12 Wrestlers Who Had ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS Being In WWE Royal Rumble
5. Dan Matha (Greatest Royal Rumble)
Dan Matha was - and this is a compliment - one of the best gag wrestlers ever when he first appeared on NXT back in 2015.
Built as a killer monster of the old school variety (AKA he had a great look but was slightly limited from a workrate point of view) on a show that was presenting new fresh wrestlers as the core modus operandi of the brand, there was almost a sense of dread around a John Laurinaitis-era greenhorn arriving on the beloved black-and-gold brand. Baron Corbin had made a gimmick out of wrecking the vibe and trying to beat everybody's faves, but even he was developing cult status thanks to feeling like what a contemporary Performance Center prospect should be rather than another FCW/OVW era run-off.
For weeks, his debut was plugged and pushed, until he finally arrived and was immediately choked out by Samoa Joe to further his heel turn and feud with Samoa Joe. From there he was...nowhere. Matha did job after job either side of his bewildering Saudi Arabia appearance, with the lone rationale for his inclusion in the match being his imposing size. A host of larger frames made up the numbers in the 50-man contest, and Matha got the nod for the match and #40 spot.
His run wasn't memorable, and it stood little chance of getting noticed even if it had been interesting - Titus O'Neill entered and #39 and infamously hit the deck face-first before he made it into the ring. People were still pissing themselves at the replays (Corey Graves included) as Matha walked the aisle.