Top 50 Royal Rumble Moments

Ax versus Smash?

In 1989, it was quite unusual for tag team partners to face each other, unless there was a betrayal involved. But as it turned out, Ax and Smash were respectively # 1 and # 2 in that year's Rumble. Instead of wimping out, the Demolition members acted like men, brawling with each other until # 3 (Andre The Giant) emerged.

I said..... ARE. YOU. READY (to Rumble)?

Last week, in easily the most intense and data-driven list on this website, Canadian Bulldog's World counted down the Top 50 Royal Rumblers. This week.... things were compiled a lot less scientifically, but hopefully it's just as fun.

This week, we're looking at Royal Rumble Moments, which can apply to pretty much ANYTHING that has ever happened at the January classic, be it a match, a confrontation, an interview and yes.... even something that happened inside a Royal Rumble match itself.

Some of these happened in a matter of minutes, or even seconds (a couple of them are literally one second!), yet these moments will live on forever.

In counting the Top 50 Royal Rumble Moments, we considered the following criteria:

How memorable was the moment?
Will it forever be tied to the Royal Rumble PPV? Or will it be something that just happened to occur then?
How original was the moment?
Has WWE (or anyone else) been able to replicate it since?

Ready? Here we go!

In the 2009 Rumble, Santino Marella (a heel at the time) was scheduled to be entrant # 28. He charged down to the ring, entered between the ropes and was promptly clotheslined out by Kane. Despite Marella claiming he wasn't ready, it stands as the fastest elimination in Royal Rumble history at just one second.

Santino's Surprise

While CM Punk's final Royal Rumble match appearance wasn't much to speak for, his 2011 match was much more interesting. Surrounded by his cronies in the New Nexus, Punk entered at number 1 and lasted until 21 - more than 35 minutes in all, eventually being eliminated by future arch-rival John Cena.

Any picks missing or misplaced? Leave your feedback in the Comments section below...

In 1994, The Undertaker was in a Casket Match for the WWF World Title. Near the end of the match, half a dozen heel wrestlers filled the ring and forced The Phenom into his own casket. Smoke filled the arena and soon, The Undertaker was seen descending into heaven, giving a message on the Tron. Seriously.

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Early on in the 2000 Royal Rumble, teammates Rikishi and Grandmaster Sexay were alone in the ring. Before they could come to blows, the third member of their trio - Scotty 2 Hotty - was the next man in the ring. All three Too Cool members danced for about a minute before Rikishi tossed his partners out.

Too Cool Dance Party

By the time Royal Rumble 2002 rolled around, WWF co-owners Vince McMahon and Ric Flair were at each other's throats and could no longer peacefully co-exist. They attempted to settle their differences in a bloody, brutal streetfight that ended when McMahon tapped out to Flair's Figure-4 Leglock.

While pre-PPV commercials aren't typically the stuff of this legend, the advertisement for 2005's event was an exception. Picture a West Side Storyesque Rumble, with wrestlers from Raw and SmackDown on opposite sides, snapping their fingers menacingly and singing. It was legitimately funny.

West Side Rumble Story

In 2001, The Honky Tonk Man returned as a surprise entrant into the Royal Rumble. Instead of competing, he brought his guitar and a microphone into the ring. Instructing Kane (who was the only other man in the ring) to let him sing his theme song for his fans, Honky Tonk only got through the first verse before Kane took away his guitar and el-kabonged the former Intercontinental Champ.

Honky Tonk Heartbreak

Part of the undercard of the Royal Rumble 2000 was a swimsuit contest to determine the prestigious title of Miss Rumble. Five WWE Hall of Famers were used as judges, as was Andy Richter (?). Mae Young emerged as a late entrant and, for some reason, removed her top to show (very) fake puppies.

Mae lets the puppies loose

One of my primary reasons for dropping $35 to watch the 1993 Royal Rumble was to see the WWF debut of Rick and Scott Steiner, who had just defected from WCW. They took on another pair of "brothers", Blake and Beau Beverly, and won handily, proving why they were the industry's top tag team back then.

The Steiners Arrive

During the 2002 Rumble match, The Undertaker was in his bad-ass biker phase and was having a great time beating up younger talent. The Dead Man took a moment to jaw with Matt and Jeff Hardy, when all of a sudden Tough Enough's Maven (a decided underdog) dropkicked Taker out of the ring, eliminating him!

