Blog Archives
Ranking The Royal Rumble Winners – Part 8
It’s Royal Rumble season, which means it’s almost WrestleMania season. Thanks to the WWE Network, you can go back and watch all the old Royal Rumble pay per views and matches, and in that spirit, I decided to rank the winners. I’ll be ranking the winners every day until the we reach #1, and if you’re interested in checking out who’s already on the list, use the tricky magnifying glass at the top of the screen and search ‘Royal Rumble winners’ or scroll through the blog. Now, onto the rankings!
15. Chris Benoit – Royal Rumble 2004
You knew it was coming eventually. Chris Benoit was a phenomenal professional wrestler. Similar to the next guy on this list, he got his start in American wrestling in ECW, then went to WCW before finally reaching the mountaintop in WWE. Benoit entered the 2004 Royal Rumble at #1, and over an hour later, he was headed to WrestleMania with a guaranteed shot at a Heavyweight title.
The Good: Benoit’s whole career, really. I know professional wrestling is fake, but I wasn’t sure if Benoit knew it. He gained the moniker of ‘The Crippler’ in ECW after he accidentally broke Sabu’s neck in a match, and would be known for his toughness throughout his entire career. Similar to Jericho, Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, Benoit was a master in the ring for WCW but was stuck playing second fiddle behind the main event scene of the NWO, The Four Horsemen, Sting and DDP. He debuted in the WWE along with Guerrero, Malenko and Saturn as The Radicalz which would begin a decorated career for Benoit in the WWE. He would win numerous titles, culminating in 2004 with a Royal Rumble win followed by a World Heavyweight Championship victory over HHH and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 20.
The Not So Good: The last few days of Benoit’s life have overshadowed anything he ever did in the squared circle. It doesn’t erase Benoit from the history of the wrestling, but its impossible to bring up his name without the events surrounding his death being brought into the conversation.
Make sure to check back tomorrow when I’ll reveal who came in at #14 in our Royal Rumble Winner Rankings.
– Ryan
Ranking The Royal Rumble Winners – Part 7
It’s Royal Rumble season, which means it’s almost WrestleMania season. Thanks to the WWE Network, you can go back and watch all the old Royal Rumble pay per views and matches, and in that spirit, I decided to rank the winners. I’ll be ranking the winners every day until the we reach #1, including this weekend, so make sure you come back to the blog Saturday and Sunday and check it out. If you’re interested in checking out who’s already on the list, use the tricky magnifying glass at the top of the screen and search ‘Royal Rumble winners’ or scroll through the blog. Now, onto the rankings!
16. Batista – 2005 & 2014 Royal Rumbles
Batista marks our first multiple time winner on this prestigious list, as he won Royal Rumbles almost a decade apart. While both of his wins were shrouded in some kind of controversy, there’s no denying that Batista was one of the most important wrestlers in the WWE for the better part of the 2000s.
The Good: Batista was a 4 time World Heavyweight champ & 2 time WWE champion; he won two Royal Rumbles, something only four other wrestlers have done. When he was on, he was very good. He had memorable feuds with HHH, Undertaker and John Cena, a major reason he was a 6 times combined World or WWE champion. He was an integral member of one of the better post Attitude era factions, Evolution.
The Not So Good: As mentioned above, both of his Royal Rumble wins involved a bit of controversy. In 2005, he and John Cena were eliminated at the same time, causing a restart of the Rumble with the final two, Batista and Cena, back in the ring. Batista did win the match fair and square after the restart, but as far as Rumble wins go, it was pretty controversial a la Bret and Luge in ’94 except with a decisive winner. Then there was last year. Poor Batista was brought back and thrust into the main event scene just as the legitimate best wrestler in the world was becoming the most popular wrestler in the world. WWE made the mistake of trying to bring him back as a good guy, and the crowd shit (feces were literally flying everywhere) all over it. When Rey Mysterio entered at #30 and the crowd realized Daniel Bryan wasn’t going to be in the Rumble, they turned on Batista, booing him out of the building when he finally eliminated Roman Reigns. He was officially the least popular Rumble winner of the modern era. During his first run with the company, Batista ‘quit’ the WWE just as he was getting good to pursue his Hollywood dreams, which always left a bad taste in my mouth. The funny thing is Batista’s initial push reminds me of what the WWE is trying to do with Roman Reigns right now: a guy with the right look and the right attitude backstage getting thrust into the spotlight before he’s ready. It worked out for Batista, so hopefully the same can be said for Reigns a decade from now.
