10 WWE Royal Rumble Entrants You Totally Forgot
8. Mantaur (1995)
Speaking of half-man, half-animal characters that were also WWE superstars, Mantaur made his only Royal Rumble appearance in 1995.
The aforementioned 1995 Royal Rumble '95 had a number of embarrassingly bad participants. The event came smack-dab in the middle of a period when Vince McMahon decided to feature ridiculous gimmicks, as well as everyday occupations, as WWF superstars. Throughout 1995, fans would witness a trashman, pig farmer, clown, teacher, evil Santa Claus, Portugese Man-O-War (whatever that is), magician, dentist, pirate, health & fitness guru, and others compete inside the squared circle. While all of these were cringeworthy character, perhaps none was worse than Mantaur.
The real-life Mike Halac portrayed this half-man, half-beast wrestler, briefly managed by Jim Cornette, that once included a ridiculous oversized boar head as part of his entrance gear. Before long, the company ditched the gigantic boar head and the ludicrous character of Mantaur was not far behind. While Mantaur wouldn't survive 1995, he did make it into that year's Royal Rumble match... sans boar head, unfortunately.
Despite returning as Goldust's bodyguard against The Ultimate Warrior at April '96's In Your House and as a short-lived member of the Truth Commission named Tank, Halac's career high point has to be the 1995 Royal Rumble.