10 best Royal Rumble events in WWE history

#8 Royal Rumble 2008

It all came down to three pillars of the Ruthless Aggression Era in the 2008 Royal Rumble match.

The Royal Rumble match from 2008 would go down in history as one of the best editions of the gimmick match. The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, two of the cornerstones of the WWE, started the match, and the likes of Triple H, Batista, and John Cena tussled during the final moments.

Cena's return from injury ahead of time at #30 generated one of the biggest pops of all time, and this was only enhanced by his victory. Add to this surprise appearance by Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka, and the electric crowd in MSG and WWE had all the pieces in the right place for their Royal Rumble match.

However, the namesake match wasn't the only great thing on the show. Edge's successful World Title defense against Rey Mysterio is an underrated gem, and Randy Orton's victory over Jeff Hardy in the WWE Title match is one of those encounters that always slips through everyone's mind.

Even the remaining matches featuring the likes of Chris Jericho and Ric Flair were above average affairs, making Royal Rumble 2008 one of those rare pay-per-views without a bad match.

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#7 Royal Rumble 2016

AJ Styles made his much-awaited WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble.

Coming into Royal Rumble 2016, WWE had a lot of pressure to present a great show, having received tremendous backlash for the last two editions of their January Spectacle. While WWE didn't deliver a perfect show, it was still an event that people remember fondly to this date.

The opening encounter, the Last Man Standing match between Dean Ambrose and Kevin Owens, was so violent that it gave everyone feels of the good ol' Attitude Era style matches. The Usos and The New Day had a great encounter for the Tag Team Titles, months before they were stealing the show daily.

Charlotte and Becky Lynch gave a glimpse of the chemistry they'd go on to have in their Divas Title match, and Kalisto took the United States Championship away from Alberto Del Rio in a match that was a lot better than anyone expected it to be.

The Royal Rumble match, while not the best, was way better than the previous two editions. AJ Styles' debut at #3 would go down as arguably the greatest ever debut in the Rumble match, while Dean Ambrose had a fantastic showing. Triple H's return at #30 to win the Royal Rumble, and the WWE Championship, after eliminating Roman Reigns only made this event more memorable.