The Royal Rumble is seemingly the easiest concept in the world to understand. Entrants enter at regular intervals. You need to eliminate each other until one person is left in the match. You need to be thrown over the top rope and both feet need to touch the floor for a person to be eliminated.
Yet, somehow, the WWE have somehow managed to mess up and complicate this very simple concept. Let’s look at how the rules have become somewhat confusing over the years.
#1 Royal Rumble 1996 – Shawn Michaels is eliminated by Vader
This was Vader’s WWF debut. The Royal Rumble match was won by Shawn Michaels. However, during the match, Vader threw Shawn Michaels out of the ring, after he and Yokozuna had eliminated each other.
WWE explained that the elimination did NOT count because Vader had been eliminated, however, over the years, a number of men have been eliminated EXACTLY the same way, and the eliminations counted.
Also read: 25 Interesting Royal Rumble facts that will stun you
It was even more significant because Shawn Michaels actually won the match, so Vader eliminating him added a huge asterisk to the win. Shawn Michaels and Vader would go in contrasting directions after this event, mainly stemming from their issues with each other.
Michaels would win the WWE Championship from Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII and face Vader at SummerSlam 1996. Michaels vs Vader was meant to be a 3 match series, with matches at Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble, in San Antonio.
However, Sid replaced Vader in the program, after Michaels criticised Vader’s work to the WWE officials and refused to work with him again on a PPV.
#2 Royal Rumble 1993 – Giant Gonzalez eliminates The Undertaker
Now, if Shawn Michaels was allowed to win the Royal Rumble in 1996, because the rule is, you must be eliminated by someone in the match, then why was the Undertaker eliminated by the Giant Gonzalez who wasn’t even entered into the match?
This was Giant Gonzalez’s WWE debut, during a time when The Undertaker was solely programmed with huge giants, such as Giant Gonzalez, Kamala, Yokozuna, King Kong Bundy and others.
Gonzalez attacked Undertaker and chopped him over the top rope. It was acknowledged as an elimination, and Undertaker walked to the back as soon as he recovered from the attack.
Undertaker and Gonzalez went on to work an awful program throughout 1993, culminating at SummerSlam. Gonzalez was gone shortly after.
#3 Royal Rumble 1992 – The Macho Man jumps out
Randy Savage was involved in a memorable feud with Jake Roberts.
The feud stemmed from Roberts ruining Savage’s wedding with Elizabeth at SummerSlam 1991, slapping Elizabeth in the face at Tuesday in Texas and having his Cobra bite Randy Savage. All three angles are STILL remembered by wrestling fans.
Understandably, Savage was angry. So angry, that he he entered the Royal Rumble match, eliminated Roberts and then preceded to jump over the top rope to continue the beating on Jake.
However, Randy was allowed to re-enter the ring afterwards, as the WWE claimed that the rule was, “You have to be eliminated by someone else.” Ric Flair went on to win the 1992 Royal Rumble and become WWF Champion, which was on the line in this Rumble.
The 1992 Royal Rumble is considered by many, to be the greatest Royal Rumble match of all-time.
#4 Royal Rumble 1997 – Mil Mascaras jumps out
Yes, I understand this has the same title as No. 3, but that’s because the EXACT same thing happened! Mil Mascaras decided to climb to the top turnbuckle and jump on somebody outside the ring.
Officials determined that Mill had eliminated himself. However, in 1992, officials decided that Randy Savage was allowed back into the Royal Rumble.
Mil Mascaras, at the time, was considered to be one of the most influential wrestlers of all time for enhancing and popularizing the lucha libre style around the world both in the ring and as the star of 20 films.
The elimination was probably booked as a way to protect Mascaras in the match so as to have nobody eliminate him, as he had a reputation for refusing to do jobs.
He was bought in at the 1997 Royal Rumble, along with a host of other mexican stars, to attract the large number of mexicans living in the San Antonio area, in order to fulfil WWF’s goal of selling 60,000 tickets.
Twenty years later, this year’s Royal Rumble takes place in the very same venue.
#5 Royal Rumble 1998 – Foley enters THREE times
Okay, it was fun, but how was this allowed? Dude Love, Cactus Jack and Mankind all entered the Royal Rumble at different times, and all of them failed to win the event. However, surely the WWE rules prohibit someone entering 3 times, just because they have 3 characters.
This would have surely have opened the door for Mr Jacobs to enter the Rumble as Kane, get eliminated and then return as a Dentist and fake Diesel? It also opens the door for Finn Balor to enter this year, get eliminated and return later on as the Demon King. Mick Foley certainly bent the unpublished rules in 1998.
Check out my podcast “The Dirty Sheets.” We will be dropping 5-7 shows a week, as we get on this unpredictable road to WrestleMania 33, that runs through the Royal Rumble this Sunday.
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