Royal Rumble Match 2001

[10.0] "Simply put, the greatest Royal Rumble match of all time. Everything about it was structured to perfection - a genuine masterpiece of pacing, character work, and escalating chaos. The early exchanges between The Hardy Boyz perfectly embodied the "every man for himself" philosophy, making it feel like two brothers were truly willing to sacrifice each other for a WrestleMania main event opportunity. Drew Carey's involvement was pure entertainment, a harmless comedic addition that never disrupted the match's integrity, and the brilliance escalated when Kane entered; Carey's obliviousness to the destruction about to unfold created an almost absurd tension, and Kane confronting him felt surreal before Carey wisely chose survival over pride. The hardcore section was controlled chaos, weapons flooding the ring and turning the Rumble into a battleground, until Kane, seemingly fed up with the nonsense, systematically and effortlessly cleared the ring within seconds in one of the greatest dominance displays in Rumble history. Just when it felt like Kane needed a worthy adversary, The Honky Tonk Man entered, delivering flawless comedic timing with a brief "concert" before Kane smashed a guitar over his head and eliminated him. Then came the true megastar confrontation with The Rock, a showdown in the middle of the match that elevated the star power to another level. The Big Show's return was a major surprise, followed by him chokeslamming everyone in sight, only for The Rock to quickly eliminate him when Show attempted revenge for the previous year, leading to a brutal retaliatory chokeslam through the announce table that rewarded long-term storytelling. The brief alliance of the Brothers of Destruction created an unstoppable force dynamic, cleaning house with terrifying efficiency. Austin's entrance added even more drama, as Triple H viciously assaulted him and left him bloodied before he could properly enter, creating real uncertainty about whether he could even compete. Haku's return was a sharp and refreshing surprise, adding variety to the chaos. As the match neared its climax, the eliminations became increasingly shocking, culminating in one of the greatest staredowns in Royal Rumble history: a bloodied, feral Austin and The Rock, their hatred and motivation radiating through the arena. The final two, Austin and Kane, represented the perfect contrast - an unstoppable monster versus a wounded yet defiant warrior, with a bleeding Austin, boot laces untied and barely standing, refusing to die before ultimately eliminating Kane to win his third Royal Rumble and set a record that still stands. Incredible star power, masterclass storytelling, hardcore brutality balanced with perfectly timed comedy and high drama, and arguably Kane's greatest Rumble performance with 11 eliminations -- the absolute peak of the Royal Rumble. *****"

[9.0] "My favorite royal rumble match. Kane gave the performance of his career here lasting almost an hour while being constantly active and never seeming tired. The comedy spots with Drew Carry and the Honky Tonk Man were great. The hardcore segment didn't overstay its welcome. I also liked how that by the final three each competitors were on equal footing (Kane had been there for 50 minutes, The Rock took a Big Show choke slam through a table and Austin was bloodied up before he even got to the ring thanks to a HHH beat down). The ending with Austin using a chair also foreshadowed the WM X-7 finish."

[6.0] "Interesting but not a great Rumble as they say i would even say its underwhelming. The start of the match is well known, The Hardys team for a little bit until they "eliminate" each other, Drew Carey enters and the MVP of the match, Kane, beginning the historic 11 eliminations. This part is well mixed, some mid cards, low cards and even jobbers doing his part, some times working together against the Big Red Machine, the objects increased the entertainment. In this year the Rock enters at the middle and he looked fine, the crowd was active because of him. Big Show returns with a great ovation, wrecking everyone but The Rock surprises him, a nice reference of last year' Rumble. Then Taker and Kane cleaned the house until Austin's music plays but he got short because of Triple H, Steve really earn the victory by overcoming the attack as well as the final 4. Rikishi's participation was ok, got beat up by Austin but manages to eliminate the Undertaker, wow. The ending was exciting, i think that Kane losing wasn't that bad, the thing was that they didn't capitalize on him very much after this."

