Royal Rumble flashback: 5 things that happened at the 2003 Royal Rumble

The Royal Rumble is arguable the most exciting pay-per-view of the year
The Royal Rumble is arguably the most exciting pay-per-view of the year

The WWE Royal Rumble is among the most anticipated show of the year, besides Wrestlemania. The match itself is interesting due to its unpredictability with regards to special appearances, returns and the eventual winner of the match.

The 2003 Royal Rumble took place on January 19, 2003, at the Fleet Center in Boston, and was the first Royal Rumble produced under the WWE name. The event saw an attendance of over 15,000 fans at the Fleet Center. The winner of the Royal Rumble match would go on to headline Wrestlemania 19 and face either the WWE Champion Kurt Angle or World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. The match proved to be one of the best Royal Rumble matches of all time and had some memorable moments that have not been forgotten to this day.

Here are the five insane things that happened back at the 2003 Royal Rumble.


#5 Roman Reign's brother was a participant in the Rumble match

Rosey was the elder brother to Roman Reigns
Rosey was the elder brother to Roman Reigns

Rosey made his WWE debut on Raw on July 22, 2002, as a member of 3-Minute Warning, a pair of villainous savages. He was the elder brother of current top star Roman Reigns. At the time of his 2003 Royal Rumble participation, Roman Reigns was just 17 years old and was probably dreaming of being a WWE Superstar someday.

Rosey entered the 2003 Royal Rumble match at number 16 and dominated the match as soon as he entered the ring, laying waste to almost everyone present at that time. Although he didn't make a big name like Roman is today, Rosey had an intimidating physical appearance and his set of ring moves were quite impressive.

During the match, he lasted an impressive 10 minutes 16 seconds before being eliminated by Kane. Despite not having any eliminations of his own, his offensive moves were worth noting and if one watches the match now, he would confuse him with a fat version of Roman Reigns. Sadly, he died on April 17, 2017, at the age of 47 years.

#4 Shawn Michaels' early elimination

Shawn Michaels is arguably the greatest WWE in-ring performer of all time
Shawn Michaels is arguably the greatest WWE in-ring performer of all time

Shawn Michaels is regarded as the finest wrestling performer of the 1990s and 2000s. He is first WWF Grand Slam Champion and a two-time Royal Rumble winner. Michaels is one of the best performers in the history of the Royal Rumble.

His milestones at the event include winning two consecutive Royal Rumble matches, the 1995 and 1996 Rumbles. Also, he has the third longest cumulative time spent in the Royal Rumble at 3 hours 42 minutes and 30 seconds and has the second most number of eliminations at 39.

At the 2003 Royal Rumble, Michaels was drawn number one which was reminiscent of the 1995 Royal Rumble which he also drew one and outlasted the other 29 participants to win the match.

However, in 2003, things turned out differently for the "Heart Break Kid". Chris Jericho who drew number 2, attacked Michaels from behind and hit him with a chair, causing Michaels to bleed. He continued to attack Shawn before easily eliminating him to end Michael's time at 2 minutes 31 seconds.

#3 John Cena made his Royal Rumble debut

Cena was the face of the WWE for over a decade
Cena was the face of the WWE for over a decade

Cena made his WWE television debut on June 27, 2002, an episode of SmackDown by answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle. The rest, as they say, is history as Cena went on to become one of the biggest superstars of all time. At the Royal Rumble, Cena has been a top performer, winning the 2008 and 2013 Rumbles. He also has the 7th most number of eliminations in a single Royal Rumble at 7.

Before the 2003 Royal Rumble came around, Cena developed a character of a rapper who cut promos while rhyming. He made his Royal Rumble debut at the 2003 Royal Rumble match. At that time, his star was slowly rising and wrestling pundits, Jim Ross included, had labelled him the fastest rising star on the SmackDown brand and a future main event player.

Cena entered the match at number 18 and lasted an impressive 19 minutes 38 seconds, the fifth-longest time in the match behind Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, Matt Hardy and Kane who lasted 38 minutes 54 seconds, 32 minutes 56 seconds, 27 minutes 13 seconds and 20 minutes 24 seconds respectively. When Cena entered the match, he began rapping outside the ring until RVD went to the ringside and tossed him into the ring.

Despite not having any eliminations, the time he spent in the match itself was impressive. His debut was, therefore, a good one.

#2 Chris Jericho was the "iron man" of the match

Jericho is the first WWE undisputed Champion.
Jericho became the first WWE Undisputed Champion in 2001.

Chris Jericho is a record nine-time Intercontinental Champion and is remembered as the first WWE Undisputed Champion when he defeated 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin and The Rock on the same night in 2001. He has the longest cumulative time spent in Royal Rumbles at 4 hours 56 minutes.

On January 13, 2003, Jericho won an over-the-top-rope challenge against Kane, Van Dam, and Batista to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble match. He decided to choose number two in order to begin the match with Shawn Michaels, who had challenged him to prove his claims that he was better than "The Show-Stopper".

At the Royal Rumble match, Jericho quickly eliminated Shawn Michaels after a distraction by Christian. He went on to eliminate five other participants that included Rey Mysterio, Edge, Christian, Tommy Dreamer and Tajiri. Jericho spent the most time in the Royal Rumble when he clocked 38 minutes 54 seconds before being eliminated by Test following an interference from Shawn Michaels. He, therefore, had the most number of eliminations and spent the most time to make him the "iron man" of the match.

#1 Brock Lesnar won the match

Lesnar is the current Universal Champion
Lesnar is the current Universal Champion

Lesnar is a five-time world champion in WWE who won the WWE (Undisputed) Championship five months after his debut at the age of 25, to become the youngest champion in the title's history. Over 14 years ago, Lesnar took his place as the "top dog" when he won the Royal Rumble match.

On January 19, 2003, at the Royal Rumble, Lesnar defeated Big Show and entered the Royal Rumble match as the number 29 entry, the second to last competitor to enter the match. He entered the match at number 29 and started fighting everyone that was in the ring.

He eliminated Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin and then eliminated Matt Hardy by tossing him over the top rope onto Haas and Benjamin. Lesnar finally eliminated The Undertaker following a distraction by Batista to win the match. After his win, Lesnar went on to main event Wrestlemania 19 in a match against Kurt Angle in which he won the WWE Championship.