7 Things You Should Know About WWE Royal Rumble 2006

3. Rey Mysterio Had A Record Setting Performance

Rey Mysterio started the match as the second entrant after Triple H, who was in there first. Rey actually entered via a low rider car just like his deceased friend Eddie Guerrero.

Mysterio found a way to last all the way to the end. He was in the final three with the heels Hunter and Orton. It looked like Rey was going to lose as the crowd chanted “Eddie” to support him. Rey found a way to get rid of Hunter by countering a Spinebuster and hooking his legs, which led to Hunter being eliminated. The crowd loved that and then they hated it when Hunter threw Rey into the steel steps.

With Rey facing Orton, it looked like Rey wasn’t going to be able to survive. Orton picked up Rey, put him over his shoulder and looked like he was going to be able to toss him out easily. Instead, Rey hung on to flip Orton out of the ring and hit a hurricanrana to send him over the top rope for the win. There was a big pop for it as Rey accomplished his dream.

They really booked it well by setting it up with Rey as the underdog against two dominant heels, yet he overcame the odds to get the win. It’s hard to book the smallest guy to go the distance and to win the match, but they did a pretty good job of it.

Mysterio was put over huge at this show. He went the distance from the #2 spot, he eliminated the most guys with six eliminations and he was part of a thrilling final three sequence. It would have been stupid for him to eliminate 10 guys or some outrageously high number. Eliminating six was fine because it was spread out. He didn’t dominate. He just did enough to win.

Rey went on to win the World Title at WM22 against Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a triple threat match that was way too short.