Maven's Moment

When Mick Foley entered the 1998 Royal Rumble, he was first in the match as Cactus Jack. Jack was eliminated and a halfway through the match, Foley reentered as his alter-ego Mankind. But Mankind didn't make it all the way through, and Dude Love entered at number 28, giving Foley the three-peat.

The Three Faces of Foley

Dead Man Dying (part one)

Top 50 Lists

As part of the undercard for the inaugural Royal Rumble in 1988, Hulk Hogan was scheduled to sign a contract for his rematch with Andre The Giant on NBC's The Main Event. After the signatures were collected, Andre's manager Ted DiBiase caused a distraction, allowing Andre to dump the table on Hogan.

The Contract Signing

The Royal Rumble match has had a history of crazy bumps, but perhaps none more sick than Paul London in the 2005 Rumble. The SmackDown competitor was on the ring apron, avoiding elimination. Eventually, ECW's Snitsky caught up with him and delivered a clothesline that flipped London a full 180 degrees.

London's 180 Degree Bridge

Although Santino Marella's sub-second elimination was faster, The Warlord's elimination in 1989 was definitely more shocking as he was a star on the rise and not a comedy character. As soon as The Power of Pain entered the ring, Hulk Hogan ran towards him and clotheslined the 300-pounder out of the match.

Warlord Wobbles

Michael Cole was a surprise entrant in the 2012 Royal Rumble and was hanging in there until the next entrant was announced - the returning Kharma! Cole grew bug-eyed as the third female entrant in Rumble history made her way to the ring. While she didn't (formally) eliminate Cole, she did eliminate Hunico.

Kharma's a Bitch

One the undercard attractions in the 1989 Royal Rumble was a "super posedown" between The Ultimate Warrior and Ravishing Rick Rude. The two struck a series of bodybuilding poses, with the audience cheering Warrior. Eventually, Rude gave up and attacked Warrior with his metal workout bar.

The Super Posedown

Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?

Another unlikely hanger-on was Vince McMahon, who entered the Royal Rumble match at number 2 in 1999 and lasted 57 minutes, winning the bout. Of course, The Chairman had a bit of an advantage - he was out of the ring for almost the entire bout, returning only towards the end of the match!

No Chance In Hell

For weeks leading up to the 1993 Royal Rumble, Bobby Heenan promised to unveil someone named "Narcissus". His name was later amended to "The Narcissist" and it ended up being the first WWF appearance of Lex Luger, who would go on to feud with Mr. Perfect at that year's WrestleMania.

Unveiling The Narcissist

Backlund Keeps Battling

Another interesting happening at the 1993 event was in the Royal Rumble match itself, when forty-something year-old Bob Backlund returned to the WWF and entered the match at number two. Shocking just about everyone, Backlund lasted over an hour and was the third-last person in the ring at match's end.

In 1998, The Undertaker was in a Casket Match for the WWF World Title. Near the end of the match, half a dozen heel wrestlers filled the ring and forced The Phenom into his own casket. And although this seems a LOT like # 40, this time Kane came to ringside and set The Undertaker's casket on fire. Seriously.

Dead Man Dying (part two)

In 2010, Beth Phoenix became only the second female to enter a Royal Rumble match. And right off the bat, she was matched with the 7"1 Great Khali. Instead of attempting to fight him, The Glamazon began kissing him, and then somehow pulled the giant over the top rope while he was still engaged in liplock.

Beth Phoenix and The Great Khali. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

Perhaps the most unpredictable finish to the Royal Rumble match was in 1993, when the final four were the aforementioned Bob Backlund, Rick "The Model" Martel, Randy "Macho Man" Savage and Yokozuna. It seems like a layup now that Yokozuna would win, but it was an absolute shock when it happened.

Banzai!

One of the undercard matches at the 2000 Royal Rumble was the first-ever tag team tables match, in which Matt and Jeff Hardy took on Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley. While this would eventually lead to the three-time TLC era, at the time this was a wild encounter with plenty of incredible spots, won by The Hardys.

Get The Tables!

In 2001, Kane went on an absolute rampage, eliminating Raven, Grandmaster Sexay, Steve Blackman, Al Snow, Saturn, the aforementioned Honky Tonk Man, Tazz, A-Train, Scotty 2 Hotty, The Rock and Crash Holly for a total of 11 eliminations, which for many years was a Royal Rumble record....