Make sure to check the blog over the weekend, as I’ll be featuring #15 and #14, including one of the most controversial wrestlers in WWE history.
– Ryan
Ranking The Royal Rumble Winners – Part 6
It’s Royal Rumble season, which means it’s almost WrestleMania season. Thanks to the WWE Network, you can go back and watch all the old Royal Rumble pay per views and matches, and in that spirit, I decided to rank the winners. I’ll already ranked the bottom four, and I’ll be ranking the winners every day until the we reach #1. If you’re interested in checking out the bottom four spots on our list, use the tricky magnifying glass at the top of the screen and search ‘Royal Rumble winners’ or scroll through the blog. Now, onto the rankings!
17. Alberto Del Rio – 2011 Royal Rumble
Alberto Del Rio had one of the great four year runs in the modern WWE, winning both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship twice, a MITB briefcase and the Royal Rumble. That he did all of this during the John Cena era was even more impressive. Before joining the WWE, Del Rio enjoyed a memorable run in Mexico as Dos Caras Junior, a reincarnation of his father, the Mexican legend Dos Caras, where he held their heavyweight championship for over 500 days. While Del Rio’s run in the WWE was short lived, his arrogant heel character was a highlight of the 2010’s. He had memorable feuds with John Cena, CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler, and his Royal Rumble win in 2011 marked the first and only time the WWE would run the match with 40 participants. He and his personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez left the WWE far too soon, but hopefully one day they’ll be back to reclaim their throne.
– Ryan
Ranking The Royal Rumble Winners – Part 5
It’s Royal Rumble season, which means it’s almost WrestleMania season. Thanks to the WWE Network, you can go back and watch all the old Royal Rumble pay per views and matches, and in that spirit, I decided to rank the winners. I’ll already ranked the bottom four, and I’ll be ranking the winners every day until the we reach #1. If you’re interested in checking out the bottom four spots on our list, use the tricky magnifying glass at the top of the screen and search ‘Royal Rumble winners’ or scroll through the blog. Now, onto the rankings!
18. Yokozuna – Royal Rumble 1993
I think Yokozuna is a case of hindsight being 20/20, especially in regards to him ranking higher on this list than Sheamus. When it’s all said and done, Sheamus’s career might rank higher than Yokozuna’s, but looking back over his complete body of work, Yokozuna was truly a game changer. When he wrestled in the WWF, he was anywhere between 500-600 pounds, and was as agile as big men half his weight. 1993 was peak Yokozuna, and this Royal Rumble win put him in line to face Bret Hart at the following WrestleMania for the WWF Title, a match he won, then for some reason he had to fight Hulk Hogan immediately after and lost the title. When Hogan left the WWF, Yoko regained the title, and his second title reign produced numerous memorable moments for WWF fans, including Lex Luger body slamming him aboard the USS Intrepid and his casket match with the Undertaker at the 1994 Royal Rumble. He went on to win the Tag Team Titles with Owen Hart a few years later, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012. His career was short but memorable, and he also gave us the weirdest ending in Royal Rumble history: when Macho Man, the most dangerously insane wrestler ever, went to pin Yoko, which, if you know the rules of the Royal Rumble, makes no sense because you can only win by tossing your opponent over the top rope. Yoko proceeded to push Savage up off him and over the top rope, securing the Rumble victory. I remember this happening and yelling at my TV that Macho Man was an idiot. I was 5.
– Ryan
Ranking The Royal Rumble Winners – Part 4
It’s Royal Rumble season, which means it’s almost WrestleMania season. Thanks to the WWE Network, you can go back and watch all the old Royal Rumble pay per views and matches, and in that spirit, I decided to rank the winners. We’ve already ranked the bottom three, so if you’re interested, go back and check them out here, here and here. I’ll be ranking the winners every day until the 2015 Royal Rumble on January 25th. Now, in the words of Goldberg, let’s see who’s next!
19. Sheamus – 2012 Royal Rumble
I don’t really have a set formula that I’m using to judge the winners of the Royal Rumble. The main reason for that is because winning the Royal Rumble has meant many different things over the years. It has ranged from Big John Studd winning and being a special guest referee at the following WrestleMania to Ric Flair winning and actually winning the World Title. Since the victories themselves have signified such vastly different things, I decided to rank the winners based mostly on how much I like the character, and how important that character was/is to the wrestling industry. So if you’re a huge Hacksaw Jim Duggan fan and feel like he shouldn’t be 21st on this list, you’re not wrong, but just know that a mentally handicapped patriot should’ve been a character that lasted one night.
