Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best

31. 1996

shawn michaels royal rumble 1996
WWE.com

As incredible as this is to say, the WWF was borderline indy with decent production in 1995. That year's Rumble reflected the struggles (both creatively and financially) on-screen. By 1996, things were starting to improve, but Vince McMahon wasn't out of the woods yet. Despite that, Vince knew he could pin hopes on Shawn Michaels to become a babyface sensation at the top of cards.

HBK won his second consecutive Rumble in '96. It wasn't as "epic" as the prior year, because he entered as #18 not #1, but Shawn's 26-minute performance was somehow still just 12 minutes shy of his run in '95. Those pesky 60-second intervals, eh? 1996 was a vast improvement in terms of spectacle, but star power was still woefully short-handed.

Michaels, Owen Hart, Diesel, and the debuting ex-WCW monster Vader helped ease that pain.

Vader's debut came in spite of an injury. He'd asked McMahon to hold off on his bow, but the WWF kingpin wasn't having any of it. So, Vader debuted, was eliminated by HBK, then went positively crazy around ringside. It was a fun introduction for fans, and Shawn's second win on the bounce proved immensely popular with folks ready to see him become champ.

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