The Royal Rumble match
We enter a new year and a new decade for WWE as we always start off with the Royal Rumble, and coming out of 2009 CM Punk was in a unique position as he seemed to be out of the title picture, but was more focused on building up his heat as well as his own faction. In the weeks leading up to this show, he had in essence “converted” Festus into Luke Gallows and would also add the newcomer Serena to the group, and he was almost taking on the role of a cult leader pushing his Straight Edge beliefs on everyone. Even though he was in the Rumble, he was not one of the focal points as there was a lot of focus on other top stars in the Rumble including Shawn Michaels, Triple H, John Cena, Batista, Chris Jericho, and a few others as this Rumble was fairly stacked with top talent. It would be interesting to see since Punk was more than likely not going to win how well he did in the match, given that he was still one of the top heels on Smackdown despite not being the top heel.
On the 12/15 RAW, Punk would win a Slammy Award for driving Jeff Hardy out of WWE though he would lose to Cena in the Superstar of the Year tournament, and on the 12/18 Smackdown he would team with Gallows and Drew McIntyre to defeat R-Truth, John Morrison, and Matt Hardy. At Tribute to the Troops on 12/19, Punk and Carlito would lose a tag match to Rey Mysterio and Mark Henry, and on the 12/25 Smackdown Morrison, Truth, Hardy, and Finlay defeated Punk, Gallows, McIntyre, and Dolph Ziggler in an 8-man tag. On the 1/1 Smackdown, Punk cut a promo talking about wanting to save everyone before defeating Hardy in a Beat the Clock Challenge, and on the 1/8 Smackdown Punk brought a fan into the ring and the fan pledged to follow the Straight Edge lifestyle as Punk and Gallows shaved his head bald. On the 1/15 Smackdown, Punk cut another promo vowing to win the Rumble as another random fan came into the ring and Punk and Gallows would shave his head bald, and on the 1/22 Smackdown Punk cut another promo as a female fan rushed at him with security taking her away until Punk had them bring her back. She introduced herself as Serena and Punk would shave her head bald as she pledged her allegiance to him, and on the 1/29 Smackdown Punk cut a promo on D-X who were on the show and Triple H would defeat Punk by DQ as the SES looked to shave his head until Michaels made the save. The rest of the build for the Rumble focused around the top guys looking to win, specifically Michaels who wanted to win so he could get the Undertaker in a WrestleMania rematch. Punk’s build was fairly good as again he was pretty much focused on building up his character and faction while also being a favorite to win the Rumble.
We get a great video package hyping the Rumble and going over the stats, and then Dolph Ziggler comes out at #1 to decent heat as a heel while Evan Bourne comes out at #2 to a good pop from the crowd. The two men square off to start the match and both look up at the WM sign as Bourne blocks a shot and kicks at Ziggler’s leg repeatedly, and Ziggler reverses a whip and Bourne hits a headscissors before hitting a spin kick only for Ziggler to ram Bourne into the buckle. He pounds on Bourne in the corner and hits a dropkick that nearly sends Bourne over the top as he pounds on him, and Bourne drives Ziggler into the mat with his knees and Ziggler catches him with a back elbow as Bourne leaps to the top rope and attempts a headscissors to send Ziggler over the top though Ziggler rolls back in. Ziggler hits the Zig Zag on Bourne and throws him over the top though Bourne lands on the apron, and he gets a kick in and goes up top as he hits Air Bourne on Ziggler while Punk comes out at #3 with Serena. He hits a trio of clotheslines on Bourne who ducks a shot and he hits a high knee on Punk who avoids a charge as he sends Bourne into Ziggler, and he sends Bourne over the top and eliminates him before hitting a clothesline that sends Ziggler over the top and eliminates him. Serena hands Punk the mike and he says that he wants to thank everyone for joining him in the most historic moment his SES has seen, and he says 29 men will be thrown over the top rope or they can be saved by him if they have courage. He says that not everyone can win the Rumble as JTG comes out at #4 and he pounds on Punk before knocking him down, and he hits a pair of clotheslines and a dropkick on Punk as he leaps at him in the corner only for Punk to send him over the top and eliminate him. He takes the mike back and says that before he was rudely interrupted, not everyone can win the Rumble just like not everyone can be saved and there are