20 Awesome WWE Royal Rumble Debuts And Returns

8. Sami Zayn (2016)

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WWE.com

And speaking over surprise entries that set up something else…

The rivalry between Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens was well-documented in NXT, with Owens attacking Zayn moments after his NXT Championship win in December 2014. Sami would land on the shelf after dropping the title to Owens in early 2015, with the injury attributed to KO.

That set up Zayn to return at the 2016 Royal Rumble, storming the ring and eliminating Owens, which kicked off a recurring main roster feud between the two that lasted well over a year before Zayn relented and partnered with Owens.

But that return (technically, Sami’s WWE debut was in May 2015 against John Cena) provided fans an incredible visual of the two longtime friends/enemies throwing down in the middle of the ring.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.