The Royal Rumble is one of the most highly-anticipated events of the wrestling calendar, in large part due to the surprise debuts and returns seen during the eponymous matches.
These have ranged from the likes of Mr. Perfect making his WWE comeback in 2002 to John Cena returning from injury months early to win the 2008 Rumble. The biggest debut seen is likely to be AJ Styles, who finally signed with the company in 2016 after building his career in every other major promotion.
There have also been numerous one-off appearances like Rob Van Dam in 2009, JBL in 2014, and most recently Booker T in this year’s show.
Santino Marella wants to make one last WWE Royal Rumble appearance
Another man that would like to make a final appearance in the Royal Rumble is Santino Marella.
IMPACT Wrestling’s current Director of Authority told The Ignorance is Strength Podcast that he wants to continue wrestling for a little while yet so that his youngest kids get to see him perform.
“I just wrestled in front of my four-year-old [son] for the first time at [Impact Wrestling’s] Rebellion pay-per-view. It made me realize I want to wrestle a little bit just for him, and then for my younger daughter just to give them a memory … I may have to wrestle for a few more years sporadically and give them some lifelong memories.”
When asked if an appearance in the Rumble would be enough to fulfill that goal, Marella admitted that it’s something he would like to do. He last appeared in WWE during the 2020 Women’s Rumble Match as his alter-ego ‘Santina Marella’.
“I would like…especially because a couple of years ago, I came back as Santina in 2020. I would like to actually comeback as Santino. I think people would really appreciate that.”
Santino’s history in the Rumble is likely best remembered for him setting an unfortunate record in 2009 when Kane threw him over the top rope in one second, the fastest elimination of all time.
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the above transcription.