411’s WWE Royal Rumble Report 01.27.08
Posted by Larry Csonka on 01.27.2008
Ladies and gentlemen…John Cena is BACK!
Remember to send your thoughts on the show: a score from 1-10, match of the night and trash of the night!
~WWE ROYAL RUMBLE 2008~ ~The Road to WrestleMania Begins Tonight…~
-Michael Cole and the Coach welcome us to the show.
-Flair comes to the ring and gets on the mic. He wants to tell us once again what an honor it has been to wrestle in Madison Square Garden. He had his first match there in March of 1976, long before most of the people there were born. The respect that has been paid to him has been unbelievable. MVP's entrance cuts him off.
FLAIR'S CAREER ON THE LINE: Ric Flair vs. MVP
And here we go, kicking off the 2008 Royal Rumble. Lock up and then off the ropes, and a shoulder block by MVP. He poses, they lock up again and to the corner they go and a clean break and posing by MVP. Wristlock by Flair, they go to the ropes and MVP slaps Flair, Flair fires back with rights and chops and goes on the offensive. Off the ropes, a tackle but MVP gets a trip and then the yakuza kick for 2. Mounted punches by MVP and then a cover for 2. Flair back with chops, but MVP takes him down and works a chinlock. Flair up, they go o the corner, rights by MVP and then a whip, but Flair with a back elbow. Chop block by Flair, he goes for the figure four, but MVP escapes. Atomic drop by Flair, figure four try and MVP rolls him up and gets 2. MVP with punches in the corner, boots and Flair is down. An Irish whip and backdrop by MVP. MVP charges and gets the KAWADA kick in the corner and Flair flops down, 1…2…3. NO. Flair had his foot on the ropes. Flair then rolls up MVP as he argues with the ref and gets 2. This annoys MVP, rights to Flair and then a butterfly suplex for 2. MVP sets Flair on the top rope, rights to Flair, MVP up with him and gets the superplex for 2! MVP slaps the shit out of Flair, they blow a fireman's carry deal, chops by Flair and they go off the ropes and clothesline each other. The ref counts, they get to their feet and chops by Flair. Small package and Flair gets 2. Backslide by Flair for 2. Chops again, rights and then more chops. MVP nails Flair in the throat, gets a face buster. Playmaker countered, Figure Four by Flair! MVP taps.
Winner: Ric Flair @ 7:59 via submission
Rating: *¾
-MVP argues with the ref after the match as Flair stands in the ring, soaking in the moment.
-Vince meets with Hornswoggle. They talk about the McMahon lineage and the luck of the Irish. Vince plays up that it is everyman for himself and that he expects him to win the match. Finlay is here and Vince and he discuss the previous discussion in a new discussion. Finlay doesn't like the not trusting part, and Vince says Hornswoggle may turn on him. Hornswoggle then leaps into Finlay's arms.
-JR and the King introduce us to former XFL and American Gladiators announcer Mike Adamle! He hypes the JBL vs. Jericho feud and we get a video package.
JBL vs. Chris Jericho
The bell rings, they stare down…and lock up. Shouldn't they be killing each other? Lock up and to the corner again, and they break. Lock up again and JBL into the ropes and the ref breaks them up. Rights by JBL, off the ropes and a forearm and rights by Jericho. A tackle and rights. That's more like it. JBL now tosses Jericho to the floor, back in and he tackles JBL and then starts kicking the hell out of him. Jericho scoops the legs, walls try and JBL has the ropes. The ref breaks them up and Jericho gets a baseball slide. He slams JBL to the barrier, tries a suplex but then slams him to the apron and then the steps. Back in the ring and JBL gets a hot shot off the ropes, and Jericho holds the previously injured throat. Short clothesline by JBL. Another clothesline by JBL and he then chokes him on the ropes. Catapult in the ropes by JBL, focusing on the throat. Rights by JBL in the corner and Jericho is down. Jericho tries to fight back, chops, off the ropes and a sleeper by JBL. Jericho elbows out, ducks a big boot and levels JBL with a clothesline. Both men are down, they get to their feet and JBL gets the big boot. JBL tosses Jericho to the steel post and Jericho is busted open! Jericho is busted open big time, JBL to the floor and pummels Jericho. Back into the ring, and kicks to the head by JBL. Rights and boots by JBL in the corner, the ref warns him and he keeps on the attack. Jericho fights back with a forearm and another. They BLOW a bulldog spot and the crowd is all over them. Lionsault connects and then a Cactus clothesline to the floor. JBL slams Jericho off of the ECW announce table, and then Jericho KILLS him with a SICK chair shot for the DQ.
They continue to brawl and go back into the ring. Smash mouth with the chair and mounted rights by Jericho. Jericho now gets the cable and brings it into the ring and chokes out JBL! He hangs JBL with the cable, going as far to stand on the ECW table to choke JBL! The crowd loved that. Revenge. Jericho is a bloody mess.
Winner: JBL @ 9:30 via DQ
Rating: **½
-Ashley walks backstage and goes to meet with Maria. Santino answers the door and stops them from their talk. Santino says she cannot say no to anyone. Ashley says that is why she is with Santino. Santino says Maria is not interested in the booby magazine, and if he could he would vote her out of the WWE like she was voted out of Survivor.
-Cole and Coach are back and hype Edge vs. Rey.
-Teddy wheels out Vicky.
-In a nice touch, they do the super special ring announcing.
Edge shoves Rey to begin things. They circle, lock up and Edge works the arm. Kicks by Rey, Rey blows a RANA spot and they crowd is all over them. The crowd is chanting for Edge, Rey gets a few leg scoops and a cover for 1. Rights and kicks by Edge, chokes Rey in the ropes, off the ropes and Edge tosses him to the floor. Baseball slide by Edge connects. The Rmy goes to attack Rey and they get TOSSED! Rey gets a head scissors, goes for the 619 and Edge to the floor. PLANCHA by Rey, back in and Rey gets the seated senton for 2. Kicks by Rey, chops and then a whip to the corner. Edge tosses Rey, he lands on the top rope and Edge kicks out the legs and Rey hits the mat hard. Rey limps to the floor, Edge follows and attacks and then tosses Rey back in. Edge works the knee to the delight of the crowd. Single leg crab by Edge, Rey fights and kicks Edge off. An Enziguri by Rey, Edge falls on the ropes and Rey looks for a 619 but runs into a scoop slam for 2. Edge goes back to the legwork, single leg lock and Rey kicks him off again. Kicks by Edge, and Rey stands but falls to the mat. Edge now looks to remove the leg brace Rey has on, but Rey fights back with kicks. Off the ropes and Rey manages a bulldog. They manage to get to their feet, chops by Rey and kicks. Kicks again, off the ropes and a sunset flip by Edge, but Rey rolls through, kick to Edge and a cover for 2. A boot by Rey, roll up and a cover on Edge for 2. Rey goes to the apron, goes up top and Edge hits him and follows him up. Knocked off and Rey gets a DOUBLE FOOT STOMP and cover for 2! RANA by Rey, and Edge falls to the floor. Rey charges and slides out into a DDT. Rey rolls Edge back in, covers and gets 2. Yakuza by Edge and Rey is down. Edge looks for a spear…charges, MISSES and a head scissors by Rey! 619! Rey up top…Vicky is up and Rey gets a splash. 1…2…Vicky pulls out the ref! Rey is pissed and yells at her, and Edge misses a spear, Rey goes for another 619 but Vicky covers up Edge and eats it to save him! Rey springboards in…SPEAR by Edge and that is all!
Edge checks on Vicky as the Rmy returns. They get her back to the wheelchair and wheel her to the back.
Winner: Edge @ 12:45 via pin
Rating: ***
-We see Flair backstage, coming from the shower and Kennedy is there to congratulate him. Kennedy gives Flair a "WOOOOOOOOO" and says that after he wins the Rumble, that he'll have time until WM. HBK walks in and lets them have some quality time together. HBK jokes about Kennedy's gimmick and tells Flair he did well. Flair then says HBK cannot be stopped in the Rumble tonight. Batista now walks in and then HHH. HBK says this is awkward now. HHH tells Flair t put some pants on. HHH says the best man will win, which OFFENDS Batista. HBK then pimps his T-Shirt. HHH and Batista leave, and Flair says it was good work. HBK gives him a shirt and leaves.
