Ranking every WWE Royal Rumble match in history

10. Royal Rumble 1997 – Stone Cold Steve Austin

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If the 1996 King of the Ring didn’t make a superstar out of Stone Cold Steve Austin, the 1997 Royal Rumble did.

Entering at number five, Austin was on fire that night in front of more than 60,000 people at the Alamodome in San Antonio, which just happens to be the site 20 years later. The Rattlesnake cleared the ring upon his arrival and played his role to perfection as he made quick work of Hall of Famers and world champions on his way to eliminating ten men, which tied a record at the time.

The match had a very good pace throughout and was also the first Royal Rumble match for a youngster named Rocky Maivia, who had a nice showing in his debut with those bright colors. It was also thankfully the last time we would ever see the fake Razor Ramon and fake Diesel, whom you might not remember was actually Kane. Or maybe you do. It still doesn’t make it right, does it? But this night belonged to Stone Cold, who renewed his rivalry with his Survivor Series opponent Bret Hart in the middle of this match. The two had a great back and forth and Hart actually ended up throwing Austin over the top rope and out of the match. But with the referees dealing with Mick Foley and Terry Funk on the other side of the ring, they didn’t see it and Austin just slid right back in and picked up three quick eliminations, including Bret Hart, to win the first of his three Royal Rumble matches.

You can read more on this historic and controversial victory in my Royal Rumble Look Back: Stone Cold Steve Austin’s controversial 1997 win.