The BEST Wrestling Moment Every Year (1989 - 2026)

20. 2007 | Two Masters

WWE Royal Rumble 2007 Undertaker Shawn Michaels
WWE

The bare-bones framework of the Royal Rumble match is so effective that it doesn’t even need to be that great to be successful. Many weren’t - the majority, you could argue - and yet everybody anticipates it every year because it’s so exciting and holds so much potential to change the landscape across every level of the card. It’s the match that solidifies the WrestleMania main event and allows for several more interactions. Remember the Shawn Michaels Vs. Kurt Angle sequence from the 2005 Rumble? That was arguably one of the all-time great penny-drop moments in WWE history. Oh sh*t! These two can actually work a programme together, hell yeah.

So the Rumble doesn’t have to be a great wrestling match. It just has to be a great Rumble match. WWE, in a rare mid-2000s masterstroke, gave you both. The match-within-a-match between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels in the closing stretch of the 2007 Royal Rumble match was magnificent. 

With no near-falls nor submission teases to work with, Shawn and ‘Taker underscored their credentials as masters in San Antonio’s AT&T Centre. ‘Taker rose from the dead with his sit-up spot as, seconds later, Shawn kipped-up. Using their signature comeback spots to create a sense of parity was ingenious use of wrestling psychology. 

Shawn was histrionic at times in his comeback run, but with the ultimate prize at stake, the WrestleMania event, he earned every one of his desperate, flailing attempts to stay inside of the ring - and he milked every single movement to heart-stopping effect. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!