12 Wrestlers Who Had ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS Being In WWE Royal Rumble
6. AAA Roster Members (1997)
Not exactly known for his wisdom on commentary, Vince McMahon wasn't fooling anybody as he pretended to give a toss about the various Triple-A wrestlers were that padded out the field in the 1997 San Antonio edition of the Royal Rumble.
Listen out for his calls (or lack thereof) as the likes of Pierroth, Latin Lover, Cybernetico run out for indistinct spells in the Battle Royal, joining some 60,000+ fans (many of them in at a discount or for free) and the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart in one of the more prominent cases of mixed messaging from a company still in a massive state of flux.
Perception - the mammoth venue, the stars that would ultimately save and transform the company's fortunes - was not reality at the time. Reality was reality, and reality called for WWE to require yet more outside help to find 30 stars, and work alongside other organisations to try and keep pace with the rampaging phenom that was the nWo-driven World Championship Wrestling.
If Hart, Austin and the likes of Undertaker and Mankind were splashes of cold water to the face, every lucha name was simply cold. The legendary Mil Máscaras was a different proposition, but he was only too aware of it. Beloved and not prepared to sever his relationship with this and every possible crowd watching, Máscaras politicked his way out of even doing an elimination job by jumping off the top rope to the floor to oust himself from the match. It being pro wrestling, he kind of looked more like an idiot loser for ostensibly not following the rules, and he never guested for the organisation again.