Each year, fans expect WWE to go the extra mile in delivering a huge surprise, and for the most part, WWE have done a great job in meeting fan’s expectations. Notable surprise returns at the Rumble include John Cena in 2008, Rob Van Dam in 2009, Diesel in 2011, and even Edge in 2020.

However, over the years, WWE from time-to-time has presented a surprise entrant that has left fans baffled. Nobody was crying out for this specific wrestler to return or feature in the Rumble match, and in-turn, the Rumble surprise negatively influenced the overall perception of the Rumble matchup.

So, with that being said, let’s examine the 10 WORST Royal Rumble surprise entrants.

10: Ricardo Rodriguez (Royal Rumble 2012)

There’s nothing worse than a lifeless Royal Rumble match, and the 2012 Rumble match was up there with the most lacklustre.

The problem with the match was that there was a lack of story being intertwined into the match, and the surprise entrants were shockingly bad.

One of the surprise entrants was Alberto Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez would enter the match by using Del Rio’s car, and he even dressed as the former WWE Champion. This surprise entrant was a complete waste of time, and only served to make Vince McMahon laugh. Rodriguez would last just over two-minutes before being eliminated by future rival, Santino Marella.

9: Michael Cole (Royal Rumble 2012)

Speaking of the 2012 Royal Rumble, one of the most frustrating elements of the match was the inclusion of commentators as surprise entrants. Jerry Lawler and Booker T would both enter from the commentary desk, yet when Michael Cole entered the match, the joke had officially run its course.

Cole would enter in his hideous orange singlet, and he would have an exchange with Kharma, before being eliminated by fellow commentators Lawler and Booker.

WWE had clearly run out of compelling ideas when it came to the 2012 Rumble, which was a shame, as they had a talented roster, and they could have easily contacted a select number of legends to cameo in the annual matchup.  

8: Bob Backlund (Royal Rumble 2000)

Most modern-day WWE fans may be under the impression that surprise entrants in the Royal Rumble is a newer concept, yet even in the year 2000, during the height of the Attitude Era, WWE were still booking surprise entrants for the popular match.

The 2000 Rumble took place at Madison Square Garden, and for the most part, it was a well-received Rumble, yet the presentation of surprise entrant, Bob Backlund left a lot to be desired.

When Backlund entered the match, the crowd initially popped, yet the pop quickly turned into confusion, and Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler on commentary were basically making out that the once credible former WWE Champion was a novelty act.

Backlund would last an underwhelming two-minutes before he was thrown out by Chris Jericho.

7: The Godfather (Royal Rumble 2013)

If WWE brings a legend in for the Royal Rumble matchup, it’s important that WWE treat them with respect.

When WWE decided to make The Godfather a surprise entrant in the 2013 Rumble, WWE treated the popular star as a complete afterthought.

When Godfather’s music hit, he received a great response, which was wonderful to see, as a lot of the fans in attendance may not have been overly familiar with Godfather’s work. Unfortunately, Godfather’s run in the match would last just 5-seconds, yes that’s right, 5-seconds, before he was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler.

On paper, the idea of The Godfather being a surprise entrant was an exciting one, yet WWE unfortunately completely mishandled the execution of the surprise.

6: Nia Jax – Royal Rumble 2023

The #30 position in the Royal Rumble spot has become the most prestigious spot in the entire match, and each year, fans expect WWE to deliver a huge name in the lucrative spot.

In 2023, during the women’s Royal Rumble, before the countdown timer had even commenced, Nia Jax’s theme randomly began to play. During this time, Jax wasn’t signed to WWE, so WWE had recklessly given away their big surprise for the match.

Fans were completely let down by Jax’s surprise return, as Jax didn’t have the best reputation amongst the fans, and fans expected WWE to go-all out with the #30 spot.

Jax’s return would eventually lead to a full-time return later in the calendar year, which has been booked well by Triple H, and it’s evident that Jax has put in considerable effort to improve in the ring. Nevertheless, this doesn’t take away from the initial disappointment of her Rumble return.

5: Brock Lesnar (Royal Rumble 2022)

The 2022 men’s Royal Rumble received overwhelmingly negative reviews from fans.

