The history of the Royal Rumble is one rich in tradition. Every year, 30 of the top stars in sports-entertainment battle for the right to head to WrestleMania and challenge for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. One man emerges victorious, their ticket to the biggest show of the year cashed. The other 29 competitors see their dreams crumble before their very eyes, coming to a disappointing end the moment they are thrown over the top rope and their feet hit the ground.
The road to the grandest stage the industry has to offer is rarely one lacking bumps. Throughout the near three-decade history of the event, fans have watched in shock and awe at some of the events that have unfolded.
Whether it was Vince McMahon’s stunning upset win in the 1999 battle royal, Kane’s unprecedented dominance in the 2001 main event or the company exploiting the Gulf War by crowning Iraqi turncoat Sgt. Slaughter its heavyweight champion, the show is rich with moments that made the jaws of many fans drop.
The 2015 edition of the annual spectacular is sure to follow suit, especially taking into consideration the wild and chaotic scene the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match is sure to be, not to mention the Rumble match itself.
In preparation for what is sure to be an event that inspires buzz and stuns the fans watching via WWE Network and other pay-per-view outlets, relive these 10 most shocking moments in Royal Rumble history.
10. Kane Dominates (2001)
Kane was an elite performer, one of the handful of Superstars Vince McMahon regularly promoted to main events and trusted to help carry his brand. With that said, no one could have expected the quality performance turned in by the Big Red Machine in the 2001 Royal Rumble match.
Kane entered at No. 6 and immediately targeted comedian Drew Carey. From there, he pummeled the entire hardcore division, eliminating the likes of Raven and Steve Blackman before busting a guitar over the head of the legendary Honky Tonk Man and sending him crashing to the arena floor.
From there, he partnered with brother The Undertaker to pummel poor Scotty Too Hotty and mixed it up with icons of the Attitude Era in “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock.
In the process, Kane set a new record for eliminations in a single Rumble match with 11. Unfortunately, no matter how dominant the Superstar was, he could not overcome the raw passion of Steve Austin, who blasted him with a chair shot and clotheslined him over the top and to the arena floor after nearly an hour of action.
Kane’s historic record for eliminations stood for 13 years before Roman Reigns surpassed it by one in 2014.
9. Beth Phoenix Enters The Royal Rumble (2010)
In 2010, Beth Phoenix became the second woman to enter the Royal Rumble, following in the footsteps of the Ninth Wonder of the World, Chyna, who made history 11 years earlier.
Phoenix entered at No. 6 and wasted little time ensuring that fans would never, ever forget her appearance in the bout.
After Great Khali refused to fight her, depositing her on the ring apron and ordering her to the arena floor, Phoenix planted a huge lip lock on the Punjabi Playboy. The kiss was so passionate, so convincing that it allowed the former women’s and Divas champion to lull the one-time heavyweight champion into a false sense of security and pull him right over the top rope and to the floor below.
The fans in Atlanta popped for the unexpected elimination and their excitement grew tenfold when Phoenix blasted the loud-mouthed, Straight Edge Savior CM Punk with a big clothesline. At one point, she even hoisted him on her shoulders, prepared to deposit him to the ground below.
The Go To Sleep by Punk ultimately ended her night but Phoenix had accomplished something Chyna never did: deliver a memorable Rumble performance.
8. Hulk Hogan “Accidentally” Eliminates Randy Savage (1989)
The Mega Powers were the strongest force in professional wrestling, a team consisting of the two most popular babyfaces in the industry. Their bond was unbreakable, no matter how hard villains such as Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant tried to pull them apart.
As is the case with any great partnership, however, it was ego and jealousy that ultimately proved the Mega Powers’ undoing.
While attempting to eliminate Bad News Brown, Hulk Hogan dumped partner “Macho Man” Randy Savage to the floor, eliminating the then-WWE champion. An irate Savage climbed right back in the squared circle and confronted the Hulkster, and rightfully so. He suspected that Hogan had deliberately eliminated him and disguised it as an attempt to help get rid of the Brooklyn native Brown.
Fans could not believe that Savage had been ousted as early as he was, nor did they want to believe that the once-strong unit would show the signs of implosion that it did.
7. Sgt. Slaughters Wins The WWE Championship (1991)
When the United States went to war with Sadaam Hussein over Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, among other reasons, Vince McMahon saw the opportunity to introduce a new lead villain to his broadcast. Sgt. Slaughter returned to WWE programming a new man. Gone was the rah-rah, “go USA” former drill instructor and in his place was an Iraqi sympathizer who had become disenfranchised with the country he currently lived in.
Touting his friendship with Hussein, Slaughter suddenly found himself on the receiving end of very real heat. Death threats were a regular occurrence but that did not stop the heel from invoking the name of the Iraqi dictator.
In 1991, his improbable return to the company culminated when he capitalized on interference from Randy Savage to defeat the Ultimate Warrior and win the WWE Championship. Speculation had begun running rampant that the title change would occur but no one really believed that McMahon would pass up the guaranteed cash cow that would be the Warrior-Hulk Hogan WrestleMania rematch until Slaughter captured the title.
The win left fans stunned, not just because the dream rematch was no longer a reality but because McMahon had invested so much time and energy on a guy who, months earlier, may have been looked at as old and over the hill.
6. Wait…Co-Winners? (1994)
In January 1994, Vince McMahon had no idea which one of his company’s top babyfaces he wanted to dethrone Yokozuna for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania X.
He had invested a great deal of time and money in pushing “Made in the USA” Lex Luger as Hulk Hogan 2.0 and had built a solid story out of his journey to defeat the champion in the name of all things America.
But Bret Hart had a connection with fans that could not be replicated in the merchandising and marketing rooms. It was real, organic and helped keep him over and relevant, no matter how hard management attempted to shuffle him into the background in favor of Luger.
