10 Biggest Wrestling Hometown Pops EVER
7. Shawn Michaels In San Antonio - Royal Rumble 1997
Perhaps one of the greatest commentary calls of all time is “the boyhood dream has come true for Shawn Michaels”. However, most fans will agree that the chase is better than the reign for a babyface champion.
Michaels’ time with the belt in 1996 wasn’t as big of a success as the WWE hoped. By the end of his run, some fans had begun to sour on the HBK's super-push. As such, Vince and company decided to have their top babyface drop the belt to Sid. This way, he could return once more to the scrappy underdog role and eventually reclaim it. To make this even more special, this redemption would occur at the Royal Rumble in Michaels’ home of San Antonio, Texas.
On one side business was down in the wrestling world and Michaels had lost a lot of momentum. On the other side of the event, personal issues led to his hiatus soon after the event.
In the eye of this storm, was the Royal Rumble.
The match, in a vacuum, obscures this full context by the power of the feelgood hometown hero win. San Antonio showed up in their droves, with a reported attendance of 60,000 fans that were more than ready to lose their minds for the Heartbreak Kid. The Hebner-special super-slow count created a pregnant tension that released a cacophony of crowd noise when Michaels scored the three-count.