10 Worst WWE Royal Rumble Surprise Entrants

The Royal Rumbles are two of the most anticipated WWE matches of the year for a reason. 

While the stakes might be high, with a WrestleMania title shot hanging in the balance, the thing that fans look forward to as much as finding out who will be getting a shot at a world championship is all of the surprises. 

Not every surprise leads to a raucous reaction like Edge in 2020 or AJ Styles in 2016, though. These are the 10 Worst WWE Royal Rumble Surprise Entrants. 

10. Melina - 2022

2022 was a very disappointing year for the Royal Rumble match, with the underwhelming men’s version reportedly booked by Shane McMahon (who was then out of WWE shortly after) and won by a rampaging Brock Lesnar. The Women’s Royal Rumble was also a weak entry, being won by a returning Ronda Rousey.

The Women’s Rumble had started promisingly enough, as Sasha Banks came out at number one. Who came out at number two was a shocker, though, as none other than Melina made her way to the ring. 

The idea of Melina entering unannounced was not bad and, on the contrary, it was great to see the former WWE Women’s Champion in a WWE ring proper for the first time since her 2011 release. Coming out to a very warm reaction, she certainly looked the part with elaborate ring gear and performed her trademark ‘splits on the ring apron’ entrance. 

Melina’s time in the ring was disappointing, however, as she was dispatched with ease by Sasha Banks, who threw her opponent over the top rope in a matter of seconds after dishing out a solitary knee strike. 

That disappointment stretched to Melina herself as she later spoke about what a letdown the experience was and how it was a shame this one-and-done outing led to nothing further.

9. The Hurricane - 2018

As with Melina, there was nothing necessarily wrong about giving a nostalgia spot to old favourite The Hurricane in the 2018 Men’s Rumble.

The comedic superhero had previously made a memorable Rumble moment when, in 2002, he entered a ring occupied by Steve Austin and Triple H and tried to hit a stereo Chokeslam on The Two-Man Power Trip, only to be duly launched over the top rope. 

Coming in at number 21, the alter-ego of backstage producer Shane Helms received a hearty pop and didn’t look too dissimilar to how he did a decade prior. Squaring off with John Cena, Hurricane once again went for his trademark Chokeslam, only to once again have his plan thwarted and be dumped to the floor in next to no time at all. 

Seeing The Hurricane was nice, but this retread kind of proved that sequels are pretty much always inferior to the original. 

Not only that, but his brief return to the ring was quickly overshadowed by another masked man when Rey Mysterio came out at number 27.

8. JBL - 2014

The 2014 Royal Rumble was one of the most notorious matches in WWE history, as the crowd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania completely turned on it when they realised cult favourite Daniel Bryan was not going to be an entrant. The crowd was so in favour of Bryan that poor Rey Mysterio (the ever-popular babyface) was booed out of the building for simply not being The American Dragon. 

Given how harsh the reaction to everything after the crowd realised they weren’t getting Byan was, you’d be forgiven for forgetting what came before all hell broke loose. That included a couple of ‘surprise’ entrants, including the returning Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler, who were both coming back from injury layoffs, and NXT’s Alexander Rusev.

Also making a surprise appearance was commentator John Bradshaw Layfield, who entered from the announce desk at number 24 and was bundled over by Roman Reigns while attempting to pass his jacket to Michael Cole. 

This was a total gag spot, and it would have been fine had we not seen similar years before. Also, Cole really soured the moment when he announced (possibly due to a shouting Vince McMahon in his earpiece) that this was the first time ‘the JBL character’ was entering a Rumble match.

7. Pat McAfee - 2024

One decade on and WWE repeated the commentary gag, this time with Pat McAfee.  

By this point McAfee had already proven himself to be a capable wrestler, having feuded with Adam Cole and faced the likes of The Miz, Baron Corbin, and Austin Theory inside the squared circle. His entrance in the Royal Rumble, though, was simply another case of trying to bring levity to proceedings and wasting a spot that could have gone to someone else. 

The basic gist of the gag was that Pat was encouraged to get in the ring but, when faced with the prospect of having to go up against Bron Breakker and Omos, immediately thought better of it and eliminated himself, Drew Carey style. 

The joke might have landed better had Brock Lesnar been in the ring instead of Bron, who was given Lesnar’s creative after the former WWE Champion was removed from the match due to being implicated in Janel Grant’s sex trafficking lawsuit days prior, 

McAfee later tried to claim his entry into the Rumble was an actual surprise to him, too.

6. Kevin Nash - 2014

Kevin Nash has had a lot of joy when it comes to the Royal Rumble. 

In 1994, Nash (as Diesel) had arguably his breakout performance when he entered at number seven, eliminated seven men and lasted a not-inconsiderable 17 minutes and 41 seconds before being ganged up on and bundled out by five people. 

1996 saw Diesel get rid of five men before Shawn Michaels kicked him out, while in 2011 he made a fantastic surprise return to WWE under his Big Daddy Cool guise and got a justifiably massive pop for his first appearance in close to eight years. 

WWE went back to the well in 2014, drafting in Nash for an unannounced appearance that, in comparison to Big Sexy’s previous Rumble outings, fell flat. 

