Ranking the top five wrestlers who never won the Royal Rumble
By Bill Yankowy
Davey Boy Smith
If you watch the Royal Rumble from the 1990s, a competitor you will see a lot of is the “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith. Smith was in five Rumbles during the 1990s and in three of them made it to the final four.
In 1991 and 1996 he got to the final four before being eliminated towards the very end. The one that everybody remembers and the one that got away from him was 1995.
Starting at the number two position is very tough for any competitor. But at the 1995 Royal Rumble, Smith was up to the challenge as he and Shawn Michaels made history as being the first two wrestlers starting the Rumble, being the last two wrestlers in it.
When Smith clotheslined Michaels over the top rope his reaction was the same as everybody watching, he had won the Royal Rumble. He was on his way to Wrestlemania to face the world champion, however, Michaels pulled off one of the greatest bits of gymnastics by having only one foot touch the floor, came back, and pushed Smith out of the ring to win the Rumble.
The victory was in Davey Boy Smith’s hands, and it slipped away. While Smith had one more final-four appearance the following year, he never got as close to winning as he did in 1995.