The 7 Best Things About The WWE 2011 Royal Rumble (& 7 Worst)

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• Even with just four matches on the card, the 2011 Royal Rumble event had plenty of both good and bad moments. A failed 40-man concept did affect the show, but the Rumble still had some fun spots, great entries, and a memorable final portion (although the winner was arguably a terrible choice). The undercard was a mixed bag, but fairly decent when all was said and done. Edge vs Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton vs The Miz could have been much worse, but they provided a good groundwork to the card. There are several moments to pick from when looking at both the best and worst parts of WWE’s 24th Royal Rumble PPV event.

Every Royal Rumble PPV (well, nearly every one) has at least one or two notable moments. Even the worst Rumble events, such as the 2011 edition of the show, had some bright moments and highlights.

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It has to be said though, that it is much harder to pick the best things about the event than the worst things. It was certainly a unique event, which saw the first time a World Title match opened up a “big four” PPV show, and it was also the first and only time there has ever been a 40-man Royal Rumble match, though this experiment didn’t exactly go to plan.

UPDATE: 2023/01/23 06:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY

Even with just four matches on the card, the 2011 Royal Rumble event had plenty of both good and bad moments. A failed 40-man concept did affect the show, but the Rumble still had some fun spots, great entries, and a memorable final portion (although the winner was arguably a terrible choice). The undercard was a mixed bag, but fairly decent when all was said and done. Edge vs Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton vs The Miz could have been much worse, but they provided a good groundwork to the card. There are several moments to pick from when looking at both the best and worst parts of WWE’s 24th Royal Rumble PPV event.

14 Best: CM Punk’s Performance

For the second year running, CM Punk was the standout performer in the Royal Rumble. Lasting for the longest time and getting the most eliminations helped to make him look like the star of the match.

He used his Nexus faction in an ingenious way, surrounding himself with his stablemates to ensure that he remained in the bout. For a while, it seemed like he was well on his way to winning, with his group eliminating 11 men overall.

13 Worst: Alex Riley Eliminates Himself

During the Royal Rumble match, Alex Riley slipped off the ropes and inadvertently eliminated himself before he should’ve done. He was supposed to play a role in John Cena’s elimination, so WWE had to change plans and have him run out later on.

Commentary showed confusion, and this spot was one of the factors that played into Riley’s eventual descent in WWE and heat with John Cena, despite previously looking like a breakout star.

12 Best: Randy Orton Vs The Miz Exceeds Expectations

On paper, The Miz vs Randy Orton for the WWE Championship wasn’t all that appealing. However, when all was said and done, this was a pretty decent match, with The Miz rising to the occasion even with a lot of criticism towards his reign at the time.

He needed help to win, with CM Punk and The Nexus interfering to attack Orton, but this was still a good match overall. It wasn’t a show stealer by any means, but it was far better than anyone was expecting prior to the event.

11 Worst: The Corre Vs The Nexus Brawl

Before the Royal Rumble match began, fans had to bear witness to The Corre and The Nexus having an impromptu face-off and brawl. The way this was presented made it feel as though WWE were throwing together two huge factions, but in actual fact, it was a brawl between two stables that had zero momentum.

This was a terrible way to kick off the Rumble, especially since both teams were silently sent to the back and had to stop brawling for the match to begin, making them look a bit silly.

10 Best: Edge Vs Dolph Ziggler

The PPV opened up with Edge defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Dolph Ziggler in what may be the most underrated match in the event’s history. The chemistry these two had, the big moments, and the near-falls all contributed to creating a brilliant encounter.

This proved Ziggler worthy of a consistent main event spot (although he didn’t get it), with Edge aiding him along to a brilliant opener. Without a doubt, this was the match of the night.

9 Worst: Eve Torres’ Random Divas Title Win

Going into the event, Natalya was set to defend her Divas Title in a Handicap Match against Lay-Cool, however, the Anonymous Raw General Manager randomly made it a Fatal Four Way, adding Eve Torres to the mix to a mild reaction.

The late addition would win the match, though the audience didn’t really care. It was a bit too last minute and too out of left field to be effective.

8 Best: John Morrison’s Stunning Save

Before Kofi Kingston developed a reputation for finding unique ways to avoid elimination from the Royal Rumble match, John Morrison produced a stunning moment. He was pushed off the apron and landed on the barricade like Spider-Man.

Morrison then walked the tightrope on the barricade and jumped onto the ring steps, all whilst keeping his feet from touching the floor. It was a brilliant moment, and up there with the best saves from elimination in the history of the match.

7 Worst: John Cena’s Performance

On paper, John Cena had a very strong Royal Rumble performance, picking up seven eliminations and surviving for nearly thirty-five minutes.

However, the substance of Cena’s time in the match was very typical “Super Cena” stuff, overcoming all the odds, eliminating people like they were nothing, and only getting eliminated by someone who wasn’t in the match. In addition, when Cena entered, there was a portion of the match that devolved into a comedy segment involving Hornswoggle, which wasn’t great.

6 Best: Santino Marella Tease

When the Rumble match seemed to be over, Santino Marella rolled back into the ring, revealing that he hadn’t yet been eliminated. For a brief moment, the fans erupted for what looked to potentially be the biggest upset in WWE history.

Although Marella would get quickly dumped out, this still remains a hugely memorable Rumble moment, and it is certainly the peak of Marella’s WWE career too.

5 Worst: 40-Men Concept

WWE made history by making 2011 the biggest Royal Rumble match ever, with the entire build for the event revolving around the fact that for the first time, 40 competitors would compete in the match.

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Fans were excited, but it was ultimately a terrible decision. Instead of more surprises and stars, it saw wrestlers pulling double duty and several entrants who were nothing more than glorified jobbers and the very bottom of the undercard.

4 Best: Daniel Bryan & CM Punk Opening The Match

Following a brief showdown between The Corre and The Nexus, the Royal Rumble started with its first two entrants - Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. For those who followed their respective journeys in Ring Of Honor, this was a great way to start the match.

The pair dominated the early stages of the Rumble, and it was fun whilst it lasted. Over the next few years, they would each become the biggest babyfaces in the company.

3 Worst: Alberto Del Rio’s Victory

2011 saw one of the most underwhelming Royal Rumble winners of all time. Alberto Del Rio, after just being on the main roster for a few months, outlasted the field and won the match.

He was a bland winner, and his feud with Edge over the World Heavyweight Championship didn’t feel WrestleMania-worthy. It must be said that there weren’t too many obvious choices for the winner, but Del Rio was the wrong choice in hindsight.

2 Best: Returns Of Booker T & Diesel

Many of the entrants in the 2011 Rumble match were quite poor, but the match did see two terrific and surprising returns, as Booker T and Diesel each made their comebacks to WWE.

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The pops for both these entries make them among the best returns ever in the Rumble, even if they didn’t go on to have full-time in-ring runs following their appearances. This match should have had more stuff like this given the size of the field. Each of their appearances was brief but very fun.

1 Worst: Burial Of The Nexus

One of the better parts of the match saw CM Punk and his New Nexus faction dominate the early stages. Often, factions working together in a Rumble doesn’t work, but here it seemed like the perfect tactic, and it made Punk look like the smartest man in WWE, surrounding himself with his followers.

However, it all came crashing down when John Cena entered and eliminated every single member of The Nexus. The group was on its last legs anyway, but this further pushed them into obscurity, dampening their momentum and standing in the company.