The Worst Royal Rumble Matches in WWE History
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The Royal Rumble is usually one of WWE’s most beloved traditions—a match built on surprises, chaos, and elevating the stakes on the road to WrestleMania. But for every unforgettable, timeless moment, there have been times when the Rumble left fans frustrated, almost on the verge of never coming back.
Whether it was the infamous Roman Reigns backlash, botched endings that left fans confused, or returns that flopped harder than expected, these moments stand as reminders that even WWE’s most exciting match can sometimes go horribly wrong.
Let’s take a look back at the absolute worst moments in Royal Rumble history—where the Road to WrestleMania turned into a roadblock instead:
2022 Royal Rumble
2022 will be remembered for many key events that have and will shape professional wrestling for the next number of years. It marked the beginning of the Triple H regime, the fall of Vince McMahon’s, countless key company returns, and Cody Rhodes’ incredible comeback. It also marked the worst Royal Rumble match the company had seen in almost 8 years to that point.
This years men’s Rumble was riddled with issues from the outset. Earlier in the show, the women’s Rumble failed to bring much of anything for fans to write home about. But it would be topped by the disaster soon after. Prior to beginning, the booking resembled a common occurrence under the leadership of Vince McMahon… A power struggle that collapsed what could have been a classic.
The match was hijacked by a returning Shane McMahon, attempting to craft a Rumble that would center (allegedly) around himself at a time. A time when younger names on the roster were desperately needed in the spotlight. All of this came to a head with reported friction towards Randy Orton and Vince McMahon himself, setting the stage for a dreadful main event.
What followed was a lifeless contest. Lacking the surprises of prior years, a number of botches from the likes of Kofi Kingston, no standout performer, and a final six featuring Bad Bunny & Johnny Knoxville. To make matters worse, the winner was Brock Lesnar who entered at #30. He won with under 3 minutes of in-ring time and took a spot better reserved for almost any other talent. It was a match so bad that it lead to the departure of Shane McMahon the following day after officially stamping itself in the history books as one of the event’s most colossal failures.
2015 Royal Rumble
The 2015 Royal Rumble remains one of only three times I, as a fan, was so upset at the product that I stopped watching it for a prolonged period of time. Nothing about the booking makes any sense considering the environment in the company. WWE was in the midst of a hot streak with talents like Dean Ambrose, Rusev, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Seth Rollins and a returning Daniel Bryan. Structuring this match around such names, was an obvious guarantee for success.
Rather than appeal to popular resident workhorses, however, WWE creative strapped rockets to Roman Reigns. Up until this point, Reigns hadn’t been clearly defined as a character. He was the least interesting of the Shield members, and a star who wasn’t really connecting with fans. It didn’t help that his push coincided with Daniel Bryan’s long layoff from the company, leading to an all-out disaster. If Reigns wasn’t hated, booking him to win this match was a fast track to that happening.
Booking decisions aside, this match fell apart quickly. The early elimination of Daniel Bryan halted any momentum dead in its tracks, making the outcome inevitable for anyone watching. Reigns’ eventual arrival was met with a chorus of deafening boo’s. It was worsened by Big Show and Kane’s unceremonious dumping of favorites like Dolph Ziggler & Dean Ambrose. Even The Rock’s post-match arrival couldn’t save things. It’s one of the few matches in history to be booed right out of the building.
1999 Royal Rumble
This is unquestionably the Rumble’s most disjointed effort. It was the only Rumble thus far that chose to focus more on the action outside of the ring, rather than in it.
WWE in the 90s was notorious for being utterly chaotic… Both in its storytelling, action, and audience, translating in the worst ways into this Rumble match. Rather than progressively build-up a story over the course of a match, the central narrative here was the rivalry between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon. Despite being the cornerstone of the Attitude Era’s success, the manner in which it was handled was less than ideal.
Everything felt consistently disconnected. Action spilling out of the ring in a Rumble isn’t uncommon, when it’s the focus of the match. However, it throws things into disarray. Large portions of the match take place without more than a participant in the ring. There’s a general chaos in how things play out… A complete lack of structure is obvious and the crowd is inevitably waiting around to see what occurs between two people. The icing on the cake though saw Vince McMahon at 53 years old win the entire match.
A waste of a winner, and a waste of a Rumble in the midst of wrestling’s hottest period.
2007 Royal Rumble
Upon rewatch, the nostalgia for this match has entirely worn off. While the 2007 Rumble is remembered for its final stretch and mini-classic involving Shawn Michaels battling The Undertaker, everything before that is substantially worse than anyone is willing to admit.
Compared to other matches, the star power in this one is present. CM Punk, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Edge, Randy Orton, King Booker, RVD, Shelton Benjamin & MVP are solid names to any match on paper. But, it was wasted in a match that has nothing going for it. Little happens in between entries until late down the stretch when The Undertaker appears as the matches final entrant. That’s where the match is somewhat redeemed by a fantastic closing 10 minutes.
Prior to that, is a lot of stalling and random moves, alongside a brutal table spot seeing Kane destroy Sabu. Aside from that, however, there just isn’t enough to chew on. It’s a match carried by two men who only actually arrive in the final 20 minutes. A Royal Rumble whose nostalgia doesn’t hold up.
1995 Royal Rumble
There was only ever going to be one winner of the 1995 Royal Rumble. Shawn Michaels enters at number one for his crowning moment, but elsewhere, there is next to no star power here. This is also the year that the WWF experimented with sixty-second intervals. This meant that the length of the match is a measly 38 minutes.
After Michaels and Davey Boy Smith begin the match, we take a drop the size of Mount Everest. Eli Blu and Duke “The Dumpster” Droese enter next. This is a sign of the match to come. Apart from a couple people, jobber after jobber would enter and occasionally tease eliminating Shawn Michaels. Nobody in the crowd bought this by the way. Expectedly, Shawn made it to the end along with the man he started it with, the British Bulldog.
It is the ending that this match is most known for. Davey, on the top rope celebrating victory, only to be eliminated by Michaels whose feet did not touch the ground.
Of course this was the year that Pamela Anderson was ringside, ready to accompany the winner to WrestleMania. After this showing, it’s no surprise that she never returned.
2014 Royal Rumble
This infamous Royal Rumble that ended with Rey Mysterio booed at #30 and the recently-returned Batista completely rejected as the victor. Despite not being the worst match on this list, it’s absolutely one that left a bitter taste in the mouth.
We all know the story. Daniel Bryan faced Bray Wyatt in the opening match. Despite this, the “Yes Movement” was in full effect. Fans expected Bryan to return in the Royal Rumble, and win. This reaction led to a course correction, and Daniel Bryan closed WrestleMania 30 as the WWE Champion.
The match itself was better than many. A popular Roman Reigns was on a rampage, breaking the record for most eliminations in the process. It’s funny how quickly things can change, given his reaction the following year. In addition to Reigns, his Shield brothers also were highlighted. This was just a few months before the three kicked off their singles careers.
Despite that, this is the most infamous Royal Rumble in recent years. Away from the Bryan situation, this also ended up the final match in the initial WWE run of CM Punk. He famously walked out of Raw the following night. Both situations caused dramatic shifts which were felt in the wrestling industry, both positively and negatively for years to come.
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