The old clause of ‘card subject to change’ is especially the case when it comes to WWE’s annual Royal Rumble matchup.

Throughout the years, WWE have advertised certain names to appear in the match, yet for various reasons, they have been replaced by another wrestler on the roster.

These reasons can range from the advertised wrestler being injured, or WWE simply changing creative direction, and if the latter is the case, WWE will still usually incorporate the replaced wrestler on the PPV event in some capacity.

So, with that being said, let’s look at 11 wrestlers who were outright replaced in the Royal Rumble match.

11: Chavo Guerrero – Royal Rumble 2009

Chavo Guerrero was listed on WWE.COM on the day of the 2009 Royal Rumble as an official entrant. However, during the Jeff Hardy vs. Edge WWE Title match, Guerrero was taken out of action, meaning WWE had to find a suitable replacement.

In a welcomed move, WWE picked the legend himself, the inaugural Rumble winner, Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Duggan received a warm reception from the audience, and it was awesome to see Duggan mix it up with the modern-day talent. Speaking about the appearance on The Hacksaw Hour, Duggan revealed that he truly appreciated how much the current roster put him over in the match:

"That was great, man, it really was. Nobody expected it, including me, it was a great pop it really was. Of course, they put me over, I went down there and everybody was taking bumps for me, the bang, the boom. I think The Big Show put me out.. When I went back through the curtain Vince McMahon was there and he says, 'That was a hell of a sign of respect out there the kids showed you,' I said, 'Yeah, I appreciate that, everybody really put me over, even the top guys.'"

10: Test – Royal Rumble 2004

The 2004 Royal Rumble received widespread acclaim when it first took place. In later years, due to Chris Benoit winning the match, the legacy of the match itself has been tarnished, which is a shame, as outside of Benoit’s involvement, the match is tremendously booked, and WWE at its very best.

Former Intercontinental Champion, Test was initially advertised for the annual matchup, yet when it came time for Test to enter the match, WWE cut to the backstage area, where Test was lying there unconscious.

It later surfaced that Test was attacked by the Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley, and Stone Cold had subsequently ordered Foley to take Test’s place in the matchup. What followed was a brilliant spot which saw Foley attack his arch-rival, Randy Orton, setting up their eventual showdowns at WrestleMania 20 and Backlash 2004.

9: Headbanger Mosh – Royal Rumble 1999

Due to the feud between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon being the hottest thing in the company, WWE made the bold move to revolve the 1999 Royal Rumble around the aforementioned storyline. Both Austin and McMahon would be involved in the Rumble, and outside of any Austin and McMahon plot threads, the main talking point of the match was the WWE return of Mabel.

#11 in the annual matchup was supposed to be Headbanger Mosh, yet he was attacked backstage by Mabel.

Mabel would then take his place in the match, and when he walked out, his music began to play, implying that it’s an official rule in WWE that if you attack a fellow wrestler backstage, you can legitimately take their place in the Rumble matchup.

Mabel’s run in the match would be short-lived, as he would be attacked by The Ministry of Darkness, which eventually set up Mabel’s involvement in the notable faction, where he would be re-named as Viscera.

8: Lo Down – Royal Rumble 2001

1999 wasn’t the only time in which Mosh was replaced in the Royal Rumble. In 2001, Mosh was using the name Chaz and was in an infamous tag-team with the talented, D-Lo Brown.

Lo Down had won a tag-team match on Sunday Night Heat before the Rumble, which secured their place in the matchup. However, in an awkward backstage segment, Vince McMahon informed the duo that they had been replaced in the match by Drew Carey.

Many Attitude Era fans label the segment as the downfall of their careers, as it was a humiliating segment that completely annihilated any credibility the duo had left.

7: Nunzio – Royal Rumble 2005

The Royal Rumble is often used to set up WrestleMania storylines, and the way WWE set up Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle in 2005 was incredible.

Angle was furious that he had lost his WWE Title match earlier in the show, and when he saw Nunzio backstage, Angle decided to take Nunzio’s number, and claim his spot in the match.

Angle spent 30-seconds in the match causing havoc, that was until Shawn Michaels crushed his WrestleMania dreams with a shocking elimination.

Angle wouldn’t let this go lightly, as he would end up brutalising HBK, which planted the seeds for their classic showdown at WrestleMania 21 just a few months later.