-Maria is out now. Jesus her mic is loud! She is here to do the Royal Rumble kiss cam. Some dude cops a feel on PPV. Tremendous. Ashley now comes out. Ashley says HEFF called her and wanted to know if Maria would be interested in posing for Playboy. This brings out Santino and a black-sheeted ghost. He says Ashley didn't get the message and the answer in NO. No one wants to see Maria with no clothes on! Santino says people from New York will cheer for anything because they have nothing to cheer about. He then says they only have a football team from New Jersey to cheer for and says they will choke in the Super Bowl. Giants chant now. Ashley says this is all up to Maria to decide. Santino makes a hepatitis joke, and says he is about to win the Royal Rumble. He asks his special friend to come into the ring. And since we like to see boobies, he has a present. Big Fat Naked Oily Guy with a Patriots logo painted on him. Kill me. Ashley beats him up.
-We get a Bay Watch themed commercial with Kelly Kelly and Mae Young to hype WrestleMania.
-Mike Adamle is in the crowd hyping the Rumble, and Jeff Harvey, he means Hardy's title match. Not off to a good start is Mr. Adamle. We get video package fun.
Orton circles him, lock up and to the ropes, around and to a corner they go. They fight in the lock up around the ropes some more and the ref steps in to break them up. Jeff shoves Orton, tackle and a headlock takedown. Orton tries to roll him for a pin, grabs the hair and then gets a head scissors hold to escape the headlock. Orton cranks on the hold but Jeff escapes and get an atomic drop and leg drop to the balls. Basement dropkick for 2. A knee by Orton, to the corner and slams Jeff into the turnbuckle. Orton yells at the crowd about their boy, off the ropes and a boot by Jeff and then a clothesline to the floor. A baseball slide dropkick by Jeff and Orton SLAMS into the barrier. Orton gets to his feet and Jeff gets a plancha. Back in and breaks the count. Orton gets the title and tries to leave, Jeff to the floor and they brawl. Back into the ring and as Jeff tries to slingshot in, he eats a sweet dropkick by Orton and falls to the floor. Orton back to the floor, and gets a suplex on Jeff. Rolls him back in and gets 2. Orton works the stomp on the legs of Jeff and then makes his way around the body. A choke by Orton now, he breaks and talks trash to Jeff. He follows up with a knee drop and cover for 2. Rights by Jeff to fight back, boots, and off the ropes and he tosses Orton to the floor. To the apron and Jeff with a flying clothesline connects. Back in the ring and Jeff gets a cover for 2. An Irish whip and charge by Jeff, but Orton moves and Jeff eats the post. Orton now applies a body scissors and rear chinlock. Jeff out of the scissors, works to get to his feet and does. Elbows out, off the ropes and a snap slam by Orton gets 2. Orton back to the headlock, tries to keep Jeff grounded, but Jeff to his feet, escapes again and off the ropes but this time Jeff gets the wrap up clothesline. Both men are down and the ref starts the count. They trade rights mid-ring, forearm off the ropes by Jeff. A clothesline, rights and then Jeff slams Orton to the corner. Whisper in the wind! 1…2…NO! Boot and a reverse mule kick by Jeff. Basement dropkick in the corner connects for Jeff. He goes up top…but Orton rolls to the apron. Missile dropkick by Jeff and Orton falls to the floor. Jeff up top again…MOONSAULT to the floor, which almost missed. The ref counts, Jeff tosses Orton back in and he is in as well. Jeff stalks Orton, boot, Twist of Fate countered…RKO connects!! 1…2…3!
Winner: Randy Orton @ 14:10 via pin
Rating: ***½
-Hardy is in the ring and gets to his feet slowly to a good crowd reaction.
-Tazz and Joey Styles put over the WWE title match and move to hype of the Royal Rumble match.
-We get the awesome statistic filled Rumble video package.
-Michael Buffer is here to do the opening announcing for the Rumble!
THE ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
#1 is the Undertaker! #2 is…HBK! RELIVE THE MAGIC! Taker looks to duke it out, chops by HBK and then Taker tosses him to the corner. Rights by Taker, an Irish whip and HBK flies onto the top rope. Kicks by Taker, HBK crotches himself and Taker chares in and misses a boot and he is on the apron. HBK charges, GOOZLE and Taker back in. HBK escapes, and #3 is SANTINO! Santino is in…SUPERKICK. Taker tosses him. He and HBK brawl, Taker works the arm and looks for old school. Goes up and HBK pulls him off. Atomic drop by HBK, chops and another atomic drop. Chops by HBK, and the flying forearm. #4 is KHALI! Chokeslam on HBK by Taker. Khali in and Taker attacks him right away. JUDO CHOP! Khali slams Taker to the corner, and a HUGE you can't wrestle chant. Taker fights back, Khali goozles him and then Taker goozles him! They fight for position, Khali misses a chop and Taker tosses Khali. HBK goes after Taker, and #5 is Bob Holly. He lays the boots to both men but Taker gets a corner clothesline. Rights by Taker now, and then the big boot. HBK tries to toss Taker, Taker picks him up and has HBK almost out and Holy back on the attack now. #6 is John Morrison! He runs wild until Taker sees him and taker and HBK beat him down. HBK tries to toss Morrison, but he hangs on. Slam by HBK on Morrison, up top and the elbow drop connects. HBK tunes up, superkick stopped and Morrison gets a spin kick to HBK. Tommy Dreamer is #7. He lights up Taker and HBK. Crowd wild for Dreamer. Taker starts to beat him down. HBK tries to toss Morrison, but he gets a stun gun and slides back in. Morrison tries to toss Holly, and #8 is…Batista! He charges in and a spinebuster to Dreamer! Backdrop to Morrison. He and Taker face off now. Dreamer stops that, and Batista tosses him. Taker and Morrison battle on the ropes. Batista spears Morrison out of his boots. #9 is Hornswoggle. He is reluctant to get into the ring and goes underneath the ring now. Batista spears taker, Holly suplexes Morrison and then backdrops HBK. #10 is Chuck Palumbo. He is a house of fire, lays out Batista and HBK and then attacks Holly. Morrison almost tossed again but saves himself. Taker and Palumbo pair off, while Morrison works over HBK. #11 is Jamie Noble. He is all bandaged up and attacks Palumbo. Noble almost tossed, and then eats a boot and he is out. Holly and Batista brawl, and an EMT is out to take care of Noble. Hornswoggle is still under the ring. #12 is CM Punk. Morrison saves himself again. Knee of Doom to Taker by Punk and then to HBK. He tries the bulldog and Taker kills him with a clothesline. HBK is busted and bleeding from the nose. Punk tosses Palumbo with the knee of doom. HBK attacks Punk, and #13 is Cody Rhodes. Cody tries to toss Punk, fails and Morrison and Cody pair off. Taker grabs Cody, but he escapes with a dropkick. Batista backdrops HBK and is down now. #14 is UMAGA! He starts to kill bitches, the SAMOAN SPIKE sends Holly to the floor. Umaga and Batista brawl, and Cody almost tosses HBK, but he is still in. #15 is Snitsky.
Punk slams HBK off the top rope and Snitsky is in and starts laying people out. He lays the boots to Morrison, and Cody tries to pull out Snitsky but fails. Morrison and HBK go at it again, and #16 is The Miz. He attacks Punk right away, tries to toss him and Morrison and he double-team him. Taker tries to toss Umaga, he fights and almost goes but stays in and holds onto the bottom rope. #17 is Shelton Benjamin. He leaps up top and takes down Miz and Morrison. HBK superkicks Benjamin out and he is gone. Slow going now, and we get #18 and it is JIMMY SUPERFLY SNUKA! Snuka with head butts and chops! Head butts to Taker, then Snitsky. Chops to Miz and then Batista. #19 is RODDY PIPER! The crowd is wild for these guys. He and Snuka face off! CRAZY OLD MAN BRAWL! They all stand and watch these guys, Punk and Morrison were talking and marking out, which was great. Kane is in @ #20. He tosses Snuka and Piper and the crowd was not happy. Taker looked to attack Kane, but goes after HBK. #21 is Carlito. APPLE SPIT. HBK looks like a mess as his nose continues to bleed. Lung blower on Punk by Carlito. Cody bulldogs him as we hit another slow point. #22 is MICK FOLEY! Huge chants for Foley, he cleans house as Taker slams down Batista. DDT to Kane by Foley and Umaga levels Taker. Morrison lights up Foley with a cool Asai kick. #23 is Kennedy. He is in and gets the face wash to Cody. Mic Check to Miz. One for punk. He lays the boots to Taker, but Taker goozles him and chokeslams him! Corner clothesline by Taker to like 5 guys. Taker is now on fire, and #24 is Big Daddy V. Taker tosses Snitsky and HBK eliminates Taker with the superkick! Kennedy tosses HBK! They lasted 32-minutes. Taker beats down Snitsky on the floor and Cody tries to toss Kennedy, but fails.
