WWE Royal Rumble 2012: Legends Who Should Be Included

I have always loved the idea of the battle royal. The thought of 30 wrestlers getting in the ring, beating the hell out of each other, trying to prove they are the biggest and baddest wrestler for outlasting everyone else.

The Royal Rumble tries each year to prove it is the biggest and baddest of all PPV events and next to WrestleMania, it does a pretty good job of that. This year should be no exception.

With this slideshow, let's have some fun. Vince and the boys have a surprise or two for us each year with this event, but I want to take it a step further. There always seems to be a surprise entrant, but we change that up a but and look at the legends of wrestling and see how they would fair in a match like this.

Yes, some of these wrestlers have passed away, but it is an "exercise" in fun. Nothing too serious and definitely something not real complicated.

Assuming these ring legends were in their prime, I would love to hear your comments on how you think they would do in a competition like this with the entertainers of today.

And I would be interested to see who you might want to see in the ring with the WWE superstars.

Bruiser Brody

He would walk into the ring and just beat people up.

And the fans would kick, scream and enjoy every minute of it.

Brody would "own" the battle royal. And his actions in and out of the ring would probably keep him in the hunt for a decent amount of time.

Brody would never have worked in the WWF. He was too independent and wanted his own way. Vince would never have allowed that.

But what if Brody had been chosen to lead the way of the "new" WWF in the mid-1980s. What a circus that would have been.

Bruno Sammartino

I am not sure if Bruno would have been a fan of something like this, but it would have made for great show with the fans.

At the height of his popularity, there may not have been a more well-known wrestler in the northeast than Sammartino. And he took on everyone who walked in his path.

How would the compact, thick wrestler do in a competition where you need to be more agile and less robotic? Who knows?

But the fans would be in for a treat.

Harley Race

As I get older, I come to appreciate the raw power and skill of the man known as Harley Race.

Not the WWF character he became at the end of his career, but the man who was powerful and tough as nails and gave the likes of Ric Flair, Dory Funk Jr. and Jack Brisco some of the best matches of their careers.

Race was a bull, plain and simple, and had he been involved in these types of matches in the WWF when he was in his prime, no doubt he would have ruled the roost in running through his opponents.

Don Muraco

I was always a fan of his size and power. A Hercules of the business before there were much larger muscle men.

And he would fit in with the Sheamus and Wade Barretts of the business today.

One thing Muraco had going for him back in the early 1980s was a look like no one else, and he could plain wrestle, which was a rarity for the time.

He would hold up well with stars of today.

Andre the Giant and Big John Studd

I include them together as a package.

You cannot have a battle royal without Andre and the man claiming to be the biggest "giant" of all time.

Studd tried and tried to slam the giant, even offering up his own money to wager.

Andre was a cement block.

The two in the ring would cancel each other out, but just seeing them manhandle opponents and tossing them over the ropes like stones would be most fun.

Dusty Rhodes

The man who put together the "Bunkhouse Stampede" and the War Games would certainly be a favorite in one of these types of matches.

The "Bionic Elbow" would take out a man or two, but seeing him throw wrestlers over the top rope and prance around would be a sight to see.

Rhodes certainly deserves a spot in this kind of event.

Kamala

I just liked him for the paint.

No, seriously, Kamala's shtick was pretty good and he should have won a match or two like this. But the idea of having a cartoon character vying for the WWE Title would not have sat well with the fans.

Just based on pure size and strength and agility for his height, Kamala was a pure brute.

I am not sure how he would handle the likes of a Randy Orton or a Kane, for that matter, but Kamala would deserve to be in the Rumble.

The Road Warriors

The only issue with this one is what happens if both Hawk and Animal were to be the two finalists? Who would win?

For everything the Road Warriors were, they were not great singles wrestlers. They needed each other to  be successful.

While they competed in events like the War Games and the Great American Bash, they would need to beat opponents fast and get them out of the ring as soon as possible to conserve energy.

What a rush!

Randy Savage

OOOOH YEAAAH!

Savage was the greatest performer in the WWF during his time in the business. I put him ahead of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and yes, Hulk Hogan.

Can we see Savage and CM Punk? Savage and Jericho? Even Savage and someone like Randy Orton?

He was and always will be the most entertaining wrestler in the business. A step above Ric Flair and miles apart from Hulk Hogan.

Jimmy Snuka

"Super Fly" is in the house!

Snuka was badass, and every high-flying wrestler of today has Snuka to thank for setting the bar.

Snuka and Jericho would be awesome. Snuka taking on Evan Bourne would be classic, and Snuka meeting Rey Mysterio would bring the roof down.

How Snuka does in a battle royal is a question unknown, but seeing him in the ring would be pretty cool.