10 Weirdest WWE Royal Rumble Entrants Ever
8. Doug Gilbert (1996)
Doug Gilbert's Royal Rumble cameo one year removed from Dick Murdoch's was no less random but arguably much more pointless.
Unlike Murdoch, Gilbert never had a real run in WWE. Rather, he cut his teeth all around the world, wrestling under a variety of names for a number of promotions including the NWA, WCW and ECW. Despite not being under contract to WWE, he earned entry into the 1996 Royal Rumble match after winning a USWA Battle Royal earlier in the month.
Mr. Perfect ran down his accomplishments on commentary and explained that he came from a prestigious wrestling family. Unfortunately, nothing of what Perfect said about Gilbert made him feel like any bigger of a deal, especially after he was quickly pummeled by the debuting Vader and made to look like a complete jabroni.
It wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the sole purpose Gilbert served in this Rumble was to put Vader over strong in under three minutes. Still, WWE could have very well used one of their jobbers for that spot instead of wasting it on someone fans would never see again.
If nothing else, Gilbert got global recognition with his brief Rumble appearance, even if very few fans actually remember it.