10 Incredible Last Minute PPV Changes You Never Saw Coming
2. Mick Foley (Royal Rumble 2004)
Hilariously paying off a running gag from his second autobiography, Mick Foley again made a victim of Test in an effort to take revenge on Randy Orton for his various crimes against the ‘Hardcore Legend’ in 2003.
The Evolution member had kicked Foley down a flight of stairs and spat in his face in particularly grim scenes designed to portray the cocky youngster as both arrogant and fearless in the face of the iconic former WWE Champion.
A crisis of faith had seen Mick depart Raw seemingly afraid to fight the upstart but his emphatic Royal Rumble return completely flipped the script. When Test failed to show as entry #21, Raw Sheriff Stone Cold Steve Austin sent his mystery assailant to take his place.
Having survived the duration of the match after entering #2, ‘The Legend Killer’ was still trying to catch his breath when Foley stormed the match to an electric response from the Philadelphia audience. Battering Orton to the back following a Cactus Clothesline double elimination, their blood feud stepped up a gear ahead of enormous WrestleMania and Backlash battles.