100 Greatest WWE Royal Rumble Moments Ever

74. A One Of A Kind Return (2009)

WWE Royal Rumble 2009 Rob Van Dam
WWE

Speaking of ECW…

Having not competed for the company since a squash match surprise appearance on Raw’s 15th Anniversary at the end of 2007, the 2009 Royal Rumble featured the return of Rob Van Dam.

The Whole F’n Show always guarantees a strong reaction, but his home state Michigan crowd at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena meant RVD was even more loudly welcomed than usual. And in typical Van Dam fashion, he didn’t disappoint as he ran through a slew of his greatest hits against the likes of Kane, Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and Chris Jericho - with Jericho the one to eventually bring Van Dam’s involvement to an end after a solid 15 minutes.

It would be four-and-a-half years until Rob Van Dam returned to a WWE ring after this, being part of Money in the Bank 2013 and spending a stellar year back with the company.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer and Presenter, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.