#25 is Mark Henry. He brawls with Batista, and Hornswoggle appears and helps pull Miz out and goes back under the ring. V tries to toss Morrison and Kennedy and #26 is Chavo Guerrero. Punk and Chavo brawl, Kane tosses Morrison finally. Batista attacks V, and then gets leveled by Kane. Honrnswoggle tries to pull out Cody, but is now pulled in by V and Henry. FINLAY IS IN! I guess he's 27. He saves Hornswoggle and they then leave. Well ok. Kane and Kennedy pair off, and then we get told that Finlay was DQ'd from the Rumble for using the SHACKALACKI and for jumping the gun on his entrance. #28 is Elijah Burke. He attacks Chavo and Batista is on the floor, but no confirmation of his elimination. Chavo tosses Punk from the apron. Batista took the Samoan Spike and rolled to the floor. He is still in. #29 is HHH. He starts to run wild and tosses Cody. Face buster to V, and tosses him! Face buster to Umaga and he and Foley now brawl! HHH tosses Foley into Burke and they both fall to the floor and are gone. We slow down a bit as HHH and Umaga brawl. Umaga misses a corner charge and eats a pedigree!
#30 is…JOHN CENA! HOLY SHIT! Cena in and cleans house on Henry and gets the shoulder block. He tosses Carlito! Then Chavo! Then Henry! He and HHH face off now and the crowd loves it! They brawl! Boot to HHH, and then eats a spinebuster! Umaga takes down HHH and then gets speared by Batista! He tosses Kennedy! Batista tosses Umaga! HHH and Batista toss Umaga!
HHH, Batista and Cena are left! They face off and Batista gives a thumbs down! THEY BRAWL! Batista and Cena go at it, Batista works over both guys. Double clothesline to HHH and Cena. A boot by Cena, but Batista gets a spinebuster. Pedigree try by HHH, but Batista gets a spinebuster on HHH! Bomb try on Cena, backdrops out and HHH tosses Batista!
We're down to HHH and John Cena. HHH points at the WM logo and Cena claps at him. They circle a bit, and then brawl. The crowd is already starting to hate on Cena again, nice. They trade rights, PROTO BOMB by Cena! Five-knuckle shuffle connects. He looks for the FU, HHH up and he grabs him…HHH escapes, Pedigree try countered and they clothesline each other! A boot by Cena, grabs the FU and tries to toss HHH…but he escapes and gets a DDT! HHH picks up Cena, to the ropes, Cena fights…HHH tries to toss him but nothing, escape and an FU try, counter but then Cena snatches up HHH again and tosses him out!
Winner: John Cena @ 51:45
Rating: ****
Remember to send your thoughts on the show: a score from 1-10, match of the night and trash of the night!
Stay tuned for 411's podcast breakdown of the show, coming soon!
One hell of a surprise, very good return back. Good surprise ending, even though some hate him and some like him it was a very good surprise.
Posted By: Marc (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:44 AM
Does this mean that Cena is healed? I ain't the biggest Cena fan nor hater (I just find him boring) but if he isn't probably healed and he still can't wrestle a proper match until after wrestlemania isn't this jumping the gun a bit? And if it is just to get him into a special referee, enforcer isn't a bit of a waste for him to win, rather than put over another healthy wrestler.
Looks like the fans in the audience loved it tho and it's nice to see that WWE can still pull off some suprises.
Posted By: Joshifan (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:54 AM
Well... that was unexpected. Kudos to WWE for pulling a fast one on us all.
I can't decide if I'm happy about this or not, but in any case, I hope Cena didn't cut his rehab short and is up to a full working schedule. I guess the "Golden Boy"'s gonna get to Main Event Westlemania AGAIN. ...sigh...
Posted By: Torad (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:54 AM
OMG the bar i was out went insane! WWE got us all. Great show. Can't wait for WM.. i going!
Posted By: GreatScott Charlotte (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:55 AM
what a great rumble, holy shit that was fuckin awesome even if you normally hate Cena
Posted By: Guest#8288 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:56 AM
flair vs mvp sucked my ass in ways i havnt been sucked before.
jericho looks like an even bigger tool ending with a dq, than he did after losing to orton after the save us 222 promos. jbl blew a standard bulldog, all in all this match was a turd, save the post match beatdown which was kinda cool.
edge vs rey was the match of the night. both men put on a great show, and aside from the gimmicky sports entertainment finish, i dug the outcome.
hardy vs orton was an anti climatic spot fest that was mostly spent catching their breath outside the ring. orton wins. really? what was that whole jeff push for....read on.
the rumble was dumb. i was excited when hbk and taker got eliminated...triple h was number 29, so number 30 was gonna be a huge surprise right? nope, cuz it was cena, the antithesis of surprise. honestly, benoit could have got a better reaction from me. cena wins, i lose. fuck wwe..so long hardy push, so long anyones push for that matter. bye bye orton, see ya tomorrow for monday night YAWN, or as i call it, the cena show.
this ppv was TERRIBLE. everything i hate about vince mcmahon's traveling circus of washed up has beens continues to press on, making millions. wwe has become the walmart of sports entertainment. they take over and crush the smaller, harder working companies by doing very little and banking on their name alone.
Posted By: hellboysetsfire (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:57 AM
Very surprising. They did a great job covering up Cena for the win there. I loved how Madison Square Garden completely marked for Cena, then was like "****, we are supposed to hate him!" and turned on him, only to mark when he tossed HHH to the floor.
Posted By: Brendan (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:57 AM
well i thought hhh would take it, but didn't know about cena. guess it would have been too obvious if he was announced prior. i knew taker would not get if as soon as he was number one. unfortunatley not enough stamina. sucks what i suspect they are going to do to hardy though. over all not bad. not great, but not bad.
Posted By: guest (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:57 AM
I can't believe I flew all the way to NYC for the Rumble that John Cena returned at and one. I fucking hate Cena.
Posted By: Last Call (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:58 AM
At least WWE is showing some storyline continuity with Orton vs Cena at WM. It was nice to actually be surprised watching a WWE PPV. I hope Cena didnt loose what little ability he was starting to gather right before his injury. Still, Im happy they didnt do the very predictable thing and have HHH win it.
Posted By: Tom (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:58 AM
Don't worry, Larry, I'll say it for you. John Cena wins the Rumble. ELEVENTY BILLION STARS!!!
Posted By: Andy Clark (Registered) on January 28, 2008 at 12:59 AM
In before shitstorm that's happening everywhere else on the interwebs
Posted By: Jordan Williams (Registered) on January 28, 2008 at 01:01 AM
wow, did NOT see the Cena win coming. I might think he's a cartoon character now, but at least he's not HHH.
Posted By: John who? (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:04 AM
John Cena? wow. Awww now all the little whiny boys are going to bitch and moan. Seriously I was quite surprised. I didn’t expect him back so soon.
Posted By: Chantelle (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:04 AM
i thought it would have been great with taker and michaels being one and two if they would have teamed up, thrown everyone out and been the final two again. seeing piper and superfly kinda pissed me off. they had no business being in the rumble. what happened to finleys entry? i never saw an official entry for him. also since hory was never technically eliminated will they give him a title shot like they did maven when he wasn't technically eliminated?
Posted By: guest (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:04 AM
I tell ya, just when you think the world knows what is going on behind the scenes, boom, come a surprise. Well to all the people who pissed and moaned about HHH winning the rumble, now look what we got in return...CENA! For once i thought that vince would pick the son over "the champ", but i see how wrong i was.
Posted By: Maurice (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:05 AM
thats it. im selling my mania ticket.cena is horrible. he sucks so bad. anyone want to buy my mania ticket?
Posted By: Guest#1681 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:08 AM
FLAIR'S CAREER ON THE LINE: Ric Flair vs. MVP - **
JBL vs. Chris Jericho - ** (Trash of the Night)
WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge w/Vicky and the Rmy vs. Rey Mysterio - ***
WWE TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton vs. Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy - *** 1/4
2008 ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH - *** 3/4 (Match of the Night)
Pay-Per-View Rating - 7.5
Posted By: Robbie (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:08 AM
Aw, man. Yuo just KNOW that there will be some fools that will hate Cena from coming out and winning the Rumble. I for one think that its an excellent surprise and it works just fine. My personal complaint abount the Rumble is that Horswoggle once again escapes bodily harm. Honestly, the little bastard is starting to get on my nerves. Finlay's so worried about protecting LB that he blows his Rumble shot. Hell, somebody needs to hurt LB be fore people grow bored with him.