some here that can’t follow in his footsteps. He says that he will be the first Straight Edge Rumble winner as the Great Khali comes out at #5, and Punk says that he can save Khali and make him greater as he says that Khali needs to be saved. He asks Khali to raise his right hand which he does and he asks if Khali will accept straight edge into his life, but Khali hits a chop and hooks the vice grip on Punk as we get a shocker at #6 with Beth Phoenix coming out making her the second woman to enter the Rumble. She confronts Khali who picks her up and puts her on the apron before telling her to head to the back, and she plants a kiss on Khali as she pulls him over the top and she eliminates Khali in a fun moment. She hits a clothesline on Punk and pounds on him as she hoists him onto her shoulders though he slides off, and he hoists her up and hits the Go 2 Sleep on Phoenix as Zack Ryder comes out at #7 and Punk eliminates Phoenix. He takes the mike and says that Ryder has potential as he looks to offer him a chance though he hits Ryder with the mike, and he stomps on Ryder repeatedly and hits a short clothesline before sending Ryder over the top and eliminating him. He takes the mike again as we see he is bleeding from the mouth and he says that everyone will watch him rise as he asks who is next and says he is better than everyone, and Triple H comes out at #8 to a huge pop and they have a staredown as Triple H pounds on Punk who reverses a whip. Triple H catches him ducking with the facebuster and knocks Punk down as he pounds on him in the corner and Punk reverses a whip into the other corner, and he hits the running knee only for Triple H to block the bulldog and he hits a spinebuster on Punk. Drew McIntyre comes out at #9 as Triple H pounds on Punk in the corner and then he pounds on McIntyre, and McIntyre ducks a shot as Triple H hits the high knee and he kicks at Punk before looking for the Pedigree. Punk blocks it by hoisting Triple H onto his shoulders though Triple H blocks the Go 2 Sleep by sending Punk over the top and eliminating him, and he pounds on McIntyre and rams him into the buckle as McIntyre reverses a whip and hits a back elbow. He rams Triple H into the buckle and pounds and stomps on him in the corner as he rams him into the buckle again, and Triple H gets a knee in as Ted Dibiase comes out at #10 and Triple H pounds on McIntyre in the corner. He hits a clothesline on Dibiase and one on McIntyre as he pounds on Dibiase who catches him in a powerslam, and McIntyre and Dibiase stomp on Triple H in the corner and pound on him as McIntyre hits a short clothesline and Dibiase drops a pair of fists on Triple H.
John Morrison comes out at #11 and he fires up on Dibiase while McIntyre chokes Triple H with his boot in the corner, and Morrison hits a side dropkick on Dibiase and tackles McIntyre to the mat as he pounds on him though McIntyre blocks a Moonlight Drive attempt. Morrison hits a headscissors DDT on McIntyre and drags him to the corner until Dibiase nails him from behind, and he stomps on Morrison and looks for Dream Street though Morrison escapes with a kick to the head. He hits Starship Pain on McIntyre and Triple H hits a clothesline on Morrison as Kane comes out at #12, and Triple H pounds on Dibiase as Kane goes up top and hits a flying clothesline on Triple H. He fires up on everyone and whips Dibiase into the corner as he splashes him and hits a sidewalk slam, and he grabs McIntyre and Morrison by the throats as he hits a double chokeslam and then he hits a big boot on Triple H. Dibiase goes up to the middle rope only for Kane to nail him coming in and he hoists him up as he tries to dump him out, and Triple H pounds on Kane who grabs him by the throat and hits the chokeslam while Morrison stomps on McIntyre in the corner. Kane again tries to dump Dibiase as Cody Rhodes comes out at #13 and he hotshots Kane on the top rope, and he stomps on Kane repeatedly along with Dibiase as McIntyre pounds on Morrison and stomps on him. Rhodes ducks a shot and hits a Russian legsweep on Triple H as he blocks a shot and hits a short clothesline on McIntyre, and Morrison gets a kick in and Rhodes reverses a whip into the corner as Morrison leaps over him and Rhodes backdrops him over the top with Morrison landing on the apron. He gets a shot in and attempts a springboard only for Rhodes to hit a dropkick as Kane pounds on Dibiase in the corner, and Rhodes pounds and stomps on Kane as Legacy try to eliminate him until Triple H nails both men. McIntyre stomps on Morrison in the corner until Kane hits a headbutt and pounds on McIntyre as Triple H tries to