The Royal Rumble kickstarts the road to WrestleMania. The first quarter of the year is the most exciting time to be a WWE fan, as it is Royal Rumble and WrestleMania season. With the winner of the Royal Rumble match punching their ticket to the main event of WrestleMania, the world title matches at the Rumble have huge implications on who the Royal Rumble match winners want to choose to face at WrestleMania.
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WWE Ruthless Aggression Era: Every WWE Championship Match At The Royal Rumble, Ranked
World Heavyweight Championship matches at the Royal Rumble in the Ruthless Aggression Era were a mix of good and underwhelming. The World Heavyweight Championship match closed out the Royal Rumble once, which was a rarity. However, entering as the World Heavyweight Champion at the Rumble proved to be successful, as every champion who walked in with the Big Gold Belt walked out as champion.
6. Triple H Vs. Scott Steiner – Royal Rumble 2003
The first World Heavyweight Championship match at the Royal Rumble in 2003 happened to be the worst. Triple H put his title on the line against Scott Steiner. The Game and Big Poppa Pump stunk out the joint in an underwhelming World Heavyweight Championship match. However, both were major names in the company, but their chemistry didn’t mesh, resulting in one of the worst World Title matches in WWE history.
Steiner and Triple H clashed for just under 20 minutes. The Game bled profusely during his title defense, which is the norm in high-profile Triple H matches. Nevertheless, Triple H couldn’t beat Big Poppa Pump cleanly. He resorted to nailing Steiner in the sternum with his signature sledgehammer, with the fans displeased by what they were witnessing as Triple H retained via disqualification.