7 Times WWE Changed The Rules To The Royal Rumble Match

7. You Don’t Need To Go Over The Top Rope – 1997

WWE wants to make sure everyone remembers the 1997 Royal Rumble for ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin’s first of three victories in the big match. What’s given a little less spotlight is what happened during the majority of the Rumble match itself.

The WWF, in enforced experimental mode, established a geography-driven working relationship with Lucha Libre AAA World Wide. Not only did AAA performers slip into the lower-card of the PPV, but several wrestlers also made it to the Royal Rumble match, adding rapid sequences and high-risk maneuvers often lost amongst the main event talents at the time. As expected, though, none of AAA’s luchadores were going to win the contest.

And one in particular, Mil Mascaras, had an issue with that.

While many rules have been tweaked throughout the years, one has remained clear: to be eliminated, you must go over the top rope.

Yet that was not quite the case for the legendarily self-preserving Mascaras. The Hall of Famer eliminated himself when he dove out to the floor onto two of his fellow luchadors, in a dual victory. He popped the crowd with a high spot and, in doing so, did not allow any of his opponents the rub of eliminating him.

However, his elimination was questionable altogether. On his way to the top turnbuckle, Mascaras exited the ring through the middle rope. He might have ended up jumping over the top rope, but that was only after he stepped onto the apron. In most cases, wrestlers who exited the ring had to be brought back in before they could be eliminated. The announcers covered for the spot, anyway, suggesting Mascaras was confused by the rules and eliminated himself. The masked megalomaniac still exited the match on his own terms, and WWE got what they paid for in the end.