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The Royal Rumble, WWE's first PPV of the year, is almost upon us. It's time to look back and reflect on some of the good and the bad to occur throughout the history of one of WWE's most highly-anticipated events. In most cases, the winner of a Royal Rumble match goes on to challenge for a top title in the main event of WrestleMania.
Even though outcomes in professional wrestling are pre-determined, there is still room for errors. A small botch or miscalculation occurring in the Royal Rumble match is enough to affect a major storyline or feud leading into the Showcase of the Immortals.
With many Superstars competing in the ring at the same time, things are bound to go wrong.
WWE usually deals with the setbacks by turning them into a storyline to make fans believe it was all planned. Sometimes, they even change the rules to have a fitting explanation for the slip-up.
These five moments were not supposed to happen at the WWE Royal Rumble, and you might not have known they were unscripted.
#5 John Cena and Batista get eliminated at the same time and Mr. McMahon tears his quads - WWE Royal Rumble 2005
In 1994, Lex Luger and Bret Hart eliminated each other at the same time from the Royal Rumble match, and as a result, they were ruled as co-winners. That was perfectly fine because it was booked to happen that way.
However, during the 2005 Royal Rumble match, a similar thing transpired between former WWE Champions John Cena and Batista. Both men went over the rope and landed on the floor simultaneously, but the only difference was this was not part of the plan.
Batista was supposed to win the match by eliminating John Cena and then having a title match at WWE WrestleMania 21. Vince McMahon stormed down the ring and accidentally tore both his quads while trying to enter the ring to deal with the situation.
While the referees and the two wrestlers were debating who the real winner was, the Chairman just sat on the canvas barking orders. Eventually, the match was restarted, and the right person, Batista, won the bout.
If you are yet to watch this unbelievable moment at the climax of one of WWE's biggest nights of the calendar year, one strongly recommends that you go and check it out.
#4 "Macho Man" Randy Savage eliminates himself? - WWE Royal Rumble 1992
The 1992 Royal Rumble was a very memorable event. For the first time, the WWE World Championship was on the line, which Ric Flair won. However, the Rumble match didn't pan out without a hitch, thanks to WWE Hall of Famer "Macho Man" Randy Savage.
Savage, who was involved in a feud with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, eliminated the latter from the bout, but that apparently wasn't enough for him.
Randy Savage proceeded to jump over the top rope onto Jake, which was a huge blunder. In normal circumstances, a wrestler going over the top rope would count as a self-elimination, but because this was a slip-up, WWE had to come up with a way to fix it.
The commentators improvised by stating that since "Macho Man" jumped over the top rope on his own and wasn't thrown out by another competitor, he was still in the match.
Savage returned to the ring, but he went on to get eliminated anyway, which rendered the whole improvisation meaningless since Savage's re-entry didn't lead to anything significant.
#3 Alex Riley accidentally gets eliminated - WWE Royal Rumble 2011
Alex Riley was being pushed as a heel Superstar by WWE in 2011. He had the potential to be a star, and he was getting a lot of exposure as The Miz's sidekick.
During that year's Royal Rumble match, which was the largest at that time with 40 participants, Alex Riley was booked to eliminate John Cena from the match.
Unfortunately for Riley, he eliminated himself by falling out of the ring while being beaten up by Cena and Kofi Kingston in the corner. The Leader of the Cenation was left stunned that the person who was supposed to eliminate him... got eliminated.
Thankfully, WWE managed to develop a new plan by having The Miz, who was the WWE Champion at that time, interfere in the match and toss Cena over the top rope.
At WrestleMania 27, John Cena challenged Miz for the WWE Championship, but he failed to capture the title after The Rock cost him the match.
Meanwhile, former WWE star Alberto Del Rio won the 40-man Royal Rumble match and lost his World title match at WrestleMania against The Rated-R Superstar Edge.
#2 "Stone Cold" Steve Austin's accidental elimination - WWE Royal Rumble 1996
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is arguably one of the greatest competitors in Royal Rumble history. He has won the match three times, a record that still stands in WWE today. However, his first appearance in the Royal Rumble match was something he'd rather forget.
In 1996, before he adopted the "Stone Cold" moniker, Austin was known as The Ringmaster. He was a heelish wrestler who allied himself with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase's Million Dollar Corporation.
During his WWE Royal Rumble match debut that year, Austin was accidentally eliminated from the match despite being scheduled to be the fourth-to-last competitor left in the ring. During an interaction with Bleacher Report, the WWE Hall of Famer revealed:
"I was supposed to be like the fourth-to-last guy left in the ring, a pretty damn good spot and a pretty good shove from the company for a guy coming in. I did a clothesline spot with Fatu and was going to hang onto the top rope and come back in. Well, the thing was, everybody was wearing baby oil in those days, so the ropes and everything was very, very slippery, and I couldn’t grab the top rope, and I ended up on my a** on the floor, eliminated early."
Even though he botched his first Rumble appearance, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin went on to win two consecutive Royal Rumble matches in 1997 and 1998 and another one in 2001.
#1 The Rock's feet touch the floor - WWE Royal Rumble 2000
The 2000 WWE Royal Rumble match saw The Rock flipping Big Show over the top rope to win the match, but not without some controversy.
Both Superstars went over the top rope, but The Rock's feet touched the floor first. The Great One was a popular babyface during this time, and everybody wanted him to win the match.
WWE decided to turn the botch into a storyline, with Big Show arguing that he was the real winner. Both were eventually inserted into the title bout at the Show of Shows along with Triple H and Mankind, making it a Fatal Four-Way match, which The Game won.
In 2014, The Rock returned to WWE Monday Night RAW, where he met up with Big Show backstage. The People's Champion told the World's Largest Athlete that he watched the 2000 Royal Rumble and agreed that Big Show won the match.
The Rock also added that the director of The Scorpion King said whoever won the 30-man match would star in the film. He said it should've been Big Show who was supposed to be a Hollywood star, leaving the giant in tears.
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