One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every WWE Royal Rumble

2005 - Samoa Joe Was Offered A Spot In The Royal Rumble…Sort Of

In a strange chapter of his career, Mick Foley turned up in Ring Of Honor in late 2004 as something of a regular.

When he wasn’t using the promotion as a vehicle with which to vent his frustrations over Ric Flair, he built feuds that would never get a payoff. He also turned face after playing a promising heel character with little in the way of explanation.

Riffing on his ECW days, Foley played a guy who put over WWE as the be-all, end-all. This was smart, in that the ROH fans flocked to the promotion precisely because WWE was so wrestling-phobic in their eyes, but it was a diminished return - nowhere near as effective as the Hardcore Legend grabbing headlocks to genuinely infuriate the ECW arena ultras.

In a January angle, one of Foley’s better efforts, he initiated a feud with Samoa Joe. Foley said he’d wrestle Joe - but only in WWE for a six-figure payday. Foley also said that he could hook Joe up with a spot in the Rumble. Foley just needed to make the call to the main man: Brian Gewirtz. That was a funny line. Deeper into the worked shoot promo, Foley said Joe would have to tone his stuff down, eat fish, and perform a Stinkface if he was going to make the jump.

The angle ended with Foley cracking Joe with a mic and a chair before blasting him with the double-arm DDT. He didn’t get much heat; the fans still liked him.

In reality, this was not sanctioned by WWE, nor was the promotion interested in Joe’s services at the time: according to Bruce Prichard, Vince McMahon deemed Joe “a big fat Samoan”.