James Corcoran
The Royal Rumble is my personal favorite WWE PPV/Premium Live Event. The excitement that comes along with such an event is second to none. In continuation of our Royal Rumble series here on Sports Obsessive, I present to you the greatest Royal Rumble moments from 2018 to the current day.
The Arrival of Ronda Rousey
There is no doubt that the standout moment of the 2018 Royal Rumble occurred after the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble Match had ended. It had been heavily rumored during the lead-up to the event that Ronda Rousey was to make an appearance on WWE TV. While Rousey didn’t partake in a match at the event, we did see the arrival of “the baddest woman on the planet”. Ronda paid tribute to a rich source of inspiration in her professional life, that being WWE Hall of Famer, “Rowdy Roddy Piper”. Ronda strutted down to the ring with the biggest smile that you have ever seen and wearing Piper’s actual leather jacket that was on loan courtesy of Piper’s son.
Ronda made her presence known as she entered the ring alongside both Raw and SmackDown women’s Champions, Charlotte and Alexa Bliss. The winner of the 2018 Royal Rumble match, Asuka, was also in the ring, perplexed by the arrival of Ronda Rousey. Ronda made her intentions clear as she pointed at the WrestleMania sign, meaning that she wanted a Championship match at WrestleMania. Ronda Rousey had arrived!
The Man Came Around & Rocked The House
The 2019 Royal Rumble is now my favorite Rumble and that’s saying something. The reason for this is simple, Becky Lynch. Earlier in the night, Lynch put her SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line against Asuka in a stellar wrestling match. The match was given plenty of time, in fact, the match ran for just over 17 minutes. What happened here was that in a blockbuster performance, Asuka successfully defeated Becky to become the new SmackDown Women’s Championship. Seemingly, Becky’s plan of going on to the main event WrestleMania was ruined.
Later on in the night, the 28th entrant to the women’s Royal Rumble match made her way down the ramp. This entrant was Lana, who had suffered any injury during the pre-show. Que, Becky Lynch. Lynch frantically paced down the aisle and demanded that Fit Finlay allow her to take Lana’s spot. After what felt like a lifetime, Lynch was officially named the 28th entrant and the crowd erupted! Lynch went on to win the Rumble by throwing Charlotte over the top rope.
You Think You Know Me
What was the standout moment of the 2020 Royal Rumble, you ask? Edge. One million times, Edge. Once “you think you know me” hit the speakers, the crowd went bananas! This was a moment that fans along with Edge himself never thought was possible and what a moment it was.
If you go back and watch this match right now, you can see exactly what emotions were pulsing through Edges veins as it was written all over his face. We got to see Edge’s spear once again along with the legend facing off again new and familiar faces.
Miraculously, Edge had returned home.
Then, Now, Forever
My final Royal Rumble moment went down last year toward the end of the women’s Royal Rumble match and involved Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair. What grasped me was how good these two are. Not that I was just realizing at that moment how talented these women are. It was more of a retrospective approach as I thought back to the independent journeys that both of these women embarked on as WWE Superstars and how far they have come.
While I have had zero association with these women or their careers, I couldn’t help but feel proud of them and proud of their accomplishments. These two women were the final two in the match and in between kicking each other’s heads in, they shared a moment of mutual respect, which can be a rarity in the WWE.