Posted By: Johnny Kinard (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:10 AM
Vince fucked the internet over... again. I bet he pissed himself laughing at the reaction to Cena, tremendous work Vince. I thought it was the Big Show but what do I know.
Decent show allround. Flair wont make it to WM, that was very bad. Orton/Hardy not bad but Orton can only work with what is at hand.
Posted By: Brad (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:11 AM
What do you rate
the actual
royal rumble match?
Posted By: cd (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:13 AM
Wasn't Cena supposed to be gone for seven months to a year, damn doctors they are always wrong. Cena's win was surprising because I expected HHHitler to win.
Posted By: Macho-Maddness (Registered) on January 28, 2008 at 01:15 AM
as soon as cenas music hit i looked at my dad said "holy shit hes not supposed to be there, and he will win it"
Posted By: cenafan (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:15 AM
THANK GOD HHH didnt win!!!!
Posted By: guest (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:17 AM
Don't sell those WM tickets yet. Remember what it says in the "WWE Rulebook" (assuming it's the same as the "WWF Rulebook" back when Vince won the Rumble): if the Rumble winner is "unable or unwilling" to participate in the title match at WM, the Rumble runner-up takes his place. I wonder how long the marks are going to be led to believe HHH won't be wrestling for the title at WM before something "happens" to Cena?
Posted By: That Don Guy (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:18 AM
I still can't believe people, even in New Smark City, still cheer for HHH and boo Cena. It's things like these that make me wish WWE just books shows in hick towns. Then again they probably wouldn't get the Snuka-Piper deal. Anyways great PPV, the Cena surprise was great, no it was fucking awesome, especially considering he eliminated HHH. It is one of those things that goes to show anything can happen in pro wrestling and it's another incentive to order those PPVs!
Posted By: Henry (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:18 AM
i think the cena win was bull. lil bastard was never iliminated i mean i dint want him to win but he never got out. jeff hardy match was one of the matches i was looking forward to but was disapointed with the results, jeff has been busting his @ss every week for nothing i guess.kinda new he was gonna lose when i seen his face expresions. i really thought show was gonna come back to night, it would of been better then cena. he is seriously being spoonfed by the wwe with these tittle shots even though he held the tittle for so long last year. i mean cena, triple h and batista have had their shot at wrestlemania why not give someone else a shot. mysterio should of won hands down with the 2 619 but no. seriously if tittles dont change hands soon its gonna get boring. im tired of seeing edge come out and cheat his was for the win. him having the tittle is getting old just like cena getting another tittle shot.this ppv was ok just need to see alot more action
Posted By: jc (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:20 AM
Personally I was enjoying the Royal Rumble ppv all the way through. Flair had a nice little match, Y2Jand JBL showed great hatred towards one another and it worked well, Edge and Rey was good, and the Orton match was good as well. The Rumble was going just fine all the way through and then 30 just craps on the entire show by having Cena shoved down our throats. He was greeted with a massive wave of boos, much as he deserves, then after he won there was little to no crowd reaction. Well done Cena for making regret making my friend order the Rumble so I could watch it for free. Here’s hoping you get reinsured.
By the way yellow shirt guy on the right side of the entrance, I applaud you. You made me enjoy the show even more with your over the top antics.
Posted By: Adam Baldwin (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:22 AM
Great, Cena's back to resume his status as the 5 move wonderboy of the WWE and just wreck all the great momentum that Jeff Hardy was building. I thought somehow Vince would realize how over Jeff Hardy is now and put the strap on him, But Mcmahon as usual just goes back to his usual security blanket of Cena for another boring wrestlemania program of either Cena and Orton or Cena and Triple H. I guess I further deluded myself into thinking CM Punk had a shot at winning the Royal Rumble this year and going on to challenge Edge at Wrestlemania. I just don't get the logic of this booking team sometimes with there decisions. Oh well, At least I get to go see Raw tomorrow live and Boo Cena as much as possible!
Posted By: Kevin (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:22 AM
You people are ridiculous. First, you bitch and moan that HHH is gonna win, WWE is so predictable, blah blag. Then, they pull a genuine surprise by bringing back their #1 star when no expected it, and then you say "oh i hate cena, he sucks." Did you honestly think CM Punk or Fit Finlay was going win and main event Wrestlemania? I guarantee you all watch RAW tomorrow and watch Wrestlemania.
Posted By: Guest#3114 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:26 AM
WWE presents Royal Fumble 2008:
No finish to JBL/Jericho, Hardy made to look like a bitch - after some great build he gets pinned by a single RKO, and that boring, talantless muppet Cena did nothing worthy of Rumble win.
Vince has dropped the ball for the last time, I'll only be buying RoH PPV's from now on (unless TNA get their head from up their ass and get some decent bookers).
Posted By: Guest#8058 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:29 AM
Cena's back for a few hours and the haters are already out. It will be real interresting to see where this puts HHH at mania now.
Posted By: the champ is here (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:29 AM
Cena entering the Rumble was a big surprise to me. I haven't liked Cena since he stopped burying people with rap promos, but he does have a Royal Rumble win to add to his future Hall of Fame career. His 2nd Wrestlemania Title win will make him the 5th man to win a World Title twice (Hogan, Austin 3X; Undertaker, Savage 2X). His win at WM24(Notice I give Orton no chance?) will make him 5-0 at WrestleMania. The interesting question is: Will they do Streak vs. Streak (Cena vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania) one of these years?
Posted By: Zach (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:47 AM
Reckless WWE, very reckless. It is lucky Cena didn't re-injure himself. Stupid thing is they let him win the Rumble, yet he is off to make a film soon...
Posted By: Lynx Raven Raide (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:48 AM
Worst Rumble in a long time. Cena surprise dont make me happy. Whoopie Doooo! I aint a Cena fan. The 2 Championship matches could have a been alot better. If I was the booking the show it would have been a 10 but I aint so I give it a 3 out of million.
Posted By: Michael Wilson (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:03 AM
I was there tonight and I dont know if it was caught on PPV but after the match Cena was pointing to his shoulder and giving the OK sign with his hands. Needless to say love him or hate him, I have not heard a POP like that since HHH returned from his first quad injury back in 02. The garden def knows how to bring the house down.
Posted By: Ebert (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:06 AM
I've never been a fan of Cena and am happy he healed so fast but not that he's the winner of this year's Rumble. By not announcing him it was a surprise, but at the cost of probably 50,000-100,000 buys from kids who love the guy. The Rumble had some horrible moments such as Finlay being "DQ'ed", Horny not even being eliminated outside the old "if you don't enter by next entrant, you're eliminated" rule, and good ones with Snuka/Piper and HBK and UT performing well. Mediocre undercard, the Rumble to me lost all meaning when Cena wins to main event his fourth WM. Matches weren't bad but it wasn't worth $40 and Cena? I was looking forward to seeing how WWE dealt without him for 5 more months but oh well. Happy to see him healthy, not happy to see him back on TV winning all the time. Thumbs down, 5/10 for the PPV.
Posted By: Black Scorpion (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:08 AM
It still may be HHH-Cena considering HHH may sneak his way into a title match somehow and beat Orton. As for Hardy if you really believed he was winning tonight you truly are a mark. I have a great deal of respect for him but he wasn't getting a run with the title this close to mania and he wasn't that over to be main eventing WM and honestly the guy isn't always that reliable to showthats why even TNA fired him in case any of you forgot that. He also did something last summer that got him yanked from summerslam. As for Cena care hes not that bad (some of you root for guys with even less of a movset) either way it was a great suprise and a good way to sell the unpredictable nature of their ppvs. As for long term it will be interesting exactly what everyones roles will be at WM with this twist.
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:16 AM
when trip h came out 29 you knew something big was in store for # 30. i typically hate cena but found myself rooting for him because i hate hunter hearst helmsley even more. go rated-rko! you hear their pops?!?
Posted By: dave (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:18 AM
Solid Rumble. Hate Cena, but they get points for the surprise. Downside being that they killed Hardy's push which was the only original thing the company had going for it in the last year. Now the standard Cena bullshit will be taking up Raw's time again. Sigh. Please someone in creative MUST notice how incredibly untalented and unremarkable Orton is. I get having to have face vs heel at Wrestlemania, but for the love of god... Orton? somebody please "Save Us" from this guy already. His shtick is old, over, and unoriginal...
Posted By: Anthony (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:20 AM
Black Scorpion I agree on the Finlay thing where in the world that DQ rule come from that was so stupid I almost turned off the show because it was so stupid. The "you're eliminated if you don't get in before the next guy" rule hasn't really been used but Hornswaggle was never eliminated but I guess leaving and going to the back is a way of just giving up anyways. I don't think anyone will cry over him not getting a title shot.
