10 Biggest WWE Royal Rumble Innovators

7. First To Work Both Gender's Rumble Matches (Beth Phoenix)

Beth Phoenix
WWE.com

Beth Phoenix proudly sprinted to the ring in 2010 for a cameo appearance in the Royal Rumble. Back then, there was no female Rumble, and fans had been conditioned to expect a full draft of men following Chyna's departure. Phoenix changed that by entering sixth, eliminating The Great Khali and clotheslining the tatts off of CM Punk.

Again, much like Chyna, her appearance was a short one. Not to worry though, 'cause Beth was ready to create more memories eight years later when she entered the inaugural all-female Rumble in 2018. When she did (entering as #24 in the main event), Phoenix became the first person to appear in Rumbles for both men and women.

Sure, Rumbles weren't technically gender-exclusive pre-2018, but it was generally accepted that women were exempt. Nobody will ever be able to take this once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment away from Beth.

Advertisement
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.