6: R-Truth – Royal Rumble 2019

R-Truth had earned the prestigious number 30 spot in the 2019 Royal Rumble matchup, yet the WWE veteran was unable to make it to the ring.

As Truth was making his entrance, he would be attacked by Nia Jax, and in a twist, nobody saw coming, Jax dramatically entered the men’s Rumble.

This was arguably the highlight of a dull Rumble, and it saw Jax receive a 619 and even receive an RKO.

WWE booked Jax’s involvement perfectly, as it would have been easy for the spot to turn into a parody, yet everyone played their part well, and the thousands of fans in attendance loved what they were seeing.

5: Scotty 2 Hotty – Royal Rumble 2005

Nunzio wasn’t the only wrestler who didn’t make it into the 2005 Royal Rumble.

As popular star, Scotty 2 Hotty made his way to the ring, he was attacked by Muhammad Hassan on the ramp.

This was done to get extra heel heat on Hassan, yet it was disappointing that WWE didn’t deliver a replacement for Scotty, meaning that the match ended up being contested between 29 wrestlers, instead of the traditional 30.

4: Curtis Axel – Royal Rumble 2015

As Curtis Axel was making his entrance at the 2015 Royal Rumble, he would be attacked by Erick Rowan. Rowan would then take Axel’s place in the match and would proceed to last a lacklustre 51-seconds.

Axel’s work following the Rumble was ingenious, as Axel embraced the fact that he was unable to enter the match, and he proceeded to claim that he was the true winner of the 2015 Rumble.

The 2015 Rumble has a rotten reputation amongst the fans, and rightly so; however, Axel’s #AxelMania storyline was at least one positive thing that surfaced from the Rumble itself.

3: John Cena – Royal Rumble 2019

Fans were elated when it was confirmed that the legendary, John Cena would be entering the 2019 Royal Rumble.

By this point in 2019, Cena had won the majority of fans over, and he would typically receive unanimous support in his matches, which was a stark contrast to the reception to him in prior years.

Unfortunately, on the weekend of the event, WWE released an official statement which declared:

“As first revealed on WWE Now this afternoon, John Cena will not compete in the Men's Royal Rumble Match tonight due to his ankle injury. Shortly afterward, Cathy Kelley revealed that Braun Strowman will replace Cena in the Rumble. Cena first sustained the left ankle injury during the main event of the Jan. 14 episode of Raw. In that match, the 16-time World Champion faced Finn Bálor, Baron Corbin and Drew McIntyre for the right to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at the WWE Royal Rumble event.”

“…the injury occurred when McIntyre trapped Cena in the ankle lock submission hold. Cena then appears to favor his left ankle while leaving the ring after Raw went off the air. The Cenation Leader was unable to sufficiently recover in time for tonight's 30-Man Royal Rumble Match, and has been ruled out of the bout as a result.”

Cena’s replacement in the match, that being Strowman, would go on to do extremely well, and would last until the final two before being eliminated by eventual winner, Seth Rollins.

2: Lana – Royal Rumble 2019

Heading into the women’s Royal Rumble in 2019, fans had firmly decided that they wanted Becky Lynch to win the matchup, and headline WrestleMania.

There was some concern that Lynch wouldn’t be in the matchup, as she wasn’t advertised for the match, and had already been booked in a match against Asuka earlier in the show.

However, when Lana began to limp to the ring to sell a prior ankle injury, it was ruled that she was unable to compete, and this was when Lynch appeared and requested to replace her.

Lynch would then proceed to enter the match and win the whole thing by eliminating Charlotte Flair in the final moments. Lynch would then challenge Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair in a Winner Takes All triple threat match in the main event of WrestleMania 35.

1: Andre The Giant – Royal Rumble 1991

The icon himself, Andre The Giant was pre-advertised for the 1991 Royal Rumble, which in-turn created a huge buzz surrounding the annual matchup.

Unfortunately, Andre’s health was on the decline at the time of the event, meaning that WWE had no choice but to remove Andre from the match.

In relation to which wrestler replaced Andre, there are mixed reports on the matter, yet based on the names that weren’t previously advertised, it was either, Brian Knobs or Tito Santana.

For years, there were rumours that Andre was going to win the 1991 Rumble, yet this has never been confirmed. Andre in the 1991 Rumble would have been an interesting visual, as the match featured the Rumble debut of The Undertaker, and a stare-down between Andre and The Deadman would have been an image that would have stood the test of time.