With the upcoming Royal Rumble just days away and the Road to WrestleMania 42 about to officially get underway, I’ve been thinking about the event’s storied history a lot lately. From Ric Flair’s epic 1992 victory to Gunther being an absolute unit in recent years, there’s been a lot to think about, all things considered. That includes Drew Carey’s appearance in the 2001 Royal Rumble.
Wait, did he say Drew Carey, the star of The Drew Carey Show and host of The Price is Right? Your eyes aren’t deceiving you, and now that longtime WWE executive and podcaster Bruce Pritchard has given the Cleveland, Ohio native his flowers, I have some thoughts about the man, the myth, and one of the best WWE celebrity appearances of all time.
What Did Bruce Pritchard Say About Drew Carey’s 2001 Royal Rumble Appearance?
Though I’ve long had a soft spot for Drew Carey’s brief role in the 2001 Royal Rumble, I recently started thinking about this whole situation more after listening to an episode of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Pritchard. During the episode, the longtime WWE executive, and man formerly known as Brother Love, opened up about Carey and his teamplayer attitude, saying the TV star was:
A joy to work with, and just, you take the word prima donna, whatever the anti-prima donna is, that was Drew Carey. Just a class act all the way through.
Earlier in the story, Pritchard talked about being impressed by Carey showing up with nothing more than a good attitude and gymbag. No demands, no entourage, no attitude. In fact, Pritchard said the actor insisted on being in the same dressing room as all the wrestlers and watched the event on a monitor backstage.
As Pritchard put it, Carey was “just a class act, all the way through.”
I Know People Crapped On Carey’s Rumble Appearance, But There’s No Denying He Wanted To Be There
There have been so many surprise Royal Rumble entrants over the years, and not all of them are as well-received as others. You can put Carey into that camp, as his brief stint in the 2001 Rumble wasn’t as great as some of those for returning superstars or debuts. Though it was very much a random and WTF moment, especially when he eliminated himself (more on that next), you can’t say Carey didn’t want to be there.
Even before hearing Pritchard’s comments about the decorated TV star, I felt that Carey, for a few brief minutes, was just one of the “boys” having fun in a wrestling ring. He had that big smile on his face when making his entrance and during the Hardy Boyz eliminating each other, and sold Kane’s presence moments later. Speaking of which…
The TV Star Did Everything He Was Supposed To Do, And He Excelled At It
The comedian didn’t enter the Rumble to win a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 17, but he did what he was supposed to do and excelled at it. First, he gave WWE a chance to get more mainstream exposure in the wake of the event. Second, he gave the audience and viewers a wild and random moment. Third, he made Kane, who would go on to make it to the final two before being eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin, look like a beast.
Though he didn’t pull a Pete Rose and get physically assaulted by the Big Red Machine in the match, his decision to eliminate himself made Kane look like an even bigger threat. It made Kane look good, which made Stone Cold look good, and so on.
You can stream the 2001 Royal Rumble in its entirety with a Netflix subscription or by checking out the WWE Vault YouTube page (a treasure trove of great wrestling). Seriously, go back and watch this hilarious Royal Rumble appearance.
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