eliminate Rhodes, but he hangs on as Morrison kicks at Triple H and pounds on him in the corner. Montel Vontavious Porter comes out at #14 only for the Miz to come from behind and hit him in the back of the head with the US Title, and all 6 men pair off and pound on each other as Dibiase hits a clothesline on Morrison and Kane pounds on McIntyre. Rhodes tries to dump Triple H as McIntyre gets a kick in and looks for the Future Shock on Kane, but Morrison hits a springboard kick on McIntyre as Dibiase comes over and tries to help Rhodes eliminate Triple H. Officials help MVP to the back as Morrison stomps on McIntyre only for Kane to hit a clothesline and he nails Dibiase, and he attempts a suplex that Dibiase blocks and Triple H tries to dump Rhodes as Carlito comes out at #15. He fires up on Legacy and hits a standing dropkick on Triple H before pounding on Kane until Legacy attack him, and Carlito hits a springboard double back elbow on Legacy until McIntyre gets a kick in and pounds on Carlito. He whips Carlito into the corner as Carlito hits a monkey flip on Morrison who lands on his face and Carlito hits a dropkick on McIntyre, and he and Kane trade blows with Kane taking control as he hits a headbutt only for Carlito to hit a chop block. He kicks at Triple H and hits a kneelift as he ducks a shot and hits the Backstabber on Triple H, and he ducks a shot and hits the Backstabber on McIntyre before ducking a shot and he hits the Backstabber on Dibiase. He pounds on Rhodes until Morrison gets a shot in only for Carlito to counter a neckbreaker with the Backstabber, and Miz comes out at #16 and hits the Skull Crushing Finale on Carlito as he pounds on Morrison in the corner. Just then, MVP runs down to the ring and fires up on Miz as he hits a clothesline which sends both men over the top and both are eliminated, and they continue to brawl on the floor as officials come out and separate them while Morrison pounds on McIntyre in the corner and Legacy try to dump out Triple H. Kane kicks at Rhodes and Triple H hits a DDT on Dibiase as Morrison tries to eliminate McIntyre, and Triple H throws Carlito over the top though he lands on the apron and Triple H stomps on him while McIntyre and Dibiase pound on Kane in the corner. Matt Hardy comes out at #17 and kicks at McIntyre as he hits the Twist of Fate and then he hits the Side Effect on Rhodes, and he pounds on Dibiase who reverses a whip into the corner and Hardy catches him with a boot to the face. He goes up to the middle rope only for Kane to knock him over the top and eliminate him though Triple H quickly dumps Kane over the top and eliminates him, and Rhodes pounds on Triple H who catches him in a spinebuster and he hits a trio of spinebusters on Carlito, Dibiase, and Morrison. He kicks at Rhodes and looks for the Pedigree only for McIntyre to hit a chop block on Triple H and he stomps on the knee along with Carlito, and Shawn Michaels comes out at #18 to a big pop as he backdrops Carlito over the top and eliminates him. He hits an atomic drop on Rhodes and knocks him down before hitting an atomic drop on Dibiase and he knocks him down, and he sends Rhodes over the top and eliminates him as he then sends Dibiase over the top and eliminates him. He pounds on McIntyre who reverses a whip and Michaels hits the flying forearm as he nips up, and he avoids a springboard kick from Morrison as he sends him over the top and eliminates him. McIntyre hits a clothesline on Michaels and pounds on him as Michaels catches him ducking with a kneelift and D-X pound on McIntyre, and they clothesline McIntyre over the top and eliminate him as John Cena comes out at #19 to a big pop. He ducks a shot and hits a double flying tackle on both men as he hits another flying tackle on Michaels, and he hoists Triple H and uses his leg to kick Michaels down as Cena hits the spinout powerbomb on Triple H. He hits a double Five Knuckle Shuffle on both men and hoists Michaels up as he tries to dump him out, but Triple H gets a kick in and hits the Pedigree on Cena only for Michaels to hit Sweet Chin Music which sends Triple H over the top and eliminates him. Shelton Benjamin comes out at #20 and fires up on both men as Cena catches a kick attempt and Benjamin hits a spin kick, and he pounds on Michaels in the corner and Michaels reverses a whip into the other corner as Benjamin leaps up top and hits a reverse crossbody on Michaels. He ducks a shot and hits a German suplex on Cena as he hits the Paydirt on Michaels and he sets Cena up, but Cena blocks the Paydirt as he sends Benjamin over the top and eliminates him as Michaels hits a back suplex on Cena.
