Every Babyface WWE Royal Rumble Winner Ranked From Worst To Best

3. John Cena (2008, 2013)

Bianca Belair John Cena Bret Hart
WWE.com

The inevitability of 'The Champ's 2013 Royal Rumble victory went some way to diffusing the response other than from those that really wanted a WrestleMania sequel with The Rock, but much of his incredible 2008 return pop was sustained when he won his first Rumble under the beautiful Madison Square Garden roof.

An unforgettable and instantly iconic moment, Cena's surprise return at #30 drew such a response that it almost lasted right through the contest's final sequence. On that alone, he'd be top of the list, but this is WWE - they always go back to the well.

In this post: 
Royal Rumble
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett