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

7. JBL (2014)

John Bradshaw Layfield Royal Rumble 2014
WWE.com

Over a decade on from his last appearance in the match, and long removed from his full in-ring retirement, John Bradshaw Layfield's cameo in the 2014 Royal Rumble would have been substantially more annoying had it not taken place on a night that went down in infamy for entirely different reason.

That year's Rumble was less-than-fondly remembered for the omission of Daniel Bryan and the subsequent hatred pointed towards the likes of Batista and Rey Mysterio for the crime of not being Daniel Bryan. The eventual WrestleMania main event victor wasn't announced for the match, but enough people made enough assumptions that the most over wrestler in the company might enter a match that placed him in the prime spot for the biggest show of the year. 

They were ultimately wrong, and they were infuriated. So much so that when Kane eliminated iron man CM Punk in a spot that teed up the argument that chased Phil Brooks out of wrestling, the audience raged too much with everything else going on

All of this is to say that if there was ever a year for JBL to enter the Rumble, do nothing, getting chucked out by Roman Reigns and go back to work like nothing happened and avoid some pelters for it, it was this one.

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