Last night's Royal Rumble PPV was pretty damn great overall, due in large part to both Rumble matches delivering in spades. But it wasn't just Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka coming out on top that made the battle royales so memorable.
As we expected, both matches featured several surprise entrants, and even though some of the names rumored to make their WWE debuts didn't show up in the end, there were enough NXT Superstars and returning Legends to keep most fans happy.
The men's match saw appearances from NXT Champion Andrade "Cien" Almas, Undisputed Era leader Adam Cole (baybay), The Hurricane, Rey Mysterio, and Dolph Ziggler, who had "quit" a couple of weeks prior to the event.
Because there aren't as many female Superstars on the roster, the historic women's Rumble was bolstered by a lot of returning talent. Only 2 ladies from NXT entered (Kairi Sane and women's champ Ember Moon), but we also saw Lita, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool, Molly Holly, Beth Phoenix, Jacqueline, Kelly Kelly, Brie and Nikki Bella, and finally, taking the #30 spot, was the incomparable Trish Stratus.
It remains to be seen how many of these returning stars stick around, but let's hope a few of 'em show upon RAW tonight, at the very least.