10 Unbelievable Royal Rumble Moments
Every year, the WWE puts on its classic 30 man over the top rope elimination battle royal, affectionately known as the Royal Rumble. The premise is simple. Thirty men compete in a ring with only one rule - you must throw your opponent over the top rope so that they hit the floor below to win.
The Royal Rumble was not the first battle royal, or even the first pay per view to revolve around one. The Bunkhouse Stampede was the NWA's version of the event, and upped the ante by including blood, and sometimes a steel cage.
As far as the WWE version of the event goes, the inaugural Royal Rumble was not a pay per view at all, but a special event aired on the USA network. In that first Rumble, Hacksaw Jim Duggan would walk away the winner.
A few years later, a new stipulation was added to the annual Royal Rumble match: the winner would gain a main event title shot at Wrestlemania.
The Royal Rumble has been around so long, it's developed its own unique history. Here are ten of the wildest, most unexpected, most unbelievable moments in the history of the Royal Rumble match.
#10 Shawn Michaels goes the distance - Royal Rumble 1995
Given that the Royal Rumble is a thirty man over the top elimination match, and each man is assigned a random number, you might think that being number thirty provides a significant advantage, and you'd be right.
However, Shawn Michaels defied the odds in 1995. He drew number one, and stayed in the match for its entirety. There were many times it appeared he was about to lose the match, only to cling to the ring ropes like a freezing infant clings to its mother. Michaels wound up winning the Royal Rumble, despite the huge handicap of selecting number one.