10 Precise Turning Points Where WWE Did The Impossible
8. John Cena Returns At The 2008 Royal Rumble
John Cena's 2008 Royal Rumble return pre-dated WWE going PG by seven months, but the seeds for such great change were sown the moment he appeared to the shock of all inside Madison Square Garden.
Never mind WWE doing the impossible - 'The Champ' seemed to be doing it himself after news broke in October that an injury sustained in a nothing Raw match with Mr Kennedy was to rule him out for well over a year. Unthinkable at the time, Cena's intended absence opened up space at the top of the card, but when Randy Orton and Triple H dove right into it, his absence really started to smart.
It had been a two-sided ploy with this incredible reveal in mind. WWE had overstated the absence, while Cena himself - chasing a WrestleMania return - cut his own recovery time in half with his incredible recuperative powers.
It makes for one of the great Rumble moments on its own terms, but the impossible feat here is giving WWE a bona fide fresh start in 2008 after the tragedy and scandal-hit year it had to follow. The company's reputation was in the gutter, but the all-smiles return of Vince McMahon's dream concoction of a WWE Superstar was there to shoulder the burden until the smoother seas returned.