10 Most Shocking WWE Royal Rumble Eliminations

1. Maven Eliminates The Undertaker - 2002

The winner of the very first season of Tough Enough, Maven was only a handful of matches into his professional wrestling career (and was actually toiling in developmental) when he got the call that he would be entering the 2002 Royal Rumble as a surprise.

The rookie wasn’t in the match long but boy oh boy did he make a lasting impression. Drawing number 11, the only man waiting for him in the ring was The Undertaker, who had come in three places before him and gotten rid of Rikishi, Goldust, Al Snow, Billy Gunn and both Hardy Boys. 

Things did not look good for Maven and there were no gasps of disbelief when he ran straight into a big boot.

However, a distraction by Lita and an attempted revenge beatdown by Matt and Jeff gave the greenhorn enough time to recover and hit a distracted Deadman with the one move he knew how to do well – a dropkick – sending him over the top rope.

It was all executed and sold perfectly, giving Maven a career-defining moment and enough cultural capital to one day become a big name on pro wrestling YouTube.