10 Royal Rumble Moments WWE Wants You To Forget

5. All Those Guest Entrants (2012)

Michael Cole
WWE.com

In 2011, WWE switched things up by making the Royal Rumble a 40-man match rather than sticking to the standard 30 entrants. The following year, things reverted back to the more traditional format, making it all the more perplexing that those booking the match chose to include a whole load of filler.

Perhaps that would have been understandable in 2011, due to the increased numbers entering the Rumble. In 2012, it didn't make as much sense to have entrants like Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Mick Foley in there. Exactly zero of these men had any real memorable impact on the match, at least not for good reasons.

That all three announcers were involved in the bout is a damning verdict of early-2012 for WWE. This means some full-time roster members (y'know, actual professional wrestlers who hadn't retired) missed out on a Rumble spot due to all that clowning around.

Although Booker T, Lawler, and Foley have obviously added something to past Rumbles, 2012 is a moment to forget in their careers. Five Rumble entrants meant absolutely nothing that year.

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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.