Royal Rumble Match 2004

[6.0] "Just a solid Rumble match. Not many highs, but no lows either. Usually Rumble matches a few slow periods, but this one doesn't really have one, just a good pace throughout. Highlight was the Mick Foley appearance."

[10.0] "One of my all-time favorite Royal Rumble matches. Rumble history is filled with legendary performances - Flair '92, Austin '97, Austin & Kane '01, Rey '06, Brock '20 and Gunther '23 and Benoit's belongs right alongside them. He delivers the longest Iron Man performance in Rumble history to that point, survives the giants, eliminates the unstoppable Big Show and wins it all. The match establishes a strong foundation through the race between Benoit and Orton, while Kane's elimination to the gong, Foley eliminating Orton, and Lesnar costing Goldberg all provide unforgettable moments. Still, the heart of the match is Benoit accomplishing the impossible after Big Show wipes out Cena, RVD, Jericho and Angle one after another. Incredible star power, logical structure, storytelling, a feel-good ending and a legendary Benoit performance. ****1/2"

[7.0] "A defining moment in Benoit's career that led to his defining moment at WrestleMania, and while it may be unsettling in retrospect, Benoit winning it back then was stupendous! Him and Randy starting makes for a nice foreshadowing of their rivalry later that year, JBL hitting everyone with murderous Clotheslines From Hell is stunning, Benoit countering one right into a crossface is neat. Kane makes an impact as always in Rumbles, Taker's gong hitting only for him not to be there but cost Kane the match is great. Foley coming back, going right after Randy, eliminating Randy and himself in the process and the two brawling it out is awesome and such a good set-up to their rivalry. Goldberg entering at #30 and smashing everybody is great, Brock attacking him and ruining it for him is alright. Things get a bit plodding at times and it lacks a bit more star power, but the booking is pretty good and helps build-up some matches. The Big Show has a strong showing and the fear of him winning is real, especially after him eliminating Angle. This adds some crazy tension and makes Benoit's win all the more exhilarating. What a finish! ***1/2+"

[9.0] "Match erased from company's history due to obvious reasons, but damn, it was great. Top notch action combined with pure entertainment aspect cooperated really well."

[8.0] "An amazing rumble match, Benoit's Iron man performance is legendary, the star power isn't here, but this is still a blast. (4.0*)"

[6.0] "Le rumble est sympa mais je trouve qu'il manque quelque chose mais plein de choses sont agréables notamment le passage de Foley. J'ai bien plus de mal avec le coté comédie qui je trouve fait perdre de l'intérêt au rumble."

[8.0] "I finally got around to watching this Royal Rumble, and it was a very good showing. A good Royal Rumble overall, with a lot of star power and well placed to keep the fans engaged rather than bored. They introduced some comedic characters in areas where you can see the fatigue taking a toll on the longer participants to let them have a bit of a relax. I like the way they slotted a returning Mick Foley after commentary tried to keep it secretive. A good winner selection and a nice ending sequence. I enjoyed it."

[10.0] "This. This is how you do a Royal Rumble. Lots of feuds, storytelling building up feuds, good wrestling, funny moments, cool eliminations, great talent, epic moments such as Foley returning and Goldberg's spree. This was simply superb all around and never dragged, really fantastically done."

[5.0] "This rumble might be better knowing who wins, because they very subtlety hint towards the win of Benoit throughout the match. He's able to eliminate several threats that seem like they're gonna wreck havoc only to be eliminated by him. The best one of these is JBL who starts hitting closelines like crazy until Benoit reverses it into a crossface and shoves him out. This match is helped alot by there being several wrestlers who are really good in these short bits against alot of the worse wrestlers in this match, it just works. But also, like any rumble match, alot of fat to it. Alot of not so good and doing nothing sections. I think the team up on Big Show was cool especially all the finishers but it also turned into a bit of a slog. Benoit getting the win over Show that way was pretty cool though. Overall it has holes but it's as solid match."

[8.0] "A Rumble that elevates Randy Orton. The star power here was definitely weak but Benoit's survival is great to witness."

