7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 2004

4. Randy Orton Impressed In His Rumble Debut

This was Randy Orton's first Rumble match. It was noted in the 2003 "things to know" about that Rumble that he was on the roster a year earlier, but was out with a shoulder injury. Orton was a heel on the rise that was booked as the sole survivor in a big Survivor Series elimination match two month before this and then one month prior he won the Intercontinental Title. Orton started this match as the second entrant. He had a great showing by lasting in the ring for 33:43 while also eliminating five guys. Other than the final two competitors in the match, he looked the best out of anybody. It was a smart way of utilizing the Rumble match to try to elevate a guy like Orton, who was only 23 years old at the time. If you look at the WWE main roster right now, they don't even have any guys that are that young and most of the ones that get pushed like that are in their late 20s or early 30s. It's a different philosophy today compared to what it was like 11 years ago. Later in the year he'd become the youngest World Champion in WWE history.