[9.0] "The defining Rumble of the Attitude Era, and what a treat it is! Jeff and Bull Buchanan starting is underwhelming, Matt joining his brother, the two teaming up while also trying to eliminate each other is cool despite its mishaps, then Kane enters as Drew Carey stands alone in the ring, and things get chaotic. Kane's monster performance is mesmerizing, Rock at #13 is great, The Big Show has a strong although brief showing, Taker at #25, him and Kane cleaning the ring is awesome, Austin gets the holy pop, Triple H attacking him and leaving him a bloody mess adds some great drama. While it's not a stacked Rumble, the stars steal the show and makes it memorable. The Rock and Austin staring at each other and going at it is peak, and Austin surviving the monster in that breathtaking one-on-one finish is glorious. Top 3 Rumble for sure. ****1/4"

[8.0] "A significant step up from the 2000 Royal Rumble match. Star power is scattered throughout, with Kane making an early entrance and going on a tear throughout the entire match. There were weapons involved early on, with guys like Raven and Steve Blackman having some time to shine by using their signature weapon spots. Austin wins after eliminating Kane, who up to that point had been in the match for nearly an hour."

[8.0] "It is only the second Rumble to reach the four star (out of five) level to this point with Royal Rumble 1992 ahead of it. They did an excellent job of putting over Austin as the winner, but also making Kane and Rock look like big stars on Austin's level based on their performances as well. I also liked the unique nature of some weapons being used in the match as well. It was a really fun hour of professional wrestling action."

[9.0] "A glorious start to 2001 for WWF and a perfect lead-in to an even greater WrestleMania. The hardcore division chaos added a really fun edge to the match, the star power was insane and the crowd stayed hot the entire time, making this one of the best Rumbles ever. The stretch between The Rock's arrival and Big Show's appearance dragged a bit, but Austin going through hell to win was awesome to watch. Kane really deserved at least one Rumble win in his career and this was probably his best shot, but considering what happened at Mania, I can't even be mad about the outcome"

[10.0] "Not my favourite rumble, but the one I have the most fun watching. Starts off with some great comedy and hardcore action, before filling up the ring with bodies so the big men can clear house and the real stars can show up. This might be the best showcase of Kane ever, allowing him to be pure aura and murder people without forcing him to actually work LOL. Final stretch might be the greatest ever, with the tease for the Rock and Austin mania match getting me so excited. A perfect rumble."

[10.0] "The Royal Rumble Match 2001 is without any doubt one of the greatest Royal Rumble matches of all time, featuring an incredible lineup of wrestlers (yes I like BIG wrestlers) and an outstanding overall flow that keeps the match engaging almost from start to finish, and while there are a few slower or quieter moments, they never significantly hurt the experience, making this Rumble an easy 8/10 based on structure, pacing, and star power alone, but because of Kane this match reaches a full 10/10, as this was undeniably his match, with his dominant presence, intensity, and destruction completely defining the bout, and despite there being 28 other wrestlers involved ( and Drew Carey), Kane was the clear centerpiece who carried the match and left the strongest impression, to the point where Royal Rumble 2001 is remembered first and foremost as Kane's Rumble."

[9.0] "The Hardy's section, the Drew Carey spot, and the Hardcore Rumble were all a great way to start the first third of the Rumble. Then the Honky Tonk Man segment was good as well. Kane gave a great Iron Man performance and Austin was a great winner"

[10.0] "A phenomenal royal rumble match with absolutely incredible and engaging action, spots and storytelling throughout, the star power in this match was just spectacular with the best roster the WWF has had during this time competing, Kane had one of the all time best iron man performances ever, the match had such entertaining vibe from beginning to end and Austin winning his record setting third royal rumble to main event the all time best WrestleMania ever, WWF WrestleMania 17 (2001) is perfect by default. Overall this is definitely one of, if not, the absolute best of its kind."

[8.0] "A really memorable Royal Rumble match. Everything you want in it a good rumble match and it was great. They build up Kane as a monster the entire match and he lasts a long time before being the runner up to Austin. A really enjoyable Rumble match and a classic for sure."