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:22 AM
Good PPV. Did You see triple h's face when cena came out? lol priceless but yea i can predict da future....cena vs orton at wm.....cena wins cena keeps da title for 1yr+ and makes raw title matches predictable again......damn i was jus startin to like orton as a champ
Posted By: Chris (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:24 AM
Anybody else love the fact (sarcasm intended) that the ECW Champion was in a match which stipulates that the winner can pick a champion to wrestle at wrestlemania. So i guess the title totem pole goes WWW Champ> WHT>US title> Womens title> Intercontinental> Tag Titles > ECW title
Posted By: Jersey (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:32 AM
Cena is back a little on the early side (Wellness)...
I was really hoping that once Cena returned, they would make work a little to get his back, much like Bastista had, once he returned. It's a shame that they are just going to turn around and put the title back on him for WM. He is more likable when he is chasing the title. Now we can all look forward to a nice long main event reign where there really is no question, that we retain, even against unimaginable odds.
Posted By: Uglar (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:33 AM
worst rumble since 1999.. wtf cena is doing? he is a liar, when he gave f'n interview about not cpmpeting in wm? why on earth he won.. and taker getting tossed b4 daddy v.. its official, tna is not the only stupid company n the world..
Posted By: siva (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:36 AM
Am i the only one bummed out that london and kendrick weren't in the rumble? If nothing else they would have been good for some sick elimination bumps. Oh well, we know where vince's priorities are.
Posted By: K-ness (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:41 AM
There is no way in hell Cena is fully recovered from his injury, if he was even injured at all. I tore my pec three years ago and it took 9 months, 9 months, to heal! I don't care if you're a bulked uo wrestler like Cena or a skinny rail like Todd Grisham. There is no way Cena is back to form.
Posted By: Marcus (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:03 AM
so . . . .
Cena v Orton :D
HBK v Taker??? (inter promo)
Edge v Punk (i want it to be Kennedy)
alrightish WM i guess
Posted By: jacob (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:16 AM
I hope Cena didn't take the HHH route for rehab...
Posted By: Samer (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:18 AM
one of the top 5 Royal Rumbles of All Time(about as good as 1998's or 2000's), Loads of Stars,a Good Start, Good Solid Pace throughout the match, good exciting ending, and an alright ppv overrall(8 out of 10), to be honest, i bet the people that are bitching are just tngay fan boyz who are shitting their pants knowing that wwe is better...or something like that considering that they have no lives at all except to bitch and moan bout the Best Company in the world putting on some of the best "WRESTLING" matches in the world
Posted By: Jake (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:21 AM
That was a fuckin' surprise! I'm no Cena fan, but "DAMN!"
Well, that makes me wonder 2 things: Is Cena 100%, and did WWE have this planned in advance? One thing is for sure, I guess we have an official Main Event to end Wrestlemania...
Posted By: DarkKinger (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:29 AM
I tore my pec this morning and I'm fine, I'm hopping around.
Posted By: Kurt (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:54 AM
Bad move. Perfect PPV until HBK and Taker got eliminated. The whole Rumble went downhill after that. Oh well, Cena is Vince's bread and butter when it comes to making money. Business just picked up. Boo Cena.
Posted By: This_Effin_guy (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:55 AM
At first i was, "anyone but HHH" and this will make up for jeff hardy not winning, but as soon as cena came out i was pissed, and soon yelled "anyone but cena" as the hatred for this anomaly took affect in my stomach, everyone in the stadium was booing him, and still he won, which means deserving wrestlers like jeff hardy and mr. kennedy are completely out of the title contention. wwe to me is getting boring while tna is rising, yet they too are stuck with the same old wrestlers on top and preventing great competitors like AJ styles, to rise back to the spot they were before the wwe stars came in. man i hate cena!!!
Posted By: Giovanni (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:03 AM
I think its hilariously funny that cena won. Ha ha ha F U cena haters you suck!
Posted By: steven1977 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:09 AM
So I hear how everyone believes that the John Cena return was a considered a pleasant surprise and that the Royal Rumble of 2008 was by-far the greatest PPV since Wrestlemania OMG TEH ECKZ SEVEN (WMX7/WM17/WMYOURMOTHER). Show of hands? ....... Well you're all WRONG. The Cena return will not change an already failing product, in fact it will make it even worse. It is obvious that the babaganoosh fanbase does not give a HOLY DUNG about John Marky Mark Cena. Did the "Boos" escape your left ear? If so, better use your right so you'll listen and realize that Cena is nothing more than a forced product that the Evil McMahon Empire can feed the ever-ignorant mass of sheep. In a few years, Cena will develop what is commonly referred to as "Xpac heat". Right you are, Ken: And as for the Rumble. It was average, nothing more than that. Except for the rumble match itself, in which 29 imbeciles failed to heed our advice: DON'T GET ELIMINATED.
Posted By: Kenny Blankenship & Vic Romano (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:15 AM
AVENUE! That return was great. I don't consider myself "smart" or a "mark", I'm just a fan of good storylines leading to great wrestling. And I'll be damned if the person returning wasn't responsible for 3 of the 5 best matches WWE has put on in 2007. The sheer shock of it all was awesome! WWE knew they were getting a great buyrate because of the booking for the main event and the Rumble itself, so they didn't need to promote the return. No bullshit training and recovery video montage, no viral campaign, just show up whooping ass. WM24 is gonna be great.
Posted By: Jasen (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:16 AM
I nearly brought this on PPV last night - thank God I was too tired to watch this live in the UK, John Cena winning this is worse than HHH or Batista winning it.
Posted By: JAK (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:18 AM
Thank God for Cena. He is ths best; all you haters know it. The more you hate him, the more he will be pushed. Thank you Cena. Thank you Vince. Awesome surprise. Awesome night. I'm so happy I went.
Posted By: Bernie (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:21 AM
Also, I believe the injury was a work. Not the injury itself, just the severity and recovery time. Something tells me Cena's movie has been filmed and the WWE used that shoulder to explain why he's off of television.
Posted By: Jasen (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:27 AM
Most of you people are so pathetic. I am a huge Cena hater, but you couldn't ask for a better PPV than what we saw tonight. I just got back from the Garden and it was incredible. I have been waiting for years for the WWE to return to the days of surprises and shocks at a PPV, and they finally did it, yet still most of you are not happy. I am sooo sick of the "internet wrestling community". Most of you guys are f'n 20 years old and don't even know wrestling. Piper versus Superfly tonight was pure gold. I watched it live (unlike 90% of you) the first time around, and to see it live again in 2008, more than 20 years after the coconut incident was phenomenal. Stop f'n complaining and itching about things you know nothing about. If you are going to complain no matter what happens, then why bother watching at all? Seriously? FYI...Hulk Hogan is the greatest of all-time, anyone that disagrees wasn't there and doesn't know wrestling.
Posted By: Guest#8232 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:29 AM
CENA CENA CENA CENA. The Chaingang is BACK hate it or love it.
Posted By: JCart88 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:42 AM
Just watched "the" entrance again (for the 1,000 time), and the smug look on his face when he raises his head was priceless. I'm always one to jump on WWE when they f*ck up (as with Jeff Hardy tonight), so I feel as though I should give them the credit that's due when they do something Right.
Posted By: Jasen (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:45 AM
if this was Summerslam or something I could of seen Hardy winning, but because it's so close to Mania it wouldn't of worked too well. I'm guessing he will will MITB at Mania
Posted By: Jones (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:46 AM
Normally, I'd be smarting at getting one Roundtable prediction wrong. This time, however? OMG OMG OMG~!
Posted By: T.G. Corke (Registered) on January 28, 2008 at 04:59 AM
Guest#8232 did u smoke something before typing...Hulk Hogan greatest wrestler of all time. My lil toe has more wrestling ability than Hogan. As for the Rumble itself yes Snuka vs Piper was good for a lil mark out moment and while I am an avid Cena hater him winning the Rumble isn't the worst thing possible. He does have unfinished business with Orton. The PPV was good for the most part tho Edge vs Midget Motherfucker was kinda boring and I felt they should have held off on the 1st meeting between Jericho and JBL till Mania.
