Royal Rumble (2008)

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Royal Rumble (2008)
Details
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s)	Raw SmackDown! ECW
Date	January 27, 2008
Venue	Madison Square Garden
City	New York, New York
Attendance	20,798[1]
Pay-per-view chronology
Armageddon (2007)	Royal Rumble (2008)	No Way Out (2008)
Royal Rumble chronology
Royal Rumble (2007)	Royal Rumble (2008)	TBD

Royal Rumble (2008) was the twenty-first annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on January 27, 2008 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and was the first WWE pay-per-view broadcast in high definition.^[2][3][4] The official theme song was "Stand Up For Rock 'N' Roll" by Airbourne. As a tradition, the winner of the Royal Rumble match receives a match at WrestleMania for his choice of the WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, or ECW Championship.^[5]

The main event was the annual 30-man Royal Rumble match, which featured wrestlers from all three brands. John Cena, the thirtieth entrant, won the match by last eliminating Triple H, the twenty-ninth entrant.^[1] The predominant match on the Raw brand was Randy Orton versus Jeff Hardy for the WWE Championship, which Orton won after an RKO.^[6] The primary match on the SmackDown brand was Edge versus Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Edge won after spearing Mysterio in mid-air.^[7] The featured matches on the undercard were Montel Vontavious Porter versus Ric Flair in a Career Threatening match and John "Bradshaw" Layfield versus Chris Jericho.

Contents 1 Report 1.1 Background 1.2 Royal Rumble qualification matches 1.3 Event 1.4 Aftermath 2 Results 3 Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Report

[edit] Background

The main feud on the Raw brand was between the Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton, with the two feuding over Orton's WWE Championship. Orton retained the WWE Championship at Armageddon against the returning Chris Jericho after being disqualified, when the then-SmackDown! broadcaster JBL ran-in, and booted Jericho in the head. Orton retained the championship as titles do not change hands on disqualifications.^[8] On the same night earlier, Jeff Hardy had defeated Triple H to earn the opportunity to face Orton at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship.^[9] The following night, on the December 17, 2007 edition of Raw, Hardy teamed up with Shawn Michaels to take on Orton and Mr. Kennedy. Hardy gained advantage over Orton, and pinned the champion after a Swanton Bomb to earn the victory for himself and Michaels.^[10] Two weeks later, on the last Raw of 2007, Hardy and Orton met face-to-face in an in-ring segment. Orton looked set to RKO Hardy, but Hardy countered, and delivered the Twist of Fate to Orton.^[11] Later in the night, Hardy looked set to defeat Santino Marella, until Orton appeared on the Raw TitanTron and stated that he had kicked Jeff's brother Matt where his appendix used to be, proceeding further to punt him in the head.^[11][12] The following week on a special "Raw Roulette" edition of Raw, Hardy defended his Intercontinental Championship against Umaga in a Steel Cage match. Hardy managed to overcome the odds in the Cage, jumping off the top of the cage onto Umaga and hitting a Whisper in the Wind to defeat The Samoan Bulldozer.^[13] On the January 14, 2008 edition of Raw, Hardy agreed to face Orton that night with his Intercontinental Championship on the line.^[14] However, as soon as the bell rang for the match, Orton immediately low-blowed Hardy, getting himself disqualified.^[14] Orton tried to deliver an RKO to Hardy on the concrete floor outside that he had exposed by removing the black floor padding, but Hardy retaliated and the two began to brawl up the ramp. And when Orton looked set to kick Hardy in the head, the Intercontinental Champion countered and back-dropped Orton onto the arena floor below. Hardy then climbed 30-foot above on the Raw set, and then Swanton Bombed off the side of the set onto Orton below.^[14] The following week on Raw, Hardy and Orton were scheduled to "shake hands", but Hardy instead shook the hands of "people he respected more than Orton", like Lilian Garcia, Jerry Lawler, Jim Ross and several fans in the crowd before re-entering the ring to confront Orton. Then a frustrated Orton ordered Hardy to shake hands with him, but Hardy hit a Twist of Fate on the WWE Champion instead.^[15]

The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Rey Mysterio and Edge with the two feuding over the latter's World Heavyweight Championship. Mysterio won a Beat the Clock Challenge on the January 4, 2008 edition of SmackDown! defeating Edge with 90 seconds to go, and securing an opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble.^[16]

