The Royal Rumble is fast approaching, and I can barely contain my excitement. The Royal Rumble is one of my favourite shows of the year and for good reason. It feels different, but more than that, it feels special.

Of course much of that is due to the Royal Rumble match itself, one of the most unique and entertaining matches of all time. The Rumble match has rarely failed to offer excitement, surprises, drama and even some good wrestling. Suffice to say, they’re pretty memorable.

But the Royal Rumble event is not a one match show (literally I mean, some years it really HAS been a one match show, but that’s a rant for another year). Sometimes the event produces some incredible NON Rumble matches that are often forgotten due to the large and impressive shadow of the Royal Rumble match.

So today as we look towards Sunday, January 26 WWE Royal Rumble event, and most of the world talks about and debates the best and worst Rumble matches ever, I want to take a look at the matches that made the Royal Rumble event extra special for me. The unsung heroes of the Royal Rumble event in the under card.

Now before we get to the official top 10 list, here are some honourable mentions. Consider these matches my list of runners up.

Honourable Mentions:

The Rockers vs. The Orient Express (1991) *Edit made by Ben Kerr: added to HM’s per multiple twitter comments*

Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon (1993)

The Quebecers vs. The Hart Bros. (1994)

Goldust vs. Razor Ramon (1996)

The Rock vs. Mankind (1999)

Triple H vs. Randy Orton (2005)

JBL vs. Chris Jericho (2008)

Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy (2008)

And now, here are my top 10 favorite non-rumble Royal Rumble matches.

10. Rey Mysterio vs. The Undertaker (2010): History has shown that it can be difficult to create a classic fan favorite battle, especially in the post attitude era where there is less build up time. However, once in a while it is achievable. That being said, there was quite a bit of head scratching among wrestling fans when this match was announced for the 2010 edition. Luckily, we had not only two veteran performers, but two of the best in the business in Rey Mysterio and The Undertaker. What we ended up with was a classic encounter that made both competitors look strong and had the crowd (including me) believing that either man could walk away victorious. An overlooked classic in my opinion.

09. Ric Flair vs. Vince Mcmahon (2002): There is only one word to describe this match: Fun. You have two larger than life personalities in a street fight gimmick that allowed for some unique moments (the most memorable of which was both Flair and McMahon taking turns using the Flair family camera to take pictures of each other in front of Flair’s family) and gave us a match of far greater entertainment value than could ever be expected. This match also marked the beginning of Ric Flair’s road to redemption after being booked so badly in WCW that he lost his confidence. I remember joking before the event that the match was made a street fight so Ric Flair could wrestle in a t-shirt. Instead, Flair looked better than he had in years, and Vince was at his over the top best. Pure entertainment.

08. Rey Mysterio vs. Edge (2008): Rey Mysterio makes the list for a second time, in another bid to win the World Heavyweight Championship, this time taking on Edge. Given their history, not just as tag team partners but as big match performers, expectations were high for this showdown. Few were left disappointed. Telling a story built around the champion going after Mysterio’s notoriously bad knee, this match built to a crescendo of excitement, including Vicki Guererro almost stealing the show by taking a 619 off the apron that left many in shock. A tremendous display by two athletes who also proved to be expert storytellers.

07. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels (2004): After fighting each other in street fights, Elimination Chamber matches, ladder matches, and countless singles contests, Shawn Michaels and Triple H couldn’t possibly give us anything we hadn’t already seen from them… or could they? To make a bold statement, in my opinion these two were the Steamboat/Flair of their generation, giving us countless unique match ups with each match being better than the last. This last man standing encounter was no different. One of the most physical chapters in the Triple H/Shawn Michaels story, this match is both brutal and beautiful. A classic encounter to be sure, but not the last time we will see a last man standing match on this list… or Triple H for that matter.

06. Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit (2001): Not only one of the best Royal Rumble matches in history, this match is easily one of the best ladder matches of all time as well for damn good reason. You want to talk about physicality? You have two of the hardest hitting Canadians to ever lace up the boots. You want to talk about technical wrestling ability? Either one of these guys could have wrestled the ladder and had a great match. How about innovation? Does a Walls Of Jericho submission hold on top of the ladder do it for you? It should, because it’s quite the sight to see. The expression “leaving it all out in the ring” was never more appropriate.

