10 Must-See Shawn Michaels Royal Rumble Performances

5. 1996 - Royal Rumble Match

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WWE.com

Writing the next chapter in his fairytale Wrestlemania 12 story, Shawn Michaels showed the dynamism and excitement that had wooed Vince McMahon into placing all his eggs in the basket of the 'Boyhood Dream' back in 1996.

Appearing in-ring for the first time since an Owen Hart enziguri famously floored 'The Showstopper' in late-1995, Michaels effortlessly made the biggest impact on the Royal Rumble upon arrival, entering at #18 to a thunderous response and quickly tipping behemoths Vader and Yokozuna to the floor.

With fans glued to his every move following the near-retirement caused by repeated shots to 'HBK's head after the real-life kicking he sustained from a group of Marines in 1995, Shawn found sympathy from all corners of the arena as every new entrant (and a miffed Vader post-elimination) targeted his known weak spot.

Harnessing the momentum of his victory the previous year and the hugely emotive support from the capacity crowd, Michaels ultimately managed to grind out the victory, nailing best friend Diesel with Sweet Chin Music in the climactic closing moments to win his second consecutive Rumble.

Beginning his final push to his first World Title, it was a truly spectacular display from the 'Heartbreak Kid' worthy of the headline run he would shortly embark on.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett