This year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view featured some big returns and surprises in the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble matches, and former WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Hurricane was one surprise entrant that fans were happy to see.
Hurricane Helms recently spoke with Sporting News about his big Royal Rumble appearance, and he said that he was so caught off guard by the positive fan reaction, that he thought his entrance music had been cut off because he couldn’t hear it. He was also asked when he found out about the appearance, and noted that he got confirmation a few days before the big event.
“I had heard through rumor and innuendo that I was on the short list [for the Royal Rumble match] for a couple years, but being under contract with a different company or injuries prevented it in the past. Confirmation came the week of. Once we were inside the building, the whole roster just ran up to me with open arms. So many people were glad to see me. So many old friends, so many new talents that I’d never met but who were Hurricane fans. It was really cool to get that respect from the newer guys. Sometimes it seems like there’s a rift between the old school and the new, and I’ve always been a bridge between the old school and the new. It means a lot to me that I still get that respect from both sides.”
The former WWE Superstar didn’t last very long in the match, as he was eliminated by John Cena, but he also revealed that he had to do a little smooth talking to get Cena to go along with the elimination.
“If I was going to duplicate that spot, it wouldn’t have worked with anybody else. It had to be him. He had some reservations about throwing me out. John Cena is still a babyface regardless of how people react to him, so he had some reservations about throwing out the superhero. But talking to him, I said my character thinks he’s King Kong, so he’s going after Godzilla. Then he shook his head and grinned. He was so gracious and went along with it. If he says no, there’s nothing I can do, so I give a lot of credit and respect to John.”
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