20 Awesome WWE Royal Rumble Debuts And Returns

19. Rusev (2014)

edge royal rumble
WWE.com

These days, NXT wrestlers getting the call to appear in a Royal Rumble match is an annual rite of passage. But several years ago, it was a novel idea.

Before he had Lana at his side and before he lost his first name, Alexander Rusev made his main roster debut at the 2014 Rumble, entering at #6 and looking strong. He didn’t eliminate anyone, but it took four men to toss him.

But it was what happened afterward that lent more oomph to his appearance. Seconds after Rusev was tossed, Kofi Kingston also was ejected, landing in Rusev’s arms. The Bulgarian Brute dropped Kofi on the barricade and pummeled him before storming off, leaving Kingston to ruminate how to get back into the ring since he hadn’t been eliminated.

That led to Kofi’s epic leap back to the apron, which was an incredible visual.

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.