[9.0] "One of my favorite Rumble matches ever. I was only 3 years old at the time, so when I watched it, it was after Benoit's tragedy, and it felt weird to see him win here and realize he did horrible things. The match itself told a story, unlike many of the Rumbles, especially in the 2010s. Benoit eliminated most of the giants, setting up the big finale where he would eliminate the biggest giant on the roster. Orton and Foley were great, and they also started Lesnar vs. Goldberg here."

[9.0] "This understandably isn't as enjoyable to watch in 2025 as it was in 2004, but it's still just a very good Royal Rumble match, maybe even a top 5 best all time. Beyond Benoit's run, Big Show, Angle, Jericho, Orton and a handful of others are fantastic in this. It's a mostly stacked roster, especially compared to 2002-2003, and there's a lot of fun to be had."

[10.0] "Definitely one of the best royal rumbles ever with really entertaining action and spots throughout, a brilliant mixture of wrestlers competing that help set up most of the storylines going into WWE WrestleMania 20 (2004) and in spite of everything that would happen in hindsight, Benoit gave such an incredible iron man performance and he was a fantastic winner for the match."

[7.0] "A very strange rumble, not only due to the identity of the winner and what happened afterwards. But also, this is one of the few rumble were the final stretch is actually weaker than the rest of the match. The match is actually very stimulating during most of it with a lot of elimination that are interesting and the duo Benoit/Orton managing to surviving through the adversity. The Foley/Orton stuff is good too. And then, the finish is definitely weak and even boring which is rare for a rumble. First, Goldberg taking one F5 and then being eliminated by being too unfocus. And then, a very, very, very long stretch of babyfaces being dominated by a Big Show - though he has already tapped three times to submission, what the point of that ? 7/10."

[7.0] "The star power was alright, the booking was good and the winner was a perfect choice. They did a fantastic job of building up Big Show as a unstoppable force to finally feed him to Benoit in one of the better final two confrontations and along the line they presented Randy Orton very strongly. So yeah, the second half is exceptional and the final minutes are perfect, but also there is an idiotic segment with Miller or Spike just disappearing which drag this thing down a little."

[10.0] "My favourite match ever. I know there were few little flaws, like Goldberg and Kane lasted too short, but I can't deny the impact it got in my wrestling fan life."

[8.0] "A pretty solid Rumble given the fact that it seemed to lack the normal amount of star power they usually have, and big names like Kane & Goldberg getting eliminated rather quickly to progress their personal roads to Wrestlemania. Chris Benoit was a good choice to go over here just based on the crowds reaction to the finish and it was awesome to see Mick Foley come in to eliminate Randy Orton because for my money their feud was one of the hottest in the company at this time. This was also a great performance by The Big Show, I'm not sure he gets enough credit in these types of matches, and his elimination of Kurt Angle was awesome. There were many memorable moments but for me it was the elimination's of both The Hurricane & John Cena just based off how brutal they looked. Both of those guys looked like they obliterated one of their legs on the way out of the ring. No less than 3.5 stars."

[7.0] "A good Rumble but definetly not one of the best. It had a couple cool moments where Benoit and Orton lasting very long in the Rumble since there were 1 and 2 entrant. Also it had some big names like Goldberg and Angle but still it could have even more i think. Overall i think it was a good Rumble."

[6.0] "Ah, the Royal Rumble that time forgot due to Benoit's last days alive. Always feels weird watching this one and respecting his performance, and watching the genuine joy in his eyes when he wins, knowing the disgusting actions he'd take a few years later. It is an above average Rumble, but not quite an incredible one, either. I think the best thing about this Rumble was that I don't think anyone really called Benoit to win it. I think most people were guessing Angle or Goldberg to win at the time. The second half of this Rumble is far better than the first half. Most of the strong showings and storyline moments hit during the second half. The first half is very weak and feels utterly insignificant, minus maybe the short Kane segment. What I didn't get was why they made Big Show seem like such a massive threat. He was U.S. champion at the time. I think everyone knew going into this match that it'd be Cena vs. Show for the U.S. title at Wrestlemania, so it was pretty obvious he wasn't winning this match. I think Angle and Benoit would have been a far more effective final two. The only reason I see them not doing that is because they wouldn't want the fans to have to pick a babyface and maybe turn on Benoit. I think a lot of people judge this Rumble by the second half only since it's the more memorable part, and it is what you'll remember. As a total package, this is still quite a good Rumble. It's a shame that history will bury this match in the sands of time deeper and deeper year after year, but at the end of the day, I don't think this match was SO good that we need to fight to dig it up all that much either."

