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When the next WWE Royal Rumble video package rolls, you likely won't see Max Moon's brief appearance in the event's namesake match feature.
Stars like Steve Austin, Ric Flair and Triple H will always be associated with the annual Battle Royal. The goofy, space-themed Moon, not so much. He is among the wrestlers one can easily forget were in contention for a Rumble win.
Foreign guests, guys who only had the proverbial cup of coffee with WWE and comic-relief acts have all entered the same battlefield as the Royal Rumble's icons. Read on for a chronological look at some of those names, the marquee pay-per-view's background players.
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There's a full year WWE of Hall of Famer Tony Atlas' career he likely wants all of us to forget.
From the summer of 1990 to September 1991, the powerlifter wrestled as Saba Simba, an African tribal warrior. Critics have slammed the gimmick, labeling it racist.
In 1991, Atlas entered the only Royal Rumble of his career dressed in a headdress and loincloth.
WWE wouldn't have to worry too much about erasing the controversial shtick from Rumble history, though. Atlas was only in the bout for two minutes. Rick Martel sent him on his way in a battle Hulk Hogan won.
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For the briefest of stretches, a cartoon astronaut roamed the WWE landscape.
Max Moon was the most ridiculous alter ego Thomas Boric had while working for the company. He sported a bright blue outfit that looked like it belonged in an Ed Wood film. And WWE billed him as being from outer space.
Moon made appeared at just one PPV: the 1993 Royal Rumble.
Even as absurd as his act was, it's easy to forget he was a part of that bout. He lasted less than two minutes in the match and scored zero eliminations.
The cosmic punchline was long gone by the time Yokozuna won the Rumble.
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No one will revoke your WWE fan card if you don't remember Takao Omori's contribution to Royal Rumble history.
The All Japan Pro Wrestling star only wrestled a single WWE match, with the company bringing him in for the 1996 Royal Rumble. But despite his success in his home country, Omori was not a big name in the States.
And WWE aficionados will more remember that Royal Rumble for featuring a number of wrestlers with gimmicks they later abandoned. Steve Austin fought that night as The Ringmaster, and The Headhunters were known then as The Squat Team.
Omori did not eliminate anyone from the Battle Royal. Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Jake Roberts ousted the tag team specialist from the ring after nearly three minutes of action.
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A partnership with Mexico's famous AAA promotion led to the 1997 Royal Rumble's lucha libre flair. Alongside familiar names like Goldust and Owen Hart, Mexican wrestlers Mil Mascaras, Pierroth, Cibernetico and Latin Lover looked to be the last man standing that night.
Mil Mascaras was by far the biggest star of that group in the United States. The masked man had wrestled for WWE at a number of live events and TV shows before the Rumble, clashing with Don Muraco, George Steele and other grapplers.
His compatriots had but a handful of appearances on WWE programming on their resumes.
Both Cibernetico and Latin Lover only briefly appeared in the Rumble, lasting less than two minutes each. Mil Mascaras fared better but strangely become one of the few men in the event's history to eliminate himself.
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The Royal Rumble has welcomed some of the strongest men to ever walk on this planet. It has featured world-class athletes, former Olympians and guys who played in the NFL. It also saw TV host and comedian Drew Carey enter the fray in 2001.
Carey stepped into the ring as the fifth entrant.
The Price is Right host donned workout gear for the occasion but kept his trademark spectacles on. He didn't stick around to see whether the WWE roster would adhere to the "don't hit a guy in glasses" rule. Carey quickly escaped the chaos and Kane by stepping over the top rope and hightailing it out of there.
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MMA fighter Daniel Puder's WWE career was a blip.
He won the Tough Enough competition in 2004 to earn a developmental deal. Puder, though, didn't last long after that. He took on The Miz at Armageddon in a worked boxing match and entered the 2005 Royal Rumble as the third entrant. And that was essentially it.
Puder went from roster member to alumnus by September of that year.
At the Royal Rumble, he suffered what looked like a gang initiation. Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit whipped on him. Bob Holly followed suit. After the three men whacked his chest with chop after chop, Puder exited the match via Holly shoving him out.
Three of the men he beat out to win Tough Enough went on to have more substantial WWE careers than him: The Miz, Ryback and Mitch from The Spirit Squad.
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The Royal Rumble 2012 saw its fair share of long shots.
Alberto Del Rio's manager, Ricardo Rodriguez, sought WrestleMania glory. Jerry Lawler entered the battle despite being in his 60s. And announcer Michael Cole tried his hand at joining Shawn Michaels and John Cena as Rumble winners.
Cole has stepped into the ring here and there throughout his broadcast career. Surprisingly, he went into his first and only Rumble with a 2-1 PPV record.
He didn't last a 90 seconds in the 30-man Battle Royal. His co-announcers, Lawler and Booker T, threw him out of the contest.
With his entry into the Rumble that night, Cole took part in a historic match that Hall of Famers Ricky Steamboat and Scott Hall never did.
Royal Rumble history and entrant info from WWE.com and TheHistoryofWWE.com.
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