Ranking All 30 WWE Royal Rumble Winners

3. Shawn Michaels – 1996

steve austin 2001 royal rumble
WWE.com

WrestleMania title shot: Defeated Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII

After going the distance in the 1995 Royal Rumble and coming up short at WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels had a lot to prove in 1996. Entering the Rumble at a much more palatable #18, Michaels outlasted everyone, last tossing the man who beat him at Mania the previous year, Diesel.

Michaels and WWF Champion Bret Hart would meet at WrestleMania XII in a 60-minute Iron Man match that ultimately would need overtime to be decided. Michaels quickly won with Sweet Chin Music and captured his first world title. HBK would hold the title through most of 1996, with the reign putting Michaels on the map as a top guy in WWF.

Unfortunately for HBK, his first title reign coincided with a bleak ratings period for the WWF, but the story of Michaels finally achieving his dream was a great one for wrestling fans.

Contributor
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.