Posted By: Matt (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 05:12 AM
hellboysetsfire r u crazy this is by far the best Rumble match in years. we got to see Taker and HBK #1 and #2 we saw HHH come in at #29 and they didnt tell us all the participants. NO1 knew that Chavo was gonna be in it. and no1 knew who number 30 was. when cena came out the croud went nuts, i know i was there. they only turned on cena again when he got in the ring and fought HHH (who i thought was gonna win b4 i saw Cena). but when cena came out i turned to my friend and said, "ok cena is deffinatly winning." Y2J v JBL ending was perfect to keep the feud going. Flair is still around, WOOOOO!!! Hardy will still be involved in the main event cause he has unfinished business with Orton, ie. orton kicking Matt. Rey will continue fueding with Vickie and i can see Taker/HBK fueding as well. overall the Rumble was match of the night i give it ****1/2 and the whole PPV itself gets **** because of good finishes to the matches and a BIG suprise in the Rumble. this is my 3rd PPV. i went to Summerslam 2002 and New Years Revolution 2006 and i say this is the 2nd best PPV ive been to after Summerslam (sat 2nd row).
Posted By: Iceberg (Registered) on January 28, 2008 at 06:13 AM
cena entering at 30 was a big surprise. all the cena haters our there, start making some noise. i know im not one.
Posted By: anti IWC (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 06:30 AM
I guess its back to Cena dominating the main event scene again. Such a slap in the face to the people who worked so hard in his absence
Posted By: Keith (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 06:35 AM
i honestly can't believe that this ppv is being praised, or that vince is being billed as some kind of creative genius for bringing cena back WAAAAY early. i remember a time when ppv's were something to be excited about, the pay off for all the build up going into the big show. well i can honestly say i don't feel like they even try anymore.
i can't think of how many matches i've seen end in double count out or dq in the past year to protect their stars. remember when wcw use to do that? and look at them now. vince is creating a doldrum of sports entertainment where no one advances, everything stays as it is and just when you think they might go in a different direction, they bring back the poster boy of generic vanilla wrestling john cena. i'm fairly certain i've watched the same wwe raw for the past 3 years, and thats what the rumble felt like this year...a big overhyped episode of raw. the most exciting thing about the road to wrestlemania is that i'm gonna get to see maria's tits in playboy, and from a traditional wrestling fans standpoint that's pretty sad. (although, seriously, how bout that? can't wait.)
Posted By: hellboysetsfire (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 07:12 AM
Cena's an idiot. If he's not ready, then why the fuck is he coming anyway?
Posted By: JJ (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 07:16 AM
I quit. I really have no desire to watch this product any more. The past few months have been brilliant without Cena in the title picture, then the guy comes back and is headlining Wrestlemania? Doubtless he'll get the title and then hold it for the best part of a decade. I'm not watching it.
Posted By: Tom (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 07:37 AM
Cena=Awful.I guess the steroids healed Cena real fast. Oh wait he doesn't take them I forgot. Just when I was kinda getting interested in the WWE again, they have Cena win again. Oh well, all the wigganomic lovers must be in heaven today. I'll go back to watching when his career is over.
Posted By: Razors Edge (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 07:55 AM
Wow, surprised they let #30 win again; thought they'd have gone back to their old habits of allow a mid-20s wrestler to win.
Posted By: mrwishart (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 07:58 AM
Personally I was enjoying the Royal Rumble ppv all the way through. Flair had a nice little match, Y2Jand JBL showed great hatred towards one another and it worked well, Edge and Rey was good, and the Orton match was good as well. The Rumble was going just fine all the way through and then 30 just craps on the entire show by having Cena shoved down our throats. He was greeted with a massive wave of boos, much as he deserves, then after he won there was little to no crowd reaction. Well done Cena for making regret making my friend order the Rumble so I could watch it for free. Here’s hoping you get reinsured. By the way yellow shirt guy on the right side of the entrance, I applaud you. You made me enjoy the show even more with your over the top antics.
Posted By: Stephen Baldwin (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 08:14 AM
HA HA CRY YOUR HEARTS OUT YOU CENA-HATIN SMARKS! But seriously this was way better than like the 15 gauntlet battle royals they had on the last Impact. THE CHAMP IS BACK!
Posted By: SAVE_TNA_222 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 08:21 AM
ok i have 2 observations, 1st is why was Jericho bleeding from the RIGHT side of his head when it was his LEFT shoulder that hit the post. 2nd note is that Hornswoggle never exited the ring OVER THE TOP ROPE meaning him and Ce-no should be the final 2 guys
Posted By: MRE (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 08:30 AM
Great surprise......Cena wins and so begins the HHH heel turn !! He's gonna be in a VERY BAD MOOD on RAW tonight....I do hope this doesn't ruin Jeff HARDY'S push. I;m not a Cena hater or a Cena mark.....I just want to see a good Wrestlemania
Posted By: Ken L (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:20 AM
I didn't want Triple H to win then Cena came out. Cena is getting old they have a lot a stars they can push.
Posted By: jasmey (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:32 AM
Well I am a Cena fan and I am glad he is back and better but did he really need a Rumble win. I was sad that Jeff lost cause he really looked like he was gonna win. Everything else was predictable.
Posted By: Mike (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:35 AM
Ric Flair vs MVP was a sloppy match with a lot of botched moves, mostly on Flairs part but what can you expect. JBL vs Jericho isnt over and they did a good job conveying their emotions and JBL got his receipt for the hanging bit.
Hardy ISNT World Champion material no matter how many little boys n girls think hes cool. Rey COULD have gone over Edge and lost it on Smackdown or ECW shows...
Royal Rumble? They give Shelton Benjamin what 30 seconds? And yet that no talent queen of the nepotism Cody Rhodes lasts as long as he did? Gimmie a break.
They put a lot of the big stars in first which was surprising but expected seeing how the rumble match had the lowest expectation of the night. I along with many people thought the Big Show was coming in at 30 and when I heard the goof balls music, I was legit surprised.
For the dood who said he tore his pec and it took 9 months to heal, Im sure youre not as in shape as Cena is. Did they bring him in too early? Meh, only time will tell.
Rumble match was ok, but Piper should have kept his shirt on. I guess hes still suffering from that disease...I hope he gets better.
OK PPV but it could have been better by letting the real talent go over and tossing Little Baby American Dream a lot quicker. Hes just a tool.
Thumbs pointing somewhat upwards for the whole PPV.
Posted By: Dr Mike (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:53 AM
c'mon people!! whether you love or hate cena, give the wwe kudos for keeping his return a secret! now i'm not cena's biggest fan, but i can appreciate what he has done for the wwe for the past 2 years, and his return was one hell of a surprise, one that i marked out for. i tell ya, some people are never satisfied. 5 stars for the rumble match, 4 stars for the ppv as a whole. bravo, wwe. can we have a royal rumble every ppv?
Posted By: Double C (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:57 AM
FUCK JOHN CENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted By: Alfred (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 10:10 AM
With the return of Cena does this mean that Jeff hardy is screwed and his push has come to an end. That would SUCK.
Posted By: TheOne (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 10:40 AM
seeing snuka and piper square off was the highlight of the rumble. i was wondering how these guys were gonna be thrown out and survive it. one of the best rumbles all around with non-BS endings to each match, atleast pertaining to the rumble itself and the title matches
Posted By: steve r. (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 11:07 AM
What is up with some of you people? If you hate wrestling so much why do you watch it at all? I don't love Cena, but at least it was unexpected. You bitch about HHH winning all the time, and you bitch when he loses, too. There's no pleasing you. Shut up if all you have to say is crap. I liked this show a lot. I feel sorry for you otehr idiots.
Posted By: Crow (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 11:10 AM
Posted By: Jamal (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 11:40 AM
WOW What a rumble it was good and i am proud of legend Randy Orton and he is new champion and rick flair is still stlyin and the winner of rumble is John Cena he going to wrestlemania and you cant see me cena your not crazy.
Posted By: unknown (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 11:41 AM
I knew HHH wasn't going to win - I've assumed since the day the "keep winning or you're fired" storyline began it was a given that HHH'd be wrestling (and retiring) Flair at WM this year.
Speaking of which, Flair looked like he was on auto-pilot. Of course MVP wasn't going to win, but the least Naitch coulda done was give him a little heat. Maybe he was just distracted by Mike Huckabee's sinking poll ratings.
As to the Rumble itself - first, what the hell was Chavo even doing in the match? Isn't he already one of the three champions? Oh, that's right, the ECW Belt is on about the same level as the Cruiserweight title.
So instead of a Final 4 we had a "Final 3" of sorts - and who are they? The same guys we've been watching main event for the last two years. Yawn. No room to make it four, really? Give a little rub to Punk, Kennedy, future main-eventers? Hasn't VM caught the whole "past vs the future" wave that's feuling Obama-mania?
Y'know, the first thing I thought when I heard Cena's music: "Sorry, Hardy, back to the mid-card for you. Thanks for selling so much merch, though."
