10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Royal Rumble

5. John Madden Was Asked To Commentate

Randy Orton WWE Royal Rumble Record
EA Sports

Iconic NFL coach/announcer John Madden was between gigs at CBS and FOX when Vince McMahon's people approached him and asked if he'd be up for doing guest commentary at the 1994 Rumble. Madden politely declined, but he was the WWF's first choice as a celebrity guest who'd maybe pique casual interest.

The old Raiders favourite wasn't up for it.

Bruce Prichard dished the details on this story via his 'Something To Wrestle With' podcast. Eventually, McMahon threw the towel in on Madden and drafted in recently-retired stalwart Ted DiBiase for co-comms instead. By all accounts, poor Ted had a bit of a nightmare on the day.

Rehearsals had gone well, but the Rumble was a tough show to call. Hearing Prichard acknowledge that in the same breath as pitching a non-fan like John Madden for the role is pretty special. No-one needed to see Madden turn into Art Donovan before Art's infamous King Of The Ring disaster.

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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.