12 Wrestlers Who Had ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS Being In WWE Royal Rumble

11. Drew Carey (2001)

WWE WWF Royal Rumble 2001 Drew Carey
WWE.com

It was often said that Vince McMahon was always happier trying an idea that had worked in the past rather than taking gambles on things that had higher risk/reward ratios. He blew a small fortune on trying to make Lex Luger a new Hulk Hogan, rebooted his own rivalry with Steve Austin across countless authority figure/top babyface feuds, and almost destroyed Roman Reigns intent on making him the next John Cena right down to the fact that loads of his paying customers hated him.

With the original WrestleMania being a success story in-part due to the involvement of Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T, celebrities stepping between the ropes was something McMahon was always happy to take a punt on. Often at the expense of his regular wrestlers, and often at the expense of the match in question. This was doubly the case with Drew Carey at the 2001 Royal Rumble.

Carey was an unannounced special guest on the show and was mid-plug in a segment with Vince McMahon when the former Chairman inserted him into the match. When he managed to survive the luck of the draw and enter as both Hardy Boyz eliminated each other, only to bail at the site of Kane, it left a strange sensation of something that should have been a bigger deal rather than a total non-event. In a bizarre coda to the tale, he ended up in the 2011 Hall Of Fame class in celebration of the cameo.    

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