Was Hardy ready to hold the belt? No, probably not, and the timing would have been off - were HHH not busy it could have worked, tying it back into the Hardy-beat-him storyline. Regardless, he put on a fine match and deserved a better finish with more build than an "RKO out of nowhere" one. Kudos to Orton, though, for really selling his ass off for Jeff and helping him look credible.
Posted By: Sanhedrin (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Vince wants Flair to retire. Check. Flairs last match will be at Mania. Check. Undertaker is undefeated at Wrestlemania. Check. Why wouldnt Vince pull out all the stops and use his 15-0 Undertaker to "bury" the career of Ric Flair? Possibly the return of Buried Alive or Casket Match? Hmm...
Posted By: Maticus (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:04 PM
i hate john cena and no im not hating on him but i just do not like him!....btw CM punk will retain the ECW title!!
Posted By: im on a tazzmission (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:04 PM
wow...,great surprise...not a cena fan, but it was well done.., im torn coz i wanted jeff hardy to win..,anything can still happen in wwe,,hate it or not
Posted By: eidra (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 12:39 PM
Explain to me how watching Edge in anything is enjoyable? Jeff Hardy should have won but Orton would have cried and drank himself to death. Flair...love ya but go away. Cena has never excited me in the ring and never will, and if TNA had some actual good writers I wouldn't have to read about this crap. There is not one wrestler that could keep up with AJ Styles or have a better promo than Christian. For some reason people still think its fun to watch headlocks and finishing moves that consist of a 150 pound blonde haired retard spear a guy 100 pounds heavier than him...Edge is just aweful and if you like him you don't like wrestling. Samoa Spike...isn't that just that moron jabbing a persons throat? How is that a finisher? Triple H should just stop and do movies. Undertaker is the only wrestler left that I am happy to watch. Hate TNA all you want...but at least they don't have JBL pretending he was ever good. Three wrestlers that should go away NOW....JBL, Edge, and that midget that should do porn. They offer nothing to the wrestling community and couldn't move a crowd with a gun. PS...EDGE IS THE WORST WRESTLER SINCE DISCO INFERNO!!!!
Posted By: KTrav (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:05 PM
I thought the rumble was good. I'm not a Cena fan (but not a Cena Hater), but I'm happy that he was brought in as a surprise wrestler for #30. Now this makes him the 2nd person to win at #30, but I don't think he will be wrestling again until WM24. Although Jeff Hardy lost, he still put up a great match with Orton. Close finish though. The Flair/MVP match was mediocre at best, and the Y2J/JBL match played well. That feud may not be over, but it looks like it can be in Jericho's favor. Edge pulled off a better match with Rey, although Vicky interfered, at least she got something back at her. Overall, on a scale of 10, I'd give this one a 7.5/10.
Posted By: PJ (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:05 PM
I absolutely LOVE how Vince completely fucked over the Internet fanbase. Good for you Vince! All the fan-bois want to do is spoil surprises, provide backstage information, and kill any suspense and intrigue that a fake sport could possibly provide. For once, Vince put a gag order (HOO HOO) on his employees and the result was a fantastic surprise that the fickle MSG crowd went nuts for. Even though NYC fans wanted to show how "inside" they are, they still cheered like they were Hulkamaniacs in the 80s when he came out and then eventually won! Classic. Guaranteed, the Meltzers/Scherers/Keiths and other insider douchebags of the IWC are spinning this as something they knew all along or something they were aware of but didn't think it was worth mentioning. Here's a clue IWC: Vince still owns you all. Hopefully, he's able to do more of these surprises over time until the speculating, spoiling, complaining Internet insiders are nothing but an awful memory! Go Vince Go!
Posted By: Jason S (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:30 PM
I am a huge Cena fan but I had no idea that was going to happen. I almost feel off the couch. I can not believe he came back so soon. I wonder if he is healthy enough. If he is that was one of the greatest secrets of all time becuase just the other day I read an interview where he said he would be out for another 4-6 months. I can't believe it. AWESOME. I am actaully excited to watch Raw again.
Posted By: Mark (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:31 PM
it was a great show!!! the entire show was awesome..love the story line with edge im glad randy won and cena is back...great show!!!
Posted By: Yea (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:31 PM
Hahaha. The best part is that no matter what you say, all you silly haters will still come crawling back to watch the same product you crap on. Seriously, get over yourselves, it's pathetic. You're delusional if you think someone like a CM Punk or Kennedy had a chance of going over established WWE stars in the Royal Rumble. While Hardy winning the title would have been special, it doesn't mean his (and anyone elses) push has been derailed by Cena's return. Give it time. Anything (evidenced by tonight) can happen and meanwhile, let your cool-to-hate syndrome settle down.
Flair vs. MVP wasn't good - Flair looked off and MVP was made to look like crap for what seems like ages now. Jericho beat the crap out of JBL - intended DQ and well executed. Rey vs. Edge ending was hot but Rey never really had a chance. I wish someone would kick out of the RKO, and the Rumble was great and unexpected. 7.5/10
Posted By: Frenz (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:37 PM
ok i thought royal rumble was a good ppv. two good ppv's in a row by the wwe. here are my complants about it thought.
1. Since when did they have dq's in the royal rumble? i thought it was no holds bard and everything goes? that dosn't make since.
2.Plus. The superman of the wwe returns. jesus, i'm a cena fan. but he didn't deserve to win the rumble. because he hasn't done anything worthy of it. So he automatically gets a spot at wrestlemania because he's there golden boy. when others like jeff hardy, or shawn michaels, who i think deserves one more shot at a title like last year, deserves it more? Give me a break. Get ready for two more years of Cena as the champion. Just when the WWE was getting good again.
Posted By: johnny (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 01:47 PM
Was Cena's return REALLY that surprising to ANY of you? You read the same dirt sheets I do... he was always ahead of schedule. Cena=me switching the station. He's incredibly boring. Rumble was typical- No one new or interesting won anything... there were no surprises. Flair won- obvious... Orton and Edge retained- obvious for the WRESTLEMANIA build. One of the HUGE names won the Rumble... Obvious... I cannot believe you sheep are happy about this. Try and think outside the box for once WWE. I know you tried it once and Billy Gunn burned you as KOTR but jesus christ- do something NEW.
Posted By: Surprise? (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:02 PM
funny thing. not a huge wrestling fan anymore, but last night reading the roundtable i thought about cena and wondered if he would make the surprise comeback.
Posted By: adam (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:12 PM
Surprise? - Stop trying to be holier than thou and admit you were duped like everyone else was. You may not have liked the outcome, but the fact remains, Vince shocked EVERYONE!
Posted By: Jason S (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Cena returned thats awesome he done a good job last night the arena was in shock what a strong show it was he flagship is running again Vince im sure is happy. And long live the nature boy man he will never retire thats kewl though I met him in Columbus,Ohio years ago hes a real nice guy down to earth.Raw should be good tonight wonder what will happen???
Posted By: figurefour (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 02:52 PM
God I hate the internet, can't we stay in the Kayfabe world and just enjoy wrestling for once? Instead of bitching and moaning?
Posted By: KWJR86 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:07 PM
to whomever it was that said that piper and snuka had no place in the rumble i will only say this...Carlito. that useless blob of distended rectum was in the rumble.
i would have rather seen Tor Johnson dug up, dusted off and tossed in than seeing Car-fucking-lito get a pay per view paycheque.
Posted By: Darth Mortis (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:07 PM
I'm so glad Cena came back. Anything to get that Hardy out of the title picture.
Posted By: David (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:35 PM
You know..I've never hated Cena, ust sorta found him stale..But I was there last night, and I now understand why everyone hates him. In the words of a legend, Enough Was Enough, it was Time For a Change last time we saw him. when his music hit, the feeling in my stomach could've killed me. Suddenly, I wished we were at the Hammerstein and chanting "Same Old Shit" (a couple of people were), because this felt like Wrestlemania IX redux. If I was watching on TV, I'd be like, "Oh, that was a good surprise" but being there really let the dissapointment sink in. And what pisses me off is that I'm usually the lat guy to complain about things, but I just stood there, dead for the end as I watched those three douchebags stand there and pose in the finale. Same old shit. HHH-Cena "Epic" face off. Same Old Shit. Fireworks after Cena's superman win. Same old shit. First WWE event I've been to since 2002, too. As we left, there were dueling "Let's Go Cena" and "Cena Sucks" chants, the latter louder, from everyone leaving. I saw a guy in a Nitro shirt and remarked, "That looks pretty good right now." just then I laughed to myself as images of another guy people were tired of being handed the title win with a FINGERPOKE of all things...same old shit the, same as it ever was, as David Byrne might say. But then, the Cena and Anti-Cena chants died out in favor of a chant I was happy to participate in - "Sup-er-Fly! Su-per-Fly!" I was reminded by that moment that it wasn't all bad - I saw my idol Rowdy Roddy Piper and the always awesome Snuka, Punk's reaction was great, The "whoo's" were fun, Foley got lots o' love, and Dreamer's performance...the crowd went nuts and I finally got to participate in a real "ECW" chant, maybe the last real "ECW" chant ever - if so, that's a fitiing end to that era (a funny moment happened earlier during Hardy/Orton, when Hardy jumped and hit orton off the apron, a group of people nearby actually started an "ECW" chant, which I found funny) and Tazz got a nice pop, also followed by an ECW chant, and I called out "BEAT ME if you can..." and everyone around me joined in with an enthusiastic "SURVIVE If I LET YOU!"
