10 WWE Returns Nobody Saw Coming

by Jamie Kennedy

1. John Cena (Royal Rumble 2008)

John Cena Royal Rumble 2008
WWE

John Cena is superhuman.

That's the only explanation for his implausible return from injury at the 2008 Royal Rumble. Mere months earlier, on 1 October, Cena had torn his pectoral muscle during a hip toss spot with Mr. Kennedy. Worried doctors declared that WWE's poster boy would take six months to recover, and that meant he'd likely miss 'Mania.

'Screw that', said gym freak John. 118 days later (which was just shy of four full months on from his nasty muscle rip), Cena was back in the mix and winning the '08 Rumble match. What's more, he looked like he hadn't missed a step - no lost muscle mass, no ring rust and one beaming smile.

Madison Square Garden erupted like it was 1977 and Bruno Sammartino had just entered the building when Cena marched out as #30. It was ridiculous that he'd been able to rehab such a bad injury so quickly, and it caught everyone by surprise.

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What other WWE returns did nobody see coming? For more like this, check out 10 Ridiculous Tag-Teams WWE Missed Out On and 10 Sneaky Tributes To WWE Greats!

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.