The rivalry between Chris Jericho and John "Bradshaw" Layfield started in Jericho's WWE Championship match against the defending champion, Randy Orton, at Armageddon 2007. During the match, Orton whipped Jericho over SmackDown! announce table straight into JBL. On Jericho's process to get up, he ended up "nudging" JBL out of his way. Later in the match, Jericho had Orton trapped in the Walls of Jericho, when, JBL stormed into the ring and gave a kick to Jericho's face, thus giving the win to Jericho, but via disqualification, and hence, Jericho did not win the WWE Championship.^[17] This led to an argument the next night on Raw, where Jericho, who was angry about not becoming the new WWE Champion, ended up stating to JBL, who confronted Y2J via satellite from the Raw TitanTron, that "John, you are no longer a wrestling god, you're a wrestling afterthought." Afterwards, JBL gave his farewell address as SmackDown! color commentator on the December 21, 2007 airing of Friday Night SmackDown! and announced his return as an active wrestler on Raw.^[18] When JBL made his return to Raw on December 31, entering in his personal limosine with balloons and confetti shooting from the ceiling, and proceeded to address the crowd, Jericho quickly interrupted his promo and the two got engaged in a brawl along the barricade. The following week, Jericho was put into a handicap match against Snitsky and JBL. The match started with Snitsky and Jericho in the ring, but, soon after Jericho hit a Springboard dropkick on Snitsky, JBL came into the ring and attacked Jericho from behind. JBL get the better of this confrontation as he hit Jericho on the head with the ring bell and tied a cable wire around his neck. JBL then dragged Jericho, by the wire, from near the ring to the Raw set, where he assaulted him some more. Jericho suffered from a bruised larynx, burns around his neck and had difficulty speaking for a week.^[19]

Ahead of the annual Royal Rumble match, several qualifying matches for the match took place on Raw. The first qualifying match was on the December 31, 2007 edition of Raw as Umaga quickly defeated Jim Duggan to earn a place in the Rumble. Snitsky also defeated Drew McIntyre at a house show in White Plains, New York to also qualify for the Royal Rumble.^[20] Triple H failed to beat Ric Flair; therefore he was no longer allowed to compete in the Royal Rumble match, by orders made by Raw General Manager William Regal. However, after Triple H destroyed part of the lower TitanTron on the January 14 Raw, Vince McMahon announced he would allow Triple H a second chance at the Royal Rumble if he could defeat his opponent on January 21 edition of Raw.^[21] The Game defeated Snitsky, Mark Henry and William Regal in a gauntlet match to gain entry.^[22]

[edit] Royal Rumble qualification matches

• Umaga defeated Jim Duggan - Raw, December 29 (aired December 31)^[23]
• Snitsky defeated Drew McIntyre - Raw house show, January 4^[24]
• Hardcore Holly defeated Trevor Murdoch - Raw house show, January 5^[25]
• John Morrison and The Miz defeated Jimmy Wang Yang and Shannon Moore - SmackDown!/ECW house show, January 6^[26]
• Hornswoggle and Mick Foley defeated The Highlanders (Robbie and Rory McAllister) - Raw, January 7^[27]
• Jamie Noble defeated Chuck Palumbo - SmackDown!, January 8 (aired January 11)^[28]
• Cody Rhodes defeated William Regal - Raw house show, January 11^[29]
• Carlito and Santino Marella defeated two unknown opponents in a tag team match at a Raw house show, January 12^[30]
• Shawn Michaels defeated Trevor Murdoch - Raw, January 14^[31]
• Triple H defeated Snitsky, Mark Henry, and William Regal in a Over the Top Rope Gauntlet match - Raw, January 21^[32]
• CM Punk defeated Chavo Guerrero - WWE supershow, January 26^[33]

[edit] Event

Before the event went live on pay-per-view, Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang defeated Deuce 'N Domino in a dark match.^[34] The first match that aired was a non-title "Career Threatening" match between the WWE United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Ric Flair, in which had Flair lost, he would have had to retire from wrestling. At the start of the match, Flair started out working on MVP's left arm. Flair attempted to get the Figure-Four Leg lock on MVP, but MVP turned it into a small package for a two count. MVP knocked out Flair with a Running Big Boot in the corner and went for a pin, but Flair managed to get his foot on the rope just in time when the referee Charles Robinson counted to three. After the three count, the referee did not call for the bell as he had noticed Flair's leg on the bottom-rope and restarted the match. The match ended when MVP tried going for the Playmaker, but Flair countered the attempt into the Figure-Four Leg Lock, to which MVP eventually tapped out. Hence, Flair won and kept his career alive.^[7][35]

