WWE's memorable Royal Rumble moments
WWE's memorable Royal Rumble moments
4:19

WWE's memorable Royal Rumble moments

Digital Media
The Royal Rumble is one of the WWE's most entertaining shows. Starts with two people in the ring with another wrestler jumping in every 90 seconds. Wrestlers are eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. By the end a total of 30 contestants will have brawled and the last man standing gets a shot at a world championship at WrestleMania. The 2017 Royal Rumble ended with Randy Orton scoring a surprising win against some big names. We also saw some fun moments like that stare down between Goldberg and The Undertaker. It was a fun show, but how did it stack up against Rumble's past? Let's take a look back at some of the more memorable Royal Rumble moments. In 2010, CM Punk was knee-deep in a straight-edged savior character. Imagine an imposter Jesus preaching the evils of drugs and alcohol in underpants. That was CM Punk back in 2010. He made an impact to that year's Rumble by taking out five competitors and giving a sermon in between each elimination. They can't be saved. The net year, Punk the Pipe Bomb is now the legendary pipe bomb. And became one of the biggest names in wrestling. I am the best wrestler in the world. [APPLAUSE] I've been the best ever since day one. 2001 Rumble was one of the best ever and Kane was the MVP. The Big Red Machine didn't win the match, but he did eliminate 11 men, including the Rock and Drew Carey. He eliminated many of these wrestlers using weapons like trash cans, guitars. And, in Carey's case, here. Kane held the record for most eliminations in a single Rumble, for 13 years. This Rumble also featured one particularly special moment, the iconic Stone Cold Steve Austin, winning his third and final Royal Rumble. [APPLAUSE] In 1995, Shawn Michaels changed the Royal Rumble. Not only did Michaels win the match, he won it after entering as the first contestant, lasting over 38 minutes without being eliminated. What helped him win? Michaels became the first wrestler to, skin the cat, during a Rumble match. That strangely titled move is when a wrestler is thrown out of the ring but hangs on to the top rope to save himself. It's common place in every Rumble now but 20 years ago when Michaels did it it was something fresh and innovative. This was the first of two back to back Royal Rumble wins for Michaels. After winning the match in 1996 he met Bret Hart in an hour long classic at Wrestlemania 12. These are a few of the many reasons [UNKNOWN] is considered of all time. If you don't think Shawn Michaels, you're probably a [UNKNOWN] guy, right? The [INAUDIBLE] 16 time world championship. One of [UNKNOWN] most flamboyant wins came at the 1992 Royal Rumble. The year in which the WWE title was on the line. He showcased everything that makes him great. He wrestled for over an hour and did his best to make everyone look great. When he was interviewed after the match, he gave one of the best promos of the era. Classic Flare. This is the only title in the wrestling world that makes you number one. Flare's initial run in the WWE was, unfortunately, brief. But as that night showed, squeezed a lot of greatness into 18 months. But Royal Rumble is fun because of it's unpredictability. Even if you think you know who's gonna win, you never really know who's gonna show up. In October 2007, John Cena tore his left pec. It's an injury that usually takes athletes over a year to recover from so you can imagine the surprise of the 20,000 fans in Madison Square Garden When Cena's music played and he entered the match as a 30th participant, just months after picking up an injury that should have taken a year to recover from. He didn't just rock up, he went on to eliminate Triple H and win the whole rumble. It was the first of many occassions where Cena showed off his freaky Wolverine like healing abilities 2014 was a weird year. WWE fans had gotten really fond of Daniel Bryan. He was an incredibly talented wrestler and fans had made it clear that they wanted him to be the champion. But the WWE had other ideas. Instead, pushing a championship rivalry between Randy Orton and a returning Batista. Many held out hope that Bryan would win 2014's Royal Rumble and get inserted into that rivalry. 29 entrants later and fans were chanting his name in anticipation of him being number 30. Well, it wasn't to be. Not only was he not winning, he wasn't even in the match. The results, fans showered the ring with a chorus of boos. It was a united cloud voicing it's collective disappointment. Whoa, Ray Mysterio [INAUDIBLE] Fan reaction was so intense that WWE was forced to make a change. Brian was then inserted into the main event of Wrestlemania 30 which led to one of the great Wrestlemania moments of all time Did you watch this year's Rumble? Any moments you liked? Hated? Let us know in the comments section below. I'm Daniel VanBoom for CNET.

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