100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

68. Goldust’s Emotional Comeback (2002)

WWE Royal Rumble 2020 Edge
WWE

There's a quirky Mandela Effect surrounding Goldust's comeback in 2002. A lot of fans will tell you that he was a shock entrant in the '02 Rumble, but that isn't actually true. Dustin Rhodes accepted a buyout on his WCW/AOL/Time Warner contract a month or so prior in December '01, and the WWF ran some vignettes hyping his return before the next big pay-per-view.

People buying the Rumble on PPV knew they were going to see some Goldy.

That's fine - Goldust being pre-advertised shouldn't detract from the moment - but the circumstances surrounding his comeback deserve to be cleared up. He wasn't quite in the same ballpark as Curt Hennig that year then, but more on Mr. Perfect later. Much more. Goldust was #2 in the Rumble, and worked for 12-ish minutes before being eliminated by The Undertaker.

Rhodes didn't have the pleasure of eliminating anyone himself, but he can still be proud of his evening's work. This was a big deal for Dustin personally. He was returning to his most famous gimmick for the first time in nearly three years.

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