10 Times WWE Royal Rumble Opened The Forbidden Door
1. Haku (2001)
The highly-rated and fondly-remembered 2001 Royal Rumble was arguably an even bigger flex of WWE's global dominance than the iconic WrestleMania X-Seven that followed just months later.
Coming just days after the purchase of WCW and being used as the platform to conclude Steve Austin's iconic and industry-altering babyface run, the Dallas 'Show Of Shows' remains something of an inadvertent farewell to the Attitude Era. Meanwhile, with the opposition still technically in operation and WWE business showing no sign of slowdown, the Royal Rumble stands as a celebration of it.
Never was this more apparent than when Haku very randomly returned to WWE after nine years away. The comeback itself wasn't particularly newsworthy but the nature of it was - the former Meng was WCW Hardcore Champion as he entered the match. Working on a per-date deal in an Atlanta outfit just months away from being gone forever, Tonga Fifita was free to go where he pleased and did just that despite still holding gold.
Just over five years removed from Alundra Blayze going the other way, this was tellingly unceremonious by comparison. No belts went in bins, no burials were bothered with. A war that once raged between two sides had already been well and truly won.