9. Takao Omori (1996)
There are several Royal Rumble performers who must provide the answer to some obscure trivia question, and Takao Omori is among them. In January 1996, the World Wrestling Federation was not quite the powerhouse it had been a decade before. The roster was incredibly thin on the ground, lacking real star power. That posed a problem for Vince McMahon when it came to the Royal Rumble. Looking to fill up slots in the 30-man match, McMahon drafted in several non-WWF regulars for one-off appearances. This led to the likes of Doug Gilbert and Dory Funk Jr entering proceedings. Joining them was the Japanese grappler Omori, an All-Japan Pro Wrestling star who was considered to have great potential. Naturally, didn't last long in the Rumble. In less than 3 minutes, Omori was hurled from the ring by Jake 'The Snake' Roberts. The WWE legend was on the comeback trail, but it seemed a little odd to bother flying the Japanese star in for such a brief cameo. He was never really used again by the company, and the short showing did nothing for his career. What a colossal waste of time and money to even bother bringing him in.
Jamie Kennedy
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
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