20 Awesome WWE Royal Rumble Debuts And Returns

2. John Cena (2008)

edge royal rumble
WWE

This is probably the gold standard for Royal Rumble returns.

In October 2007, John Cena suffered a torn pec, which was likely to sideline him through WrestleMania XXIV and maybe even later. It also ended the longest world title reign in WWE in nearly 20 years.

But this is where Super Cena earned his nickname.

As the 2008 Rumble wound down, it looked like Triple H was going to emerge victorious, when #30 turned up – Cena. Months ahead of schedule. It was such a shock that the even cynical Madison Square Garden fans cheered for Cena’s return, amplifying the moment.

Cena would go on to win the Rumble, but could not win the title despite cashing in his shot the following month and then being inserted into the title picture at 'Mania. But man, oh man, what a return.

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.