WWE Royal Rumble: Ranking The Top 10 Surprise Returns

2. John Cena (2008)

What possibly makes this return so special is that it was so shocking that people who “hated” John Cena forgot to boo him. Up until this year, this return was number one in my mind for twelve years. After Triple H came out at number 29 and began to clear the ring, the crowd was already hyped up by the time the countdown started for number 30.

After a torn pectoral muscle put him out of action for months, John Cena’s music began to play and the place went insane! The crowd was on their feet as superstars and commentators went ballistic. While the moment was focused on Triple H’s reaction, it was Carlito’s reaction is the one that sold the moment for me. No stranger to Cena, he reacted like he had a debt he owed Cena.

Cena entered the ring and about cleared it in the process as he eliminated everything in sight. It came down to Cena, Triple H, and Batista as the three men stood off in the ring which was a sight to see at the time. The fans hadn’t stopped cheering in quite some time. In the end, it came down to Cena eliminating Triple H to win the match.

1. Edge (2020)

You did it, you finally made it here. Yes, you were correct but was there any second-guessing this one? When Edge returned after being forced into retirement, grown men around the world were brought to tears. When Edge came out as number 21, it looked like even Edge was just a free seconds away from tears himself.

Edge was given a full entrance with pyro included for such a special moment. There was not a single booing wrestling fan found in the world at that moment. This was a man who had his career taken from him when he was on top of the world. If you love or hate the man, everyone was happy to see Edge be cleared to compete.

Edge entered the ring and after nine years, it didn’t look like he had any ring rust. He was breaking out spears left and right and took out everyone in sight. He spent over twenty minutes in the match and finished in the final four of the match. We were treated to moments between Edge and talents he had never been in the ring with like AJ Styles and Roman Reigns.

The most important moment for Edge’s in-ring future was when Edge reunited with former Rated RKO partner, Randy Orton. The two worked together to eliminate Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows before things turned sour. Edge struck first to eliminate Orton before the “Viper” could strike. This led to Edge’s first singles match at WrestleMania 36 versus Orton. After a valiant showing, he was eventually eliminated by Roman.