"Really strong ending but pretty underwhelming middle in my opinion also the going between and under the ropes stuff bothers me a lot because it defeats the purpose to me"

[7.0] "Good royal rumble, I'm not the biggest rumble fan but I like them sometimes, this is such a memorable match which I really get it and understandable tbh. ***"

[10.0] "This was a perfect Royal Rumble in my opinion. Just so much star power and it just had a bit of everything where you had comedic moments with Drew Carey and a surprise appearance from the Honkey Tonk Man with Kane blasting him over the head with a guitar. Raven enters and turns it into a Hardcore match for a good 10 minutes or so. Big Show making a big return where he cleans house before The Rock gets a fair elimination on him this time, but then gets choleslammed through a table. Undertaker and Kane teaming up and cleaning house with poor Scotty too Hotty being the unlucky guy to be entered afterwards. Austin getting completely busted open before he even enters the match when Triple H attacks him. Kane is the iron man of the match lasting about 60 minutes and getting so many awesome moments eliminating 11 people. Austin gets a big comeback and somehow wins it completely covered in his own blood and the final moments with Kane was memorable where Kane gets the stunner and even after being in the match so long he still sits up and is booked like Michael Myers at the end where it takes three chairshots to the head for Austin to finally take him down. Just so many memorable moments all match!"

[6.0] "Find it pretty mental that a Royal Rumble that contains legit only 5 main eventers is commonly thrown out as one of the best of all time. When the match is good it's great, particularly the ending as Kane and Austin are a great final 2 but so much of the match is bogged down by filler. So many mid carders who are boring wrestlers yet stay in the match way too long. Very long sequences where nothing of any real note happens and I feel like the rating being so high is so heavily skewed by the ending despite 50 of the 60 minutes of the match being fairly stale and uneventful."

[6.0] "One of the best Royal Rumble matches for some, not really for me. The first half is dominated by Kane and the mid-card, which at that time was not as strong as today. The hardcore part is nice and the appearance of Drew Carey is funny but nothing more to add on that. The turn of the match becomes much more interesting with the arrival of the Undertaker. The rest is superb until the end but we have to sit through 30 minutes. quite long before getting there. I will keep a good memory of the end only. (3*1/4)"

[9.0] "As JR stated, "a never ending fountain of aggression". Very little of this feels filler, and the high moments are some of the best Rumble spectacles there has ever been. The final 3 showdown is the best in my opinion"

[9.0] "not the best rumble of all time but its close this was a very good rumble match it picked up towards the middle after some funny spots. Kane being the iron man was a good choice as he has a great rumble here, Austin defying the odds to win was nice. Haku shouldve made it till the f6 atleast not billy gunn"

[9.0] "Probably the best royal rumble match of all time, Kane looked like a star and I like that the match was divided into sections to break it up, with the hardcore part early on and then some comedy spots in the middle of the match. This is my favourite era of Kane, he looked jacked and was very good in the ring for someone of his size. I think Austin winning was the right call as he was still quite early into his comeback from neck surgery at this point. Very enjoyable match!"

[9.0] "Arguably the best booked Rumble of all time, and it still holds up in 2025! You don't feel the hour pass at all. The storytelling throughout the whole match is phenomenal. It starts with the the Hardyz prologue followed by the best celebrity cameo ever with Drew Carey, who eliminated himself rather than face Kane one-on-one. Kane's entrance at #6 marks the first chapter, and he goes on a huge tear taking out the entire Hardcore division (which was made up of some of the most underrated wrestlers in history). The next chapter begins with The Rock's entrance at #13. The Goodfather and Tazz suffer quick eliminations to make both The Rock and Kane look strong, before the mid-card hosses fill the ring. The Rock is ridiculously over and the crowd is at the edge of their seats every time he looks like he's going to be eliminated. William Regal and Test come in at #21 and #22 and the latter eliminates Regal to foreshadow his European Title win the following night. Big Show returns at #23 to eliminate K-Kwik and Test only to be eliminated by The Rock. This leads to Big Show pulling The Rock out of the ring and planting him on the announce table. Meanwhile, everyone else turns on Kane, so The Undertaker comes out at #25 to help his brother out and clean house, marking their reunion as The Brothers of Destruction. Stone Cold tries to enter the Rumble, but is blindsided and taken out by Triple H. Haku returns to the WWF with absolutely zero pop, and Rikishi enters at #30 to eliminate Taker, but only to get eliminated by The Rock. Austin has since returned to the ring, takes out Haku, then Billy Gunn, and we're in the final stretch. The Rock and Stone Cold have an incredible back and forth, foreshadowing their incredible WrestleMania XIX match. Kane finally succeeds in eliminating The Rock but is ultimately eliminated by the winner, a bloody Stone Cold. Kane goes home with a new Rumble record, and the crowd in New Orleans goes home happy. Rumbles don't get better than this."

