9 Wrestlers Who Didn't Learn From WWE Royal Rumble Mistakes

9. Shelton Benjamin - At All Costs, Stay Away From Shawn Michaels

For Shelton Benjamin, the one thing he seemed to forever forget during three back-to-back Royal Rumble matches, was to avoid Shawn Michaels at all costs.

The Boy Toy is revered as one of the greatest Rumble performers in the history of the event, whether that's as part of the Rumble contest itself or in action elsewhere on the card. Michaels' Royal Rumble history sees him listed as a two-time winner of the over-the-top spectacle, have the third-most cumulative eliminations in that contest, win the WWE Championship against Sycho Sid at the event in 1997, and even sneak a Casket Match victory over the Undertaker in 1998.

The 2006 Royal Rumble offering saw Shelton Benjamin getting eliminated by Shawn Michaels after a near-seven-minute showing that wasn't much to write home about. Skipping ahead a year and Benjamin would fare far better, staying in the Rumble for 22 minutes. Again though, it was the Heartbreak Kid who put an end to the Gold Standard's Royal Rumble dreams that year.

By the time of 2008, it was a far briefer appearance for the former Team Angle standout, with him Sweet Chin Music'd out of the Royal Rumble, courtesy of Shawn Michaels, after just 18 seconds.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

First Posted On: 26th Jan 2021

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