Kane puts 'em through hell

.... which stood until 2014, when Roman Reigns eliminated Seth Rollins, Kofi Kingston, Goldust, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Nash, The Great Khali, Sheamus, El Torito, Luke Harper, Antonio Cesaro and John Bradshaw Layfield for a total of 12 eliminations and a record that may prove tough to beat.

Roman's Record

As part of the undercard at the 2003 Royal Rumble, WWE Champion Kurt Angle and challenger Chris Benoit put on an absolute clinic. For about 20 minutes, the match went back and forth until Angle managed to get Benoit to tap out to his ankle lock. The crowd gave Benoit a standing ovation afterwards for his efforts.

Wrestling Clinic? Oh, it's true.

On the undercard of the first Royal Rumble in 1988, Dino Bravo attempted to break the world benchpress record (held by former WWF competitor Ted Arcidi) by pressing 715 pounds in front of the Hamilton, Ontario crowd. Bravo succeeded, but only because spotter Jesse "The Body" Ventura helped the lift.

Benchpress Record?

During the 1989 Royal Rumble event, Andre The Giant was the number three competitor in the ring. He was dominating the competition, eliminating Smash, Ronnie Garvin and even his rival Jake "The Snake" Roberts. But Roberts came back and brought his snake Damien, which scared Andre into leaving the match.

Snake Bitten

Kofi Kingston has become known for his unusual methods for avoiding elimination in the Royal Rumble, such as doing handstands and scaling the barrier. In 2013, when Kofi ended up on the announce table, he took JBL's commentary chair and pogo-jumped on it until he made it safely to the ring.

Jumping all over the furniture

Vince McMahon had a novel entry for the 2001 Royal Rumble match - actor Drew Carey, who was at the arena to plug a comedy show. Dressed in a jumpsuit, Carey attempted to pay off Kane from hurting him, but ended up eliminating himself less than three minutes into his appearance.

Drew Careys The Match

Muhammad Hassan came to the WWE in late-2004 claiming that Americans were prejudiced against him. That seemed to be evident in the 2005 Royal Rumble match when Chris Benoit, Edge, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Luther Reigns and Booker T teamed up to eliminate him in less than one minute!

America - F*ck Yeah!

Who's the least likely person to win a Royal Rumble match? Probably someone who isn't supposed to even be in the match, which is exactly what happened in 2008. John Cena, supposedly injured for at least a few more months, entered at number 30 and tossed out Triple H to win the match.

The Champ... Is... BACK!

Mick Foley and Triple H engaged in some brutal matches during their various rivalries, but none quite as brutal as their Streetfight at the 2000 Royal Rumble. They battled all over Madison Square Garden using chairs, trash cans, ring steps, handcuffs, thumbtacks and even a barbed wire baseball bat.

NYC Street Fight

The finish of the 2005 Royal Rumble was one to behold. Raw's Batista and SmackDown's John Cena were the final two and eliminated each other at the same time. Vince McMahon then power-walked to the ring to order a re-start (which Batista won), but the Chairman injured both his quads in the process!

Two Eliminations, One Injury

It's tough to imagine Chris Benoit doing something heroic, but that's just what happened in 2004. Placed as the first entrant in that year's Royal Rumble match, Benoit lasted almost 62 minutes, eliminating The Big Show last to win the bout and go on to successfully challenge for the World Championship.

Benoit overcomes the odds

During the 1994 Royal Rumble match, rising star Diesel eliminated Shawn Michaels, Sparky Plugg, Bam Bam Bigelow, Crush and Mabel over an impressive 18 minute period. While Kane and Roman Reigns have since surpassed his record, it's become known as the "Diesel Push" for a reason.

The "Diesel Push"

In 2014, Batista returned to the WWE and was immediately entered into the Royal Rumble match. Even though he was positioned as a fan favorite, he didn't really have their support because Daniel Bryan wasn't in the match at all. And when Batista won the Rumble match, he was practically booed out of the building.

Boo-tista

The opening match of the 2000 Royal Rumble undercard featured Kurt Angle going up against an unannounced opponent. While many in the NYC crowd already assumed it would be former ECW star Taz (now Tazz), the building still exploded when Tazz debuted and ended Angle's undefeated streak.

