WWE Royal Rumble Debut Wrestlers: Where Are They Now?
6. Junkyard Dog
Junkyard Dog was one of the biggest babyfaces of the 80s, and one of the first African-American wrestlers to really get over in WWE. He was never the best worker, but JYD's crowd interaction was second to none, and he drew particularly strong support from the audiences' younger age groups.
Unfortunately, the Dog had a dud run in the first Royal Rumble. He entered as the last man at number 20, and it took just 2:30 for Ron Bass to eliminate him. His WWE career ended shortly after his feud with Bass later that year, and JYD transitioned to WCW, where he immediately jumped into a feud with The Russian Assassins.
Junkyard won his first piece of WCW gold by capturing the WCW Six-Man Tag Team Championships in 1991, but left the company to improve his conditioning later that year. He returned for one final run in 1992, and eventually stepped away permanently in 1993.
Sadly, Junkyard Dog passed away in June 1998. Returning home from his daughter's high school graduation, JYD fell asleep at the wheel, crashed his car, and died on the scene. He had remained active in the wrestling industry prior to then, however, and had appeared at ECW's Wrestlepalooza event a month before his accident.