The Attitude Era was just getting started in early 1998 as WWE was starting to see some improvement in terms of their viewership numbers on television and attendance at live events. By the time they got to the 1998 Royal Rumble, it looked like they were ready to regain the top spot in the wrestling business by beating rival World Championship Wrestling sooner rather than later. Two months prior to the Rumble, one of the craziest things in WWE history happened as long-time superstar Bret Hart was screwed out of the WWE Title by Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels. It wasn't easy for WWE to rebound after that, but they did their best. A big reason that WWE was able to bounce back after losing Hart is because of the emergence of the 1997 Rumble winner "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. He officially turned babyface in 1997, so the fans were fully behind him heading into this match. McMahon wasn't a fan of his, though, which created a conflict. It was just the beginning of what was arguably the greatest rivalry in WWE history between the evil owner and his most important employee. The 11th Royal Rumble event took place in San Jose, California on January 18, 1998. Here are the results from the show. 1. Vader d. Goldust 2. Max Mini, Mosaic & Nova d. Battalion, El Torito & Tarantula (w/Sunny as referee) 3. Intercontinental Title: The Rock d. Ken Shamrock by DQ to retain the title 4. Tag Team Titles: The Legion Of Doom d. The New Age Outlaws by DQ so Outlaws kept the titles 5. Steve Austin won the Royal Rumble match 6. WWE Title Casket Match: Shawn Michaels d. The Undertaker Here are seven things you should know about the 1998 Royal Rumble.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
