Royal Rumble 2009 Review
The road to Wrestlemania has begun, so with the Royal Rumble on it's way, I thought I'd review some Rumble's of the past (and maybe re-doing some I've already done)
The opening video package was awesome, showing moments of Rumble history and then moving onto the then-hot storyline of Randy Orton punting Vince McMahon in the head.
I had to watch the opener twice as I lost focus while my cat was trying to chew on the laptop cable.
Jack Swagger vs Matt Hardy
The WWECW Title is on the line. Matt Striker says that Swagger is undefeated. Definitely can't say that nowadays. For some reason people seem to love the silver version of the WWECW Title, but I've never gotten why. Looks pretty ugly to me. Swagger had only won the Title two weeks previously, so there wasn't much of a chance of him losing it. This was a good opener, with a nice nearfall towards the end, and the crowd was into it. Good stuff. ***
Melina vs Beth Phoenix
Women's Title is on the line and with the talent here, this could be pretty good. The crowd wasn't really into it, but when are they ever into a divas match? The way Beth bent Melina's leg and used it to beat her head with it was awesome. Melina did botch a few moves in there, but Beth managed to make it work. Solid divas match I'd say. **
John Cena vs JBL
World Heavyweight Title is on the line. This match was mainly about the JBL/HBK storyline. JBL told Shawn that he'd set him free and give him a place in the Rumble if he became World Champion. Cena and JBL really need a gimmick for their matches, otherwise it's just dull as this matched proved. The HBK/JBL storyline made it a bit better towards the end but not by much. Outside of the I Quit match, it's one of the better Cena/JBL encounters I've seen. **1/2
Edge vs Jeff Hardy: No DQ
WWE Title on the line. Ok what was the point of taking the belt off of Edge only to put it back on him a month later? 2009 was filled with these Title changes. This whole match was here basically to start off the brother vs brother feud that worked about as well as it did in 2001. Matt's just not a good evil heel, he's much better as a funny heel like when he was Version 1. I think it was meant to originally be Christian that cost Hardy the match, but the crowd was too smart and saw it coming, so they changed it to Matt. Good choice guys. This one was a bit slow at times, but it was still entertaining and the twist of fate on the apron looked cool. It did get much better after the table spot, as the crowd really got into it and so did I. Good match. ***1/4
Royal Rumble Match
I love how they didn't edit out the part where Jerry Lawler says that Orton needs to be the winner of this Rumble and basically ruined it. Anyway this one started off well with some high-flying action, featuring Rey Mysterio, John Morrison and Carlito. Things slowed down when Khali arrived. Seeing Kozlov going against Khali was interesting for all of two seconds. Santino beating the Warlord's record for fastest elimination was fun. One problem with this rumble is that there are too many guys in the ring at one time, so there guys just filling time with punches and kicks. It did have good moments though like Orton going on an RKO frenzy only to be stopped by a pedigree. Everyone's reaction to Undertaker's entrance was awesome too. The Brothers of Destruction reuniting was a nice moment too. Rob Van Dam's return got one of the biggest pops I've heard in a while. Overall I'd say that this was a damn good Rumble and not as bad as some people make it up to be. Not the best Rumble but nowhere near the worst either. ***1/2
6.5/10. There's nothing wrong with this show, it's just the fact that it's pretty forgettable outside of the Rumble match. The opener was good, as was the WWE Title match but they just weren't very memorable. Don't get me wrong, this was a fun show and is a good choice for when you wanna watch some wrestling, it's just that you won't remember most of it. Aside from that, I'd recommend it.
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