100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

33. Shawn Michaels & Kurt Angle Make Magic (2005)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE

Kurt Angle was incensed (INCENSED!) that Shawn Michaels chucked him out after only 37 seconds in the 2005 match. The Olympian had come in as #20, and seemed well-placed to last until at least the final four or so. Nope. Shawn escaped an ankle lock, then superkicked Angle out of the ring over the top rope.

Bye bye, "Sexy Kurt".

Booked to see red, Angle got back inside the ring and started hammering HBK. Then, as revenge, he eliminated one of the match favourites from contention and continued attacking him at ringside. This would be used as fuel to set up the mouth-watering WrestleMania 21 clash between both men a few months later.

It wasn't long after all the Michaels and Angle hubbub died down that Paul London made his memorable exit from the ring thanks to that clothesline. He was probably glad that elimination wasn't scripted to occur when everyone was watching Kurt and Shawn brawl their way out of shot.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.