7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 2004

3. Mick Foley Was Awesome When He Attacked Orton

We love Royal Rumble surprises. They are an easy way to get the fans excited going into the Rumble match. In the last decade they have done a lot more surprises. We often hear rumors about wrestlers that might be in the match, then they're not a part of it and people get mad. WWE still does a few surprises every year whether they are big names or done for comedic purposes. The 21st entrant was supposed to be Test. He never made it to the ring because he was shown in back after getting knocked out. Steve Austin (in a non-wrestling role as a "sheriff" at that point) yelled at somebody off screen that he was in the match as #21. We didn't see who it was. That infamous "Car Crash" track sounded and out walked the legendary Mick Foley. It was his first Rumble match since his "Three Faces Of Foley" performance in 1998. He retired from in-ring competition in 2000, but he started a great feud with Orton in late 2003 so it was fitting that he was a part of the match. Foley went after Orton right away. He pounded him with fists against the turnbuckle to weaken him and then gave him the famous Cactus Clothesline that sent Orton out of the ring while Foley was also eliminated too. The crowd absolutely loved it. Foley had a vicious brawl with Orton outside the ring for a couple of minutes before they made their way to the back. It was a great idea to have Foley in the match. It was a genuine surprise to a lot of people that did an awesome job of setting up his WrestleMania 20 match with The Rock against Evolution and then the great brawl that Foley had with Orton one month later at Backlash.