29. Muhammad Hassan Gets Eliminated Because Racism (2005)
One of the more disturbing spots in Royal Rumble history came in 2005, when Muhammad Hassan entered at #13 and every single wrestler in the ring stopped to stare him down. The combination of Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Edge, Shelton Benjamin, Booker T and Luther Reigns all teamed up to grab Hassan and throw him over the top rope, eliminating him before he had a chance to even make a dent. It was a fairly predictable spot that was slightly funny until you realised that this was playing exactly into Hassan's gimmick - he hated being prejudiced against and picked on because of the post-9/11 fallout, and this was a ridiculous example of that. That WWE weren't smart enough to realise how they were essentially evoking sympathy for Hassan (from non-American viewers, anyway) perfectly exemplified how the business exists in a bubble free of self-awareness.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
