Surprise entrants in the Rumble

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

When did they start doing this? Off the top of my head it seems like the first one was Honky Tonk Man in 1998. Were there any before that?

[Deleted]

Back in "the day" when they announced the whole match roster beforehand, there were often substitutes in Royal Rumbles. So those could kinda count as surprises I guess. I would say that a surprise entrant is someone currently with the company, who either just makes that one appearance, or ends up signing a deal to appear more regularly.

I would say Backlund in 2000 was the first one of this long run of these surprise entrants; despite being a sub (IIRC) for Headbanger Thrasher, he wasn't currently with the company at the time (though it did lead to him sticking around for a few months "managing" Kurt Angle).

Honky was with the company in '98 so that shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. That was more like what a lowcarder appearing in a Rumble today would be like.

[Push R Truth]

I'm so glad they do this. I love surprise entrants.

You can easily go over board, but out of thirty guys I'm glad they find about 2-3 spots to march out the likes of Diesel, Hacksaw, Booker T, Cousin Honky, Coachman, etc

I'd rather get a nostalgia pop than have JTG's music hit and know he'll last 2 minutes tops.

[Deleted]

Kai En Tai should constantly run in every year.

[Deleted]

Sept 16, 2013 12:27:06 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Kai En Tai should constantly run in every year.

As long as Taka boinks his head on the floor outside every single time, yes......

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

I think surprise entrants should be limited to one per year. I really don't like how current roster guys are made to feel useless and bringing back X amount of past stars for the Rumble is an example of that.

I feel that the Rumble event should be an all hands on deck affair where they try to get as many talents on the show as possible.

[CMWaters]

I could just be remembering wrong...

But I don't remember "The Model" Rick Martel being announced for the 1995 Royal Rumble beforehand.

[nickcave]

Honestly, I would say it probably dates back to Carlos Colon appearing in the 1993 Rumble since that was just a one off appearance.

[CMWaters]

Sept 16, 2013 12:55:49 GMT -5 nickcave said:

Honestly, I would say it probably dates back to Carlos Colon appearing in the 1994 Rumble since that was just a one off appearance.

1993, but your point still stands.

Also, I think the idea of surprise entrants works better from 1996 onward because of entrance music. Causes more of a reaction.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Backlund is still one of my favourite surprise entrants just for JR's 'what the hell is Bob Backlund doing here?' with Backlund striking the perfect '...what the hell AM I doing here?' expression.

[The Heenan Family]

I like surprise entrants for the pop and the idea that wrestlers from outside of the company want the championship match at WrestleMania. However I am tired of the surprise entrants appearing and then doing almost nothing in the match. They're given few spots if any and are eliminated very quickly unless they're returning superstars like Cena or Jericho. At least let Diesel toss a few blokes ffs. Their lack of spots or eliminations just makes it more apparent that they weren't factored into the planning of the match a month prior and thus are told to impact the match as little as possible.

Still, it's better than giving a spot to Bo Dallas or Ezekiel Jackson.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Giving a spot to Bo Dallas now would probably be the greatest thing ever.

[thelonewolf527]

Honky Tonk Man wasn't a surprise considering he was on Raw the week before the Rumble in the big scuffle before Austin murdered everyone who was in the Rumble

[Push R Truth]

Sept 16, 2013 13:21:53 GMT -5 "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay said:

Giving a spot to Bo Dallas now would probably be the greatest thing ever.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

I think my favorite recent surprise is still Piper and Snuka... Especially as everyone else in the match all kinda stopped and watched the two of them go at it.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Sept 16, 2013 13:34:18 GMT -5 thelonewolf527 said:

Honky Tonk Man wasn't a surprise considering he was on Raw the week before the Rumble in the big scuffle before Austin murdered everyone who was in the Rumble

I didn't actually know this.

[Bub (BLM)]

Sept 16, 2013 12:38:55 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

I think surprise entrants should be limited to one per year. I really don't like how current roster guys are made to feel useless and bringing back X amount of past stars for the Rumble is an example of that.

I feel that the Rumble event should be an all hands on deck affair where they try to get as many talents on the show as possible.

People will talk a lot more about the show and cheer much louder at the show if say Razor Ramon shows up in the Rumble as opposed to someone like Curt Hawkins. Having two or three surprise yesteryear entrants in the Rumble isn't that big of a deal, and it makes the audience happy.

[CMWaters]

Sept 16, 2013 13:41:59 GMT -5 Bub (BLM) said:

Sept 16, 2013 12:38:55 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

I think surprise entrants should be limited to one per year. I really don't like how current roster guys are made to feel useless and bringing back X amount of past stars for the Rumble is an example of that.

I feel that the Rumble event should be an all hands on deck affair where they try to get as many talents on the show as possible.

People will talk a lot more about the show and cheer much louder at the show if say Razor Ramon shows up in the Rumble as opposed to someone like Curt Hawkins. Having two or three surprise yesteryear entrants in the Rumble isn't that big of a deal, and it makes the audience happy.

Funny thing is if Scott Hall did show up as Razor Ramon in this year's Rumble, it would actually be his first Royal Rumble match appearance (as a participant, he did chase after The 1-2-3 Kid in the 1996 event).

[Deleted]

Not going to lie, if Razor Ramon showed up in the Rumble I'd mark the f*** out.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Sept 16, 2013 13:43:58 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

Sept 16, 2013 13:41:59 GMT -5 Bub (BLM) said:

People will talk a lot more about the show and cheer much louder at the show if say Razor Ramon shows up in the Rumble as opposed to someone like Curt Hawkins. Having two or three surprise yesteryear entrants in the Rumble isn't that big of a deal, and it makes the audience happy.

Funny thing is if Scott Hall did show up as Razor Ramon in this year's Rumble, it would actually be his first Royal Rumble match appearance (as a participant, he did chase after The 1-2-3 Kid in the 1996 event).

The thing is, I would be fine with guys like Curt Hawkins, etc. being left out of the Rumble if they were made to look somewhat relevant, credible and "respectable" otherwise. Scott Hall has never competed in a Rumble, but he was made to look relevant in other angles and has had a lot of memorable matches. But for a lot of the current roster, a Rumble appearance is probably the only PPV payday, or probably one of the few appearances on a "important" WWE event that they'll get. And that really bugs me. These guys deserve a chance to have some type of memorable moment and to have a respectable wrestling career just like the guys of yesteryear did. That way maybe someone like JTG can get a nostalgia pop in the future.