100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

83. Sami Zayn Eliminates Johnny Knoxville (2022)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE.com

Most fans out there likely groaned when Jackass star Johnny Knoxville burned a Royal Rumble spot in 2022. The celeb guest worked less than 90 seconds in the men's match before being eliminated by Sami Zayn too, so this was a real 'eh... thanks for coming' situation. On the surface, yes, but there was more lurking. Fans didn't know what a great time they were in for.

Zayn eliminating Knoxville led to one of the most barmy WrestleMania matches of all time a few months later. JK and Sami had a lot of chemistry together, and Zayn was willing to make a clown of himself to get the point across. None of that would've been possible had he scoffed at the Rumble spot and spat the dummy backstage.

That isn't Sami's style though. He makes the best of everything handed to him.

Chemistry counts, and it was clear these dudes had it straight away. Even so, no-one could've predicted that they'd work such a fun comedy bout on the main card at 'Mania 38 after this. It all began at the Rumble.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.