Royal Rumble flashback: 5 things that happened at the 2003 Royal Rumble
The WWE Royal Rumble is among the most anticipated show of the year, besides Wrestlemania. The match itself is interesting due to its unpredictability with regards to special appearances, returns and the eventual winner of the match.
The 2003 Royal Rumble took place on January 19, 2003, at the Fleet Center in Boston, and was the first Royal Rumble produced under the WWE name. The event saw an attendance of over 15,000 fans at the Fleet Center. The winner of the Royal Rumble match would go on to headline Wrestlemania 19 and face either the WWE Champion Kurt Angle or World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. The match proved to be one of the best Royal Rumble matches of all time and had some memorable moments that have not been forgotten to this day.
Here are the five insane things that happened back at the 2003 Royal Rumble.
#5 Roman Reign's brother was a participant in the Rumble match
Rosey made his WWE debut on Raw on July 22, 2002, as a member of 3-Minute Warning, a pair of villainous savages. He was the elder brother of current top star Roman Reigns. At the time of his 2003 Royal Rumble participation, Roman Reigns was just 17 years old and was probably dreaming of being a WWE Superstar someday.
Rosey entered the 2003 Royal Rumble match at number 16 and dominated the match as soon as he entered the ring, laying waste to almost everyone present at that time. Although he didn't make a big name like Roman is today, Rosey had an intimidating physical appearance and his set of ring moves were quite impressive.
During the match, he lasted an impressive 10 minutes 16 seconds before being eliminated by Kane. Despite not having any eliminations of his own, his offensive moves were worth noting and if one watches the match now, he would confuse him with a fat version of Roman Reigns. Sadly, he died on April 17, 2017, at the age of 47 years.