[9.0] "So far my favorite Rumble match. The chokeslam from Big Show to Kane might be the greatest I've ever seen."

[7.0] "Interesting match. Watched because I know how acclaimed it is, wasn't as good as hoped but still interesting. The start wasn't very good, with numerous botches from Jeff, but was a funny watch. Then Kane came in and it felt big, but for the next 30-40 minutes had nothing much of note. Once it gets to the last five or so entrants it got much more interesting with great action all around, accompanied by a glorious Stone Cold resurgence and victory. The ending 15-20 minutes dragged this rating way higher than it was going to be"

[8.0] "A good Royal Rumble, it doesn't make my top 5, but it's very close. Best performance of Kane's career in this match, the hardocore part of the match is really fun along with the appearance of Honky Tonk Man who made me laugh sincerely, besides, the biggest difference between this RR and the others is that he is the most bloodthirsty ever saw"

[10.0] "Wow, that was amazing. So many good moments that were perfectly placed. Love Kane's performance, haven't seen a better rumble performance since. Best rumble since Rumble 92' and not a better one after this one."

[6.0] "The match felt underwhelming. The outcome was far too predictable, with little suspense leading up to the finish. Most of the match felt forgettable, lacking the standout moments or surprise entrants. By the time the finish arrived, it felt more like a formality than a climactic conclusion."

[2.0] "I don't know how this match has such a high rating, is there something I'm missing? Horribly paced match that was unbearable for the first half hour. Don't even get me started on Drew Carey. The only reason this gets a 2 and not a 0 is because of the second half and and strong finish. Gotta give credit where it's due, everything with Austin was pretty good. Just good tho, not great."

[7.0] "My interest in wrestling was long behind me by the time the Attitude era came around so I don't look on this Rumble with Nostalgia so I don't really see it as being up there with the best. Still it is definitely good and a fun watch"

[8.0] "Full of actually excellent comedy spots, a hardcore spectacle in the first third, and plenty of wonderful little mini-matches that make it an actual event and not a slog. Raven, Kane, and Al Snow having their own mini-match, the Hardys absolutely killing it as the first big matchup, Kane and Undertaker eliminating Scotty 2 Hotty, Rock and Big Show, Steve Austin just gushing blood outside the ring for a while, and then having his awesome square-off with The Rock. All these memorable moments that make this feel like a bunch of weird little matchups and grudges and character interactions."

[10.0] "Its good rumble match after 1999 show. I love it and watch it maybe more than 4 times and i enjoy it every time i watch it. Masterpiece show."

[8.0] "Amazing rumble match for many different reasons. Having Kane eliminate 11 guys was good booking decision. What I like most about the match is the battle between Rock and Stone Cold, a test for Wrestlemania. Around the start of the match having a bunch of weapons in the ring was pretty cool as well. The Drew Carey entrant was funny, and having him almost immediately eliminating himself was goofy. The Big Show return was fun, having him toss out some guys before getting thrown out by the Rock. The winner being Stone Cold made sense also."

[9.0] "This was an amazing Rumble. It had everything, star power, shenanigans, and some very funny moments. Rock and Austins stare down was amazing and only a teaser for what was to come months later."

