20 Most RANDOM WWE Royal Rumble Entrants

TNA super fans may remember Takao Omori as one of Ken Shamrock's opponents during the promotion's earliest days in 2002. Those who dive headfirst into Japanese wrestling's box of goodies will know him from All Japan, New Japan, NOAH and Zero-1. The 55-year-old was just a sprightly young buck (no, not that kind) when he entered the Royal Rumble in '96, and he remains one of the strangest cameo artists in the bout's rich history.

Omori lasted less than three minutes before being eliminated by the combo of Triple H and Jake Roberts. Nobody knew then that Trips would go on to rule the roost in WWE, or that Takao would become a future Triple Crown Champion in his homeland. People with their ears to the ground could tell that he had bags of potential though. Maybe not in the WWF, but definitely back in Japan.

This was inarguably even more out there than Vince agreeing to bring in workers like Tenryu and Kabuki a few years prior. Both of those guys had tenure in the industry, but Omori was relatively new by comparison and hadn't yet made a real splash as a singles. If anything, his biggest accomplishment at that point was tag-team success alongside Jun Akiyama.

Maybe McMahon's head was turned by Takeo's height (he's billed as 6ft 3 inches). Or, maybe this was just a favour to someone. Either way, it's fun doing some digging to reveal that Omori didn't even work a few house shows in and around the Rumble date. He was literally brought in exclusively for that short cameo.

Bizarre.