empty arena.Charlotte Flair won the women's Rumble match, making up for her loss the year before to Becky Lynch. In other matches, Bray Wyatt defended his Universal Championship against Daniel Bryan, and both Becky Lynch and Bayley defended their women's titles.
10 Royal Rumble 2018 - 7.45
The 2018 Royal Rumble is a historical one as it was the first time that there would be a 30-woman Royal Rumble match. They stole the show in the main event with Asuka having the privilege of becoming the first female to win a Royal Rumble match, and she punched her ticket to WrestleMania 34.
Her compatriot Shinsuke Nakamura prevailed in the men's Royal Rumble match. Brock Lesnar emerged victorious in his Universal Title defense against Braun Strowman and Kane, and AJ Styles retained the WWE Championship in a handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to round-off the other notable results at the Rumble.
9 Royal Rumble 2009 - 7.51
Royal Rumble events in the 2000s were pretty good, and the final one in the decade in 2009 was another remarkable show. Melina ended Beth Phoenix's Women's Championship run for her third and final reign as WWE Women's Champion.
Jack Swagger overcame Matt Hardy to retain the ECW Championship, and John Cena saw off his old rival JBL in a World Heavyweight Championship contest. Unfortunately, for die-hard Jeff Hardy fans, his WWE Title reign lasted 42 days as Edge recaptured the WWE Title, all thanks to Jeff's brother Matt. Ultimately, Randy Orton won the Royal Rumble match for the first time in his career by lastly eliminating Triple H, and his Legacy lapdogs Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase proved to be the difference-maker.
8 Royal Rumble 2005 - 7.54
The 2005 Royal Rumble is fondly remembered for the botched finish which led to John Cena and Batista getting eliminated simultaneously. However, an angry Mr. McMahon came down the aisle and blew both quadriceps with Batista winning the Rumble once the match got restarted.
Edge beat Shawn Michaels to earn one of the finest wins in his career in the opening match of the night. Triple H and JBL ensured that they would walk into WrestleMania 21 as reigning World Champions as they both successfully defended their championships. The Undertaker also prevailed by sealing Heidenreich in a casket in an underwhelming casket match.
7 Royal Rumble 2004 - 7.63
The 2004 Royal Rumble match was a brilliant one, and it saw the winner come from the number 1 position. Evolution's Ric Flair and Batista retained the World Tag Team Championship against the Dudley Boyz in a tables match.
Rey Mysterio successfully defended the Cruiserweight Championship, and Eddie Guerrero beat his nephew Chavo in a grudge match. Brock Lesnar eased past Hardcore Holly in his WWE Championship title defense, and Triple H and Shawn Michaels went to a draw in a highly competitive Last Man Standing match with the Game hanging onto the World Heavyweight Championship.
6 Royal Rumble 2016 - 7.66
Royal Rumble 2016 was another solid Rumble, and the Royal Rumble match was filled with tons of drama. For the second time in WWE history, the WWE Championship was up for grabs in the Rumble match. Roman Reigns had the unenviable task of being the number one entrant in his WWE Championship title defense, and he came tantalizingly close to retaining with eventual winner Triple H eliminating him and Dean Ambrose.
Charlotte Flair retained the Divas Championship against Becky Lynch, and Ambrose pulled double duty as he retained the Intercontinental Title in an outstanding Last Man Standing match with Kevin Owens. Another noteworthy result on the card saw The New Day beat their rivals The Usos in a WWE Tag Team Championship match.
5 Royal Rumble 2008 - 7.80
Royal Rumble 2008 was another strong show with WWE flexing their muscles with a strong roster. Ric Flair ensured that his career remained intact for another couple of months as he beat MVP in a career-threatening match.
Edge retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Rey Mysterio as did Randy Orton in his WWE Title match with Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy. However, the 2008 Royal Rumble was jam-packed with the likes of The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Batista slugging it out among others. John Cena unexpectedly returned as the 30th entrant, and he went on to win the Rumble for the first time in one of the most memorable moments at this showpiece event.
4 Royal Rumble 1992 - 8.04
The 1992 Royal Rumble was a well-constructed pay-per-view with the 1992 Royal Rumble match arguably the greatest Royal Rumble match of all time. The vacant WWE Championship was on the line, and Ric Flair prevailed to win the Rumble as the number three entrant.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper won the Intercontinental Championship from The Mountie, and the New Foundation overcame the Orient Express on the show. The Natural Disasters defeated LOD by count-out but the WWE Tag Team Championship did not change hands as titles do not change hands by count-out or DQ.
3 Royal Rumble 2000 - 8.20
The first Royal Rumble of the new millennium did not fail to disappoint. Tazz received a huge pop in his debut match when he destroyed Kurt Angle with ease in front of his hometown fans in New York City with the Rumble emanating in Madison Square Garden.
The Hardys beat The Dudleys in a remarkable tag team tables match, and Chris Jericho beat Chyna and Hardcore Holly in a triple threat match to become the Undisputed Intercontinental Champion. Triple H and Cactus Jack's Street Fight was brutal with the Game retaining the WWE Championship. The Royal Rumble match was garbage, and The Rock controversially eliminated Big Show to win his lone Rumble match.
2 Royal Rumble 2007 - 8.46
Royal Rumble 2007 was stacked with some remarkable matches on the card. The Hardys and MNM tore the house down in a brilliant opener. Batista's successful World Heavyweight Championship title defense against Mr. Kennedy was a better affair than many expected.
John Cena edged past Umaga in a Last Man Standing match to earn a second successive pay-per-view win over the Samoan Bulldozer. The Royal Rumble match was great as Undertaker and Shawn Michaels occupied the final two spots. They had an epic showdown, and the Deadman made history as the first man to win the Rumble from the 30th position.
1 Royal Rumble 2001 - 9.01
WWE unquestionably nailed the 2001 Royal Rumble event with a brilliant show on offer. Steve Austin made history as the only man to win the Royal Rumble match three times. Kane produced a stellar outing as he eliminated 11 wrestlers which was a record that stood for 13 years.
Edge and Christian dropped the WWE Tag Team Championship to the Dudley Boyz in a brilliant opener. Chris Jericho clinched the Intercontinental Championship in one of the best ladder matches of all time. Ivory and Chyna's Women's Title match was one-way traffic in Chyna's favor with Ivory retaining the gold, and Kurt Angle retained the WWE Championship against Triple H in a high-caliber championship bout.