With no real, definitive favorite in mind, McMahon booked Hart and Luger to become the first co-winners in Royal Rumble history. Both men tumbled over the rope and to the arena floor, their feet hitting the ground at the same time. Replays abounded but no clear angle of who really won the match could be found. Referees argued, President Jack Tunney made his presence felt and still, no winner was determined.
It was then that a confused Howard Finkel announced the decision, much to the dismay of an audience clearly behind Hart.
Those fans would be happy when the Hitman eventually advanced to WrestleMania X and defeated Yokozuna to capture the WWE Championship.
5. Mr. McMahon Wins The Royal Rumble
In January 1999, Vince McMahon was the epitome of a heel fans were willing to pay to see get his ass kicked.
At the Royal Rumble, he entered the 30-man match at No. 2, at the order of WWE commissioner Shawn Michaels, and stood face-to-face with his most hated rival, the rebellious “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The Texas Rattlesnake beat the unholy out of McMahon, taking him through the stands and into the arena’s concourse, where he suddenly found himself under attack by The Corporation.
Beaten and left lying unconscious, clearly in need of medical attention, Austin was stretchered out of the arena and driven to a local hospital in an ambulance. In true Stone Cold fashion, however, he commandeered the vehicle and returned to the arena. He pummeled McMahon some more but could not help but become distracted by WWE champion The Rock, who made his way to ringside late in the contest.
This allowed a McMahon barely able to stand to grab hold of Austin’s leg and dump him over the top rope.
The Chairman of the Board celebrated the victory as if he had worked hard to overcome his 29 opponents. It was that celebration that made it that much easier to despise the megalomaniacal villain.
4. Kane Betrays His Brother (1998)
Entering the 1998 Royal Rumble, it appeared as though Kane and Undertaker had put their sibling rivalry and past issues behind them in a concentrated effort to battle D-Generation X’s Shawn Michaels and Triple H. If it was true, if the brother of destruction had reconciled, there was no chance in hell that Michaels would be able to retain his WWE Championship in the night’s Casket match main event.
But Kane’s reunion with The Undertaker was nothing more than a sham, a ruse to give he and Paul Heyman a psychological advantage over the Deadman and, more importantly, an opportunity to end him permanently.
The Big Red Monster trapped his brother inside the casket, chopped it with an ax and proceeded to douse it in gasoline. From there, he used a pack of matches to ignite what he thought was his brother’s final resting place, watching from mere feet away as flames engulfed it.
More shocking than Kane’s betrayal was the fact that, when crew members opened up the still-smoking casket, there was no sign of the Phenom.
3. Shawn Michaels Goes The Distance (1995)
Prior to the 1995 Royal Rumble, no Superstar had ever entered the match at No. 1 and lasted all the way to the end of the bout, winning it and earning a shot at the WWE Championship. After all, to do so would mean said competitor would have to outlast 29 opponents, a feat even Superman himself could not accomplish.
Shawn Michaels set out to prove that he could do anything he wanted if given the opportunity and he did just that. In the shortest Royal Rumble in WWE history, a fact that is oftentimes overshadowed by Michaels’ still impressive accomplishment, the Heartbreak Kid fought off the challenge of “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith and other top stars to win the Rumble and earn the right to challenge former friend Diesel for the WWE title at the biggest show of the year.
Posing with Pamela Anderson, who would accompany him for his title match (at least according to pre-match stipulations), Michaels basked in the spotlight, knowing full well that he had etched his name in a history book few Superstars could ever imagine opening, let alone becoming part of.
To this day, only Michaels and Chris Benoit can lay claim to entering at No. 1 and winning the contest.
2. The Deadman Rises (1994)
The Undertaker lost a Casket match to Yokozuna at the 1994 Royal Rumble when 10 heels ganged up on the Phenom and forced him into the double deep, double wide casket. As the group of baddies wheeled the Undertaker’s final resting place up the aisle, the lights dimmed and the Deadman appeared on the video screen.
“Be not proud, for the everlasting spirit of The Undertaker, lives in the souls of all mankind,” he began, addressing those who had wronged him. He would vow never to rest in peace before being struck by lightning. Or something like that.
An explosion occurred and “The Undertaker” rose from the video screen, high into the air in one of the most surreal moments ever produced by WWE.
Sure, the guy hovering above the fans was really just Marty Jannetty in the Phenom’s familiar attire but it still made for a completely shocking moment, the likes of which may never be seen again.
1. John Cena’s Surprise Return (2008)
In October 2007, John Cena’s year-long WWE Championship reign came to a premature end when he suffered a torn pectoral muscle that would sideline him for six-to-eight months. The company suddenly was without the top babyface in the industry for nearly a year, their best backup planning being another Triple H babyface run that likely would have failed as miserably as every other one had before it.
Still, The Game was the favorite to win the Royal Rumble match in January 2008 and head to WrestleMania to challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Champion, reigniting the rivalry between the former Evolution teammates.
And for a good bit of time, it appeared as though the Cerebral Assassin actually would win, as expected. Then, the clock counted down, each second that passed bringing the 2008 Rumble one step closer to its conclusion. When the buzzer sounded, the fans erupted into one of the loudest reactions in event history as Cena’s music played over the PA system and the franchise player walked through the curtain.
A smile a mile wide on his face, Cena stepped into Madison Square Garden and soaked in the moment, the reaction and the fact that he had made on the of most improbable recoveries known to men. After only three months, he was back and ready to win him a Royal Rumble match.
And that is exactly what he did, delivering an Attitude Adjustment that sent Triple H over the top rope and scored Cena his first Rumble victory.
Still proof that surprises are possible, even in the Internet age of sports-entertainment.
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