If anything the night reminded me that the top guys may be stale, but just like on Nitro, there is still excitement and fun there - the unsung heroes that people went nuts for (Jamie Noble). That, and it's always fun to sing "Burn In My Light".
And holy shit, Edge got a HUGE pop.
Posted By: Jeff Harvey (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:35 PM
this is great why couldnt cena just go somewhere else! i can think of other superstars that deserved 2 win like cm punk i actually thoght the game was winning it all but damn cena gotta ruin it i hate him and jeff vs the reigning champ very dissapointing jeff went in with so much momentum sigh guess the rko is deadly i hope he gets another title shot ....i used 2 b an edgehead but i hate him now im a punk now and punk is better than edge 1 GTS and its lights out for edge!
Posted By: im on a tazzmission (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:42 PM
this is great why couldnt cena just go somewhere else! i can think of other superstars that deserved 2 win like cm punk i actually thoght the game was winning it all but damn cena gotta ruin it i hate him and jeff vs the reigning champ very dissapointing jeff went in with so much momentum sigh guess the rko is deadly i hope he gets another title shot ....i used 2 b an edgehead but i hate him now im a punk now and punk is better than edge 1 GTS and its lights out for edge!
Posted By: im on a tazzmission (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 03:42 PM
RKO!!!!!Ha!All you highspot Hardy lovers can enjoy the mid cards again where you belong.Go paint your nails and dye your hair like your idol and go away.RKO RULES!!!And please Cena,go away and make more of your B level movies for the next 10-20 years.We won't miss you.
Posted By: Tim (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:28 PM
Jason S-
No it wasn't shocking... it was HHH, Batista and Cena as the 3 last men standing... They're all the same guy... all their gimmicks and fueds are tired.
Now if you would have said CM Punk, Finlay and Kane would have been the final 3 then I'd say it'd have been shocking and a real surprise. Clearly you haven't been watching WWE very long, I hope you didn't waste money on this PPV.
Posted By: Surprise? (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 04:33 PM
There's absolutely no intrigue in this event anymore. John Cena f'n sucks. Does it really matter that Cena won. I mean now a days the title don't mean nothing anymore. Because anyone can win the title, therefore why not have somebody who we least expect win the rumble, and really make it a cinderella type Wrestlemania for the world title! Maybe having C.M. Punk win the Rumble would have been more unexpected, or even HBK would have been good. I mean he always puts on good matches at Wrestlemania. Man even the returning Jimmy Snuka would have been a better outcome then John Cena winning it. Get off the guy's sack already!
Posted By: A.C. (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 05:01 PM
MVP vs Flair Sucked,I cant wait until FLAIR is gone.
EDGE vs MYSTERIO good but predictable.
ORTON vs HARDY also good but predictable.
JBL vs JERICHO, Y2J's Return is such a waist of everyones time and i hope that JBL wins this feud because JERICHO is such A fucking tool.
The RUMBLE was Great,and as much as i hate CENA it was a great suprise to see him back.
Posted By: Paul (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 05:03 PM
Please rememebr to give Cena credit, he did remember to pull the needle out of his ass before making his way to the ring. He probably had one hang out of it the whole time he was injured, in order to make that fast of recovery.
Posted By: Uglar (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 05:53 PM
I thought the flair/MVP match was worth 2 1/2 stars. it was definitely better than the JBL/Jericho match. Edge/Rey was a good match. Hard/Orton was very good but the ending kinda came out of no where. It was like hardy was dominating and then countered TOF into the RKO for the win. great match but a weak ending. I was shocked about cena returning to the rumble. i thought for sure the Big Show was coming out at #30 especially when they waited a few seconds after the buzzer went off. Good rumble. i hope they make HBK vs Undertaker for Wrestlemania.
Posted By: hummer (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 06:00 PM
Why did they not show any clips of any one drawling there number?? It seemed a little too staged.
Posted By: Guest#3969 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 06:24 PM
Cena may be the most under appriciated champ when it is all said and done, and it's all because of the snob culture. On a side note, why did Rey deserve such a negative reaction?
Posted By: Capt. Smooth (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 06:47 PM
I know that Khali is not the best wrestler and that he got the "can't wrestle" chant, but he actually did a good job while in the ring. How about Big Show vs. Flair at WM 24?
Posted By: Capt. Smooth (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 06:55 PM
A fucking solid PPV with plenty of surprises in the Rumble, two solid title matches and a sick brawl (i say sick because Jericho's bladejob was nasty)
Fantastic way to kick off the new year IMO.
Posted By: Jase (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 07:06 PM
cena vs orton at wm.something is missing..mmm..oh i know,hhh somehow ,like hbk did at wm 20,will enter the match and make it a triple threat.the outcome.hhh wins and cena becomes the first to win the rumble but lose at mania.im pretty set on this happening.
Posted By: kevin "chargert" ramsey (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 07:25 PM
Wow, the Cena hate is out of control. Face it guys, John Cena is awesome. Just listen to the pop he got when his music hit; it was bigger than anything else that night. It took alot of the fans a bit to remember that it's "cool" to hate on John Cena, but they still popped when he won. And besides, for all the guys crying about how Vince is stupid, and he's driving all the fans away... quit bitching. Because the truth is Cena sells more merchandise than anyone else in the company and was the most consistent main eventer the past year. Just take a look at the 411 best matches of the year. Cena was in half of the top ten. Face it, Cena is awesome. Stop trying to be "cool" by hating everything that is awesome.
Posted By: CyberSocko (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 08:53 PM
If they want to make huge money with WM 24, they should turn Cena heel. They should have Jeff Hardy win the title at NWO. And that's your main event for WM- Cena/Hardy. With the roll Hardy's been lately and Cena FINALLY turning heel- well, I think the buy-rate wouldn't be half bad.
Posted By: Peter Bielik (Registered) on January 28, 2008 at 09:01 PM
I opened up this thread with a no one sided comment and this will be also be a no one sided comment, even though there is such a big debate over who hates cena and who loves that he back what it all boils down to is that alomost everyone is not literally everyone on this thread will watch raw tonight to see what unfolds, regardless if you love cena ro hate him plain and simnple almost everyone is watching raw tonight regardless!
Posted By: Marc (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:06 PM
One of the best WWE surprises ever. I like everyone else NEVER saw this one coming as I thought he would be out 8-9 month. No, I didn't order the PPV but I did read about it and will be getting the DVD when it comes out. Wherever Stone Cold is, he must be really jealous since he missed almost a year with bone spurs in his neck.
Posted By: Gman (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 09:10 PM
Too predictable! Setting up for a Cena and HHH headliner at wrestle mania. I find it hard to believe there isn't a better Champion than Edge on Smackdown. Batista should be champ, edge just isn't believable.
Posted By: Jerry (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 10:47 PM
It's nice to see Jericho do a blade job that would make Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair and Eddie Guerrrero proud.
Posted By: Macho-Maddness (Registered) on January 28, 2008 at 11:39 PM
The guy above said it best... love him or hate him, you will ALL be watching, whether you admit it or not. In fact, by coming to a wrestling website and getting all emotional, you're doing exactly what Vince McMahon wants you to do
Posted By: Guest#8109 (Guest) on January 28, 2008 at 11:48 PM
After reading so many comments on the positive and negative side of this cena discussion I have to admit this is probably the most action any of these articles sees.
The thing that I fail to understand is why people enjoy the glass cenaling? I mean cena=the new england patriots... doesn't anyone like the underdog anymore?
I mean Cena will be bitched about in the same breath as Hogan was, as the Rock was and as HHH is now. Just give it time. First the fans love you then they turn on you.
Posted By: amazing read (Guest) on January 29, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Copyright (c) 2011 411mania.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
Click here for our privacy policy. Please help us serve you better, fill out our survey.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to our terms of use.
