No. 1 entries in the men's Royal Rumble from 2002-2011: Where are they now?
Most wrestlers do not want to enter first in the Royal Rumble. With a new entrant coming out every 90 seconds, the #1 entrant is at an obvious disadvantage, having to outlast the entire field of competitors to win.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, the #1 spot has a surprisingly good track record of producing winners. Ironically, both #1 and #30 have produced three winners each. This is just 1 below the winningest number of all time, 27.
In this list, we will look back at each superstar who drew the dreaded #1 spot from the years 2002-2011, run through their performances and see what they are up to now.
Without further ado, let's begin.
Rikishi: Royal Rumble 2002
Rikishi draws number 1 and Goldust draws number 2 at the Royal Rumble Match at the Royal Rumble 2002 #WWENetwork https://t.co/KclKqC099b
By 2002, Rikishi was a seasoned veteran of WWE. Following a failed heel run, he had returned to his fun-loving dancing character that endeared him to his fans.
Rikishi performed respectably, lasting 13 minutes and scoring a single elimination before being eliminated by The Undertaker. The veteran Rikishi remained with WWE until 2004.
At the age of 56, Rikishi continues to keep an active schedule where he makes appearances, gives interviews and wrestles on occasion. Since his sons, The Usos, made their debut on WWE's main roster in 2010, Rikishi has featured on WWE programming from time to time and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.
More recently, Rikishi has begun hosting his Rikishi Driver Talk Show podcast.