The rules of the Royal Rumble are simple – the ring starts with two men, and an additional man comes down to the ring at a regular interval (supposedly 2 minutes but this year was much closer to 1 minute). The only way to be eliminated is to go over the top rope and have both feet touch the floor.
The match began with Ric Flair and Finlay, combined at over 100 years old. One by one additional WWE superstars from ALL brands came to the ring – Raw Superstars and Smackdown Superstars and ECW Extremists. We had Team RKO eliminate both Hardy Brothers. We had the Great Khali eliminate all the scrubs near the end. We even had the customary “in and out†elimination of the Miz.
When the dust settled, and Team RKO was cleared, it came to only two men – the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. BACK and forth they went, using their finishers and doing that thing where HBK kipped up and Undertaker sat up really close to the same time. Then there was the spot where they teased Taker superplexing HBK to the floor, but HBK pushed him off. Or that time Michaels hit Sweet Chin music, or the moment Taker hit the chokeslam.
HBK attempted another superkick, but Undertaker blocked him. Then he awkwardly grabbed Micahels’ ass for an extended period of time. Then he remembered he was in the match and just picked him up and threw him out of the ring in disgust. Despite being in his hometown, HBK was eliminated. Despite The Undertaker coming out at #30, he was victorious.
The music played and crowd roared. One man stood alone. One man was the Royal Rumble winner. One man overcame 29 other men to become #1 contender.
That man?
The Undertaker.
