10 WWE Royal Rumble Eliminations More Significant Than You First Thought
9. The British Bulldog (1995)
Both feet must hit the ground to be eliminated. Both feet must hit the ground. Is it clear that both feet must hit the ground? Don’t forget, both feet must hit the ground. Yeah, this is where every commentator’s favourite trope began.
When The British Bulldog knocked Shawn Michaels over the top rope during the climax of the 1995 Royal Rumble, it really did look like he had been eliminated, for all the home viewers could see was Shawn appearing to hit the ground. Bulldog began to celebrate, and the cameras quickly cut to a shot of Bulldog celebrating. However, Davey’s celebrations were quickly cut short as the 'Heartbreak Kid' appeared out of nowhere, tossing Bulldog over the top rope before collapsing in victory. There was an immediate state of confusion in the USF Sun Dome. Hadn’t Michaels been eliminated? He went over the top rope after all…
When Howard Finkel announced over the microphone that only one of HBK’s feet had hit the ground, the people of Tampa erupted, realising that they’d been had. Besides Shawn being the first person to win from #1, this elimination is incredibly significant as it opened the door for some of the Royal Rumble’s most iconic spots, such as Kofi Kingston’s legendary handstand in 2012 and John Morrison’s insane parkour at the 2009 edition of the Rumble.
Several superstars (such as the aforementioned Kingston) crafted some of their biggest rumble moments out of the template that Shawn had laid out for them, all due to one simple rule: Both feet must hit the ground.