10 Wrestlers We Can't Believe Scored Eliminations In 2000s Royal Rumble Matches

During the Royal Rumble matches it is often the heavy hitters who score the vast majority of the eliminations. Big names who are expected to potentially win the matches are typically the people who WWE books to eliminate most of the field, but they don't take out everybody.

With 30 people in the match, there has to be some balance and commitment to other storylines. Because of that, WWE often gives eliminations to mid-card talents as well. However, every now and then a truly shocking elimination happens, with someone that nobody expects being able to score it, which happened plenty of times during the 2000s.

10 Ted DiBiase Jr. (2009)

Ted DiBiase Jr. managed to score one elimination in the 2009 Royal Rumble, which was one that Legacy actually dominated. Ted and Cody Rhodes spent most of their time actually protecting Randy Orton here, desperately trying to get him the victory.

However, DiBiase Jr. did eliminate Kane in this match, which was a moment when all three members of Legacy worked together to topple The Big Red Machine.

9 Kevin Thorn (2007)

Kevin Thorn is someone that nobody really took seriously within WWE, mainly because he wasn't ever pushed in a serious manner, even during the ECW shows. He wasn't a top talent within the match, yet he still managed to pick up an elimination within the match.

However, the elimination he picked up was only a partial one, as he worked alongside another group of talents in order to get rid of Viscera from the match. This was a classic case of wrestlers working together to get rid of a bigger man.

8 Luther Reigns (2005)

Luther Reigns is a wrestler that most WWE fans have absolutely forgotten about, as he never ended up reaching the potential that he had. Reigns was pushed simply because of his size and physicality, but it was still a shock to see him pick up an elimination.

In a similar fashion to Kenny Dykstra, Luther Reigns picked up an elimination alongside other wrestlers. He and another group managed to eliminate Muhammad Hassan within this match.

7 Kenny Dykstra (2007)

Kenny Dykstra may have been pushed at the time as a cocky young heel, but because his career didn't end up going the way that people thought, the fact he scored an elimination is now quite surprising.

He worked alongside Edge to get his only elimination within the match, which saw him get rid of Ric Flair in the match. This worked out, considering that The Nature Boy was his main rival at that point in time.

6 The Brian Kendrick (2009)

The Brian Kendrick is certainly a talented wrestler, but he was only ever in one Royal Rumble match, and his appearance in that only lasted for 15 seconds. However, despite barely being in the match, Kendrick actually picked up an elimination.

It's actually quite impressive that he managed that feat in such a short space of time, as he eliminated Kofi Kingston from the match before being ejected by Triple H.

5 Chuck Palumbo (2008)

Chuck Palumbo was a talented wrestler, but his booking in WWE always left a lot to be desired. He wasn't showcased as a top star at any point in his career, but in 2008 he did score a Royal Rumble elimination.

Palumbo managed to throw out Jamie Noble from the match, which was certainly an impressive moment for his career. However, it didn't lead to much else within the match, as he was sent out by CM Punk, having only lasted four minutes himself in the Rumble.

4 Matt Morgan (2004)

While Matt Morgan had a great career with TNA, being showcased as a top talent, in WWE his run wasn't quite as impressive. Morgan wasn't the dominant star he should have been, and looking back to see he scored an elimination is a huge surprise.

Morgan managed to take The Hurricane out of the 2004 match, who had only managed to be involved for 19 seconds before Morgan launched him out of the Rumble.

3 Val Venis (2000)

Val Venis was always a solid hand for WWE, but he was more of a gimmick than he was a top-tier talent in the ring. Because of that, it is fairly surprising he scored an elimination during his time in the 2000 Royal Rumble.

Because this match was also very stacked with top-tier talents, it was a real shock that Venis managed to get an elimination. He took Edge out of this particular Rumble, giving him a big moment.

2 Hornswoggle (2008)

Hornswoggle was one of the most shocking entrants to actually be part of the Royal Rumble in the 2000s, but he did manage to make his presence felt. Despite the fact he might be smaller in stature, that didn't stop him from picking up an elimination.

It would be The Miz who suffered at the hands of Hornswoggle on this particular occasion, in what was actually a funny spot thanks to his reaction to being eliminated.

1 Maven (2002)

Maven eliminating The Undertaker still remains as one of the most shocking eliminations in Royal Rumble history. The Tough Enough star being able to eliminate one of the biggest names in WWE is something nobody saw coming.

It is easily the biggest moment in Maven's career and is something that defined him throughout his time in WWE. The pure shock of the elimination created an amazing pop and a fantastic Rumble moment.

NEXT: 8 Male Wrestlers Who Eliminated The Most Opponents In A Royal Rumble