After spending the past five years on Peacock and nearly a decade before that on the WWE Network, all past Royal Rumble events are now available with a Netflix subscription. While I’m sure that some diehard fans are already prepping for this weekend’s upcoming WWE PLE by checking out the classics they revisit every year, I have a feeling there are some folks out there who need some help coming up with a good starting point.
For the sake of everyone’s time, I’ve trimmed my list down to three Royal Rumbles (representing both the whole event and the matches themselves) that everyone should go back and watch, regardless of how many times it's happened before. Though brief, this list spans multiple decades and includes some of the most memorable moments from my favorite WWE event of the year. Let’s break it down!
The 1992 Royal Rumble
This could very well just be nostalgia getting the best of me, but I’m convinced that the 1992 Royal Rumble is the best there ever was, best there ever will be. Though the rest of the card hasn’t withstood the test of time, the 30-man over-the-top Rumble for the vacant WWF Championship is the stuff of wonder.
You have Hulk Hogan, the British Bulldog, Kerry Von Erich, Roddy Piper, the Undertaker, and Randy Savage, to name a few. Oh, and then there’s Ric Flair, who entered in the #3 spot and lasted over an hour (the first wrestler to do so) to win the WWF Championship. It has drama, it has shenanigans, and most of all, it has the “Nature Boy” walking past a dejected Ted DiBiase in one of the greatest wrestling clips of all time. It’s perfect.
Stream The 1992 Royal Rumble on Netflix.
- My Favorite Moment Of The Night: Ric Flair's epic "With a tear in my eye" post-Rumble promo alongside the Heenan Family
The 2001 Royal Rumble
Though the 2001 Royal Rumble has one of the most WTF moments in the event’s history, I’ve long been a fan of WWE Hall of Famer Drew Carey entering and lasting a few minutes in the big match. Unlike the 1992 PPV, the card is stacked from top to bottom with four great championship bouts before the big over-the-top 30-man battle royal. Speaking of which…
The main event is a who’s who of Attitude Era mainstays like the Hardy Boyz, the APA, the Undertaker, the Rock, Kane, Rikishi, and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who would go on to win his third and final Royal Rumble. With a mix of great wrestling, big surprises, and some hilarious moments, this one has it all.
Stream The 2001 Royal Rumble on Netflix.
- My Favorite Moment Of The Night: Drew Carey having a face-off with Kane before quickly eliminating himself
The 2018 Royal Rumble
The 2018 Royal Rumble is kind of a mixed bag when it comes to the overall card (I still can’t get over the odd match order), but I still think it’s notable for a couple of reasons. This event had the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, which was great from beginning to end. You had Sasha Banks spending nearly 55 minutes in the ring, Michelle McCool eliminating five competitors (one more than Nia Jax and Nikki Bella), and you had Asuka stamping her ticket to WrestleMania. Oh, and Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut in the post-match pageantry.
Earlier in the night, Shinsuke Nakamura lasted 44 minutes in the ring before finally eliminating the heavily favored Roman Reigns to challenge AJ Styles at WrestleMania. This match also gave us one of the coolest moments in modern wrestling history when the old guard (John Cena, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton) faced off against the new blood (Nakamura, Reigns, and Finn Balor).
Stream The 2018 Royal Rumble on Netflix.
- My Favorite Moment Of The Night: The "final six" showdown at the end of the Men's Royal Rumble match
All of these Royal Rumble events should be required viewing for wrestling fans, new and old. That said, there are more than 30 other entries in the event’s storied history that I cannot recommend enough.
