John Cena delivered one of the greatest Royal Rumble moments of all time (Picture: WWE)

The Royal Rumble is open us and WWE fans are looking forward to one of the most predictable nights of the year.

The likes of Cody Rhodes, Braun Strowman, Rey Mysterio and GUNTHER have already been confirmed for the men’s match with Liv Morgan, Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez among the women’s field.

As much as fans are excited to see the current stars get their chance at making history and earning a world championship match at WrestleMania 39, a huge part of the Rumble’s appeal is surprises, whether that’s shock returns, debuts or something else entirely.

Just last year, fans saw IMPACT Wrestling’s Mickie James, Jackass star Johnny Knoxville and Grammy Award-winning musician Bad Bunny hit the ring, while countless legends have made their presence felt in recent memory.

There are plenty of rumours this year too, with the likes of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, John Cena and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin all sparking conversation as WWE hits the beginning of the Road to WrestleMania.

With that said, here’s a look back at some of the Royal Rumble’s biggest surprise entrances.

John Cena – Royal Rumble 2008

We’re starting out Royal Rumble surprise entrant countdown with the absolute creme de la creme – John Cena making a shock comeback in 2008.

The former world champion had been out of action for six months at that point due to injury, and all signs pointed to a much longer layoff before his music hit at the number 30 spot.

He game out to an all-time great reaction from the Madison Square Garden faithful, with Triple H in particular playing his role to perfection as he looked utterly stunned.

Edge – Royal Rumble 2020

Edge made a sensational comeback three years ago (Picture: WWE)

Another all time classic moment, this time from the 2020 Royal Rumble when Edge returned nine years after he was forced to retire.

The fans and the Rated R Superstar himself were overwhelmed with emotion as people cried in the crowd, and his stint in the match itself was littered with special interactions with the likes of former Rated R-KO partner Randy Orton.

It’ll be hard to ever have anything match the real life enormity of this.

AJ Styles – Royal Rumble 2016

AJ Styles made an historic debut in 2016 (Picture: WWE

Fans are used to seeing new signings make their way through NXT before getting their shot on Raw or SmackDown, but WWE understandably took a very different route with AJ Styles.

The Phenomenal One made his name in TNA/IMPACT Wrestling for years and delighted fans in Japan before finally making the jump as legitimately the hottest free agent in the world at the time.

He came out to face Roman Reigns, and the roar of the crowd as ‘I Am Phenomenal’ appeared on the titan tron proved he was worthy of the spot.

Christian – Royal Rumble 2021

Edge and Christian shared an emotional moment (Picture: WWE)

Just like his tag team partner Edge in 2020, Christian is another star who fans thought they would never get to see wrestle again.

It marked seven years since Captain Charisma’s career had been cut short due to a career ending injury, and seeing him hug childhood friend Edge in the middle of the ring was truly special.

The Rumble also set in motion a huge year for Christian, who decided to sign for All Elite Wrestling and, through their working agreement with IMPACT, managed to headline pay-per-view events for all three companies in one calendar year.

Chris Jericho – Royal Rumble 2013

Chris Jericho left fans stunned a decade ago (Picture: WWE)

Chris Jericho is a master of evolution in wrestling and keeping people guessing, and back in 2013 no one was expecting a return.

The previous year, he was fired as part of a storyline which saw him lose a huge match to Dolph Ziggler, and he took time away from WWE to go on tour with Fozzy.

However, he managed to take everyone by surprise at the Royal Rumble when he came in at number two to stand face to face with Ziggler in a fantastic bit of continuity.

It showed that when WWE, and wrestling as a whole, really wants to they can pull the wool over everyone’s eyes and deliver something special.

Let’s hope for more of the same this weekend!

WWE Royal Rumble 2023 airs Saturday night (January 28) at 1am on the WWE Network or BT Sport 1.

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