The 35th annual Royal Rumble is set to take place in St. Louis, Missouri next Saturday, and after last year's event being held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans are more than excited to return to the arena for the pay-per-view.

Johnny Knoxville, yes you read that right, will be one of the entrants in this year’s Rumble, along with stars such as Rey Mysterio, Sheamus and Kofi Kingston.

However, in the light of next weekend’s PPV comes throwbacks to the 2004 Royal Rumble, where arguably wrestling’s biggest name suffered a horrific looking injury.

John Cena, a relative newcomer at the time, surprised many by making the final six, but it was how he was eliminated that will forever be remembered.

The Big Show was the man to eliminate Cena, as he catapulted him out of the ring, which, on impact, saw Cena’s left leg bend awkwardly, with TV pictures showing him in some serious discomfort.

Thankfully, due to the scheduling of WrestleMania, Cena did not miss too much action and remained active, albeit with a limited schedule, and remarkably even worked in a WWE SmackDown taping just two days later.

In an interview three weeks after the Royal Rumble, Cena admitted he had torn his MCL, but had no plans to take any form of a break, despite being limited with what he could do in the ring.

Cena was forced into wearing a knee brace during his period of recovery, which coupled in with the lighter schedule he took on.

Nonetheless, fans were relieved the injury was not as worse as first feared and that Cena would be back in action relatively quickly.

Cena’s injury was a freakish moment for those watching, so much so it featured in a WWE “don’t try this at home” advert.

From that moment in his career, Cena has shown he is one of the toughest athletes around, which has contributed to the success he has had.