[7.0] "It's not the best Rumble in terms of the overall star power, but the stars that were included were over as hell. Over half of the participants are just bodies to fill the ring before the proper main eventer can eliminate them and I didn't mind it, because the main event scene was really strong back then. Taker, Kane, Rock, Austin, Rikishi - everybody just feeds them. There was a great involvement from Carey, Kane's booking in this bout was probably the best of his career and the final showdown between him and Austin was just phenomenal. This proves that you don't need the best roster to have a very good Royal Rumble if you can focus your attention on the proper main eventers."

[8.0] "Great Rumble match where the MVP had to be Kane for going as long as he did and setting the record at the time for most eliminations at the time that stood for over a decade. The Hardy's sequences at the start as well as the match turning hardcore during the middle were great. Drew Carey and The Honky Tonk Man's interactions were fun and lasted about as long as they should have. Stone Cold's performance was very memorable and given the crowds reaction he was the right choice to go over, even if it was three wins in five years for him. Solid match, at least 3.5 stars."

[6.0] "Lots of repeats from the 2000 Rumble. Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Grand Master Sexay's dance number in the middle of the Rumble is an all time great moment in pro wrestling even if it logically makes 0 sense and obviously exposed the business. Rock lays on the floor outside of the ring for something like half the match because he blows up so easily and has to save his energy to confront Stone Cold"

[9.0] "This was definitely the best Royal Rumble from the Attitude Era. This match had everything in from high flyers like The Hardy Boyz comedy spots by Drew Carey and the Honky Tonk Man to hardcore spots by Raven and Al Snow to Undertaker and Kane dominating the ring to a final climactic ending with Stone Cold Steve Austin winning the whole thing. At one point, I would've rated this a 10, but rewatching it, it's still great, but it doesn't get the full monty. But it's close.."

[9.0] "One of my favorite rumbles ever maybe even the favorite. I still switch back n forth between this one and a few others but few have an ending that good and an overall pool of talent like this rumble does. A pair of genuinely funny comedy spots from Drew carrey and The honky tonk man mixed in the fun hardcore part of the rumble carries the first half of this match. Although it slows down significantly from the moment the rock gets in to when Big show makes a surprise entrance everything that happened once Big show came in is very entertaining. What really makes this match good to legendary is the final 3 Rock, Austin and Kane. Rock and Austin giving a teaser of mania 17 Kane getting a shock elimination of the rock and Austin giving Kane a stunner and 3 chair shots to the head and finally taking down the big monster is Excellent. 4.5/5"

[6.0] "Interesting but not a great Rumble as they say. The start of the match is well known, The Hardys team for a little bit until they "eliminate" each other, Drew Carey enters and the MVP of the match, Kane, beginning the historic 11 eliminations. This part is well mixed, some mid cards, low cards and even jobbers doing his part, some times working together against the Big Red Machine, the objects increased the entertainment. In this year the Rock enters at the middle and he looked fine, the crowd was active because of him. Big Show returns with a great ovation, wrecking everyone but The Rock surprises him, a nice reference of last year' Rumble. Then Taker and Kane cleaned the house until Austin's music plays but he got short because of Triple H, Steve really earn the victory by overcoming the attack as well as the final 4. Rikishi's participation was ok, got beat up by Austin but manages to eliminate the Undertaker, wow. The ending was exciting, i think that Kane losing wasn't that bad, the thing was that they didn't capitalize on him very much after this. ***1/4"

[8.0] "So many memorable moments happened in this Rumble match. There was also a questionable booking decision such as Austin winning the whole thing not Kane who dominated almost the entire match. Anyway, very enjoyable Rumble match"

[10.0] "The Hardcore Royal Rumble... Has to be one of my favorite Rumbles of all time. Always loved how strong Kane was booked here. The interaction between him and Drew Carey was absolutely hilarious. Still don't know how I feel about Haku being in this Rumble, but it's still entertaining from top to bottom."

[9.0] "The best Rumble match ever? Felt actually really unique, had your nice crop of surprises, fantastic spots, really the perfect recipe."