[8.0] "For many years, this was my favorite Royal Rumble, but since the Benoit incident happened, it has dropped significantly over the years. Benoit still does a great job of lasting the entire match, but there weren't enough memorable moments for this to be as high as I had it. It was still very good, but its impact has lessened."

[8.0] "Its a good rumble, but far from my favorite, also a pretty not good dude won the whole thing so. 8/10"

[7.0] "Great Rumble because of the winner and how he performed during all the match, easily the MVP, cool eliminations during the match made it even more deserving. The other great performances came in the form of Orton, a young promising talent who manages to eliminate the likes of Rikishi (showed strength), Booker and my personal favorite, Shelton, both with great potential but Randy out smarted him to eliminate his OVW contemporary. Orton's elimination was kinda bad but contribute to a bigger story. Next in line of course was Big Show, the match really had an clear story the moment he entered, been a constant factor, he really was an obstacle for the other five men during the final moments. The was roster was well mixed during the first third but really one sided in star power, i didn't like that. Still with not so much time, Jericho and Angle managed to leave a mark. The ending is just great, a nearly perfect story of an underdog overcoming the odds. ***1/2"

[6.0] "An overrated rumble not worth the high score it gets on twitter and in general by fans. Its not to say that its bad but its pretty average in all told. Some definite highlights for sure benoits overall performance is impressive even tho he didnt rack up eliminations. Foleys surprise entry is a great moment. Takers fakeout entrance is another great moment and it probably got the biggest pop of the whole match besides the finish. However the flaws of this match are too noticeable for me. Too much stalling around and in corners not doing shit. Too many popular baby faces that dont make any impact for example RVD, Booker T, John cena to name them. Its a very heel heavy rumble and it doesnt really work as the crowd for lots of the match are pretty dead. The final 4 of angle Benoit Jericho and big show is a good final 4 and benoits last elimination of big show to win the match is a great spot. Decent rumble 3.25/5"

[10.0] "One of the best Rumbles ever in my opinion. Sadly it's lost in history for obvious reasons today, but this was definitely up there with 1992 and 2001 for me and probably the best after those two. Some really good storytelling with Benoit going coast to coast to win the Royal Rumble to become the second man to win from #1 and his eliminations was impressive too where he took out Mark Henry, Matt Morgan and most memorably the Big Show by himself despite them all being much larger than himself. Despite the abundance of star power here, none of the 30 entrants had previously won the match which in itself is pretty unique. Some good moments here too like Mick Foley finally returning as a surprise entrant to take out Randy Orton and their feud picks up there. There's a fun spot where Nunzio is caught in a Mandible Claw and then sits out of the match until John Cena forces him in. Some really fun character work there. Goldberg destroying everyone is great and Lesnar causes him to lose, which sets up their feud well. Cena's elimination is nasty and shows up on many "don't try this at home" videos to this day and the last 6 guys in the match was absolutely loaded with star power. Benoit and Big Show as the final 2 is memorable and the way Benoit finds a way to get the elimination is great. A superb, well paced Rumble that never feels off the pace or unfocused."