05. Chris Jericho vs. The Rock (2002): Chris Jericho goes back to back in one of his classic encounters with the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. Heading into Royal Rumble 2002, Jericho needed this match to be a home run. His current run as WWF Undisputed Champion had been up to that point less than impressive. No one really believed in him as a viable threat. The feeling was so apparent that it was worked into the storyline with The Rock cutting promos about how beating Chris Jericho was a foregone conclusion. This lead to one of my favorite Chris Jericho promos of all time in which he declared he was not a joke and would prove it at the Royal Rumble. Although Jericho’s first run as champion wasn’t as successful as it could have been, this match was a complete success. The chemistry between The Rock and Jericho is one of a kind and it was on full display here.

04. John Cena vs. Umaga (2007): The last man standing match returned to the Royal Rumble in 2007, but could it live up to the performance DX gave us just three years earlier? I certainly didn’t think so. In fact, when watching the Rumble replay that year I was exhausted. And not wanting to miss the Rumble, I took a nap. My buddy Chazy T woke me up as the Rumble was starting, and told me I had made a mistake skipping the match. Like many at the time I was a Cena hater and thought the match would be a dud. I couldn’t have been more wrong as not only did this match meet the expectations of the Triple H vs Shawn Michaels affair, it exceeded it. This match was the turning point for many (including myself) on John Cena, and it’s easy to see why. The match was physical, dramatic, innovative, and simply put captivating. It was one of the best matches of the year, it’s one of the best matches of Cena’s career, and one of my favourite non rumble matches ever.

03. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit (2003): Heading into Royal Rumble 2003, most people had an idea of how the night would end. Brock Lesnar would defeat the Big Show then go on to win the Royal Rumble while Kurt Angle would defeat Chris Benoit to retain the WWE Championship, setting up the Olympic Gold Medalist against The Next Big Thing for Wrestlemania XIX. But Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit aren’t the kind of guys who are satisfied being second best. In the video package for this match, Kurt Angle says, “The name of the game is wrestling.” To say these two put on a pro wrestling clinic would be an understatement. The subtle nuances from both these athletes took this match from a great wresting contest to an all time classic. There isn’t much else to say except on Monday morning, the only thing people were talking about was Kurt Angle versus Chris Benoit.

02. The Rock vs. CM Punk (2013): There has not been a more dramatic match at the Royal Rumble in years. This was a classic good vs. evil story that was built layer by layer for six months leading to a clash of personalities and styles that had the crowd electric for the entire contest. I think it was absolutely criminal that this match was left off so many best of lists last year, as it was without question in my mind one of the best of the year, and likely over shadowed by the Rock’s encounter with John Cena at Wrestlemania. So even if it was one of the best last year, why would I rank it so high on this list of all time non-rumble matches? Well, much like The Rock and CM Punk themselves, this match has that intangible “X” factor. It was like a perfect storm combining dramatic storytelling with quality in ring action and an atmosphere that elevates good matches to great matches… and great matches to classics.

01. Triple H vs. Cactus Jack (2000): When I sat down to write out this list, I knew from the moment I began to type that this match would end up at the top of my list at position number 1. At the start of this article I said that these were the overlooked matches at Royal Rumble events. Well, this may be the only match on this list to actually overshadow the Rumble match itself. If you took the physicality of Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels, add in the chemistry of The Rock vs. Chris Jericho, throw in the innovation of the John Cena vs. Umaga, cover it in the emotion of The Rock v.s CM Punk… and turn the brutality up to 10, you would have the Cactus Jack vs. Triple H in a street fight for the WWF Championship at Royal Rumble 2000. Both men put their bodies through hell telling this story of a vicious champion willing to do anything to prove he has what it takes against a beloved veteran fighting for the chance to cement his legacy and prove HE still has what it takes. In many ways, this match signified the changing of the guard, a passing of the torch almost, as Triple H showed he could hang with the most violent man in WWF history. It didn’t matter who won the match that night. Both those who saw it and those involved were changed because of it. I know I was, as it has stayed with me since the day I first watched it.

There it is, my ten favorite non-rumble Royal Rumble matches. Now, I am of the mind that pro wrestling is an art form, and as such is subjective. This is a list of my favorites, not the best, and as such it is subject to my own tastes, views, experiences, and biases. Of course, that’s only where the fun begins. The best part of writing these articles is the feedback and the debate it regularly evokes. I encourage you to express yourself here or on twitter. Tell me YOUR favourite non-rumble matches and tag it with #favenonrumble.

photo credit: ohhsnap_me via photopin cc

Feel free to comment below, and follow me on twitter @AdamContant and the site @lastwordonsport. Also follow @AaronWrotkowski and @DeHaanoffate on the Last Word on Sports Wrestling team.

Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? Find more info at our “Join Our Team” page.