WWE Royal Rumble: 10 Best Performances By Losing Superstars
5. Rikishi - 2000
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iey2O2072g At the start of 2000, Rikishi (formerly Fatu) had not made much of a mark on the WWEs main event. Largely regarded as part of the pre-Attitude, gimmick-driven stars that was still hanging around, Rikishi had found a small niche as a member of Too Cool with Grand Master Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty, but had yet to truly break out. That all changed at the Royal Rumble in Madison Square Garden. At the opening bell, it was his teammate Sexay who would have to open the Rumble match, taking on the enigmatic DLo Brown at the matchs outset. The ring would begin to fill up early, but Rikishis entry at number five put a stop to that trend almost immediately. Rikishi stormed into the ring, quickly dispatching Mosh, Christian, and DLo to empty the ring for himself and his Too Cool counterpart. The big Samoan and Sexay looked as though they were going to go at it as well, but the buzzer sounded for entrant number six. Before the men could come to blows, Scotty 2 Hotty sprinted to the ring and corralled the troops. After a brief conference, the three lined up in the ring, and the lights dropped low. Providing the Rumble with a fun respite from the intensity of the Cactus Jack HHH Street Fight earlier in the evening, Too Cool began dancing about the ring, using their brief time together in the match to provide the fans with some levity. As it turned out, Rikishi had bigger designs on the evening, seizing on Scotty and Sexays fun and tossing the two incredulous men over the top rope. Rikishi then donned Scottys hat and broke it down in the middle of the ring as he waited for the next assailant. Rikishi would then be tested by Steve Blackman, weathering the Lethal Weapons early momentum before pitching him out of the ring after only forty-four seconds. An even bigger test was headed the Samoans way at number eight, as the massive Viscera plodded his way down the ramp. Rikishi, not used to being at a size disadvantage, was smothered by Big Vis early on, eating the canvas more than once. It would be Rikishi who won the battle however, as he used Visceras momentum against him to send the four-hundred pounder crashing to the floor. Rikishi seemed unstoppable, taking out his opponents one by one. His strategy was finally foiled by the Big Boss Man, who saw the course of events in the ring and decided to take his time entering the match, so much time in fact that Test, the entrant immediately following Boss Man, actually entered the ring at the same time, effectively neutralizing Rikishis advantage in the match. The big Samoan would fight and claw for the rest of his time in the match, trying desperately to regain his lost momentum, but it was not to be. As he found himself on the ropes, Big Boss Man corralled traffic, getting Test, The British Bulldog, Gangrel, Edge, and Bob Backlund to assist him in tossing out Rikishi. While this elimination would end Rikishis night at the Rumble, but the performance he put on would carry him to main event status throughout the year of 2000.