Shawn Michaels has a confession that will surprise fans who know him as Mr. WrestleMania: he prefers the Royal Rumble. Speaking on the Club 520 podcast, Michaels explained the reasoning behind the preference, framing it in terms of the very different kinds of pressure each event places on the performers involved.
He described WrestleMania as requiring total individual focus and accountability for every element of a performance, a singular pressure that intensifies as the calendar approaches the event.
“From a pure fun standpoint, the Rumble is more fun because it’s not as pressure and 100% focused on you,” Michaels said. “It’s more about the entire match and just the idea. I’m very happy. I feel like the Rumble has gotten bigger than it was in our day. I think it’s become so much more special over time. People have really began to appreciate the Rumble and everything that goes on with it. When it’s 100% on you like it is at WrestleMania, that’s when you have the stress, the anxiety, the pressure of making sure you go out there and deliver.” he added
Michaels won the Royal Rumble in both 1995 and 1996, making him the second back-to-back winner in the event’s history after Hulk Hogan. His 1995 victory remains one of the more memorable in Rumble history, with Michaels entering at number one and lasting the full duration of the match to claim the win and earn his first WrestleMania main event opportunity.
Michaels currently serves as WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative and NXT head coach, overseeing the next generation of talent from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.