Former WWE Champion John Cena made a shocking return as the 30th entrant into Sunday's 2008 Royal Rumble, eliminating Triple-H to win the match and earn a title shot at Wrestlemania 24 in March.

Cena eliminated four wrestlers in his return from a torn pectoral muscle, the last being HHH after a spirited few minutes of action. The Madison Square Garden crowd popped the minute his music hit, but soon started booing Cena as he went toe-to-toe with "The Game." The Rumble match was good overall (see entrants/eliminators at the end of this post) and Cena's return helped saved what a very average pay-per-view to that point.

The other major angle coming out of the Rumble was the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels (Entrants 1 and 2, respectively), who went at it all night and were eliminated within a few seconds of each other. The positioning was such that you have to imagine a Wrestlemania encounter could be in the cards.

-Randy Orton retained the WWE title over Jeff Hardy following an RKO. Orton reversed a Twist of Fate attempt by Hardy and converted it into a mid-ring RKO to get the clean win. Hardy hit all of his traditional moves, but the match was lacking that one breathtaking spot, something fans expected with all of the video packaged hype. Considering what had gone into ramping up for this match, it was surprisingly average and could have used some near-fall drama near the end.

-Edge retained the World title over Rey Mysterio following an in-air spear. Mysterio had the match won, but Vickie Guerrero jumped out of her wheelchair to drag referee Mickey Jay out of the ring while he was making the count. As he went for a 2nd 619, Guerrero took the brunt of the blow in covering up Edge. A minute later, Mysterio was speared mid-air and lost. Interestingly enough, the crowd was decidedly pro-Edge in the pre-match announcements and booed much of Rey's offense through the match. The last two minutes really saved what was mostly an average match.

-JBL beat Chris Jericho by dq following a chair shot. Jericho bled pretty heavily and botched a bulldog takedown spot (probably thanks to the slippery conditions because of blood), which inspired a round of boos. Given the buildup, this match was pretty disappointing and the crowd didn't like the decision at all. Jericho did get the upper hand in a post-match attack, hanging JBL with a microphone cord, meaning these two will have a chance to do better next time.

-Ric Flair defeated MVP by submission with a figure-four leglock to open the show. With the win, Flair's career keeps going. Nothing too notable here, other than a pinfall by MVP that was negated because Flair grabbed the bottom rope. This will likely be the catch that keeps the angle going.

Other Notes:

-Mike Adamle debuted as a sideline commentator of sorts, introducing video packages of Y2J/JBL and Orton/Hardy. He showed some nevers as he said 'Jeff Harvey' instead of Hardy when tossing it to a video package.

-There was no stage to speak of, other than a smaller video screen above the traditional Madison Square Garden ring entrance.

-The competitors in both title matches were introduced similar to UFC events, boxing matches, etc.

-Michael Buffer did the Rumble intro and introduced the Undertaker and Michaels, calling the latter simply 'HBK....the Heartbreak Kid." He also announced Cena as the winner.

-Khali was greeted with 'You can't wrestle' chants.

Order of Rumble entrants/eliminations:

1. Undertaker (elim. by Michaels)
2. Shawn Michaels (elim. by Kennedy)
3. Santino Marella (elim. by Undertaker)
4. The Great Khali (elim. by Undertaker)
5. Hardcore Holly (elim. by Umaga)
6. John Morrison (elim. by Kane)
7. Tommy Dreamer (elim. by Batista)
8. Batista (elim. by HHH)
9. Hornswoggle (never officially eliminated)
10. Chuck Palumbo (elim. by Punk)
11. Jamie Noble (elim. by Palumbo)
12. CM Punk (elim. by Guerrero)
13. Cody Rhodes (elim. by HHH)
14. Umaga (elim. by Batista)
15. Snitsky (elim. by Undertaker)
16. The Miz (elim. by Kennedy/Hornswoggle)
17. Shelton Benjamin (elim. by Michaels)
18. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (elim. by Kane)
19. "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (elim. by Kane)
20. Kane (elim. by Batista/HHH)
21. Carlito (elim. by Cena)
22. Mick Foley (elim. by HHH)
23. Mr. Kennedy (elim. by Batista)
24. Big Daddy V (elim. by HHH)
25. Mark Henry (elim. by Cena)
26. Chavo Guerrero (elim. by Cena)
27. Finlay (dq'd for entering ring early)
28. Elijah Burke (elim. by HHH)
29. Triple-H (elim by Cena)
30. John Cena (winner)