WWE: The Top 15 Greatest Moments in Royal Rumble History

13. Maven Shockingly Eliminates The Undertaker: January 20, 2002

The Undertaker’s presence would continue to be felt at the Royal Rumble for many years.  But nobody saw what was coming in the 2002 Royal Rumble match between Big Evil and a newcomer that was trying to make his name in the WWE.

Maven was the co-winner of the inaugural season of WWE Tough Enough in 2001 and he would have a fair amount of success early on.  Maven would become a three-time Hardcore Champion, but most would consider his most important work in the WWE was against The Undertaker.  And nothing he did was bigger than the Royal Rumble match in 2002.

He would become entangled in a brief feud with The Undertaker thanks to his shocking elimination of Big Evil in the Royal Rumble match.  A drop kick to the back of a distracted Taker launched him over the top rope, much to the shock of everyone in the WWE universe.  But Maven would pay for making history.

Big Evil gave Maven a brutal beating after the match out of anger and would ultimately get the upper hand against the rookie.  Despite Maven’s WWE career not turning out great in the long run, he made a huge splash early on by going toe-to-toe with The Undertaker in his yard.

He was tough enough and Maven, albeit in a short amount of time, made an impact in the WWE thanks in large part due to his shocking Royal Rumble performance.