10 Times WWE Royal Rumble Winners Risked It All Before WrestleMania
8. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin - 1997
'Stone Cold' Steve Austin won his first of three Royal Rumble matches in 1997, even if he cheated by getting back in the ring after referees missed his elimination. It's a moment still spoken about today, but the complicated aftermath doesn't get nearly as much attention.
It was supposed to be Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels II at 'Mania 13, in a rematch of their WrestleMania XII clash, but Hart was negotiating with WCW and Michaels had lost his smile. The Dusty finish of the Royal Rumble match itself pushed Austin into a Fatal Four-Way with Hart, Vader and The Undertaker to determine the true number one contender. When a forlorn Heartbreak Kid handed the belt back to Vince McMahon, that four-way ended up being for the title instead. The Undertaker would go on to win, facing Sycho Sid in the main event of the Show of Shows.
This is a prime example of WWE having to book things on the fly. Backstage politics sabotaged an otherwise set-in-stone rematch between the Hitman and HBK, a not quite ready Stone Cold got pulled in to steady the ship, then we ended up with an all-time classic between Hart and Austin instead. Ironically, the least talked about part of this booking nightmare is the actual WrestleMania main event itself.