These Were All The Surprise Entrants In The 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble

One of the best things about the Royal Rumble is the way it sets itself up for surprises. Whether it’s professional wrestlers returning from injuries or retired wrestlers heading down to the ring for a huge pop and an ultimately brief cameo, the Rumble is one of the best tools WWE has to get people back into the fold. And on Saturday night in San Antonio, there were a number of surprises and highly-anticipated returns in this year’s event.

The first big surprise of the evening came before the Rumble even began. Pat McAfee, who left WWE last year to join ESPN’s College GameDay, made his return to the company to join Michael Cole and Corey Graves at the announce table.

It took 21 entrants for a surprise entrant. While the Rumble was business as usual for a long, long time, the first surprise came when the 57-year-old Booker T made his way to the ring after previously being on the pre-show. The Texas native came down the ramp, flattened a few other superstars, and did his iconic Spinaroonie … which marked the last thing he got to do in the match before Gunther tossed him over the top rope.

While he’s a member of the active roster, Edge was the next surprise in the Rumble at number 24. The Rated R Superstar had not appeared on television since October, and he immediately came to the ring and took out two-thirds of Judgement Day, sending Damian Priest and Finn Balor over the top. But he, too, was eliminated quickly — while trying to toss Dominik Mysterio over the top rope, Priest and Balor hopped up onto the apron and pulled Edge to the floor.

Edge’s elimination led to another return, because while Rhea Ripley joined Judgement Day in a skirmish after Edge’s elimination, Beth Phoenix — who likewise has not been on television since October — took Ripley down with a spear of her own.

The penultimate entray in the Rumble doubled as the penultimate surprise surprise, as Logan Paul entered the ring and immediately got beaten down.

And at 30, the most highly-anticipated “surprise” of the Rumble happened, as Cody Rhodes, who previously announced that he would compete in the event, made his long-awaited return from a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered in June.

Rhodes and Paul ended up being two of the final three participants. Ultimately, Rhodes was able to win the event by eliminating Paul and, eventually, Gunther.