7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 2004

5. Triple H And Shawn Michaels Continued Their Rivalry With A Bloodbath

Triple H was the World Heavyweight Champion (like usual) going into the Rumble as he faced his long time rival Shawn Michaels. They had a fantastic World Title match on the last Raw of 2003 that really is one of the best matches in the history of Raw. Michaels hit a Superkick and then fell backwards onto Triple H. It appeared as though Michaels had won, but it turned out that his shoulders were also down on the mat so acting referee ruled it a draw. That led to the Last Man Standing Match at the Rumble. Triple H's Last Man Standing Match with Michaels was by far the longest non-Rumble match on this show. The four other undercard matches on the show got eight minutes while these two had a bloody 23 minute battle with a lot of near finishes. The blood told a big story. It was their way of showing that this was a very even match that was incredibly violent. They had several instances where they had dueling 7 or 8 counts. Finishing moves were hit, but none of them ended the match. They found a way to keep getting back up. Triple H hit a Pedigree. Michaels got back up at 9 and then somehow connected with a Superkick. After Michaels connected on it, he collapsed to the mat at the same time and it looked like he was going to get back, but he ended up staying down. Since neither man could make it to their feet, the match was declared a draw and Triple H remained the World Heavyweight Champion. Doctors went into the ring post match to check on them as they continued to sell like they were really hurting at the end of it. The crowd didn't like the draw finish, but it's not like any crowd ever wants to see a draw to end the match. We didn't know this at the time, but this was done to keep Michaels in the World Title hunt to set up the triple threat in the WrestleMania 20 main event with Triple H and Chris Benoit. Since that turned out to be a great match, it was a smart decision.