WWE’s Original Plans For Hornswoggle At Greatest Royal Rumble

Hornswoggle’s surprise appearance at the Greatest Royal Rumble was going to be much different than what eventually happened.

The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion entered the first-ever 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match at No. 12 and immediately helped eliminate Dash Wilder by pulling him over the top rope.

His time in the match was short-lived though, as he was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler and Tony Nese.

Stop EVERYTHING and watch @WWEHornswoggle shock the @WWEUniverse in Saudi Arabia by entering the Greatest #RoyalRumble Match! #WWEGRR pic.twitter.com/3C5g7UVZVM

— WWE (@WWE) April 27, 2018

According to PWInsider, WWE originally planned on having Hornswoggle work a singles match on the Greatest Royal Rumble Kickoff show against fellow midget wrestler Robbie Araujo.

At Extreme Rules 2014, Hornswoggle lost to El Torito in a WeeLC Match and WWE had midget wrestlers impersonate Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, and JBL at ringside. Araujo impersonated JBL under the name “JBElf” (as seen below).

#JBElf. #MicroCole. #JerrySmaller. The gang was all there for @WWEElTorito and @wwehornswoggle's EPIC #WeeLC Match in 2014! #WWENetwork pic.twitter.com/e6tFoq7XLC

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) December 2, 2016

Just before showtime, WWE canceled the match and had Hornswoggle compete in the 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match. This left Araujo without a match, so he flew all the way to Saudi Arabia and did not wrestle.

In this post-match interview, Hornswoggle reflected on his return to WWE.

He also posted this message on Twitter.

Life is pretty crazy sometimes! Thanks @wwe for having me a part of the #WWEGRR ! Got to dust off the ol’ suit for the first time in almost 10 years! pic.twitter.com/X4w4DwpfMv

— Dylan Postl (@wwehornswoggle) April 27, 2018