10 Wrestlers Who Should Have Won The WWE Royal Rumble
6. Bret Hart (1995)
Speaking of Bret Hart, if Luger had won the ’94 Rumble outright, that would have left the Hitman without any Rumble accolades to his name. Unless, of course, he’d won at the following year’s event in 1995.
The ’95 Rumble was instead won by Shawn Michaels, who eliminated the British Bulldog in a controversial finish that illustrated the need for the "two feet must hit the floor" rule. Michaels then went on to face Diesel for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania XI but remember: this was HBK’s first real foray into the main event scene. And he was cast as a heel at the time.
Sure, he was getting cheers from certain parts of the audience, but fundamentally he was a bad guy. And it’s always difficult for the up-and-coming underdog to establish himself when he’s a bad guy.
Hart, meanwhile, was already in the midst of a feud with Diesel, so having him win the ’95 Rumble and stretch out that rivalry until ‘Mania wouldn’t have been too farfetched of an ask. Besides, Michaels would get his moment in the sun at multiple subsequent WrestleManias anyway.