The pop was big, but not as big as the one he got three years earlier. His elimination of Jack Swagger also proved that he at least did something out there, but he was gone in two-and-a-half minutes courtesy of Roman Reigns. 

Nash’s prevailing memories of his last-ever WWE match, however, were getting pounded by Sheamus and Drew McIntyre and almost injuring his arm in the ropes, which convinced him to go back to the indies and ‘have fun’.

5. The Boogeyman - 2015

While the 2014 Royal Rumble was a disaster, the 2015 entry was somehow even worse. 

The match will forever be remembered for the Philadelphia crowd turning on the bout, their dissatisfaction being so intense that they even booed The Rock. The fans watching at home weren’t happy either and #CancelWWENetwork trended on Twitter. The cancellation page for the streaming service then crashed, such was the demand to stop paying $9.99. 

As far as surprises to keep the Philly fans happy before they almost rioted, the inclusion of Bubba Ray Dudley, making his first WWE appearance in a decade, and Diamond Dallas Page, were nice touches. 

The same cannot be said for The Boogeyman, who entered at number seven, did his entrance, took a Bray Wyatt clothesline, and was thrown out in less than a minute. 

Boogeyman was never a great wrestler and was best used in small doses, but this seemed like little more than a reason to get someone spooky for The Eater of Worlds to have a face-off with. 

Fair play to the worm-eating, clock-smashing wrestler for staying in great shape, but the novelty of the gimmick had worn off a long time ago.

4. Dolph Ziggler - 2018

Two days after winning the WWE United States Championship at the 2017 Clash of Champions pay-per-view, Dolph Ziggler held a title celebration on SmackDown. 

After reminding fans of his accomplishments during his decade-plus WWE career, The Show-Off claimed that the WWE Universe didn’t deserve him, put the belt in the middle of the ring and then walked out. 

Five weeks later, Ziggler was back entering as the coveted number 30 entrant. Ziggler managed to eliminate number 29 entrant Goldust, but Finn Balor then sent him packing after just two minutes. 

To this day, we still do not know what the point of all of this was, nor why Dolph had to vacate the US Title, why he returned at the Rumble like nothing had happened, and why he was scripted to be in the match for such a short time before being shunted right back into the mid-card pack. 

Seeing Dolph in the Rumble wasn’t much of a ‘surprise’, and it certainly wasn’t a very good one, either.

3. Michael Cole, Booker T & Jerry Lawler - 2012

In the 1997 Royal Rumble match, Jerry Lawler entered the 30-man battle royal from his position at the ringside announce desk. He entered with plenty of confidence, only to be sent sailing over from two Bret Hart right hands in about four seconds. It was, truth be told, a rather humorous and novel bit that got a reaction but didn’t slow to the Rumble itself down. 

In 2012, WWE did the same thing again…three times.

First, Lawler entered at number 12 and was dispatched by Cody Rhodes forty-three seconds later. Then Booker T was called into action and lasted around five minutes, before Cody and Dolph Ziggler teamed up to take him out. 

Finally, Michael Cole and his garish orange singlet entered the fray at number 20, only to be met by Kharma. He hightailed it to the apron, where Lawler and Booker did the rest. 

We appreciate that star power was running low at this point, but could WWE not have come up with anything better than wasting a tenth of the Rumble entrants on the commentary crew? 

2. Santina Marella - 2020

Since its introduction in 2018, the Women’s Royal Rumble provided plenty of highlights during its relatively short lifespan. 

One of the highlights has been watching stars from the past come back for a cameo, including Hall of Famers like Trish Stratus, Lita, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, and Beth Phoenix. They all added value to the proceedings and were welcome additions to the match. 

Santina Marella, on the other hand, was the antithesis of a welcome addition and added no value. Santino Marella made a memorable Royal Rumble moment in 2009, when Kane eliminated him in just two seconds, setting a new record. When Santino’s ‘sister’ Santina showed up in the Women’s Rumble in 2020, it was a moment to forget. 

Entering at number 29, Santina eliminated herself via The Cobra, rather than get womanhandled by Phoenix and Natalya. The segment, which was designed for laughs but received none, very much divided opinion amongst fans.

1. Shane McMahon - 2022

When Shane McMahon returned to WWE in early 2016, seven years after his shock departure, fans were thrilled to see him back. It’s fair to say that, six years later, many of those same fans were just about sick of the sight of him. 

Having not wrestled since being beaten by Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 37, McMahon entered the Men’s Rumble at number 28 and managed to outstrike former UFC fighter Matt Riddle and eliminate former rival Kevin Owens during his five-and-a-half-minute stay, before being clotheslined over by eventual winner Brock Lesnar. 

 A lot of people didn’t take too kindly to McMahon waltzing in and looking so strong given the fact he only wrestled once in a blue moon. According to reports, the feeling extended to those in the locker room, as some were annoyed at Shane trying to use his influence to get booked better than main roster regulars. Shane was also reportedly a key figure behind the scenes in putting the match together. 

Most of Shane’s ideas were, ultimately, shot down by his father, but his general behaviour and attitude on the night forced his own father to get rid of him in response.

A disaster both in the ring and backstage, the night was a write-off for the former European Champion.