Best final two in a Rumble match?

[Zen411]

Which final confrontation was the best? Not just because you like both competitors. Which moment in time showed the best final moments? The best choice for the roster at that time? The most drama? The best crowd reactions and making the winner and road to Mania mean the most? It's a tough pick so you can pick up to 5.

[UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm]

for me it is nakamura vs reigns. nakamura may have bottled it at mania but so many of us wanted him to get that moment and if you remember, Roman was unbelievably powerful at the time. he is now too but nakamura losing to roman in that rumble was such a painful possibility that it made the end result so sweet.

[chazraps]

Watching it live, I'm going with Jericho-Sheamus as 1) nobody had any idea who would win going into the Rumble and it getting down to these two kept it that way and 2) they really gave a great extended closing sequence instead of just a handful of moves before flipping over the top rope.

[Andew9001]

Taker vs Shawn. Felt like a proper match between the two and felt like either could win.

[XIII]

The entire HBK/Taker saga leading to the retirement match was some of the best long term storytelling done in a while at that point. HBK/Taker gets my vote.

[4real]

I’m not sure if HBK v Taker can be beaten honestly. In terms of quality anyway.

Gunther & Cody gave it a good go last year. Ambrose & HHH in 2016 was very well done considering most people knew HHH was winning but Ambrose getting final 2 ahead of Roman felt massive at the time.

Bulldog v HBK I loved as a kid but looking back now the match only going a half hour and the roster being very thin ruins it for me now. Santino & ADR could have been legendary if they let Santino win.

[ChitownKnight]

Cena/Batista. The fact that they both got counted out on ACCIDENT is wild to me

[Jindrak Mark]

Batista and Cena in 05. The electricity in the crowd when it came down to them made it obvious you were watching the next 2 top guys in the company. And what should have been an absolute disaster with that botch instead just made it more exciting plus the hilarity of Vince snapping his quads and barking orders while sitting there like a child.

[Jindrak Mark]

Jan 11, 2024 10:41:21 GMT -5 ChitownKnight said:

Cena/Batista. The fact that they both got counted out on ACCIDENT is wild to me

It's got to be the most perfectly timed botch ever. Their feet both hit at practically the same time giving them the easy out to restart the match. If Batista's feet hit so much earlier to the point you couldn't possibly suspend disbelief and ignore it then they'd probably have been forced to just accept the botch and go with Cena as the winner.

In the grand scheme of things it might not have changed much with them both challenging for the title at Mania anyway but Batista winning worked better for the story so they could do the "which contract will he sign" thing leading to the thumbs down moment with HHH.

[tafkaga]

Bret and Luger for me. Both babyfaces with world title aspirations duking it out in a time where babyfaces didn't throw fists very often.

[karl100589]

Jan 11, 2024 10:46:59 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

Batista and Cena in 05. The electricity in the crowd when it came down to them made it obvious you were watching the next 2 top guys in the company. And what should have been an absolute disaster with that botch instead just made it more exciting plus the hilarity of Vince snapping his quads and barking orders while sitting there like a child.

What helped IMO was the way everyone covered for it. The Raw referees arguing for Batista and the Smackdown refs for Cena. Made the botch feel like part of the show.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Jan 11, 2024 1:14:32 GMT -5 chazraps said:

Watching it live, I'm going with Jericho-Sheamus as 1) nobody had any idea who would win going into the Rumble and it getting down to these two kept it that way and 2) they really gave a great extended closing sequence instead of just a handful of moves before flipping over the top rope.

I'm actually surprised this doesn't have more votes. I know most people hate this Rumble and you defend it a lot but I thought more folks would be repping that excellent last ten minutes or so with Sheamus and Jericho.

[Citizen Snips]

I will always dream about the alternate world where they call an audible in 2011 and ADR/Santino runs away with this poll

[Urn Anderson]

Yoko/Savage could easily be in the running here if that ending didn’t crap the bed.

[agent817]

Cody and Gunther was something I did not know I needed. That was interesting.

[Mozenrath]

Cody vs GUNTHER definitely makes me want more from them down the line, which I guess isn't too surprising, given how old school they both are.

[Nr1Humanoid]

Santino vs Del Rio. After decades of "anyone can win the Rumble" they could finally pull the trigger on it. It thrilled me to bits depite the outcome.

[The Rick Jericho]

Jan 10, 2024 23:04:50 GMT -5 UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm said:

for me it is nakamura vs reigns. nakamura may have bottled it at mania but so many of us wanted him to get that moment and if you remember, Roman was unbelievably powerful at the time. he is now too but nakamura losing to roman in that rumble was such a painful possibility that it made the end result so sweet.

If they had ran an actual proper one off feud with Roman versus Shinsuke this is the clear #1 for me too. What a wasted opportunity.

So I'll go with HBK-Undertaker. That was a mini 10-15 match wrapped inside a Rumble match. 9 years later and both guys still had amazing chemistry!

[The Ichi]

Taker/HBK got two very good WM matches out of it. It has to be that.