Every WWE Royal Rumble's Best Performer

By Andrew Pollard /

2008 €“ Shawn Michaels

After being the final two in the previous year€™s Rumble, the 2008 match saw The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels enter at #1 and #2, respectively. Both would put on great showings, but it was Michaels who stood out the most during his 32-minute stint. The 2008 Rumble will always be remembered for the hugely shocking return of John Cena at #30, and Cena would be the eventual winner, but it was the Heartbreak Kid whose star shone brightest as he delivered his best Rumble outing since 1996. Whilst Shawn always brought a high quality to everything he did in the ring, his biggest moment here was actually eliminating The Undertaker. Of course, he€™d then be thrown out himself by Mr. Kennedy mere seconds later, but the chemistry between Michaels and €˜Taker was again there for all to see as the pair would get set for back-to-back WrestleMania bouts the following two years. Regardless of those €˜Shawn being Shawn€™ stories that we€™ve all heard, the Heartbreak Kid is one of the very best performers of all time, and his 2008 Rumble outing was a perfect example of HBK doing what HBK does best: stealing the show. There could even be an argument to say that '08 was Michaels' best ever year in the business, with him having a classic bout with Ric Flair at WrestleMania before then entering into a legendary feud with Chris Jericho. That great year, though, started with a fantastic Royal Rumble showing from the Showstopper.