[8.0] "I still think the 01 Rumble is the greatest rumble ever, but this is definitely up there as one of the best tho. There are not ever so many people in the ring to the point, you can't even focus on the match but they also paced the eliminations well enough to where they didn't eliminate everyone fast enough. Orton/Angle's extended focus periods during the match were good and Goldberg coming in to dominate for a bit before Brock eliminated him was also good stuff. Mick Foley coming in and eliminating Orton after all the buildup they had done was a great moment. The main focus of the match was about Benoit being the iron man of the match, and him having him overcome the monster Big Show that they built up so well was a great decision.****1/4"

[10.0] "The best one. Benoit and Orton starting was great, even without hindisght. (#1-#2). Then we get guys almost immediately eliminated (#3-#5). Various guys (#6-#9). Hurricane getting robed! (#10). Booker and Kane (#11-#12). Poor Spike (#13). Various guys (#14-#16). Shelton and we're back to only with Benoit and Orton (#17). SOMEBODY CALL MY MOMMA (#18). Angle doing amazing things as always (#19). Bye Rico! (#20). Foley got a cringing steel chairshot to the head (#21). Christian getting massively ignored (#22). Lol Nunzio (#23). Some big entrances (#24-#25). Haas getting in the ring and 9 seconds later gets a suplex, lol (#26). I'M THE ASS MAN! (#27). Cena and Van Dam (#28-#29). Goldberg has probably the best look he's ever had in his career here (#30). And what an amazing ending with those final 6. All of them got their finishers in. The story of Benoit winning was also amazing, even if it's not acceptable for someone"

[7.0] "This is a tricky rumble to rate. The emotional impact of Benoit winning is non-existent anymore. While his run in this match is truly epic, capped off with a creative finish with him having to take out the Big Show by himself, it's just hard to get into it anymore for obvious reasons. The first half of the match was also so-so with a bunch of midcard guys hanging around. Things did pick up in the final third though. Probably the biggest highlight was Mick Foley making his return and knocking both himself and Randy Orton out at the same time. Orton also had a really nice run. ***1/2"

[9.0] "The workrate rumble. This match is chock full of so many of the greatest of all time (as far as ring work), most from WWE's massively stacked junior heavyweight division. You start with [redacted] and Randy Orton for goodness' sake. The work in this rumble is so far and away better than any other rumble, it's not even close. All of the detail stuff is there, and these guys are just so good at executing and making things look natural. It kinds pisses me off that other rumbles are so bad at this. Big show is featured in the final section for a long time, and he looks phenomenal in it thanks to the guys he's working with. This rumble has everything you want- star power, comedic elements, surprise guest appearances, great bumps- jesus the bumping in this match so out of control. Fucking Matt Morgan looks great in this. I don't see how there is a better rumble than this. Even the commentary is great. Once again the combo of JR and Taz is a winner (get the hint AEW). This would be a 10 if it weren't ruined by you know what, cuz [redacted]'s story in 2004 is the best one WWE ever told. I hate to take off points for something like that but part of what makes this great for a wrestling fan is the entirety of the winner's career, which has now been ruined. Final note, this match is another to sell me on Randy Orton- I am slowly coming around."

[10.0] "This is honestly my favorite rumble match of all time. Chris Benoit delivers an amazing performance here. The likes of Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, and Chris Jericho had pretty good performances (as well as Big Show too). The wrestling/action throughout the rumble match was great; especially when you had the likes of Benoit, Angle, Jericho, and Orton in the rumble for at least 20 minutes here. The Mick Foley pop was an awesome moment, and his brawl with Randy Orton was very chaotic in a fun way! There were plenty of near-eliminations to build suspense, and the ring stayed full throughout the match for the most part (which is how rumble matches SHOULD go). The final sequences were VERY compelling; especially with Big Show throwing out fan favorites like Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, and John Cena one-by-one before he eventually fell short to Chris Benoit with an AMAZING ending. Benoit was the right winner here. He's still one of my all-time favorites despite what unfortunately happened in June 2007. RIP to Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit, and Daniel Benoit."