The second match was between John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and Chris Jericho. The match began with Jericho trapping Layfield in the Walls of Jericho. However, JBL got to the ropes and slid out of the ring with Jericho quickly following him. JBL strangled Jericho with the ring ropes and later, plunged him onto the ropes. Jericho recovered and clotheslined JBL out of the ring. When they got in again, JBL threw Jericho into the ring post, as a result of which, Jericho was busted open. JBL tried to take advantage of this situation, but Jericho still fought back. The fight went outside the ring, where JBL began clearing the ECW announce table. But Jericho grabbed a steel chair and hit Layfield with it. The referee immediately disqualified Jericho. But Jericho ignored the fact that he had lost the match and started to strangle JBL with some wires by the ring, in the same process Layfield did to Jericho on Raw.^[7][35]

The third match was for the World Heavyweight Championship with champion, Edge taking on Rey Mysterio. During the match, Vickie Guerrero stood up from her wheelchair, attempting to comfort Edge. Mysterio had Edge set up for the 619, and Vickie jumped in the way, risking herself. Edge then recovered, and speared Mysterio for the pinfall.^[7][35]

The fourth match was between the Intercontinental Champion Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton for the latter's WWE Championship. Early in the match, Hardy performed a Baseball Slide on Orton who hit head-first into the barricade outside due to the impact. Knowing he couldn't win the WWE Championship via a count-out victory, Hardy brought the knocked-out Orton into the ring. Later, Orton took advantage in the match, as he applied a Body Scissors on Hardy, followed by a choke-hold. Some of the other main highlights of the match were Hardy performing a Whisper in the Wind on Orton that hit him on the head; and, later hitting a Moonsault from the top-rope to Orton outside the ring. When Hardy brought Orton back in the ring and tried to deliver a Twist of Fate, Orton suddenly reversed it into an RKO and pinned Hardy to retain his WWE title.^[7][35]

Other on-screen talent

Role:	Name:
Commentator	Jonathan Coachman (SmackDown, Royal Rumble)
	Michael Cole (SmackDown, Royal Rumble)
	Jerry Lawler (Raw, Royal Rumble)
	Jim Ross (Raw, Royal Rumble)
	Joey Styles (Royal Rumble)
	Tazz (Royal Rumble)
	Carlos Cabrera (Spanish)
	Hugo Savinovich (Spanish)
Ring announcer	Lilian Garcia (Raw)
	Justin Roberts (SmackDown)
	Michael Buffer (Royal Rumble)

The main event was the Royal Rumble match. The first two superstars who began the match were Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, where they remained in the match for a little over 30 minutes in the match. The ninth entrant, Hornswoggle was the smallest wrestler to ever compete in the rumble match, and eliminate another superstar. He remained hidden under the ring throughout the match. He would however assist in eliminating The Miz, as he did this, Mark Henry and Big Daddy V officially entered Hornswoggle in the ring. As they prepared to throw him over the top rope, Finlay illegally entered the match, as he was not due to enter the match yet, and hit Henry and Big Daddy V with a shillelagh, he then left alongside Hornswoggle and it was later announced that Finlaly was disqualified for using the shillelagh, and Hornswoggle was eliminated (leaving the match with Finlay). WWE considered this as a disqualification for Finlay. The twenty sixth entry, Chavo Guerrero, was the first world champion wrestler to compete in the Royal Rumble match since 1990, when Hulk Hogan won the match. Triple H, the twenty ninth entrant, would remain dominant in the match, eliminating Big Daddy V, Batista, Mick Foley, and Kane. This was Kane's tenth consecutive rumble match appearance as Kane, which is a record. The turn of the Royal Rumble match came when John Cena, who was originally scheduled to be sidelined with a torn pectoral muscle until later in the year, entered the match as the thirtieth entrant making his "triumphant return". He set a record for the shortest time that the eventual winner spent in the rumble match. He spent 8:28 in the ring, passing Brock Lesnar's record of 8:59. He ended up squaring off with Triple H, as the final two men left in the match. Triple H would attempt to pedigree Cena, but Cena would counter it into a FU that saw him throw Triple H over the top rope, thus winning the Royal Rumble match and a World Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV.^[7][35]

[edit] Aftermath

The next night on Raw, John Cena said that he did not want to wait until WrestleMania to face Randy Orton. The two agreed to face each other at No Way Out for the WWE Championship. In the match, Cena won after Orton intentionally got himself disqualified. As a result, Orton retained the title.^[36]

Rey Mysterio received a rematch against Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship at No Way Out. Edge defeated Rey Mysterio due to Mysterio having a Bicep injury.^[36]

The Ric Flair retirement storyline continued as Flair defeated Montel Vontavious Porter that same week on SmackDown! in a re-match, which he won by disqualification.^[37] He then faced Mr. Kennedy at No Way Out. Flair defeated Kennedy to further extend his wrestling career. Shawn Michaels would defeat Ric Flair at Wrestlemania XXIV ending the career of the legendary superstar. ^[38]

At No Way Out Triple H won Raw's Elimination Chamber by pinning Jeff Hardy last after a Pedigree on a steel chair and earned the right to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXIV.^[39]

The Undertaker also won SmackDown's Elimination Chamber by pinning Batista last after a Tombstone Piledriver and earned the right to face Edge at WrestleMania XXIV.^[40]

At WrestleMania XXIV Randy Orton would go on to retain the WWE Championship against Triple H & John Cena in a Triple Threat.

