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The Royal Rumble pay-per-view has become synonymous with big returns, big surprises and big moments and WWE's Royal Rumble 2020 certainly didn't fall short on delivering the surprise returns that we've come to expect.
The Women's Royal Rumble had many opportunities for surprising us as only seven of the thirty entrants were announced beforehand. What we got were a few returning legends from the past, a whole bunch of NXT stars and a main roster star receiving a huge pop after returning from a lengthy time out.
There were fewer opportunities for surprises in the Men's Royal Rumble Match with only three free spots as the Royal Rumble pay-per-view started. But as the night went on WWE announced that Rusev and Bobby Lashley would no longer be part of the match opening up some more surprise spots!
So, without further ado, let's take a look at all of the surprise returns we were treated to at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
#7 NXT Women
NXT has been a part of the Royal Rumble matches for a couple of years now and this year certainly wasn't any different as many of NXT's female Superstars made appearances in this year's Royal Rumble match with there being so many slots available for them.
In fact, exactly one-third of the competitors in this year's Women's Royal Rumble Match were from NXT or NXT UK and many of them had very impressive showings.
Bianca Belair entered at number two and had many eliminations lasting for an incredibly long amount of time. Shayna Baszler entered late but made a huge impact by eliminating seven Superstars in a very short period of time.
Whilst those two were the standouts, we also saw Toni Storm, Dakota Kai, Candice LeRae, Mia Yim, Xia Li, Mercedes Martinez, Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox, and Chelsea Green all appear throughout the match to varying degrees of success.
#6 Beth Phoenix
Beth Phoenix made a surprise return to WWE in the Women's Royal Rumble match and had an incredibly strong showing throughout with her experience and dominance getting her all the way until the final three.
Unfortunately, Phoenix would be eliminated by Shayna Baszler and then Charlotte Flair would eliminate Baszler. However, given how often Phoenix has wrestled in the last few years making it to third is quite the achievement.
Especially when you consider that Phoenix actually took a pretty nasty knock to the back of her head early on in the match and didn't even stop to get checked. She ended up bleeding quite heavily and the back of her head was covered in blood by the end of the match.
'The Glamazon' certainly proved how professional she is and how she could still be an active wrestler if she wanted to. It remains to be seen what is next for Beth Phoenix but hopefully, she's gotten the medical attention she needs by now and maybe she'll stick around in the women's division for a while.
#5 More female Superstars from the past - Kelly Kelly, Molly Holly & Santina Marella
Beth Phoenix wasn't the only Superstar from the 'Diva' era to make an appearance in the Women's Royal Rumble match this year as Molly Holly, Kelly Kelly and even Santina Marella made appearances.
Molly Holly entered first and got a great bit of offence in on Alexa Bliss and Bianca Belair but she didn't last for too long. Kelly Kelly entered around halfway through and got some decent offence in before being eliminated as well. It was great to see both women back again, especially Molly Holly who seems to return with a new gimmick every time.
Santina Marella was used as a comedy spot but it was a bit of a waste really and something that probably wasn't needed for this Royal Rumble match and arguably the worst part of it. That being said at least WWE have got it out of their system and they never need to do it again.
#4 Naomi
There were many loud pops at the Royal Rumble but one of the loudest was when former SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi made her return to WWE after a lengthy amount of time away to rapturous applause.
Naomi entered during the middle of the match and debuted a great new look complete with a fitting afro.
The sorely missed Superstar had a great showing in the Royal Rumble and even managed to fit in one of her patented pieces of Rumble survival agility when she leaped from the steel steps to the ringside barrier without touching the ground. It wasn't as good as Otis saving Mandy, but it was pretty good.
Naomi looked great and like she hadn't missed a bit despite her lengthy layoff and I can't wait to see what she does next when she returns to the ring properly. I'm hoping she gets moved to RAW as the women's division over there is a little thin on the ground and Becky Lynch definitely needs a new challenger.
Wherever Naomi ends up, we're all going to be in for a treat!
#3 NXT Men - Keith Lee & Matt Riddle
The NXT Women weren't the only ones to feature heavily on the night of the Royal Rumble as a choice number of NXT's male Superstars made appearances in the Men's Royal Rumble Match, much to the delight of the fans in attendance.
Keith Lee would be the first person to enter the match and boy what a star-making moment for Lee to add to his list of recent star-making moments. 'The Limitless' Keith Lee came out to confront Lesnar after 'The Beast Incarnate' had cleaned house and the two men had a titanic clash.
This clash was made even greater when Braun Strowman entered the ring next leaving Lesnar, Strowman, and Lee to face off in a literal clash of the titans. Unfortunately, it was cut short by Lesnar eliminating both men at the same time. But what a moment!
Riddle would enter later on in the match but would be bizarrely eliminated quickly afterward for no real reason. This was a waste of Matt Riddle really but it was great to see him there nonetheless.
#2 MVP
One of the only true surprises of the night was the former United States Champion MVP that appeared.
I mean sure, we probably would have preferred to have CM Punk make a dramatic return to wrestling and sure we probably would've loved to have seen The Undertaker wade into another Rumble match but seeing Motel Vontavious Porter back was neat as well.
To be fair to MVP he looked great in his Black Panther-inspired ring gear and he even managed to get a little bit of offense in on Brock Lesnar before he was unceremoniously dumped to the outside by Lesnar like several men before him.
It seems unlikely that he won't be sticking around but it definitely seems like MVP might be used by WWE as and when they feel like it as he was also at the RAW 25th Anniversary show.
#1. Edge
Okay, so cards fully on the table. I have been of the belief that Edge had been cleared to return to wrestling for some time now and I fully expected him to do so either at the Royal Rumble, the Saudi Arabia show or WrestleMania, I just didn't know which, as these tweets will suggest.
But even though I knew that Edge could wrestle again, I was still totally and pleasantly surprised in a way by his arrival at this year's Royal Rumble match. And then to see him hit that incredible flurry of spears was quite something.
Edge even echoed his wife Beth Phoenix in the Women's Royal Rumble Match by making it into the final three of the Men's Royal Rumble Match before he was eliminated by Roman Reigns of all people.
It is my understanding that Edge is back to work a light schedule now and we will definitely seem him wrestling again, most likely at the Saudi Arabia show or WrestleMania. I've got to say as well, it's genuinely good to see him back.
