WWE: 7 Greatest Royal Rumble Matches of All-Time

2. 2007 - The Greatest Ending in Royal Rumble History

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1NSyJOIoRY Oftentimes, the Royal Rumble comes down to a group of three to six competitors at its very end, heightening the drama with some big names and some emerging ones. Most of the time, the Rumble will throw one or two guys into the mix who the audience knows have no chance of outlasting the combatants they are faced with. 2007 featured this same convention, but pitted two of the company's most beloved stars, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, against two of its most notorious young heels, Edge and Randy Orton (Tag Team Champions at the time). The match started out as the first triple brand Royal Rumble, with 10 Raw, 10 Smackdown, and 10 ECW superstars entering the ring. The match filled up slowly as the match begun, with Kane, Booker T, Edge, and Randy Orton controlling the early proceedings while throwing out the likes of Hardyz, The Sandman (and his Singapore Cane), and Sabu through a table the Arabian had set up himself. The match began to really heat up when HBK took to the ring at #23, as he quickly eliminated Finlay and Shelton Benjamin while corraling the rest of the superstars in the ring into eliminating Viscera. It appeared as though it would be anyone's match from that point on until The Great Khali strode into the ring. Every superstar still legally in the match tried to bring down the vicious Punjabi, but all was for naught, as Khali would toss out CM Punk, Chris Benoit, Rob Van Dam, Hardcore Holly, Chavo Guerrero, Carlito, and (thankfully) The Miz. It seemed as though the Punjabi Nightmare would take over, using brute force to make his way to Wrestlemania... And that's when Undertaker's gong went off as #30 came up. After four of the most destructive minutes in Rumble history, The Great Khali finally met his match in the Deadman, being sent over the top rope and back to the locker room, leaving only Rated-RKO, HBK, and Taker left in the ring. Rated RKO would seize upon the opportunity before them, quickly double-teaming and dispatching Shawn Michaels, who rolled to the outside. Edge and Orton would then go to work on The Undertaker, setting him up for a Con-Chair-To in the middle of the ring. Before using the chair, Edge tried to sneak up on Orton when he saw an opening. The Viper caught him red-handed, and the distraction was enough for Shawn Michaels to take advantage, tossing the distracted tag team to the floor below. What followed was a prelude to the two classic Undertaker-HBK Wrestlemania matches that would come two years later, with HBK and Undertaker trading haymakers for ten minutes, each man trying to upstage the other. At one point, both men were planted in the middle of the ring. HBK did his famous kip-up to regain his feet and hopefully gain an advantage. Not to be outdone, Taker sat bolt upright immediately after Michaels had regained his feet. The two fought until Taker grasped HBK by the neck, preparing him for a chokeslam. Michales found his way out of Taker's grip, flooring him with some Sweet Chin Music. Poised for his third Rumble vicotry, Michaels tuned up the band, ready to send the Deadman over the ropes. At the last possible moment, the Undertaker dodged the killing blow, instead depositing HBK outside the ring. After seventeen long years in the WWE, The Deadman was finally the last man standing, punching his ticket to the one event he has never lost at.