WWF: Royal Rumble 2001 [VHS]
Of all the gimmick matches the WWF has created over the years, the Royal Rumble may be the most fun and captivating. The concept is simple: There's 30 wrestlers and one ring; two men start out going at it and every two minutes a new wrestler enters until there's only one man standing. But though the concept sounds easy, creating a wrestling match that will hold the attention of fans for over an hour is pretty tricky. With this in mind, the WWF added a prize for the winner that gave the Rumble added drama. Whoever survives gets a free pass to the main event at Wrestlemania and a chance to take on the WWF champion. Unlike most wrestling matches, where it's routinely easy to pick a winner, the Royal Rumble--especially the 2000 edition--is constantly difficult to predict. The 2000 Rumble is among the strongest in recent memory, mostly because of the pace, the outcome, and, yes, the dramatic, nearly evangelical play-by-play delivered by Jim Ross (yeah, it's all fixed, but JR gets your adrenaline pumping by the end of the match). What also makes this Rumble so exciting is the addition of four other matches, all of which complement the excitement of the main event. In particular the wars between Triple H and WWF champion Kurt Angle, and bitter Canadian rivals Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit, are well executed and constantly enjoyable. Of all the pay-per-views of 2000, this may be the one to take home and cherish.--Dave McCoy