This is a testament to Shawn Michaels’ status as the greatest in-ring competitor of all time. As Undertaker once said, “Shawn Michaels can have a great match with a broom.” Sycho Sid is certainly better than a broom, but no one would confuse him for an elite wrestler. Nevertheless, he showed up for this one, putting on a classic with HBK at the 1997 Rumble.
The only criticism you can levy on this match is the way it ended. Bret Hart and Diesel told a beautiful story of the technically sound Hart breaking down the physical imposing Diesel. In the big man’s first significant title defense, Diesel wound up retaining after Shawn Michaels interfered, resulting in a no contest.
It’s fair to say few competitors knew each other better than Triple H and Shawn Michaels. They’ve had many epic matches both on the same side and against each other. At the 2004 Rumble, the two faced off in a Last Man Standing match that, fittingly, ended in a double count out, allowing The Game to retain his title.
Back in the late 90s/early 00s, the Intercontinental Championship was at the height of its prestige. At the 2002 Royal Rumble, Chris Jericho took on Chris Benoit in a ladder match for the title. Jericho put the Walls on Benoit at the top of the ladder before expelling Benoit to the ground, grabbing the championship and securing the victory.
From a pure technical wrestling standpoint, this is one of the greatest matches of all time. Obviously, Chris Benoit’s legacy was destroyed by the horrific events that followed his career. At his peak, though, he remains one of the best technical wrestlers to ever do it. At the 2003 Rumble, Kurt Angle defended his WWE Championship in an instant classic against the Rabid Wolverine.
Given that Triple H, The Rock, and Stone Cold Steve Austin were the three main pillars of the Attitude Era, it was a huge vote of confidence in Chris Jericho for WWE to make him the first ever undisputed champion. In Jericho’s first big title defense, he and The Great One put on a classic at the 2002 Royal Rumble.
Before the Dudleys, Hardys, and Edge & Christian made TLC matches famous, there was this simple table match. This was actually the first tag team tables match in history and firmly established these two tag teams and two of the greatest of all time.
Mick Foley’s ascent to hardcore legend was fully underway. Donning the Cactus Jack gimmick, Foley challenged Triple H for the WWF Championship in an epic street fight. While Foley’s never say die attitude was fully on display, this was not the moment he finally captured his first world championship.
The Royal Rumble itself is supposed to be the highlight of the show, but that wasn’t the case in 2015. One of the worst booked Rumbles of all time was overshadowed, and rightfully so, by the stellar triple threat match between three of the company’s top stars firmly in their primes. Brock Lesnar was still riding the wave of ending the Undertaker’s streak and was at the peak of his dominance, but Rollins really stole the show in this one.
One of the most memorable non Royal Rumble matches to take place at the event, The Rock and Mankind went to war in 1999. This historic “I Quit” match is actually quite difficult to rewatch. This was before the days of CTE being well known and concussion being a serious concern. Before the days of chair shots to the head being banned. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most compelling matches to ever occur at the Royal Rumble event.
