7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 1998

2. Shawn Michaels Suffered A Crippling Back Injury That Nearly Ended His Career

The WWE Champion Shawn Michaels was 32 years old at the time of the 1998 Rumble PPV. He was a big part of WWE's future that was arguably the best wrestler in the company because of his ability to have great matches with everybody. Then the Casket Match happened and things changed for him in a big way. There was a spot in Shawn's match with The Undertaker where Taker gave Shawn a backdrop over the top rope that sent him over the casket too. It was in the first two minutes of the match with Shawn's back hitting the side of the casket. It was not an immediate pain for Shawn, but it would become excruciating. Days later, Shawn could barely move. That insignificant bump ended up causing Shawn to severely injure his back. He didn't wrestle again for two months. After Shawn lost the WWE Title to Steve Austin at WrestleMania 14, he had to retire from wrestling at the age of 32. It was too young for him to stop. Eventually he had a major back surgery. Four years after that last match, after getting a new lease on life as a Born Again Christian, he came back at SummerSlam and somehow went on to wrestle for eight more years. It's amazing that one bump in one match could cause so much long term damage, but that's what happened. Their match was very good too, by the way. They always had great matches.