Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble's Biggest Surprise 1988-2022

15. 2013 - Break The Walls Down

Royal Rumble 2013 Chris Jericho Dolph Ziggler
WWE

A massively underrated return and performance for 'Y2J', Chris Jericho decided to forgo the usual teasers and trailers and simply bask in the glory of a surprise pop when he entered the Royal Rumble in the #2 spot in 2013.

Resuming a television feud with #1 draw Dolph Ziggler, the pair lasted over 45 minutes each in the match. As was the style at the time, both iron man stints were mostly ignored by the booking but it was at least stat-padding for Jericho as he continued working towards a cumulative ring-time record.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett