The Royal Rumble is notorious for leaving fans shocked and awe struck. Legends return, big names debut and surprise entrants make big impacts. With last Sunday's Royal Rumble in the books and returning veterans like DDP and Bubba Ray Dudley appearing at the event, one cannot help but compare this years surprise guests with the entrants in years past. Due to the internet, 24 hour media coverage and widespread availability of information the WWE has a much harder time surprising the fans than it once did. This list will focus on competitors who's presence in the Royal Rumble left fans feeling either surprised, excited or confused by their inclusion in the match. Before WWE became the enormous public corporation they are today they had to compete for talent with other territories and promotions. This meant filling out 30 spots in a Royal Rumble, along with other matches on the card, could be a pretty difficult task. It should come as no surprise that the vast majority of the wrestlers appearing on this list entered the January classic during the down times for the WWE, before 'legends' were brought back for cheap pops. The criteria for this list is pretty simple. The wrestler can have only participated in one Royal Rumble, they must be well known for their work in other promotions, and their run in the WWE must have been short lived and uneventful (if they even got one). Looking back on WWE's history, it's hard to believe that these wrestlers even made their way into the Royal Rumble in the first place.