Tazz-Mania Is Running Wild

The 1994 Royal Rumble match was another one that had a memorable if not novel finish. Fan favorites Lex Luger (who entered the match at number 23) and Bret "Hitman" Hart (number 27) were the last two competitors in the ring, and of course they managed to eliminate each other at the same time. But unlike in 2005 (see # 16), Bret and Lex didn't have Clumsy Vince McMahon to re-start the match. Instead, they were declared "co-winners" for the first and only time in Rumble history, and would both challenge for the WWF World Title at WrestleMania X.

Co-Winners?

Everyone has a price for The Million Dollar Man, including The Doctor of Style Slick. In 1989, DiBiase was unhappy with the number he drew and allegedly paid off Slick so that he could switch the number of one of the manager's charges. DiBiase entered at number 27, but it's worth noting that Slick's men at the time were The Big Bossman (number 22) and Akeem (number 23), so it's not like DiBiase really got a lot of bang for his buck.

A Giant Problem

When Hulk Hogan won the Royal Rumble match in 1990, it wasn't seen as an overly big deal - he was, after all, already the WWF World Champion and had nothing really to gain. But by 1991's event, Hogan hadn't been champion in nearly a year and the belt was being held by the villainous Sgt. Slaughter. So Hogan won the '91 match, setting his sights on the Sarge and becoming the first back-to-back Rumble winner ever.

Back to Back, Brother!

1993's Royal Rumble match was the first time the winner would automatically get a World Title opportunity at that year's WrestleMania. The Undertaker, a heavy favorite to win, entered at number 15, but was eliminated a few minutes later by someone who wasn't even technically in the match! The 7"7 Giant Gonzales (formerly El Gigante in WCW) made his WWF debut as a heel and declared war on The Dead Man.

DiBiase Buys a Number

Brothers Bret and Owen Hart had seemingly settled their differences from the previous year's Survivor Series and teamed in the undercard of the 1994 Royal Rumble to take on WWF Tag Team Champions The Quebecers. However, the match was stopped when Bret's leg had been injured and The Quebecers won a decision. This didn't please Owen who turned on his own brother and planted the seeds for a classic feud with Bret.

Hart Broken

Hulk Hogan and Randy "Macho Man" Savage were riding high as tag team partners before the seeds of dissention were first planted. An incident in the 1989 Rumble match didn't help matters, when Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage, who was in a tie-up with Bad News Brown. Savage charged into the ring and accused Hogan on not doing this accidentally, a confrontation that required Miss Elizabeth to peacekeep.

Megapower Meltdown

One of the most realistically-violent matches in recent WWE history took place in 1999 for the undercard of that year's Royal Rumble. WWF World Champion Mankind (Mick Foley) was being challenged by Corporate Champion The Rock. During their "I quit" match, Foley was the recipient of 10 unprotected chair shots to the head en route to losing the belt (despite the fact that never said "I quit" duing the bout). Brutal match.

I Quit!

Rey Mysterio's goal in the 2006 Royal Rumble match was to win it for his recently-fallen friend Eddie Guerrero. Mysterio entered the match second and, despite overwhelming odds, lasted 62:12 (a longevity record to this day), eliminating Randy Orton to win the bout for his "hermanno" Eddie. Mysterio eventually went on to win the WWE World Title at that year's WrestleMania. Viva la rasa!

Mysterio Wins It For Eddie

The 1995 Royal Rumble was interesting for the fact that entrants # 1 (Shawn Michaels) and # 2 (Davey Boy Smith) remained in the ring for the entire match. In the end, Smith thought he had tossed Michaels out of the ring, but Michaels managed to balance himself holding the top rope and ensuring that both feet didn't touch the ground at the same time until he could pull himself back up and win the Rumble.

Shawn Wins.... By A Foot........

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin was listed last week as the top Royal Rumbler and never more was that more evident than in 2001. Austin had already won Rumbles in 1997 and 1998, but in 2001, he became the first person to "threepeat" in Royal Rumble history after tossing out the likes of Billy Gunn, Haku and Kane. This also led to the storyline where Austin would align with the evil Vince McMahon and become a corporate champion.

Stone Cold! Stone Cold! Stone...

The Real World's Champion

Vince and Flair go to the streets

Including decades of Royal Rumble matches (and pay-per-view event), perhaps no moments are as memorable as Ric Flair's 1992 effort. Entering at number three, Flair survived challenges from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Kerry Von Erich, Sid and other enemies over the period of one hour, at which point The Real World's Champion won the Rumble and captured the WWF World Heavyweight Championship.

June 12