12. Dory Funk Jr. Was In The Royal Rumble As A Favour To Giant Baba
Veteran former NWA World Champion Dory Funk Jr. was one of the 1996 Royal Rumbles elder statesmen at fifty-five years old. His inclusion in the match came about due to a working relationship that the WWF were attempting to forget with Giant Babas All-Japan Pro Wrestling. Vince McMahon had witnessed the success Eric Bischoff was enjoying working with AJPW rivals New Japan and he wanted a piece of the action. Funks inclusion was a personal favour to Baba, with the idea being that the ageing grappler would serve as a liaison between the two promotions. However, the WWF had a poor track record working with others and the talent trading agreement with All Japan never got off the ground. A shame, as the prospect of Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama clashing with the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Vader in WWF rings is a tantalising one.
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.
