5 best WWE Championship matches in Royal Rumble history

#1 Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit - 2003

Much like the John Cena vs AJ Styles match from the 2017 Royal Rumble event, this match is separated from the others on this list for its lack of brutality, and that is because it was unnecessary in making his one of the best wrestling matches of all time.

When it was first announced, many fans expected the match it to be very good, after all, Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit had been feuding on and off for 2 years and always delivered in the ring. That night, the fans cared more about Scott Steiner's return in his WWE title match against Triple H than Angle vs Benoit.

However,By the time the event was over, absolutely no one cared about the Steiner/Triple H match and all props came towards the Pittsburgh native and the Rabid Wolverine. A match that was completely different to their previous encounters, the two men pulled out enough suplexes to make Brock Lesnar blush and more than a dozen reversals of each other's key submission moves into a version of their own.

At one point, Benoit gave his trademark diving headbutt to Angle as he lay well more than halfway on the other side of the ring. A defeated Benoit was given a rousing standing ovation from the Boston fans and the match would win several Match of The Year Awards from various websites and magazines.