- A look at the best surprise Rumble entrants in history
- Goldberg, AJ Lee and Alexa Bliss amongst rumored 2025 surprises
- Hulk Hogan to make a shock appearance at 71?
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one….EEEHHH!!! (buzzer sound, obviously). WWE’s Royal Rumble 2025 event is fast approaching, where 30 men and women wrestlers will compete in their respective battle-royal style matches, aiming to toss 29 competitors over the top rope. The winner will earn the prestigious honor of headlining WrestleMania, securing a championship match on the grandest stage of them all.
This year’s Royal Rumble, which has been held annually since 1988, will take place on 1 February, 2025 from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It will mark the first time a WWE Premium Live Event is aired on Netflix livestream.
Read more: WWE Royal Rumble 2025: Match Card, Start Time, How To Watch
It’s not unusual for rumors to circulate in the days leading up to the event about potential surprise appearances and returns, and this year is no different. In fact, the rumor mill is on fire.
The Rock, Goldberg, AJ Lee, Alexa Bliss, Brock Lesnar, Big E, The Hardy Boyz, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Joe Hendry are just some of the names rumored to be entering the Rumble. Even if a couple of those materialise, it could be one of the best Royal Rumbles in recent history.
Even the immortal Hulk Hogan, now 71, is linked to a surprise appearance, following CM Punk’s comments about throwing him over the rope.
The unpredictability of not knowing who will enter the ring when the buzzer sounds is undoubtedly what makes the Royal Rumble so special, whether it be a cameo from a legend or a long anticipated return or debut. Here’s a look at some of the best surprise appearances in Rumble history:
AJ Styles (2016)
By 2016, AJ Styles had established himself as one of the most gifted athletes in sports entertainment. After conquering TNA, Ring of Honor, and New Japan Pro Wrestling, a run in WWE felt imminent.
The phenomenal one was offered a WWE developmental deal in 2002 after some tryout matches, but he declined due to not wanting to relocate his family. It took until this Royal Rumble event for fans to see him in a WWE ring again.
He re-debuted as a surprise entrant at number three and the crowd blew the roof off. He lasted 29 minutes in the match, but the surprise element makes it one of the most memorable entrances of all time.
Diesel (2011)
Kevin Nash treated fans with a surprising appearance at the 2011 Royal Rumble. Nash hadn’t been seen in WWE since 2003, but had just signed a five-year WWE Legends contract. The former WWE Champion and nWo member returned using his ‘Big Daddy Cool’ Diesel persona – the first time since 1996.
On Kliq This: The Kevin Nash Podcast, Nash revealed how he got caught between the flying fists of Sheamus and Drew McIntyre. “Those two guys pounded me like I owed them money…I’m just, like I’ll just take the beating. I’m getting eliminated here in a minute”. Regardless of it being a brief cameo, the arena was still filled up with ‘Diesel, Diesel’ chants.
Edge (2020)
The ‘Rated R Superstar’s’ return to WWE in 2020 will be remembered as one of the most electrifying comebacks ever, not just in Royal Rumble history, but in all of wrestling. Edge was forced to retire in 2011 because of cervical spinal stenosis and fans were genuinely shocked and heartbroken by the news.
9 years on, doctors medically cleared Edge to compete again and that’s when his in-ring retirement ended. The WWE hall of famer’s music hit the speakers at the 2020 Royal Rumble – “you think you know me…” – and 43,000 fans erupted in Houston’s Minute Maid Park. It was the loudest reaction on the entire show.
Trish Stratus (2018)
2018 marked the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble match. Entrants featured a who’s who of past legends returning for the occasion. The likes of WWE hall of famer Lita, Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix and Michelle McCool all made in-ring appearances, but it was the final entrant at number 30 that shook the place to the rafters.
Despite a decade-long absence from the ring, WWE hall of famer Trish Stratus entered the Rumble and showed no signs of ring rust, making it to the final five women. Stratus could still go in the ring, mixing it with a lot of the younger talent, showing why she’s regarded as one of, if not the greatest female wrestler of all time.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan (2009)
‘HOOOOOO!!!’. WWE hall of famer Hacksaw Jim Duggan was pushing 60 when he was a surprise entrant in the 2009 Royal Rumble. He lasted less than three minutes and didn’t make any eliminations, however, this doesn’t discount the appearance as special.
