5 Best No. 25 Entries in the Royal Rumble
No. 25 is a historic entry for women, as the first winner of the all-female Royal Rumble was the 25th entrant to the Royal Rumble, Asuka.
From the announcement to the women headlining the show, every step forward was a step towards the progression of women's wrestling from the Bra and Panties generation of the attitude era towards the serious contests that the women of the WWE have today.
Originally announced by the Chief Branding Officer of the WWE, Stephanie McMahon, on the December 18 episode of Monday Night Raw in front of the entire female roster of the WWE.
Rumors had been circulating for months that the WWE planned to pull the trigger on the event, which had been gaining traction due to the incredibly talented female roster that the WWE had begun to accumulate over the last years.
The match itself was a great spectacle and much like the regular Royal Rumble, it saw talents across multiple WWE eras interact in the ring with each other, as talents like Trish Stratus, Lita, Jacqueline, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, and The Bellas faced off against the likes of Becky Lynch, Naomi, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Nia Jax, and Asuka.
You can see the other entries in this series below:
Part 1 is here; Part 6 is here; Part 11 is here; Part 16 is here; Part 21 is here
Part 2 is here; Part 7 is here; Part 12 is here; Part 17 is here; Part 22 is here
Part 3 is here; Part 8 is here; Part 13 is here; Part 18 is here; Part 23 is here
Part 4 is here; Part 9 is here; Part 14 is here; Part 19 is here; Part 24 is here
Part 5 is here; Part 10 is here; Part 15 is here; Part 20 is here
#5 Bastion Booger (1994) - Unable to Compete
In the 1994 Royal Rumble, the number 25 entrant was supposed to be oddball wrestler Bastion Booger.
However, after the number was reached no one entered the match at the time and everything proceeded as normal. While this had happened before with Macho Man Randy Savage not entering the Royal Rumble when his number came up in the 1991 match.
The difference being that during Savage's no-show, there was a storyline explanation as he had interfered in the Ultimate Warriors' title match earlier in the night. Whereas Bastion Booger appeared a no-show the entire event, the explanation was later given that Booger "didn't feel well".
He would continue to wrestle for the promotion before being released in August of the same year. He would re-appear for a one-off guest appearance on an episode of Raw in 2007, but that would be his final appearance for the company as he passed away in September 2010.
If we look at what was at stake during the match, it is pretty much inexcusable that Booger did not take his spot in the match. In a locker room full of superstars where only 30 men get to compete in a match and there are plenty of qualifier bouts and backstage attacks just to get a coveted spot in the Rumble match, the Booger 'no showing' the event is a massive surprise.
The WWE could have ideally repalced him like they have done so in the other years. For example, Mic Foley attacked Test backstage in order to get even with Randy Orton and inserted himself in the 21st spot in the 2004 Royal Rumble.