Former WWE Referee Reveals How John Cena’s 2008 Royal Rumble Return Was Kept Secret

– WrestlingInc.com recently spoke to former WWE referee Marty Elias, who was one of the ringside referees for the 2008 Royal Rumble. That was the Rumble where John Cena made a stunning return as the 30th man to enter the Rumble.

Cena was previously out on the sidelines with a pectoral tear injury that needed surgery. He was expected to be off television for about six months to a year. Instead, he made a “miraculous” comeback about three months later at the 2008 Royal Rumble at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Elias stated on Cena’s return: “I was one of only a handful of people who knew he was coming back and was going to win the Rumble. Cena was hidden all day and when it was time for him to enter, he was walked through the hallway covered so no one knew it was him!”