The 2×4 swinging, American patriot was the winner of the first ever Royal Rumble held in 1988, so it was a nice tribute to Duggan. He also set a record at the time for the longest gap between Rumble appearances after.
On the Hacksaw Hour, he said of the experience, “That was great, man, it really was. Nobody expected it, including me, it was a great pop it really was. Of course, they put me over, I went down there and everybody was taking bumps for me, the bang, the boom”. Duggan also participated in the 2012 Royal Rumble, less than a year after his WWE hall of fame induction.
John Cena (2008)
John Cena’s 2008 Royal Rumble entrance was an incredible moment, because only six months prior he had torn his pectoral muscle clean off the bone forcing him to vacate the championship title. Cena was supposedly still recuperating from the injury and expected to be out of action for another four months. However, The Doctor of Thuganomics is no ordinary man, and he returned in front of a rapturous Madison Square Garden crowd as the number 30 entrant. Cena would go on to eliminate Triple H, winning the Royal Rumble match.
He commented on how he achieved the remarkable return, speaking with Chris Van Vilet, “I was like, a physical therapy Terminator. Show up for the morning session, go get some food, show for the noon session, go get some food, show up for the afternoon session as they’re closing. Alright guys see you in a few hours. And I just did that for three months”.
Cena has called time on his wrestling career and is calling 2025 his farewell tour. He’s declared himself for the 2025 Royal Rumble match and many are speculating that the 16-time World Champion will win the Rumble in his last ever appearance in the iconic match.
Mr. Perfect (2002)
Curt Hennig, aka Mr. Perfect was a star of the WWE in the late 80s/early 90s known for being, well, perfect. In 1990 he was the runner-up of the Royal Rumble match before being eliminated by Hulk Hogan. He left WWE in 1993 and headed to rival wrestling promotion WCW, where he would stay until 2000.
But, WWE fans got a shock when in 2002 he would make a surprise return at the Royal Rumble, entering the match at number 29. While he didn’t eliminate anybody, WWE showed great faith in him as he tangled with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Kane, The Big Show and Kurt Angle.
Becky Lynch (2019)
Becky Lynch’s appearance in the 2019 Royal Rumble wasn’t a return but still came as a surprise, as she wasn’t originally scheduled to compete in the match. Lynch was a last-minute replacement after Lana, who was originally set to compete, suffered an ankle injury during her entrance. Lynch, who had already wrestled and lost to women’s champion Asuka earlier that night, convinced WWE officials to allow her to take Lana’s spot.
Lynch would go on to win the match, eliminating Charlotte Flair and booking her ticket to WrestleMania. It set the stage for her historic main event victory at WrestleMania 35, where she would become the only WWE wrestler to hold both the Raw and Smackdown women’s championships at the same time.
Triple H (2016)
‘The Game’ Triple H made a surprise appearance in the 2016 Royal Rumble after being inactive as an in-ring performer for almost a year. He was feuding with WWE heavyweight champion Roman Reigns at the time, as part of The Authority, alongside the then WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and his wife Stephanie McMahon. They were doing everything in their power to get the title off Reigns.
Vince McMahon announced that Reigns would be forced to defend the title in the Royal Rumble match itself – a highly unusual stipulation that had only been done once before, in 1992, when Ric Flair won the vacant WWF Championship. Reigns was the first entrant in the Rumble match and Triple H – conveniently for The Authority – entered as the unannounced number thirty.
Reigns would last for nearly an hour, but it was Triple H who would go on to win, eliminating both Reigns and Dean Ambrose to become the new WWE heavyweight champion.
Bubba Ray Dudley (2015)
The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley) left the WWE after ECW One Night Stand in 2005. Ten years after his last match Bubba Ray Dudley shocked the WWE universe when he was a surprise entrant at the 2015 Royal Rumble. The Dudley Boyz’s iconic music – with the sound of a bomb dropping in its intro – sent the fans in attendance into a frenzy.
He entered the match at number three, eliminating The Miz and R-Truth, and although he didn’t put anybody through a table he did manage his signature ‘wassup!’ move, with help from R-Truth. His appearance led to a second run with D-Von in the WWE that lasted almost two years.
Read more: WWE WrestleMania 41: Match card, start time, how to watch
