One MIND-BLOWING Secret From Every WWE Royal Rumble

2008 - The Argument Over John Cena’s Return

john cena royal rumble 2008
WWE.com

In one of the most sensational moments in the history of the Royal Rumble - and WWE generally - John Cena made his shocking, unannounced return.

This was not even dreamed up as a naive, slim possibility. Cena had torn his pectoral muscle completely off the bone, and only undergone surgery to fix it in early October. For comparison, Cody Rhodes missed over twice the amount of time when suffering the same injury in 2022. WrestleMania was the optimistic return date.

The reaction was incredible, with the discerning Madison Square Garden hardcores so besides themselves at Cena’s magnetism and the surreal situation that they temporarily forgot that he wasn’t cool and that they were supposed to hate him. Cena won the match, last eliminating Triple H; oddly, given how awesome this story was, Cena didn’t end up headlining WrestleMania 24.

Cena’s return was almost nowhere near as fun as it was.

Per the February 4 Observer, Vince McMahon originally wanted to advertise what was, legitimately, a medical miracle. To be boring about it, you can see where he was coming from: the buy number would have improved, not inconsiderably, and it was an incredible feat worth promoting. He was supported in his thinking by head Raw writer Brian Gewirtz and Michael Hayes. Stephanie McMahon felt that the surprise route was the best option, and her case was strong, too: the moment would be incredible, and spark the imagination ahead of future Rumble events. Incredibly, given his infamous reputation as a “yes man”, Bruce Prichard actually sided with Stephanie.

Eventually, of course, Vince changed his mind.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!