The Undertaker would go on to win the World Heavyweight title from Edge at Wrestlemania XXIV via Submission using the gogoplata submissive choke.

[edit] Results

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Dark match: Shannon Moore and Jimmy Wang Yang defeated Deuce 'N Domino (6:10)^[34]
• Ric Flair defeated Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) in a Career Threatening match (7:49)^[41][42]
  • Flair forced MVP to submit with the Figure Four Leglock ^[41][42]
  • If Flair had lost, he would have had to retire.^[41]
• John "Bradshaw" Layfield defeated Chris Jericho by disqualification (9:24)^[42][43]
  • Jericho was disqualified after hitting JBL with a steel chair.^[42][43]
• Edge (w/Vickie Guerrero) defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship (12:34)^[42][44]
  • Edge pinned Mysterio after a mid-air Spear.^[42][44]
• Randy Orton defeated Jeff Hardy to retain the WWE Championship (14:06)^[42][45]
  • Orton pinned Hardy after reversing a Twist of Fate attempt into an RKO.^[42][45]
• John Cena won the 2008 Royal Rumble match (51:33)^[1][42][46]
  • The final two participants were Triple H and John Cena. Cena won by reversing a Pedigree attempt into an FU over the top rope.^[1][42][46]

[edit] Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations

Red ██ and "Raw" indicates a Raw superstar, blue ██ and "SD!" indicates a SmackDown! superstar, purple ██ and "ECW" indicates an ECW superstar, and white and "alumni" or "hall of fame" indicates an alumni or hall of fame member.^[47]

Draw	Entrant	Brand	Order	Eliminated by	Time
01 1	Undertaker The Undertaker	SD!	11	Michaels	32:35
02 2	Shawn Michaels	Raw	12	Kennedy	32:41
03 3	Santino Marella	Raw	01 1	Undertaker	00:25 0:25
04 4	Great Khali The Great Khali	SD!	02 2	Undertaker	01:08 1:08
05 5	Hardcore Holly	Raw	06 6	Umaga	13:46
06 6	John Morrison	ECW	14	Kane	29:24
07 7	Tommy Dreamer	ECW	03 3	Batista	02:08 2:08
08 8	Batista	SD!	27	Triple H	37:42
09 9	Hornswoggle	SD!	-	Never re-entered match^	26:57
10	Chuck Palumbo	SD!	05 5	Punk	04:00 4:00
11	Jamie Noble	SD!	04 4	Palumbo	00:28 0:28
12	CM Punk	ECW	16	Guerrero	23:51
13	Cody Rhodes	Raw	17	Triple H	23:15
14	Umaga	Raw	25	Batista	26:05
15	Snitsky	Raw	10	Undertaker	12:27
16	Miz The Miz	ECW	13	Hornswoggle	13:07
17	Shelton Benjamin	ECW	07 7	Michaels	00:18 0:18
18	Jimmy Snuka	Alumni	09 9	Kane	02:43 2:43
19	Roddy Piper	Alumni	08 8	Kane	01:00 1:00
20	Kane	SD!	26	Batista & Triple H	17:58
21	Carlito	Raw	21	Cena	15:07
22	Mick Foley	Alumni	19	Triple H	11:29
23	Mr. Kennedy	Raw	24	Batista	13:32
24	Big Daddy V	ECW	18	Triple H	07:49 7:49
25	Mark Henry	SD!	23	Cena	09:12 9:12
26	Chavo Guerrero	SD!	22	Cena	07:33 7:33
27^	Finlay	SD!	-	No one ^	00:15 0:15
28	Elijah Burke	ECW	20	Triple H	02:10 2:10
29	Triple H	Raw	28	Cena	11:22
30	John Cena	Raw	30 -	WINNER	08:28 8:28

^ Hornswoggle spent most of the match under the ring. After he entered the ring, Big Daddy V and Henry started to double team him. Finlay, who was the next scheduled entrant, came out early, attacked them both with his shillelagh and was immediately disqualified. He left the ring with Hornswoggle, who left through the ropes and never returned.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Royal Rumble website