Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match - From Worst To Best
15. 2008
In terms of sheer Royal Rumble moments, the sight of John Cena standing in the iconic Madison Square Garden entrance-way as his music hit at #30 in 2008 is right up there. After all, this was a Cena who’d torn his pec off the bone the prior October and was supposedly due to be on the shelf for up to a year. So, to see Big Match John return just three months later was a huge shock and yet another example of how Cena is a total freak of nature.
Given how memorable that moment was, it’s easy to overlook that the ‘08 Rumble was good but not in the true upper echelon of Royal Rumbles. Still, there was plenty of other action to enjoy here, not least the brilliant moment of seeing long-time rivals Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka lock horns at MSG once more - all as a giddy CM Punk watched with childlike glee.
This is also the Royal Rumble that opened with the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at #1 and #2, respectively, with both men putting in over 30 minutes each; Michaels eliminating ‘Taker before being thrown out himself by Mr. Kennedy. Of course, this would be less than 18 months before the Deadman and HBK would have the first of their iconic WrestleMania matches.
The final few minutes saw John Cena, Batista, and Triple H famously spam taunts at each other, as Trips managed to get the Animal over the top, and Cena then dumped the Game to the outside with an Attitude Adjustment to score the W.