[10.0] "Greatest Royal Rumble of All Time. The fact Drew Carrey is in this is weird. Sure Kane's elimination record has been broken multiple times by now but this run is iconic, Honkey Tonk Man's elimination is the funniest in Rumble history. Meng being the surprise entrant was cool but he should've gotten a bigger pop. Steve Austin winning could be seen as predictable but it leads to the "My Way" video package, so all's well that ends well."

[9.0] "In my opinion, the best Royal Rumble of all time. The stars of the match were well distributed between 1-30, there were plenty of side stories and hardcore action, Drew Carey and Honky Tonk man are throw away entrants but are used well, Kane is an absoulte powerhouse in this match, setting the record at the time for most eliminations and lasting the longest. In the end, Austin overcomes a violent attack from Triple H during his entrance and wins his 3rd and final Rumble."

[10.0] "Perfect. It started with the Hardys (#1-#4). Then it was Drew Carey (#5-#7) who should've got that f'n chokeslam. Then we get the Hardcore Rumble, one of the best parts in the history of the Rumble (#7-#11). Then we got the Honky Tonk Man, amazing (#12). Then we get Rocky and jobbers (#13-#15. Poor Tazz). Then we get the stiff guys + poor rookie K-Kwik who surprisingly didn't get the Puder treatment (#16-#19). We get some European Champions (#20-#22). Show is here and it's gone (#23). Crash exists (#24). Taker's here and everybody dies (#25-#26). Steve Austin gets attacked (#27). Random guys (#28-#29 WCW HARDCORE CHAMPION HAKU! ). And Rikishi who we already knew was #30. He even eliminated Taker, wow. Kane was the MVP, but this was the perfect Rumble. So well structured, well paced and it was always full of entertaining parts. Kudos to Kane. Glenn Jacobs may be a terrible politician, but as an iron man in the '01 Royal Rumble, he was AMAZING"

[10.0] "This is right up there with 1992 for best rumble match up to this point. It had a good mix of surprises (Drew Carey and Honky Tonk Man especially), an epic run from Kane (dude took a ridiculous amount of shots to head -- my head hurt just watching them) and some serious star power at the very end. The Rock and Austin were both at the height of their powers here which made for some nice drama at the end. Just good stuff from beginning to end. *****"

[10.0] "This is a classic rumble match and it doesn't get boring from the hardys fighting to kane being dominate to the final stretch of the match this is so good and one of the best. *****"

[9.0] "One of the best Royal Rumble matches ever, only let down by being slightly slow and dull in the middle. It contained many interesting minor stories, the overarching story of Kane lasting most of the match, and multiple huge stars near the end including Austin, Kane, Taker and the Rock, as well as HHH interfering. Not quite as good as 1992, the peak Rumble, but close."

[7.0] "A pretty decent rumble. This had a lot of fun set pieces in it to keep things interesting, but also had a good amount of slow portions too. This is about the peak of the attitude era, and it's a very attitude rumble, complete with a garbage match portion, undertaker on a motorcycle, and some seriously intense juice on ol Stone Cold. And Haku is back! They do a decent job making him look good. If you like Kane, this is a very Kane-heavy rumble; perhaps the most Kance-centric of them all but I haven't seen all his rumbles. This is another rumble that relies on a guy being out for a long time (which should be against the rules) then coming back later, two in fact, and it's ok but they do it a lot, especially around this time period. Very star-studded, but there were a good amount of nobodies like all the rtc scrubs (incl papa shango who goes out like a chump) and too cool. Honky Tonk man is awesome, and his portion is pretty much the definitive way to have an old timer return to the rumble. A fun watch and really typifies the era."

[7.0] "Fun match with a pretty good crowd. Nothing spectacular in the ring, and alright storytelling. A bit overrated IMO."

[10.0] "Generational match. This is top to bottom perfect from Kane's amazing performance to Steve Austin's 3rd win after A steel chair elimination. It also had Drew Carey in it."