10 Must-See Shawn Michaels Royal Rumble Performances
4. 1997 - Vs Sycho Sid
Managing yet another engaging main event with an incredibly limited Sycho Sid, Shawn's return to his hometown may not have been the easiest night of his career, but he again lived up to the weight of pressure put on him to send the mammoth audience home happy.
With sixty thousand San Antonians looking on, Michaels regained the WWE Title in his rematch with Sid following their impressive Madison Square Garden encounter at the previous November's Survivor Series.
Though admittedly failing to reach those lofty standards a second time, the two were able to craft an absorbing finale to their feud, with Michaels selling his giant opponent's questionable offence with typical aplomb and providing a slew of entertaining comebacks from the extended beatings he would take in their modern-day David and Goliath story.
Behind the scenes, Michaels had been struck down with flu in the days leading up to the event, which Vince McMahon mentioned on commentary seemingly to justify things should Michaels fail to deliver his usual excellent performance on the night.
Despite these limitations, 'HBK' admirably gutted his way through the match, triggering memorable ringside celebrations with real-life family and friends as he lifted the championship for the second time.