[6.0] "As far as Royal Rumbles go, this was pretty decent. I enjoyed how each of the non-joke wrestlers got to show off their signature moves when they first entered the match, ensuring they had a visible impact even if it was brief. The joke wrestlers thankfully got very little time, allowing the established stars to go back and forth with each other instead. The ring thankfully didn't get super crowded with wrestlers since the eliminations were quite constant, so the flow felt better than in most other Royal Rumble matches. Quite a few of the eliminations were pretty cool, either because of some nasty bumps or some creative ways they were set-up. Being that this was Benoit's Royal Rumble win, I would have liked a greater focus on him and his journey earlier than just the final 10 minutes, since at many times in the match it felt like he was a non-entity as he just rested on the very corners of the ring and would intermittently luck into an opponent who was already in prime position to be eliminated. I enjoyed the focus on the immense effort required to eliminate the Big Show, since at least 5 kayfabe strong wrestlers attempted to eliminate him together but were thwarted, and all of those wrestlers were then eliminated by the Big Show except for Benoit, who got a great elimination to counter Big Show's own attempted elimination of Benoit. I don't even like Big Show, but his role as the monster here worked well, appropriately putting Benoit over as the heroic monster-slayer. While these good moments existed, there was also still the general setbacks of Royal Rumble matches such as constant boring brawling and slow pacing which held the match back from being better I also think that matches that go 30+ minutes should be engaging the whole way through, and at least 50-70% of this 60+ minute match was rather middling, but at least the good parts were quite good to hold the match to an overall 'alright' level. ***"

[9.0] "One of the all time best Royal Rumble matches. Benoit starting off and winning the whole thing was emotional and a great story. Especially the last sequence where he eliminated The big show. It also had a lot of other great stories like Foley's return but it will be remembered for Benoit's win. [****1/2]"

"I have fun watching all of the Rumbles - who doesn't. I remember popping HUGE for the end to this one, back in '04, watching it live. Unfortunately, the moment gets buried due to obvious circumstances. If THAT hadn't happened, I think the ending to this match would be one of the most talked about/shown Rumble endings of all time. Technically speaking there are better Rumbles, but this one isn't bad by any means. For my money, '92 is the king of all Rumbles ***3/4"

"It's a royal rumble match! It's fun! People enter and then they go over the ropes! I don't really know what to tell you that hasn't been said before about royal rumble matches. They got some cool moments, got some stinkers, and sometimes a deserving winner. Maybe the winner here was deserving of it, but wow was his journey to win kinda uneventful. Idk it's the rumble and they wrestle accordingly, you'll like it about as much as you like most rumbles, however much that is to you."

[9.0] "One of the top three best Rumble of all time. Benoit running the whole thing for over an hour was incredible. And that final moment of him eliminating Show... amazing. Also got plenty of WM feuds over too. Fantastic stuff. [****1/2]"

[9.0] "One of the greatest royal rumbles of all time bar none. So many great interactions here, so many great feuds set up, and the action was just nonstop and intense. The story of Benoit overcoming the odds and winning the match by last eliminating Big Show is one of the greatest pieces of storytelling I've ever seen in a Rumble match. Sadly this match was forgotten about for obvious reasons, but that doesn't make it any less amazing. In fact, as of right now, I think this is my favorite Rumble of all time. It just had everything you could ever want. ****1/2"

[9.0] "The 2001 Rumble remains the complete package, the ? 92 RR the most feel-good story, and the recent string of men and women? s Rumbles finally getting the PPV back to its 2000s glory, but this may be the finest bell-to-bell Rumble in terms of multi-layered storytelling. the ? 92 Rumble is a beautiful piece of work for Flair, but here there? s not only Benoit going full Broadway but interactions that help to build multiple Mania feuds as well as the Foley/Orton Backlash match. There? s also the wonderful detail of ? vanilla midget? Benoit pointedly being the one to expel all of the biggest guys, not through flukes but technique and strength. And it? s just so well-paced, letting the ring crowd but never get too packed while always having something compelling going on. This is probably the most star-making Rumble winner, not just a stepping stone to Mania but a showcase for Benoit so good that even on its own sake it elevated him immensely. For obvious and correct reasons WWE will never highlight this Rumble ever again, but they could do to study how well they perfected the potential of the stipulation here."

[9.0] "Favorite Rumble of all time. You had the main story of Benoit making it all the way from #1 but also had plenty of other storylines within it that would lead to Wrestlemania (Kane/Taker, Foley/Orton, Goldberg/Lesnar). Some low points in the match like Ernest Miller and the production team missing a few spots but overall great. Also, this has to be the most stacked final entrants ever in a Rumble match (Benoit, Big Show, Cena, RVD, Jericho, Angle)."

