10 Major Royal Rumble Returns That Were Announced Ahead Of Time
From John Cena’s ear-shattering entrance in 2008 to Edge’s miraculous comeback in 2020, the Royal Rumble has a reputation for treating the WWE Universe to stellar surprise returns. Every year, the road to the Rumble is packed with people fantasy-booking and predicting who might show up during the 30-superstar affair.
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It’s true that the “expect the unexpected” trope has done wonders for the event in question. However, as much as fans love to be caught off-guard, not every major return is kept a secret until the last minute. In fact, there have been multiple instances of WWE announcing sidelined Superstars for the Royal Rumble well ahead of time. Here are 10 of those.
10 Cody Rhodes (2023)
Cody Rhodes’ triumphant comeback to WWE in 2022 was one of the most talked about stories of the year. In June 2022, a little over two months into his remarkable second run with the company, The American Nightmare tore his pectoral muscle "off the bone." It was then revealed that he would be out of action for several months.
Fans immediately started speculating a return for Rhodes at January’s ‘big four’ show. And that got confirmed when the man himself declared his entry into the Rumble, 12 days before the PLE. Some would argue that saving the 37-year-old Superstar as a surprise entrant would have been better. But considering that almost every invested folk already knew about it, the announcement made sense.
9 Mickie James (2022)
WWE sent shockwaves through the wrestling industry when they made it public that Mickie James would be participating in the Women’s Rumble match of 2022. While the concept of legends making special appearances is quite common, what made this case a big deal was the fact that James was the reigning IMPACT Women’s Champion at the time.
After the news broke, curiosity began to arise as to whether or not she would bring her title along. That was a hot topic of discussion since WWE had garnered a reputation for not acknowledging a star’s outside accomplishments. Despite that, not only did the journeywoman wrestler come out wearing the strap, but she also made her entrance to her IMPACT theme, "Hardcore Country.”
8 Edge (2021)
At Royal Rumble 2020, The Rated-R Superstar instilled a new meaning to the phrase “never give up” when he returned to action for the first time in nearly nine years. His first feud back was against his long-time rival/former tag-team partner, Randy Orton. Unfortunately, in their second match, Edge suffered an injury and had to be sidelined until the beginning of 2021.
RELATED: Edge's 8 Royal Rumble Appearances, Ranked From Worst To Best
Fast forward to the last RAW before Royal Rumble 2021, the 11-time World Champion appeared via a video message to announce his entry into the 30-man bout. And that wasn’t all because WWE would then go on to announce him and Orton as the first two entrants.
7 Daniel Bryan (2015)
The ending to WrestleMania XXX was nothing short of a fairy tale. After having watched Daniel Bryan go through all sorts of hoops and setbacks, the sight of him closing The Show of Shows as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion was a pleasant one. In a disappointing turn of events, though, he would soon vacate the title owing to a neck injury.
The American Dragon would be cleared in time for Royal Rumble 2015. And instead of keeping his involvement in the match hidden from the audience, The Leader of Yes! Movement spilled the beans while addressing his future on the December 29, 2014, edition of RAW. In hindsight, it wasn’t a bad idea. Bryan showing up as a mystery participant only to lose would have made the reception to Reigns’ win worse.
6 Batista (2014)
After making WWE Universe crave his presence for over three years, Batista finally returned to the company in January 2014. On his first night back, he made it crystal clear that his goal was to main-event WrestleMania XXX. Of course, this would mean he was entering the Royal Rumble match.
However, the match choice to kick off his second run couldn’t have been worse. For starters, the crowd clearly wanted Daniel Bryan to enter at #30 and win the whole thing. When that didn’t happen, they sided with Roman Reigns, who had been on a roll during the bout. When Batista threw The Big Dog over the top rope, he instantly became a villain in the fans’ eyes. Needless to say, everything went downhill from there.
5 Chris Jericho (2012)
In late 2011, WWE began airing cryptic vignettes to hype up a wrestler’s comeback. Soon, it was revealed that the wrestler was none other than Chris Jericho. The 10-time Intercontinental Champion would return on the first RAW of 2012, after a 15-month absence from sports entertainment.
RELATED: Chris Jericho’s 11 Royal Rumble Appearances, Ranked From Worst To BestBut instead of cutting a passionate promo or having a match, he just enjoyed the incredible response to his return for a while before dipping. Jericho would continue with his mysterious ways until the go-home episode for that year’s Royal Rumble. On that show, he would finally speak and vaguely confirm himself for the Rumble.
4 Rob Van Dam (2006)
Rob Van Dam suffered a knee injury in January 2005, which took him out of competition for a full year. While recovering, he made a couple of appearances, one of which featured him getting his injured knee assaulted by Carlito. That angle, executed in the summer of 2005, was a smart way to write RVD off TV for the remainder of the year.
Enter the Royal Rumble season of ‘06. Every Superstar with a chip on his shoulder was getting ready to punch their ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 22. Among those names was that of The Whole Dam Show. Throughout January, a series of hype videos aired on WWE TV to confirm the ECW icon’s entry in the Rumble.
3 The Undertaker (2003)
After working an entire Hell in a Cell match with a broken hand, The Undertaker took a break from action around the end of 2002. His recovery timeline indicated that he’d be ready to step back in the ring once the new year rolled around. So, a Royal Rumble return made the most sense.
Although it would’ve been a treat to watch The Big Evil showing up unannounced as the 30th entrant, WWE considered it better to promote him for the show. And thus, numerous video packages centered around The Dead Man were played in the weeks leading to the January PPV. His comeback was also touted in a promo by then-SmackDown GM Stephanie McMahon during the go-home edition of The Blue Brand.
2 Triple H (2002)
Triple H missed eight long months of in-ring action due to a career-threatening injury he suffered in May 2001. His absence had such an effect on the fans that he came back to a hero’s welcome despite leaving as one of the biggest villains of The Attitude Era. The Game made his triumphant return (as a babyface) at MSG during January 7, 2002, edition of RAW.
RELATED: Every Major Injury Of Triple H's WWE Career, ExplainedHe then cut a promo in which he declared himself for the Royal Rumble match, which was just 13 days away. The classic bout that year already had a stacked lineup featuring megastars such as The Undertaker, Steve Austin, and Kurt Angle. Triple H’s addition only made the event more must-see.
1 Shawn Michaels (1996)
Prime Shawn Michaels was a troublemaker through and through. But that didn’t change the fact that he was among the finest professional wrestlers on the roster at the time. In late 1995, The Heartbreak Kid was apparently concussed during a legit brawl outside a bar. In order to write him off TV for a while, WWE had Michaels collapse in the ring during a match with Owen Hart in November.
A little over a month later, he was announced for the 1996 Royal Rumble bout. The company heavily promoted Michaels’ return and it made sense as he was slated to outlast 29 other men and confirm his spot in the main event of WrestleMania XII.
