The Royal Rumble matches always have plenty of spots to fill, and while the vast majority of them are given to the top talents, there are always a few spots available for others. This can be legends, wrestlers debuting, celebrities, and more. Over the years, a few of them have been taken up by some huge names.
However, every now and then there is an entrant into the Rumble that is just odd. Whether it be because they've not worked in WWE before and aren't that big of a name or because they weren't expected at all. The 2000s saw plenty of those moments take place.
10 The Honky Tonk Man (2001)
The Honky Tonk Man was a surprise entrant in the 2001 Royal Rumble and wasn't somebody that people expected to see turning up in the match. His inclusion was a random one, which people enjoyed, but he was barely in the bout at all.
WWE clearly didn't have much planned for the Honky Tonk Man as he turned up, got smashed in the head with a guitar by Kane, and was swiftly eliminated from the match.
9 Jim Duggan (2009)
Hacksaw Jim Duggan won the first-ever Royal Rumble match, so it's clear to see what WWE was going for by bringing him back in this match. He got a nice pop on the night, but Duggan was certainly a strange inclusion.
Far past his best and someone who younger audiences certainly weren't aware of, as he's not the biggest name from WWE's past, he made no sense. The fact that he was given a major spot as the #29th entrant also didn't help, as by this point, fans were expecting big names.
8 Jonathan Coachman (2005, 2006)
Not content with just being involved in one Royal Rumble, Jonathan Coachman was actually part of the match two years in a row, for some reason. Coachman was actually on commentary for both of these shows, only to hop out of the booth to hit the ring.
It was a very strange moment the first time, and it was made even stranger the second year as it was less of a funny surprise and more of a wasted spot than anything else.
7 Christopher Nowinski (2003)
Christopher Nowinski was never one of the top WWE Superstars, so seeing him enter the Royal Rumble was certainly a strange moment. He was a total waste of a spot, which was only pushed even further by the fact he spent most of his time out of the ring.
He never stood any chance of winning the match and was someone who was quickly forgotten about after he had been eliminated. The only notable thing about his appearance was that Edge and Rey Mysterio gave him an accidental concussion.
6 Tatanka (2006)
Tatanka was certainly a very random name for WWE to bring back for the 2006 Royal Rumble, and while he got a nice pop at the moment, he was never someone that was ever going to win the match.
It was a fairly strange inclusion and while Tatanka has always been a solid hand, he's never quite been a top star, which is why this moment was a rather strange one.
5 Kevin Thorn (2007)
When WWE first revived ECW, the company tried to get a fair portion of wrestlers from the roster into the Royal Rumble. However, the roster wasn't deep enough with talent who could've actually won the Rumble for this to be worthwhile.
Having the likes of CM Punk and Sabu in the match was fine, but the same cannot be said for Kevin Thorn. It was a random entry for a gimmick that never quite worked out.
4 Bob Backlund (2000)
Bob Backlund was technically a surprise entrant into the 2000 Royal Rumble, but he had only just left the company in the first place, which made him quite a range inclusion. However, this moment brought Backlund back to WWE and he did have another very short run after this.
His inclusion in the match was fine, and old-school fans certainly appreciated seeing him back inside the ring one more time, but it was strange considering he had only just wrapped up his time in WWE.
3 Kaientai (2000)
This was a very strange situation because technically, Kaientai (Funaki and Taka Michinoku) never officially entered the Royal Rumble match. However, throughout the match, they would hit the ring and attack people at random before being sent out again.
The entire situation didn't really make much sense and was seemingly done for comedic purposes, but it fell flat and just left people confused and wondering why they kept popping up.
2 Hornswoggle (2008)
While Hornswoggle has since gone on to get plenty of opportunities to wrestle, back in 2008 he was mainly seen as an enhancement to Finlay's character. He wasn't around as an in-ring talent, therefore his entrance into the Rumble was a very surprising and strange one.
Obviously, due to his size, it was clear Hornswoggle was never winning the match and this random appearance ended up being quite an odd one within the match. However, he did get a nice pop from the live crowd, who certainly appreciated the moment. He also scored an elimination and was never actually tossed out.
1 Drew Carey (2001)
This isn't just the strangest Royal Rumble entrant of the 2000s, but it's also the strangest of all time. Drew Carey entering the Rumble just made no sense at all, as he desperately tried to get eyes on himself to promote his comedy show.
He had a segment in the match with Kane where he tried to pay him off, but it ended with Carey eliminating himself from the match. It was a very random moment and the fact that no celebrities have been in the match since should be a clear answer as to how people felt about it.