10 Weirdest WWE Royal Rumble Entrants Ever

5. Bob Backlund (2000)

Bob Backlund RR2000
WWE Network

Bob Backlund's performance in the 1993 Royal Rumble, where he lasted a record-setting 61 minutes, doesn't get talked about enough, likely because he wasn't positioned as an important player on the roster at the time.

His next three outings in the Rumble weren't nearly as impressive, and by the dawn of the Attitude Era, he was gone. In 2000, the former WWE champion shockingly returned in the Rumble, which just so happened to emanate from the building he helped make famous: Madison Square Garden.

This time around, however, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

At first, fans didn't seem to recognize his patriotic entrance music. As soon as he walked through the curtain, Backlund received a warm welcome back from everyone in attendance, but it didn't make his presence in the match any less odd.

He traded punches with some of the best the Attitude Era had to offer before getting unceremoniously dumped by Chris Jericho two minutes later. What most fans may not remember is that he became a regular on WWE TV after that, albeit only for a short while, managing Kurt Angle in the lead-up to WrestleMania 2000.

It was a strange fit for Backlund, who was once the face of the company and had since been reduced to Rumble fodder.

Contributor
Contributor

Since 2008, Graham has been a diehard pro wrestling fan and, in 2010, he combined his passions for WWE and writing when he joined Bleacher Report. Equipped with a master's in journalism, Graham has contributed to WhatCulture, FanSided's Daily DDT, Sports Betting Dime, and GateHouse Media. Along the way, he has conducted interviews with wrestling superstars like Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg, Christian, Diamond Dallas Page, Jim Ross, Adam Cole, Tessa Blanchard, Ryback, and Nick Aldis among others.