Ranking EVERY WWE Royal Rumble Match From Worst To Best

23. 2008

Cody Rhodes
WWE.com

Staged by the gorgeous old-fashioned Madison Square Garden arena layout, John Cena's shocking return in the #30 spot was so shocking that the hardened New York crowd forgot to boo him before remembering the reactions they were supposed to have.

Not expected back from injury until October that year, Cena's arrival capped off a good-not-great Rumble with one of the company's best ever surprises. It's little wonder Vince McMahon changes plans if he thinks people are already wise to it - these are the reactions he probably craves the most.

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