7 WWE Royal Rumble Eliminations That Were NEVER SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!

4. Shawn Michaels (2010)

Shawn Michaels is Rumble royalty, and he's 'skinned the cat' so many times in the iconic match that the spot has become a go-to trope for others since he retired from full time work. Yes, Michaels is a master of hanging on by a thread...except when he isn't.

There's just too much evidence against his 2010 elimination being worked.

Look at Batista's worried expression in the still image above, and note how Shawn desperately clawed at the ropes as he lost balance and fell to the outside. Nobody's claiming that Batista wasn't meant to eliminate HBK, or that Michaels was going to win the match (Edge's comeback win made more sense), but there's a chance he wasn't supposed to fall out there.

The elimination was a bit of an anti-climax for Shawn. Typically, he made the best of it and proceeded telling a brilliant story of desperation before working another absolute classic with The Undertaker at 'Mania. If this was a mistake, he made it work.