Yoshi Tatsu comes out at #21 and ducks a shot as he hits a spin kick on Michaels and he kicks at Cena repeatedly, and he hits a running double knee on Michaels in the corner and does a rolling snapmare as he kicks Michaels in the face. Cena ducks a kick and clotheslines Tatsu over the top to eliminate him as Michaels knocks Cena down and stomps on him in the corner, and he pounds on Cena who reverses a whip into the other corner and he hits a running bulldog on Michaels. He pounds on Michaels in the corner as the Big Show comes out at #22 and he hits a headbutt on both men, and he catches Michaels on a leap and tries to dump him out though Michaels hangs on as Cena comes over to try and help Michaels. Show kicks Cena away and hoists Michaels back into the ring as Cena puts Michaels on his shoulders though Michaels slides off, and Cena ducks Sweet Chin Music and backdrops Michaels over the top though he lands on the apron and Show hits a clothesline on Cena. Michaels tries to skin the cat back in as Show grabs him and tosses him to the mat before choking him with his boot, and Mark Henry comes out at #23 and has a staredown with Show who shoves him back and Henry pounds on him. Show blocks a slam attempt and hits a headbutt on Henry before knocking him down as Cena pounds on Show, and he hits a flying tackle on Show and Henry hits a headbutt as Cena hits another flying tackle and then Henry hits the slam on Show. Cena hoists Henry onto his shoulders only for Henry to fall on top of him as Chris Masters comes out at #24, and Show hits a spear on Henry as Masters hits a clothesline on Michaels and pounds on him in the corner. Michaels battles back only for Masters to reverse a whip as he sends Michaels inside out in the corner and he hits a press slam, and he looks for the Masterlock on Show only for Show to dump him over the top and eliminate him as Henry comes over and tries to dump Show. Michaels comes over to try and help though Henry hits a headbutt and again tries to dump Show as R-Truth comes out at #25, and he dumps both Henry and Show over the top and eliminates both men in a big spot as he fires up on Michaels and Cena. He ducks a shot and kicks at Cena as he hits the scissors kick and Michaels pounds on Truth who reverses a whip and he hits a hiptoss, and he hits an inverted Russian legsweep on Cena and knocks Michaels down as he rams him into the buckle and stomps on him in the corner. He pounds on Michaels and tries to eliminate him as Michaels reverses a whip into the other corner, and Jack Swagger comes out at #26 and hits a clothesline on Truth as he hits a springboard splash on Cena before hitting one on Michaels. He hits a suplex on Cena and kicks at Michaels before hitting a suplex on him as he hoists Truth onto his shoulder and rams him into the corner, and he hits a running powerslam on Truth as Michaels pounds on Swagger in the corner only for Swagger to catch him ducking with a kick. He clotheslines Michaels over the top though Michaels lands on the apron and he knocks Cena down as Kofi Kingston comes out at #27, and he goes up top and hits a crossbody on Swagger as he knocks Truth down and hits a dropkick on Swagger. He hits a flying clothesline and the Boom Drop on Swagger who hoists him up and tries to eliminate him, but Kingston holds onto the ropes as he sends Swagger over the top and eliminates him. He ducks a shot and hits a dropkick on Michaels as Truth gets a kick in and pounds on Kingston in the corner before stomping on him, but Kingston shoves him away and Truth misses a charge as Kingston leaps onto him and pounds on him. Truth sends him over the top though Kingston lands on the apron as he hooks a headscissors that sends Truth over the top and eliminates him, and Chris Jericho comes out at #28 and knocks Kingston and Michaels down as he pounds on Cena in the corner. He hits a back elbow on Cena and knocks him down as he stomps on him only for Cena to escape a slam attempt and he hoists Jericho onto his shoulders, and he hits the Attitude