When WWE Hall of Famer refused to lose; eliminated himself from the Royal Rumble
WWE creative team member Bruce Prichard once told an amusing story about the time Mil Mascaras competed in a Royal Rumble.
Mascaras, the uncle of former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of all time. In 1997, he was one of four AAA-contracted talents who appeared in the Royal Rumble match.
Prichard discussed the event on a 2017 episode of his Something to Wrestle With podcast. He recalled how Mascaras was always nice behind the scenes, but he did not want to lose any matches:
"Very, very polite, just a class gentleman all the way, but Mil did not do jobs, and if you knew him you could have conversations with him," Prichard said. "He spoke broken English, but he spoke English (...) But when it came time to ask Mil to do the favors for someone and put somebody else over, 'No job, no job, no job.' That was all the English you were gonna get out of him!" [1:14:53 – 1:15:22]
Although he is best known for wrestling in Mexico, Mascaras also competed for WWE in the 1970s and 1980s. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2012.
How WWE booked Mil Mascaras at the 1997 Royal Rumble
The masked wrestler was the 11th entrant in the 30-man Royal Rumble match. After lasting seven minutes, he eliminated fellow AAA stars Cibernetico and Pierroth before stepping between the middle and top rope.
From the ring apron, the Mexican legend climbed to the top turnbuckle before launching himself onto Pierroth at ringside. Two referees ruled that Mascaras eliminated himself and ordered him to leave the ring.
The most dramatic elimination in the history of the Royal Rumble.
Mil Mascaras eliminates himself! https://t.co/d8WlPbQhhC
Bruce Prichard felt that WWE's higher-ups had to book Mascaras that way due to his refusal to lose:
"We figured that was the best way to [present him]. He was a legend and we wanted him to look good. We didn't even approach him [about getting eliminated by someone else]. He knew he wasn't going over." [1:15:33 – 1:15:44]
It could be argued that Mascaras' elimination should not have counted. Royal Rumble participants are eliminated when both feet touch the floor after they go over the top rope. In Mascaras' case, he only went between two ropes before jumping to the outside of the ring.
Stone Cold Steve Austin won the 1997 match after eliminating 10 superstars.
Do you think Mil Mascaras' elimination should have counted? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Something to Wrestle With and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
If you'd like to learn some more fascinating facts about the Royal Rumble, check out the below video!