10 Most Obscure WWE Royal Rumble Records
5. Years Between Appearances
Recordholder: Jeff Jarrett, 20 years
The Royal Rumble is synonymous with surprise entries, with wrestlers returning from injury or making a one-shot appearance to pop the crowd. And pop the crowd these surprises do – fans these days look forward to seeing some long-forgotten superstar make their entrance.
WWE’s penchant for surprise appearances and the sheer longevity of the Rumble itself has led to wrestlers showing up after lengthy absence from the winter classic. It’s not uncommon for someone who hasn’t entered a Rumble in five, 10 or more years to walk the aisle and take their swing at punching a ticket to WrestleMania.
But one man has eclipsed all others when it comes to gaps between Rumble appearances. Jeff Jarrett was a shock entrant in the 2019 Rumble, having finally mended fences with WWE the previous year. Prior to that, Jarrett had last competed in the 1999 Rumble, a span of 20 years. That’s an insane stretch.
To put this into context, to break that record this year, someone who hasn’t appeared in a Rumble since 2004 would need to be a surprise entrant. That would mean you’d need someone from the Attitude Era like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin (2002) or The Rock (2001) to make their return.