Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble's Biggest Surprise 1988-2022

25. 2003 - Jericho Gets The Jump On Shawn Michaels

Edge Royal Rumble
WWE.com

Chris Jericho's one-way feud with Shawn Michaels before the Royal Rumble was all good natured before 'HBK' realised that he had to take 'Y2J's bullsh*t very seriously indeed.

Michaels was glad to be back, but a raging Jericho was far from willing to linger in the shadow of his idol. Entering at #2 to Michaels' #1, the 'Sexy Beast' jumped the 'Sexy Boy' from behind, bloodied him up, then eliminated him with ease. Their WrestleMania XIX match-of-the-night was as good as assured then and there, without Royal Rumble icon Michaels as much as landing a blow on his new foe.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett