Cena and Reigns represented successive eras of the chosen ones. Nakamura and Balor weren’t exactly young, but they represented new blood. Injuries wound up derailing much of Balor’s likely future as a main event player, but fans went nuts when WWE actually didn’t go with “LOL Cena wins” or “LOL Roman wins” for the umpteenth time, giving Nakamura the win.
Winning the 1997 Royal Rumble truly marked the beginning of the Austin era. For the better part of the next six years, he would dominate the main event scene. Fake Diesel is a weak point of this final four, but having prime Bret Hart and early stage Undertaker made this an epic group.
Mr. Perfect was a pleasant surprise in this Rumble and he went on to last until the Final Four. But it was the other three that carried the load here. Austin would be done in just about a year, but he remains one of the greatest of all time. Triple H had just returned from injury and was white hot. Kurt Angle remains one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time and was just getting started on his rise. There weren’t many years in which fans would have been happy to see the Cerebral Assassin win, but this one went over quite well.
It’s always tough to talk about Chris Benoit. 2004 was his year, though. Angle and Jericho were already established stars and Big Show was always a force in Rumbles. Show took out Angle and Jericho before getting eliminated by Benoit, who would go on to win the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania over Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
One of the earliest Royal Rumbles, many modern fans likely haven’t seen this one. Neither has this writer. But we can still respect the greatness that comprised this Final Four. With the WWF Championship on the line, Ric Flair overcoming the megastars, or should I say, mega powers, that were Hogan and Savage led to one of the most rewarding Rumble finishes ever.
While Sheamus drags this group down a bit being one of the most overrated superstars of all time, Roman Reigns was on the precipice of becoming a megastar and Dean Ambrose was already established. Triple H’s time as an in ring competitor was close to its end, but he’s still as big of a name as it gets. The fans were in “anyone but Roman” mode at the time and erupted in a chorus of boos when Reigns tossed The Game over the top rope to win the Rumble.
It feels wrong ever including Kane in one of these because he was never a serious threat to win, but Kane is one of the most dominant Royal Rumble entrants of all time. Plus, the real story is the other three. We were on the precipice of the Super Cena era, but no one was sick of Cena here. Making a genuinely shocking return after tearing his pec just three months earlier, the place erupted when his music hit. Adding Cena to a stacked group involving Triple H and Batista only elevated this even more. Given that no one expected to see Cena, let alone have him win it, makes this an all time finish to a Rumble.
Even though he would ultimately retire one year later, Edge’s surprise return from injury set the world on fire. Combine that with this being the prime of Cena’s career, while still having the tail end of Michaels and Batista, and this was a stacked Final Four. But it wasn’t just the names, WWE told a fantastic story that even holds up on a rewatch. Edge winning was the cherry on top.
Four absolute legends. This was a golden era of WWE and any one of these four superstars would have been a justifiable winner, which is really what makes a great Final Four. Undertaker and HBK gave us a 10-minute preview of their future Wrestlemania classics with the Dead Man finally receiving a well earned Royal Rumble victory.
One of the strongest rosters in WWE history, none of these four guys were really established main eventers yet. In fact, at the time, this final four certainly didn’t look as strong as it does now. Edge’s Rated R Superstar gimmick had just started. Cena was about to become WWE Champion. Mysterio was finally shedding the “only a cruiserweight” label. And Batista was becoming a mega babyface. All four would be champions within the next year and a half.
