Royal Rumble 2011: Top 5 most memorable moments from the best Royal Rumble match ever

The 2011 Royal Rumble was the twenty-fourth annual Royal Rumble that took place on January 30, 2011, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts in front of a crowd of over 15,000 fans. The event was tagged "The Biggest Royal Rumble in History", since there were 40 participants, rather than the usual 30. This was a risk taken bu the WWE that eventually paid off.

This Royal Rumble was the first stop on the road to Wrestlemania 27. The winner of the match would choose to either face the WWE Champion, The Miz or the World Heavyweight Champion, Edge. Stakes were high heading into this show and speculations on who would make a return was also rife. The Rumble received positive reviews and was praised as one of the best Royal Rumble matches of all time.

The match itself had some special moments which the fans in attendance popped for. Let's take a look at the top five memorable moments from the biggest Royal Rumble match in the history of WWE

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#5 John Cena and Hornswoggle team up

Hornswoggle was a participant in the biggest Royal Rumble match ever

John Cena entered the 2011 Royal Rumble at number 22 just when the Nexus was dominating throughout by eliminating people one by one. Cena managed to eliminate the three members of the Nexus, Mason Ryan, David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty, who were in the ring alongside CM Punk. The two men remaining in the ring, Cena and Punk, were shortly thereafter joined by number 23, Hornswoggle. No sooner did Hornswoggle enter the ring, Cena eliminated CM Punk.

It was after Punk's elimination that the fans witnessed Cena and Hornswoggle work as a team to dominate the Rumble for a short period. Together, they joined forces to eliminate the next two entrants, Tyson Kidd and Heath Slater.

Hornswoggle had his moment when he did a mini Attitude Adjustment to Tyson Kid after Cena had performed the move. They also did a double 'You Can't See Me' move on Heath Slater before Cena threw him over the top rope in what was a moment to remember.

#4 Booker T returns

Booker T returns

Booker T wrestled his last match in the WWE against then WWE Champion John Cena in a non-title match on August 27, 2007. Shortly thereafter, WWE suspended Booker for violating its Wellness Policy before he requested his and his wife, Sharmell's, release from their WWE contracts in October 2007.

Booker returned to WWE to take part in the Royal Rumble on January 30, 2011 and was entrant number 21. The WWE fans erupted as soon as Booker's music hit as this was his first WWE appearance in almost 4 years. The Nexus were also surprised to see Booker as they waited for him in the ring.

Booker entered inside the ring and showed no signs of ring rust. He was able to overcome the numbers game and went on to hit his Book-End and do a Spin-a-Rooney amid cheers the fans who were in attendance. Although he was shortly eliminated thereafter, this was a special moment for Booker and a great treat to all his fans who were present at the TD Garden in Boston.

#3 CM Punk and Nexus dominate

Punk became the leader of the Nexus after Wade Barrett

CM Punk joined and assumed control of The Nexus towards the end of December 2010. On January 3, 2011, The Nexus announced that it was under "new management," with CM Punk being revealed to be the new leader, having acquired the position after Wade Barrett was exiled from the group.

At the 2011 Royal Rumble, The Nexus, which consisted of Mason Ryan, Husky Harris, David Otunga, Michael McGillicutty and leader CM Punk proved dominant as they enabled Punk to last the longest in the match for over 35 minutes with seven eliminations, eliminating Daniel Bryan, John Morrison, Mark Henry, Chris Masters, Tyler Reks, then WWE Tag Team Champions Vladimir Kozlov and R-Truth.

The Nexus cleared house midway through the Rumble match when they threw everyone over the top rope. Together they eliminated a total of 11 people that also included Ted Dibiase, Booker T, The Great Khali and JTG. It was easy to believe that CM Punk was on his way to victory following this dominant performance by The Nexus. This was a moment that kept everyone on their feet and is truly a moment to remember.

#2 John Morrison's impressive performance

John Morrison was the winner of Tough Enough III

John Morrison is a former ECW champion and is currently the reigning Mega Champion as well as a former Latin American and World Cruiserweight Champion.

On December 19, 2010, at the Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, Morrison defeated Sheamus in a WWE Championship number one contender's ladder match. He received his WWE Championship match on January 3, 2011, an episode of Raw, but lost to reigning champion, The Miz, in a falls count anywhere match. With the Royal Rumble around the corner, Morrison had another chance of being the number one contender for the WWE championship.

On January 30, 2011, Morrison entered the Royal Rumble at number 10. Even though he did not win, he had a stand-out moment which was praised by Wrestling critics as "arguably the spot of the decade" when Morrison was knocked off of the ring apron and performed a "Spider-Man" like leap onto the barricade to avoid having his feet touch the floor and then went on to precision jump onto the ring steps and re-enter the ring. This was and still is one of the most amazing Royal Rumble moves ever and was such a sight to see on that night.

#1 Diesel returns

Diesel returns

Kevin Nash is a 6-time World champion and is known for being the first wrestler to defeat Goldberg and in the process ended his undefeated streak of 173–0 at Starrcade in 1998. Nash was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015 and is a founding member of the NWO.

Before returning to the WWE in 2011, Kevin Nash's last match in the company was at the 2003 SummerSlam in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton. His contract ended in January 2004 and was not renewed.

Nash, billed as Diesel for the first time since 1996, returned on January 30, 2011, at the Royal Rumble. He entered the match as number 32 and received the biggest ovation of the night. It was a nostalgic sight and chants of "Diesel" rented through the TD Garden in Boston. Despite just lasting 2 minutes 45 seconds in the Rumble, the return of Diesel was one of the highest points of the match.