10 Fascinating WWE Royal Rumble 2001 Facts
3. Haku Had Just Wrestled In WCW The Week Before
Of the few surprise entrants in the 2001 Royal Rumble, none are scarier than the man/bear hybrid with mercurial blood known as Haku. Nine years after his previous WWE appearance, the Tongan Chuck Norris popped up as the 29th entry into the Rumble, afro and all.
Incredibly, just seven days earlier, Haku (as Meng) won the WCW Hardcore Championship at the company's first (and last) Sin pay-per-view. At the time, Haku wasn't even under WCW contract. Days later, he just handed the belt to long-time comrade The Barbarian, and left the company, re-debuting at the Rumble.
This marks one of likely just two instances where a wrestler appeared at major January productions for both WWE and WCW in the same year. The other was Dusty Rhodes in 1991, who worked the Royal Rumble, followed by WCW's Clash of the Champions 11 nights later.