The first post in this series discussed the importance of the Royal Rumble to WWE history, established the metrics by which these countdown wrestlers were evaluated for this countdown, and discussed the bottom place—wrestlers who, based on the criteria in play, only scored one point. In this second installment, the list carries forward with those talents who tallied between 2 and 7 cumulative points.
374. Alex Riley, Bull Buchanan, Robert Roode, Simon Dean, and Tyson Kidd (tie)
The men tied for 375rd place can’t exactly claim Royal Rumble greatness, but there is a reasonable degree of distinction between them and the performers tied for 380th. Last place finishers are largely defined by talents who didn’t last long at all in WWE, never got a push, or were novelty entrants as broadcasters, visitors to the company, or flavors of the week.
The next up from the bottom each appeared in two separate Rumbles. Roode and Kidd deserve some merit for the quality of in ring skills they brought to the table, while Bull Buchanan was an athletic big man who hung around WWE for six years (before visiting appearances to follow), but never quite found his niche with the company. Two Rumble berths bespeak the range of ways WWE tried to use him as he appeared as part of Right To Censor in 2001 and as John Cena’s heater, B-Squared in 2003.
Even Simon Dean and Alex Riley had memorable Rumble moments. Dean rode his segway to the ring and got a little comedy in before being dispatched of by the two other men in the ring, Rey Mysterio and Triple H. Riley took part in a fun mini-angle of The Miz being haunted by a series of past tag team allies he’d burned to kick off Royal Rumble 2012, after having infamously suffered a botched, early elimination that undermined plans for the 2011 Rumble.
336. Alba Fyre, B. Brian Blair, Big Cass, Brutus Beefcake, Bushwhacker Luke, Damien Demento, Danny Davis, Droz, Emma, Ernest Miller, Eugene, Flash Funk, Harley Race, Ivar, Jaida Parker, Jillian Hall, Kacy Catanzaro, Kalisto, Karl Anderson, Lance Storm, Mantaur, Mark Jindrak, Merces Martinez, Mojo Rawley, Neville, Paul Roma, Pete Dunne, Raven, Rosey, Sabu, Sam Houston, Samu, Scotty 2 Hotty, Skinner, Tom Prichard, Trevor Murdoch, Victoria (tie)
Like 374th place, the 336th spot features a few names that could or perhaps are even likely to climb the list with future appearances, including Jaida Parker, Alba Fyre, Ivar, and Pete Dunne.
Outside of talents who just haven’t yet had time for their Rumble careers to play out, this spot includes some all-time great workers, like Harley Race from the twilight of his in-ring career, Lance Storm in his all-too-brief and under-featured WWE run, and Neville, who had so much going for him but clashed with the powers that be in WWE and seems unlikely to return, despite still presumably having years of high-level in-ring performance left in him. There was also a special star mainstream promoters never seemed to get in Raven.
Memorable performances from the 335th spot include Kacy Catanzaro showcasing her athleticism to narrowly avoid elimination and both Ernest Miller and Scott 2 Hotty being part of memorable mid-Rumble dance breaks. Overall, this spot is distinguished by performers who made up to three Rumble appearances or who had ten-minute-plus Rumble appearance, making for a respectable pedigree in the match.
316. Adam Bomb, Angelo Dawkins, B-Fab, Boogeyman, Col Mustafa, Duke Droese, Fandango, Grandmaster Sexay, Hunico, Indi Hartwell, Jerry Sags, Jonathan Coachman, Justin Gabriel, Ludwig Kaiser, Montez Ford, Perry Saturn, Super Crazy, Tajiri, Tugboat, Yoshi Tatsu, and Zack Ryder (tie)
While 316th place isn’t exactly auspicious, at four points earned, it does connote wrestlers who had an impact. Zack Ryder, is an outlier in this portion of the list—the only one with four appearances in Royal Rumble matches, despite never lasting more than five minutes in a single one. Otherwise, this spot on the list is dominated by performers with two Rumbles under their belts and around ten cumulative minutes in the ring.
305. Aliyah, Bart Gunn, Jeff Jarrett, JTG, Kelly Kelly, Lash Legend, Lyra Valkyria, Stephanie Vaquer, Terry Taylor, The Honky Tonk Man, Tommy Dreamer, and William Regal (tie)
This is a mixed bag spot on the list. The majority were mid-card guys who had each worked three Royal Rumble matches. Meanwhile, Stephanie Vaquer, Lash Legend, Lyra Valkyria and a perhaps forgotten Aaliyah each made their Rumble debuts with single performances that lasted about twenty minutes on their own.
283. Chainz, Crash Holly, Curt Hawkins, Darren Young, Drew Carey, Irwin R. Schyster, IShowSpeed, Jeff Jarrett, Jimmy Del Ray, King Kong Bundy, Madcap Moss, Marc Mero, Mo, Mosh, Orlando Jordan, Pat McAfee, Ricardo Rodriguez, Rick Boogs, Sin Cara, The Brian Kendrick, The Great Kabuki, The Warlord (tie)
154 of the wrestlers to enter the Royal Rumble never made a single elimination. So, it’s noteworthy this is the point of the list at which men and women who had that kind of impact start appearing on the list alongside talents whose combination of multiple Rumble appearances and/or impressive longevity in a match got them to six points.
Drew Carey and IShowSpeed are, interestingly enough, celebrity guest entrants who had some impact, each credited with an elimination. Though Carey eliminated himself, it was a memorable enough spot to see him momentarily own the ring as the only man inside, then briefly square off with Kane to earn him some recognition (not to mention that this performance all but singlehandedly garnered him an induction into the Celebrity Wing of the WWE Hall of Fame). For his part, IShowSpeed helped Bron Breakker oust Otis from the ring before falling victim to The Unpredictable Badass himself in memorable fashion. This is also a spot for some Rumble underachievers like King Kong Bundy and The Warlord—the kind of big bodies one would’ve thought racked up more than one appearance in the match and more than one elimination throughout his or her WWE tenures.
Jeff Jarrett’s also worthy of a shoutout here for, despite never lasting more than four minutes in a Rumble and appearing four times, the last of which was two decades past his prime in a memorable surprise entrance in the early stages of the 2019 match.
275. Apollo Crews, Damien Sandow, Junkyard Dog, Mike Knox, Ronnie Garvin, Santos Escobar, Shane Douglas, and Thrasher (tie)
Interestingly enough, not a single performer at this position on the list scored a single elimination. Crews, Sandow, and Escobar have three Rumbles a piece on their resume, while the remaining performers have half-hour-ish runs in their only Rumble appearances to solidify their spots well-removed from the bottom of the list.