Adjustment on Jericho as Michaels gets a kick in and he hits a DDT on Cena. He goes up top and drops the elbow on Jericho as he sets up for Sweet Chin Music only for Kingston to catch him with Trouble in Paradise, and Cena hoists Kingston up as he tosses him over the top and eliminates him only for Jericho to hit the Codebreaker on Cena. We then get a major surprise as Edge comes out at #29 making his return from injury to a huge pop, and he ducks a shot and hits the Spear on Jericho before hitting the Spear on Michaels and Cena as he pounds on Jericho. He throws Jericho over the top and eliminates him as he ducks a shot and hits the inverted neckbreaker on Michaels, and Cena hoists Edge onto his shoulders though Edge slides off and hits the Impaler on Cena as he stomps on him until Michaels pounds on Edge. Edge escapes a slam attempt and hoists Michaels up as Batista comes out last at #30 and we have our final four, and he hits the spinebuster on Edge and a clothesline on Michaels as well as Cena as he splashes Michaels in the corner before doing the same to Cena. He hits a running powerslam on Michaels and a spinebuster on Cena only for Edge to hit the Spear on Batista, and Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment on Edge and Michaels pounds on Cena who reverses a whip and Michaels hits the flying forearm. He nips up and hits an atomic drop on Cena before knocking him down as he hits an atomic drop on Batista and knocks him down, and he hits a slam on Cena before hitting one on Batista as he goes up top and drops the elbow on Cena. He hits an enzurgiri on Batista and goes up top as he drops an elbow on him and he tunes up the band, and he hits Sweet Chin Music on Cena and Batista as Edge hits a clothesline that sends both men over the top though they land on the apron. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music on Edge which sends him over the top back into the ring as Batista knocks Michaels off the apron and eliminates him, and Michaels is in shock as the ref tells him he is out only for Michaels to toss him to the side and he gets back in the ring. Another ref gets in the ring and tells Michaels he’s eliminated as Michaels pleads his case before hitting Sweet Chin Music on the ref and he heads to the back in disbelief, and Batista kicks at Cena and looks for the Batista Bomb though Cena escapes with a backdrop and he hoists Batista onto his shoulders. Batista slides off and charges only for Cena to pull the top rope down as Batista tumbles over the top and is eliminated, and Edge sets Cena up for the Spear though Cena catches him with a kick only for Edge to send him over the top and eliminate him as Edge wins the Royal Rumble.
The match itself was great as all 30 men worked hard and put on a solid Rumble that moved at a very quick pace, and I believe this has to be one of the shorter Rumbles in history as it goes just under 50 minutes in total which is crazy. There was a good amount of starpower in the match and things flowed pretty easily as there were no real dead spots throughout the match, and it never felt too congested as well as the most we had at one time was 9 and there wasn’t a ton of longevity. We did have two men go over 20 minutes in Cena and Michaels while a few others did make it over 10, and there were some good stories throughout with the biggest one being Michaels trying to win. In terms of Punk, even though he only lasted 10 minutes exactly, he did have a strong showing as he dominated the first third of the Rumble and got 5 eliminations before finally getting eliminated by Triple H. But the big shocker of the match was Edge making his return and winning as he is now headed to WrestleMania and the only question now is which title will he go for. The crowd was hot for the match though there were a few spots where they did die off a bit, but they did pop big for Edge when he won. Edge gets the win in a shocker and is headed to WrestleMania while we wait to see where Punk goes next after this.
Final Grade: ***3/4
