20 Awesome WWE Royal Rumble Debuts And Returns

9. Mick Foley (2004)

edge royal rumble
WWE Network

In terms of a surprise return, this was quite a clever one.

Randy Orton was on a tear in the 2004 Royal Rumble, as the Legend Killer had eliminated five men from the #2 position and was looking like a possible winner as the match moved into its final third of entrants.

Cut to the back and we saw Test laid out and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, Raw’s sheriff, yelling at an unseen wrestler for attacking him. Austin ordered the mysterious wrestler to take Test’s spot, which led to Mick Foley coming out at #21. Orton immediately lost it.

Foley quickly eliminated himself and Orton, which would then set up the awesome 3-on-2 tag match pitting Evolution against the Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection. Just a superb display of how to do a surprise entry that served a greater purpose.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.