10 Most Disappointing Surprises In WWE Royal Rumble History
7. Ricardo Rodriguez (2012)
Alberto Del Rio hadn’t been seen on WWE television for just over a month after failing to regain the WWE Championship against CM Punk and The Miz at TLC 2011. He sustained a muscle injury that was set to sideline him for six weeks, and by all accounts, it seemed a dead cert that he’d miss the 2012 Royal Rumble.
Thus, it was quite the surprise when his music hit at number eight. It looked like the match was about to see its first major entrant, but while the commentators hyped his imminent arrival up, it wasn’t an expensive classic car that drove out from the back. Instead, it was an old, beaten-up hunk of junk that looked like a rejected exhibit from a Back To The Future museum. Del Rio wouldn’t be seen dead arriving in such a vehicle, and sure enough, he wasn’t behind the wheel.
It was Ricardo Rodriguez, the former WWE Champion’s portly ring announcer. To be fair, he actually received a decent reception from the crowd as he hopped out of the car, copying his boss’ mannerisms to a tee. He and Mick Foley soon collaborated to toss Justin Gabriel from the match, but that was as good as it got for Ricardo, who was eliminated by Santino Marella a few seconds later.