10 Terrible WWE Royal Rumbles With One INCREDIBLE Moment

3. Taka Michinoku Wipes Out (2000)

Taka Michinoku Royal Rumble 2000
WWE Network

What was it about awesome weekly shows that accidentally hijacked the quality of beloved WWE institutions?

Both WrestleMania 2000 and the first Rumble match of the new decade were weighed down by expectations set by exhilarating Raws and SmackDowns that perhaps promised more than the events could ever realistically deliver.

Even when things suffered, WWE still absolutely f*cking ruled - Madison Square Garden had been gifted an all-time great WWE pay-per-view before a Rumble that was too much of a formality for its own good. The Rock and The Big Show were the only two from a thirty-strong field that had a chance of winning, to such an extent that a pre-match interview with 'The Great One' mocked the very idea that a Crash Holly or Headbanger Mosh might eliminate him because Show was the only threat of any merit.

Sure enough, it came down to those two, but the show had already been stolen by a brutal Taka Michinoku bump that Jerry Lawler ordered be replayed almost to the point of nauseating cynicism. Almost - it was darkly, darkly amusing and the Kai-En-Tai man thankfully got back to work in short order.

In this post: 
Roman Reigns
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 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. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, 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