10 WWE Legends Who Never Competed In A Royal Rumble Match
3. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat's most famous match came at WrestleMania III in front of 93,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome when he defeated "Macho Man" Randy Savage for the Intercontinental Championship in what many still consider to be the greatest wrestling match of all-time. Despite having some classic matches over the NWA World Heavyweight Championship with Ric Flair, this match with Savage is what most fans recall first when remembering the career of Ricky Steamboat.
One thing that is unlikely to come to mind when recalling the career of one of the smoothest in-ring workers of all-time is the Royal Rumble match. That's because, despite being a part of WWE for several years when the Rumble took place, Steamboat never entered one.
Ironically enough, Ricky Steamboat was involved in the very first match to be seen on a Royal Rumble card when he defeated Ravishing Rick Rude via disqualification at the inaugural event in January 1988.
While Steamboat would leave the company before the end of '88, he returned a few years later in 1991, this time billed simply as "The Dragon". Despite receiving a series of vignettes and the special hype treatment, The Dragon's return to the land of McMahon lasted less than a year and the Royal Rumble evaded him yet again.