Championship Matches At The Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble is one of the greatest brain children of WWE. The creativity and pure chaos of the match made it an instant hit. It has led to the Royal Rumble beginning the road to Wrestlemania and becoming a staple of WWE programming.

The prize of winning a WWE Championship match is what all in the Rumble match aspire to. It is what drives the competitors, but that dream is one that can come early for some. There have been many Royal Rumble PPV’s where a championship match takes place. Some that have been great affairs that deserve recognition.

Below we will look at ten such of these matches.

Cactus Jack v HHH (Street Fight for the WWE Championship; Royal Rumble 2000)

What can be said about this match that hasn’t already been said. HHH was trying to establish himself as a top heel and needed a feud to legitimatize this, enter Mick Foley. Foley was nearing the end of his career and would do whatever it took to get Hunter over.

Going into the match Foley adopted his Cactus Jack persona, which meant that we were all about to see a car wreck. It was a sight to behold. Every weapon that wasn’t nailed down was used during the match to the delight of the New York crowd.

In the end it took a pedigree on thumb tacks to put Cactus away. It was a great finish and one that made Triple H look like a beast. It solidified his spot at the top of the card.

Shawn Michaels v The Undertaker (Casket Match for the WWE Championship; Royal Rumble 1998)

The casket match gimmick is not one with a great history. Typically associated with The Undertaker the casket match is known for being a long plodding affair. This problem centers around ‘Taker being given crap opponents. Usually, large monster types who aren’t known for their tremendous workrate.

The monster problem was solved when HBK was put against The Undertaker at the 1998 Royal Rumble. Both men worked incredibly well together and HBK’s heel persona worked great for the gimmick. It was easily the best addition of the Casket Match gimmick.

The Undertaker v Rey Mysterio (World Heavyweight Championship Match; Royal Rumble 2010)

The David v Goliath story that was The Undertaker v Rey Mysterio was a great one. It was a match that hadn’t happened ad nauseum. It provided a fresh match-up for everyone and while the result was not in much doubt, the journey was great.

Rey using his quickness to stifle The Undertaker while the big man utilized his power game was a simple story, but it worked. Both men were at the top of their game, and they turned in a tight 12-minute match.

Brock Lesnar v John Cena v Seth Rollins (Triple Threat for World Heavyweight Championship; Royal Rumble 2015)

Lesnar and Cena had begun to run its course when the Royal Rumble came around. The two men had wrestled several times at this point, which is why it was a great idea to add Seth Rollins to the match. Rollins was a talent on the rise. He had the backing of the Authority and a contrasting workrate that would provide a fresh contest for the crowd.

This was a trainwreck of a match. Cena and Rollins tried to team up on Brock, which considering his massive size made sense. It was an interesting dynamic and one that didn’t last long as the match devolved into all out chaos. The Beast winning wasn’t much of a shock to anyone. This match was more about the journey than the destination.

John Cena v Umaga (Last Man Standing Match for the WWE Championship; Royal Rumble 2007)

Cena was deep into his Super Cena schtick in the early goings of 2007. Reminiscent of Hulk Hogan during the Golden Era WWE built up monsters to feed to Cena during his reign. The biggest difference is that Cena put on some great matches, this match against Umaga was one of them.

Umaga was a mountain of a man. He was intimidating but he also displayed impressive agility. This combination made for a formidable Last Man Standing opponent. Cena tried many times to keep Umaga down but the Samoan Bulldozer kept coming. It was a great way to sell the match and present Umaga as a legitimate threat to the champ.

John Cena v A.J Styles (WWE Championship Match; Royal Rumble 2017)

A.J making his debut in 2016 was a great moment. It also got the minds racing as to all of the great matchups that the world would now see. Top of that list had to be John Cena. Both had been the faces of their respective companies, and this represented a dream match of epic proportions.

Their Summerslam 2016 match was an epic match, made even more so by the fact that Styles went over Cena clean. It was a surprising finish and one that made their Rumble encounter more unpredictable.

With the WWE Championship on the line the stakes couldn’t be higher, and both men didn’t disappoint. They took everything great about their Summerslam match and turned it up to 11. It was fast paced with more high impact moves than you can shake a stick at. It was entertaining and it was not a disappointment when Cena walked away with the title.

Bret Hart v Razor Ramon (WWE Championship Match; Royal Rumble 1993)

The era of the big man had gone in WWE. In its place men like Bret Hart were pushed to the top of the card. Men whose workrate was higher and could provide for a more fluid and faster paced match. It was a welcome change and one that led to a great match for the title at Rumble 1993.

Razor was the new heel town. He had cut through many wrestlers on way to getting a title shot at the Rumble. Leading up to the match Ramon got personal, attacking Bret’s family members and making them look the fool. It made the contest personal and added a layer of intensity.

Hart was destined for a showdown with Yokozuna, so it wasn’t a shock that he won the match. Still, that shouldn’t take away from the work put in by both men. It was a great way to start the year off.

Becky Lynch v Asuka (Raw Women’s Championship Match; Royal Rumble 2020)

Lynch and Asuka had a long and storied rivalry heading into their championship match. Both women had engaged in many battles, all with Asuka coming out victorious. That was the story of their Rumble match.

The match itself was great. Both had tremendous chemistry and they used this to tell a compelling story. Lynch’s need to finally topple Asuka was the driving force. Her every move dripped with desperation as she tried everything she could to get one over the Japanese star.

Eventually, Lynch was able to use Asuka’s green mist against her and retain the Raw Women’s Championship. It was a great moment and one that got a massive prop from the crowd. Lynch had exercised her demon.

Chris Jericho v The Rock (Undisputed WWE Championship Match; Royal Rumble 2002)

The experiment that was Jericho as the Undisputed Champion was an abject failure. It didn’t connect well with the fans, but that was through no fault of Jericho. Y2J is an incredibly talented individual and a great heel. We could see this work in his championship match against The Rock.

Jericho was the perfect detestable heel. He used every trick imaginable to get one over The Rock. He clearly was a great worker but he used more heel tactics to get this character across. It was a genius move and one that made The Rocks comebacks more entertaining.

In the end, Jericho used his wily tactics to pull off the win. It was a great way to get more heat on him. It was also a showcase of how he should be booked and how his run could have been successful.

Daniel Bryan v A.J Styles (WWE Championship Match; Royal Rumble 2019)

Daniel Bryan winning the title from A.J Styles in late 2018 was a stroke of genius. Bryan did what many thought impossible and turned heel in order to win the strap. It was a masterful move by WWE and one that led to a great mini feud between the two.

The feud culminated in an fantastic match at the Royal Rumble. Daniel Bryan and A.J Styles are two of the greatest wrestlers of our generation. It should shock no one that they are able to put one a great match. They worked the crowd perfectly and presented a nearly flawless match.

It is a shame that a match of this caliber wasn’t used a few months later, but at least we got to witness it at the Royal Rumble.