The match was poorly booked, and the eventual winner of the match was the laziest, and most underwhelming option possible.

Brock Lesnar had lost his WWE Title earlier in the show, and Lesnar decided to enter the Rumble match, and naturally, Lesnar went on to win the entire thing.

This was disappointing, as WWE had devoted so many huge wins to Lesnar, and he without question didn’t need another Rumble victory.

WWE’s master plan was to deliver a Title vs. Title unification match at WrestleMania 38 between Lesnar and Roman Reigns. This wasn’t something fans were pushing for, and the 2022 Rumble was yet another indicator that Vince McMahon had lost touch with what fans wanted to see.

4: Dolph Ziggler (Royal Rumble 2018)

Dolph Ziggler’s character arc between 2017-2018 was a complete mess. When Ziggler won the US Title in late 2017, Ziggler declared that the fans didn’t appreciate him, so he placed the title in the ring, and left.

Fast-forward to the 2018 Rumble, and Ziggler dramatically returned in the number 30 spot to the utter confusion of the fans. Ziggler’s character arc had made no sense, and it didn’t help that Ziggler’s return had leaked online hours before.

Ziggler wasn’t the surprise return fans wanted, and his 2018 Rumble stint would be short lived as he would last just two-minutes before Finn Balor eliminated him.

Ziggler’s surprise return could have worked, that’s if his storyline was remotely engaging, yet WWE had done such a poor job with Ziggler’s character that fans simply didn’t care.

Thankfully, Ziggler’s return aside, it didn’t take away from the magic of the 2018 Rumble, as the 2018 Rumble is often considered to be one of, if not the greatest Rumble of the past decade.

3: Roman Reigns (Royal Rumble 2017)

It always receives a mixed response when WWE books a wrestler that already had a World Title match on the show, in the annual Royal Rumble match. In 2017, Roman Reigns had been defeated by Kevin Owens earlier in the show, and despite this match being for the World Title, Reigns was somehow eligible to enter the Rumble match.

Reigns would enter the match in the number 30 position, and the fans were furious. The fans had already seen Reigns have a match on the show, and they had zero interest in seeing Reigns yet again.

The fans heavily booed everything Reigns did, and the reason for his inclusion in the match was to set up his WrestleMania match with The Undertaker.

It’s never been made clear why certain wrestlers who had a World Title match on the same show are allowed to enter the Rumble. This has happened time and time again, yet from a kayfabe perspective, shouldn’t every wrestler who lost their World Title match just re-enter the match in the hopes of winning it back?

2: Ronda Rousey (Royal Rumble 2022)

Heading into the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble, fans were firmly pushing for a Sasha Banks victory. Banks vs. Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania was clearly being set up on WWE TV, and fans were more than happy with this being one of the top matches on the WrestleMania match card.

However, when Ronda Rousey decided to return to the company, these creative plans were thrown out the window.

Rousey returned at the 2022 Rumble in the number 28 position, and she received a decent ovation, yet fans were confused as to whether Rousey was a heel or a babyface. The last time Rousey was in WWE, she was the top heel in the women’s division, and her in-ring work during the match did little to inform fans of her current status.

Rousey would end up winning the match, and this move received widespread backlash, especially because Rousey was showing a ton of ring rust, and fans questioned whether Rousey was truly ready to step back in the squared circle.

1: Shane McMahon (Royal Rumble 2022)

Shane McMahon’s once positive reputation was ruined forever at the 2022 Royal Rumble. Shane acted as an agent for the match, and Shane booked himself to be presented as one of the main stars in the now infamous matchup.

Shane would enter as a surprise at number 28, and he would eliminate fan favourite, Kevin Owens. It’s worth noting that Shane was in essence a non-wrestler, and he was seen going toe-to-toe with top-stars as if he rightfully belonged.

Shane would book himself in the final four of the match, and one of the worst things about this surprise return was that Shane’s performance was abysmal.

The superior presentation of the former European Champion was heavily panned online, and even the WWE talent knew that Shane had gone way too far. The feedback to the Rumble was so overwhelmingly negative, that it led to Vince McMahon cutting ties with Shane, and firing his own son from the company.

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