9. Shawn Michaels 1995
WrestleMania title shot: Lost to Diesel at WrestleMania XI The first man to go coast-to-coast and win the Royal Rumble, Shawn Michaels eliminated eight men and created a truly memorable moment when he got tossed and miraculously managed to only have one foot hit the floor. His teased elimination basically set the template for future false eliminations and gave WWE footage that will be trotted out every January. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLlqsqqABe4 Unfortunately, HBK would lose his title match at WrestleMania to Diesel, but it would just set him up for redemption the next year, when Michaels would finally achieve his dream. Michaels performance and the iconic finish to the 95 Rumble match will remain etched in fans minds for as long as the Royal Rumble is held. Regardless of HBKs loss at Mania, that alone makes his Rumble victory a great one.
Scott Carlson
Contributor
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
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