10 Great Wrestlers Who Were Only In One WWE Royal Rumble

4. Sgt. Slaughter (1992)

Rick Rude
WWE.com

At first glance, Sarge might look like one of the most surprising entries on the list. An on/off WWE employee for the best part of three decades, he is a former World Champion and Hall of Famer whose post-retirement career brought many a televised cameo, keeping his legacy alive with younger fans who weren't around for his fighting days, when he was soaring through the awesome, bloody feud with Pat Patterson, and plummeting as an Iraqi sympathiser 10 years later.

Sgt. Slaughter was working for Verne Gagne's AWA at the time of the '88 and '89 Rumbles. Returning in 1990, he started working the historically dreadful Iraqi gimmick that year and ended up winning the WWE Title on the '91 Rumble undercard, beating The Ultimate Warrior when 'Macho King' Randy Savage knocked the champ loopy on an interference. His solitary run with the gold ended when Hulk Hogan kicked his *ss for disrespecting 'Merica at WrestleMania VII.

Re-embracing the red, white, and blue after concluding his Hogan business, Sarge entered his solitary Rumble as a babyface in 1992. He scored zero eliminations and was out of there in under five minutes.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.