John Cena shocked the world of WWE by returning to win the Royal Rumble on Sky Box Office.
John Cena shocked the world of WWE by returning to win the Royal Rumble on Sunday night.
Live on Sky Box Office, Madison Square Garden erupted as John Cena came out to be the 30th and final entrant in the 21st annual Rumble.
It is one of the biggest swerves in recent WWE history as only last week John Cena told
Sky Sports News that despite "feeling happy and healthy" he was likely to still be out injured with his pectoral tear for the "six to twelve months first thought".
But Cena did hint a return when he said: "You never know though, never say never".
In one of the most star-studded Royal Rumble's in WWE history Cena's entrance was met with a classic stare-down by former rival and Wrestlemania XXII opponent Triple H.
Cena quickly eliminated Carlito, ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero and 'The World's Strongest Man' Mark Henry. Former Evolution alumni Triple H and Batista then rose to the occasion by dispatching Mr Kennedy and Umaga.
Trio
This left the final three of 'The Game', 'The Animal' and Cena. A delirious Madison Square Garden salivated as the trio all did their trademark gestures of 'crotch chops', 'thumbs down' and "you can't see me handshaking" before they collided.
Batista had been drawn number eight but after an impressive 37 minutes in the ring three became two as Triple H tossed the 2005 Rumble winner over the ropes and onto the floor.
As the Wrestlemania XXIV sign loomed overhead, Cena and Triple H once again stared a hole straight into each other. As the two engaged, Cena tried to eliminate 'The King of Kings' from his favoured FU position. Ever the ring-veteran Triple H struggled free to DDT the former 3-time WWE Champion and then unsuccessfully tried to toss Cena out.
'The Doctor of Thuganomics' used his incredible strength to fight back and as he tried to execute the FU, 'The Game' looked to have reversed it into a Pedigree. But the returning Raw Superstar had his own reversal up his sleeve and finally clasped Triple H over his shoulders and dumped him over the ropes with an FU to win the Rumble.
The shock victory gives John Cena a main event spot at Wrestlemania XXIV on March 30 2008 - live on Sky Box Office - as a number one contender to a WWE World Championship of his choice.
Championship
A possible opponent for Cena maybe Randy Orton. Despite being dominated by another excellent display by Jeff Hardy, Orton was able to successfully defend his WWE Championship. The wily Orton was able to strike his patented RKO from out of nowhere to crush Hardy's dream, to retain his title.
Cena may decide to go for Smackdown's World Heavyweight Championship. A belt which former foe Edge kept hold of at MSG by defeating former champion Rey Mysterio. Edge's girlfriend and Smackdown General Manager, Vickie Guerrero, took the brunt of a Mysterio 619 to allow Edge the opportunity to bury Mysterio with a Spear mid-air as Mysterio tried to fly off the top rope.
Elsewhere, Ric Flair may have wrestled his last match at Madison Square Garden but not quite yet his final bout for the WWE. Over 30 years have passed since Flair made his first appearance at the legendary arena and 'The Nature Boy' gave the fans an image to remember him by in a retirement match against MVP. Flair made the brash United States Champion submit to his world famous figure-four leg-lock right in the centre of the squared-circle.
The bitter feud between Chris Jericho and JBL boiled further over at the Rumble after Jericho exacted revenge on Layfield. Still visibly distraught by JBL's brutal attack a few weeks ago on Raw, and the self-made millionaire's comments towards his children, a bloody Y2J lost all self-control and was disqualified as he twice wrapped a steel chair around the former World Heavyweight Champion's head before choking his opponent with an electrical cord.
The Jericho-JBL match may have provided the most shocking sight of the night but Cena's victorious return was the evening's most amazing spectacle as he now begins his Road to Wrestlemania XXIV.
