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

37. 1991 - Randy Savage No-Shows

Edge Royal Rumble
WWE

Randy Savage had amazing night at the 1991 Royal Rumble, but his actions were so volatile on the undercard that he became the first man to miss his big moment in the titular main.

This was a huge but necessary step for the Macho King, and narratively made the clear the consequences of his heinous actions. A deranged beatdown delivered to the Ultimate Warrior had resulted in his shocking WWE Championship loss to Sgt Slaughter earlier in the night - Savage had cleaned him out with a spotlight and sceptre shot, only to sprint for the f*cking hills when he realised the sh*t he was in. He wasn't safe anywhere, let alone in the Rumble match hours later.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 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. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, 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