Ranking every WWE Royal Rumble PPV in history

5. WWE Royal Rumble 2005

Match card & results

• Edge def. Shawn Michaels
• Casket Match: The Undertaker def. Heidenreich
• Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: JBL (c) def. Big Show and Kurt Angle
• World Heavyweight Championship Match: Triple H (c) def. Randy Orton
• Batista wins 30-Man Royal Rumble Match

There was a lot happening at the 2005 Royal Rumble event. While some of the things seemed a little off, it added up to a pretty balanced show that finds its way into the top five. The night kicked off with a grudge match with Edge taking on Shawn Michaels and there’s really no way that these two could have a bad match and this one was quite good. Edge had made a name for himself as a singles competitor over the previous couple of years and his win here solidified him as a top heel in WWE.

The Casket Match with The Undertaker and Heidenreich was a train wreck in the best way possible. The wrestling was not very good but the entertainment value was superb. Kane and Snitsky getting involved mixed with the awful commentary from Tazz and Michael Cole make this way more enjoyable than it should have been.

The world title matches were both solid as well. As you’d expect, Kurt Angle was the star of the Triple Threat for the WWE Championship but JBL and Big Show got their time in. The finish wasn’t the greatest but it worked. The World Heavyweight Championship bout featured Triple H and Randy Orton in one of their many encounters over the years. This wasn’t the best of their matches but it was still very good, even if Orton forgot to sell a little bit towards the end.

A part of what makes this night so fun, and something that always has to be taken into account, were the backstage segments, all of which were fantastic. These were the days of having the divas wearing next to nothing while the guys picked numbers but even beyond that, just the stuff with Eddie Guerrero was great, especially him trying to steal Ric Flair’s number. Evolution had big roles in the night and their banter was great as well..

As for the Royal Rumble, there was plenty to get excited about. Eddie turned out to be number one with Chris Benoit drawing number two and the heroes of WrestleMania XX had a great night and a chop party ensued when rookie Daniel Puder came in at number three. The two laid into him something fierce and it only got worse when Hardcore Holly came in at number four. Go back and watch the first few minutes and you’ll see this youngster get taken to town with chop after chop after chop. Very amusing.

As for the rest of the match, there’s plenty to see, including the beef with Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels that assisted them in getting to WrestleMania 21 for their epic encounter, but the draw here was the finish and what was looked at as the future of WWE as John Cena and Batista were the stars of the night. They were the last two in the match and actually went out of the ring at the same time. With the referees unable to agree, Vince McMahon marched down the ramp and tried to get in the ring but he legitimately tore both quadriceps muscles while doing so and just falls down. It seemed odd at the time with him just sitting there and making the decision to restart the match but it makes much more sense now. He stayed in character the whole time like a freaking boss and Batista went on to win. Batista and Cena would both win their first world title at WrestleMania 21.