12 Times Wrestlers Failed To Make It Into The Royal Rumble Match

8. Spike Dudley - 2004

Spike Dudley
WWE.com

It is one of those weird wrestling facts, but when Bubba Ray Dudley entered the Royal Rumble in 2015 he became the first member of the Dudley Family to do so. He wasn't the first from Dudleyville to draw a number for the big match, however, an honour that went to the runt of the litter way back in 2004.

Spike Dudley was scheduled to enter the 2004 Rumble at number 13, but had the misfortune of making his way to the ring just as Kane had been eliminated by Booker T. This wasn't just any elimination either, the Big Red Machine finding himself hurled over the top rope after being distracted by the ominous gong of his recently-buried brother, The Undertaker.

Spike didn't stand a chance. Incensed by his brother taunting him from the grave, Kane took out his frustrations on poor Spike, destroying the future Cruiserweight Champion to such a degree that the ECW hero was unable to take his place in the match. A chokeslam on the ramp will do that to you.

It would be 11 years before another Dudley came close to entering the Rumble.

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Born in the middle of Wales in the middle of the 1980's, John can't quite remember when he started watching wrestling but he has a terrible feeling that Dino Bravo was involved. Now living in Prague, John spends most of his time trying to work out how Tomohiro Ishii still stands upright. His favourite wrestler of all time is Dean Malenko, but really it is Repo Man. He is the author of 'An Illustrated History of Slavic Misery', the best book about the Slavic people that you haven't yet read. You can get that and others from www.poshlostbooks.com.