100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

68. Goldust’s Emotional Comeback (2002)

WWE Royal Rumble 2002 Goldust
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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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 and Presenter, 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 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 and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.