10 Best World Title Matches In WWE Royal Rumble History
7. Triple H Vs. Shawn Michaels (2004)
Triple H and Shawn Michaels' rivalry may have dominated Raw during the mid-2000s, but we got some excellent matches out of it.
One such match took place for The Game's World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble in 2004. Ever the voice of reason, Raw Sheriff Steve Austin made this a Last Man Standing match after Michaels was screwed out of winning the title in his hometown of San Antonio.
Michaels and Triple H always worked well together, especially during this time period. The two men knew each other's styles inside and out and always crafted hard-hitting matches with well-told stories that played perfectly into their stipulations.
The drama of the Last Man Standing match was heightened by both men's incredible selling, especially that of Michaels. HBK's recovery after a DDT and a Pedigree to get up at the count of nine is a textbook example of how to sell in a Last Man Standing match.
The match once again ended in controversy, when Shawn hit Sweet Chin Music on Triple H, but was so exhausted from the toll taken on him during the match, that he too fell to the mat. The referee counted to ten, but neither man got up, ending the match in a draw.
This would all lead into the excellent WrestleMania XX main event of Triple H, Michaels and Chris Benoit, in which Benoit would capture the world title - a match that could not have happened without this excellent title bout at Royal Rumble.