The WWE Royal Rumble has been full of intriguing entrants over the years, ranging from returning legends, commentators and much, much more.
The build-up to this year’s event has so far been dominated by the news that actor Johnny Knoxville is seemingly set to appear in the Rumble match.
Knoxville, who is most famous for his starring role in the TV series ‘Jackass’, won’t be making his first appearance in the WWE ring. That’s because he has previously been involved in two separate in-ring segments.
Read: Five of the best surprise entrants in the WWE Royal Rumble
The 50-year-old first featured in WWE during an edition of Raw in 2008. He didn’t enjoy much success on the night. Firstly, he was the victim of a slam from Beth Phoenix before taking a Tadpole Splash from Hornswoggle.
He then did some bizarre dancing in the ring, before being confronted by The Great Khali. Unsurprisingly, the heel Khali didn’t take too kindly to Knoxville’s antics, and flattened him by wrapping his massive hands around the actor’s head.
The ‘Jackass’ star then returned to WWE for a guest host segment on Raw two years later.
If he does make an in-ring appearance, he won’t be the first celebrity to do so. That’s because, in 2001, famous US comedian Drew Carey made a hilarious entrance to the Royal Rumble but ultimately met his demise at the hands of one of WWE’s most brutal superstars.
Who is Drew Carey?

Drew Carey is an actor and comedian who found fame through the sitcom ‘The Drew Carey Show‘, in which he played the title character for its entire run of nine seasons and 233 episodes.
He earlier spent time in the United States Marine Corps, and was a big wrestling fan. That led to him appearing in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the 2001 Royal Rumble event.
The 63-year-old was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011 as that year’s celebrity entry. He also hosts a show on popular US radio station SiriusXM and occasionally works as a press photographer. He currently presents the game show ‘The Price Is Right’.
How did Drew Carey enter the Royal Rumble?
During a backstage segment of the 2001 Royal Rumble event, Carey was added to the entrant list by Vince McMahon himself.
When he expressed concerns over getting injured, McMahon reassured him that the event was all about fun – and Trish Stratus added that his appearance would be “very impressive”.
That pep talk seemed to convince the comedian, and he strode out to the arena in the number five slot.
What happened during Drew Carey’s Rumble appearance
Carey walked out to the arena adorning an all-black tracksuit to great applause from the WWE faithful.
The comedian watched as Jeff and Matt Hardy battled each other on the top rope, eventually eliminating each other. That left Carey standing in the ring on his own, in front of over 17,000 fans. You’d be forgiven for thinking he might do a comedy show there and then.
He did a mock celebration, much to the delight of the spectators in attendance. Carey then turned around to eye up his next opponent before quickly doubling up in fear. It was ‘The Big Red Machine’, Kane.
Kane stalked around the ring for a minute before strolling up to confront his next victim. Carey waved and offered a handshake, but of course, it was not accepted.
After watching him offer money, Kane snapped. He picked up Carey to perform his signature chokeslam but was then hit over the back by the number eight entrant, Raven.
The comedian did not want to involve himself in any more drama and quickly escaped and flung himself over the top rope. It was a brief Rumble appearance – but certainly a memorable one.
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