Now onto Sheamus. There are two reasons Sheamus ranked so low for me: 1. the rest of this last is insanely stacked and 2. his match with Daniel Bryan at the following WrestleMania is one of the biggest FU’s to fans I’ve ever witnessed. If you don’t remember their match for the World Heavyweight Championship, here it is, IN IT’S ENTIERITY.
I still can’t watch that video without getting incredibly angry. The only silver lining is that this injustice gave the YES movement a huge jolt, and two years later Daniel Bryan would be standing tall as the champion at WrestleMania XXX (not a porno). As for our buddy Sheamus, if he’s not a bad guy, I’m not interested. He stars in the Be A Star anti bullying campaigns but then bullies everyone else on TV, except its OK because he’s a good guy. He doesn’t have one identifiable trait, unless you’re someone who never leaves the house because you’re afraid of the sun. His Royal Rumble win was impressive, but so was everyone else’s on the list. His character just doesn’t stack up to the other big names who have won it. He came in at #22, which isn’t too bad considering other wrestlers have won entering later, and the only man he eliminated was the final guy in his way, Chris Jericho. In time, Sheamus might move up on this list, but for now, he’s right where he belongs at #19.
– Ryan
The WWE Network Will Finally Be Available In The UK & Ireland On January 19th (Maybe)
As @TheRock says, FINALLY… @WWENetwork is coming to the UK and Ireland on Monday, January 19th. http://t.co/cHd7tdNLci
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) January 4, 2015
After the last projection failed (while Raw was in the UK, no less), it seems like the WWE is finally ready to roll out the WWE Network overseas. I honestly don’t know how fans in the UK and Ireland have waited this long, because I signed up for the Network on day one and have been obsessed with it ever since. Hopefully the WWE is really ready this time, and that fans in Ireland and the UK will finally be able to utilize this wonderful concept.
– Ryan
Ranking The Royal Rumble Winners – Part 3
It’s Royal Rumble season, which means it’s almost WrestleMania season. Thanks to the WWE Network, you can go back and watch all the old Royal Rumble pay per views and matches, and in that spirit, I decided to rank the winners. Vince McMahon came in at #22 on the list, Hacksaw Jim Duggan came in at #21 and now it’s time to see who’s next!
20. Big John Studd – 1989 Royal Rumble
The first three on this list were pretty easy to pick. Big John Studd, as seen above, won the 1989 Royal Rumble by eliminating Virgil, which isn’t exactly the greatest victory in Rumble history. With that said, the 1989 Royal Rumble was stacked with Hall of Fame talent, including Hogan, Savage, Andre the Giant, Ted DiBiase, Jake Roberts, Shawn Michaels and many more. The main story line for most of 1988 and 1989 was the Mega Powers, the short lived friendship and tag team of Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan, but the feud between Andre the Giant and Big John Studd was also a huge talking point heading into Wrestlemania V that year. While he may not be the greatest Rumble winner in history, at least Big John Studd wasn’t the worst. Tomorrow we’ll rank #19!
– Ryan
Ranking The Royal Rumble Winners – Part 2
It’s Royal Rumble season, which means it’s almost WrestleMania season. Thanks to the WWE Network, you can go back and watch all the old Royal Rumble pay per views and matches, and in that spirit, I decided to rank the winners. Vince McMahon came in at #22 on the list, and now it’s time to see who’s next!
21. Hacksaw Jim Duggan – 1988 (Inaugural) Royal Rumble
The hardest part about ranking the Royal Rumble winners is figuring out who belongs towards the bottom of the list. Vince was an easy choice for last place because he’s not an actual wrestler, and he spent most of the match outside the ring. Other than Vince, every Rumble winner is a legit superstar or hall of famer, which makes sense, since the Rumble winner usually either won the WWE Championship or won the right to main event WrestleMania. With that said, Hacksaw was an easy pick here. Yes he won the inaugural Rumble, and yes he took the ball and ran with his “kind of mentally incompetent patriot” gimmick, but overall he was basically a goofball. He followed up his Rumble win by losing to Ted DiBiase in the first round of the WWF Championship tournament and basically remained a mid carder for life. There’s no doubt he was popular with the fans, but compared to the rest of the wrestlers who won the Rumble match, he’s right where he belongs at #21.
– Ryan
