Looking back at the most memorable surprises ever in the men's Royal Rumble match

The 2025 WWE Royal Rumble takes place on Saturday, Feb. 1, kicking off the road to WrestleMania 41. We've already heard from multiple superstars, officially declaring for the over-the-top-rope battle royal. The winner of the match will main event WrestleMania, earning a world championship opportunity.

Fans around the world often cite the Royal Rumble as their favorite or most-anticipated event of the year for WWE. Perhaps the biggest reason for that boils down to one thing - the unexpected.

WWE booking has improved vastly in the Triple H era, but fans had been beaten down by some lackluster storytelling for a long, long time. Everything seemed very much cookie cutter. But the Royal Rumble brought intrigue and surprise. Will a fan favorite finally get a push? Will we see a huge return?

Those returns are often electric. They ignite the live crowd and get fans yelling from their couches. That's what we're looking at today - the best surprise entrants in Royal Rumble history.

The Best Royal Rumble Surprise Entrants Of All-Time

Rey Mysterio (2018): After leaving the company in 2015 and wrestling in New Japan, AAA and Lucha Underground, Mysterio returned at the 2018 Royal Rumble to a massive ovation. Since returning he is a three-time United States Champion and also won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships with his son.

AJ Styles (2016): Despite a complete botch from a production perspective (why in the world are we staring at Roman looking at the titantron?), Styles' debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble was a massive moment. Styles had said that he was worried no one would remember him, but that clearly wasn't the case as the crowd erupted in Orlando for the TNA Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. He wouldn't win the Royal Rumble match, but he quickly factored into the main event scene that year.

John Cena (2008): No one expected "Big Match John" to be ready to return at the 2008 Royal Rumble. Cena had torn his pectoral muscle in October 2007, and it was expected that he'd be able to return sometime after WrestleMania. Instead, it took him just about 90 days. Cena said that he was doing physical therapy three times a day after moving to Birmingham to work with his surgeon's preferred team. His return was kept secret not just from the public, but to the other wrestlers. Cena entered at the No. 30 spot, and went on to win the match by last eliminating Triple H.

Kevin Nash (2011): Nash returned as Diesel in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the No. 32 spot (it was 40 entrants that year), complete with the jet black hair. He got a massive pop and looked great walking down the ramp, lasting just under three minutes in the match. Unfortunately his run with the company was less than stellar, but that didn't change the excitement of the surprise return.

Edge (2020): For just about everyone, this remains the single-greatest rumble surprise in history. Nine years after being forced to retire due to injury, Edge had a few moments of brief physicality in WWE rings before the 2020 Royal Rumble, which got some fans speculating that he might be leaning towards returning to the company. But after triple-fusion neck surgery, no one was really sure. The incredible reaction from the crowd makes his return one of the best moments in WWE history, entering at the No. 21 spot and lasting to the final three, and kicked off an over three-year run with the company.

Rob Van Dam (2009): RVD's surprise return in 2009 in his home state of Michigan. While it was a 14-minute run in the Royal Rumble match, he had many believing he was returning to WWE, but this proved to be just a cameo appearance for "The Whole F'n Show," as he would sign with TNA Wrestling less than a year later.

Chris Jericho (2013): "Y2J" received an insane pop in 2013 when he returned from a Fozzy tour as the No. 2 entrant in the 2013 Royal Rumble. Dolph Ziggler had been used to write Jericho off of television months prior and no major wrestling insider was reporting that he would return. So it was truly a surprise. Jericho lasted nearly 48 minutes in the match, where he was ultimately be Ziggler.

How does the Royal Rumble match work?

The Royal Rumble is a 30-person over-the-top-rope battle royal, with a twist. Instead of having all 30 competitors in the ring to start the match, just two begin. After a set interval of time (90 seconds or two minutes) another wrestler will join the fray. This will continue until No. 30, who is the final entry.

Eliminations occur when a wrestler goes over the top rope and both feet hit the floor. The final man standing wins the match and earns a championship opportunity at WrestleMania. There are two men's world champions currently in WWE - Cody Rhodes is the Undisputed WWE Champion and Gunther is the World Heavyweight Champion. The winner of the Royal Rumble is allowed to select their preferred opponent.

The Royal Rumble as a concept is credited to longtime McMahon-assistant/right-hand man Pat Patterson, who thought of it in the mid-1980s. The WWE then pitched the concept to Dick Ebersol and the match aired on a special on the USA Network on Jan. 24, 1988.

Potential men's Royal Rumble 2025 surprises

There are a handful of potential surprise entrants that could be making an appearance in the men's rumble match on Saturday.

Ethan Page: WWE will absolutely push some NXT into the Royal Rumble, which is pretty standard fare at this point. However, each entrant needs a purpose. For Page, his run-in with CM Punk back in October provides enough fodder for the Voice of the Voiceless to eliminate him.

Oba Femi: In 2024, Bron Breakker was given Brock Lesnar's spot in the Royal Rumble. As a result, things were modified a bit to highlight Breakker's speed and tenacity, but he was given a slew of eliminations. It makes a lot of sense to highlight Femi in a very similar way this year.

Pat McAfee: McAfee has returned full-time to Monday Night Raw, but isn't listed as part of the commentary team for the Royal Rumble. In Indianapolis. I mean, c'mon. The WWE won't pass up the opportunity for the pop that the Indy crowd will give the former Colts punter. Plus, there's the potential for McAfee's inclusion to be more than just a cameo.

Corey Graves: Graves confirmed in a 2022 interview with Chris Van Vliet that he is medically cleared to wrestle again. He also took shots at the WWE on social media after he was moved from the Raw commentary team before the move to Netflix (to make room for the returning McAfee). Could we see a Graves-McAfee feud for WrestleMania 41?

Joe Hendry: The WWE and TNA Wrestling partnership didn't even exist when Mickie James and Jordynne Grace to the women's Royal Rumble match, or when Hendry was featured on NXT. So this is an absolute lock to happen.

Randy Orton: After being written off television in November, the Royal Rumble would be a perfect spot for a returning Orton. The opportunity for one more high-stakes Orton-Cena faceoff is an exciting one.

Mick Foley: Mrs. Foley's baby boy teased a rumble appearance on social media after losing more than 100 lbs. Might we see one last hurrah for Mick Foley or Cactus Jack or Mankind or Dude Love?

The Rock: Rocky's run as the "Final Boss" last year was one of the hottest angles in a long, long time. However, he seemingly abandoned the gimmick altogether for the Raw debut on Netflix. On one hand, this might have been done due to the massive influx of new and casual viewers. On the other, it could've signaled the end of the character. It left fans confused and frustrated. But there are still rumors swirling that The Rock will be involved somehow, potentially setting up a match with Roman Reigns. This seems to a real longshot, however.