[5.0] "This was a decent Rumble but it dragged a lot despite having some occasional high points. The main story was Benoit going in at #1 and winning, but the announcers did a terrible job of telling this story because they rarely made a point of bringing up that Benoit was lasting so long. For much of the Rumble, he was background noise, like everyone else, so it made his achievement seem like nothing that special. Compare this to when Ric Flair won the 1992 Rumble and how Monsoon and Heenan were constantly bringing up Flair as having survived so long after having come in at #3. It's like night and day."

[9.0] "Great rumble. Some amazing spots even the Ernest Miller dancing spots. Benoit? s performance was incredible and the final stretch with Goldberg destroying everyone, everyone ganging up on the Big Show who was excellent too. Unlike most Rumble matches, the pacing wasn? t really an issue, something is always happening during the match. Tons of surprise entrances (GONG! Aka Spike Dudley), good interactions and iconic finish. ****1/4"

[9.0] "One of the best royal rumbles ever. No rumble is perfect as there's always low points and boring points but this is about as good as it can get. Not every person in this rumble plays as big a part compared to the 2003 rumble but the people that do play parts play them to perfection. Big Show and Chris Benoit are the standouts coming out of this match but Orton, Goldberg and Angle also make an impact. There's psychology up the ass in this rumble especially towards the end and there's never truly any really boring point here but it does drag a bit in the middle due to lack of star power. I love everyone ganging up on Big Show at the end and almost eliminating him only for him to eliminate three people in quick succession, one of the most memorable rumble spots ever. Also, tons of WrestleMania matches are set up here which is exactly what a Rumble should try to achieve. Oh yeah, and Benoit won.... shame WWE won't ever bring up this match ever again. ****1/4"

[8.0] "An excellent Rumble with some high points and some low. Pros: Benoit and Orton! They basically carried the entire thing. Jericho and Angle were fantastic. Foley's surprise entry and quick exit, but with a purpose. Cons: Ernest Miller (seriously: wtf were the bookers thinking? ). Big Show, just in general, as a wrestler (same goes for his entire career). That's it, I guess. Overall, definitely a positive experience. Glad Benoit won. Good stuff. One of the best Rumbles. ****."

[7.0] "The most disappointing thing about this, was that we all knew all along Benoit was going to win. What better way than to slay the Giant at the end... Come on WWE..."

[8.0] "Excellent Rumble, one of the best definitely. Rabid speaker, entertainment, correct winner, decent yields. Each found a use, and each contributed to the coolness of the match (****)"

[7.0] "Can never really give a Royal Rumble match more than 7 due to the lack of wrestling and the amount of Brawling that takes place."

[9.0] "Good rumble. Benoit and Orton were number 1 and 2 respectively and were the stars of this match. A lot of WrestleMania feuds were nicely set up (Lesnar/Goldberg, Orton/Foley). And the finish with five guys trying to take out the Big Show and failing leaving Benoit alone to try and figure out how to take the big man down was great."

[10.0] "Amazing Royal Rumble. My favorite Royal Rumble ever. Lots of great stories told such as Foleys return and Brock coming after Goldberg. Also pretty emotional momenr for Chris Benoit as well. *****"

[10.0] "The best Rumble ever and very possibly my favorite match of all time. Even though the shadow of Benoit hangs over it in retrospect, you can't deny that he had an absolute amazing performance here. The ongoing psychology of the match is just insane, Benoit continuously out thinking and out fighting bigger guys from the word go, all the way through to the final sequence with Big Show in perhaps the best and most well thought out Rumble ending in history. This match was also brilliant for furthering other feuds, you can trace more than half of the card of Wrestlemania XX to this match. Fantastic overall storytelling and many standout performances. Orton especially has a great supporting role, it's easy to remember why he rose so fast in '04 before his push was cut out from under him. Excellent, excellent match."

[9.0] "Good Royal Rumble. Mick Foley's appearance, spear to Nunzio, Chris Benoit entering first and winning the Rumble. Amazing emotions in the end, but no more legends in this one."