Shawn Michaels was sick ahead of Royal Rumble 1997.
WWE's iconic annual event first began in 1988, with Shawn Michaels taking part in every edition from 1989 until 1998. In those 10 years, HBK competed in the Royal Rumble match 6 times, winning it back-to-back in 1995 and 1996. The year after his second win, Michaels attempted to regain the WWE Championship in his hometown of San Antonio against Sycho Sid.
Appearing on the most recent edition of WWE's The Bump, Shawn discussed his feud with Sid and shared that what he remembers the most about their program was being sick with the flu the night before their match at the Royal Rumble.
"Honestly, the thing that I remember most about that is having the flu and being up all night and being incredibly sick going out there for that event [Royal Rumble 1997]. Worst I've ever felt before any show. Of course, it happens in your hometown, ironically. But honestly, everything with Sid was fun. Unbelievable character. The thing is, everyone wants to go out there in front of their hometown at a huge event and have a great showing, so for me, that was honestly the biggest thing about it. It sounds cliche, worked and wrestled San Antonio many times, but to have a big huge event and win the Championship, it's one of those all-around, feel-good, real-life stories that you carry with you for a long time. Again, something that you can't always make sure is going to happen in your career, but all these aspects, everything lined up together and it turned out to be a pretty cool thing. Especially looking back all these years later, I have a much better appreciation of those things now than when I was going through them in real-time," Michaels said.
Shawn Michaels defeated Sid at Royal Rumble 1997, winning the WWF Championship for the second time in his career. 25 days later, Michaels would relinquish the belt, saying that a knee injury was forcing him into retirement and that he had to find his smile again. He would return in May and would eventually recapture the WWF's top prize at Survivor Series against Bret "Hitman" Hart.
The 2022 WWE Royal Rumble is set to take place next Saturday, January 29. The full card for the event can be seen here.
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