50 Things You Learn Binge-Watching Every WWE Royal Rumble
16. Nobody Has Matched HBK’s 2010 Desperation
The desperation of Shawn Michaels was a waaaaaay hotter plot point than Triple H's anti-Legacy quest. In 2010, HBK entered an Oscar-worthy performance in the Rumble after entering as #18. He started off on top of his game by eliminating everyone from old buddy Trips, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to Drew McIntyre, Carlito and John Morrison. That's when things fell apart and ended in heartbreak, kid.
Go back and watch the way Shawn reached out for the rope like he was a dying man clinging to life after being thrown over the top by Batista. Phenomenal. Nobody has ever put across their anguish the way Michaels did back then. He needed to win the Rumble and headline WrestleMania one last time before retiring. Of course, WWE kinda ruined the story by having Shawn main event in a non-title bout vs. The Undertaker anyway, but that shouldn't detract from his emotions during the 30-man match.
Michaels is regarded as one of the best ever for a reason. This is just example 3,472, or therein thereabouts. He couldn't have done a better job of hiking up the drama in 2010 right before Edge went on to win instead. The shattered and heartbroken look on Shawn's face when he realised everything was slipping away? Priceless, and it elevated the 2010 Rumble to become one of the best ever.
The current NXT overseer put across more feeling and passion in 23 minutes than most wrestlers do in a lifetime. His entire second run between 2002-2010 is well worth reliving all over again, but the 2010 Rumble has to be right up there as one of the top highlights from it.