WWE Royal Rumble 2005 (2005)

The 2005 edition of the Royal Rumble came live from the Save Mart Centre in Fresno, California. The two top Championships of the WWE were being defended, The Undertaker was battling Heidenreich in a Casket match, Shawn Michaels was taking on Edge in a grudge match that had been building up since last October and of course the every man for himself over the top rope Royal Rumble match itself. Who was going to take the price this year? Chris Benoit? Edge? Eddie Guerrero? Edge? John Cena? Batista? Edge? Shawn Michaels? There was no shortage of contenders.It was Batista that picked up the popular victory in the main event battle but not without controversy, or should I say, a botched finish. Batista and John Cena were the final two men in the ring. Batista was supposed to dump the young Smackdown! star over the top rope but it all went wrong and they both went toppling to the floor. The referees acted on their feet as we had an arm-raising contest similar to that of Bret hart and Lex Luger back in 1994. This brought out the chairman of the board. Vinnie Mac walked down to the ring the way only he can but injured himself badly getting into the ring. It was unusual to see Vince McMahon sitting, legs out, telling the two men to restart the match. Batista then did was he was supposed to do first time round and dumped Cena to the floor sealing his own future with a Championship match at WrestleMania 21.The undercard for this years Royal Rumble had a very solid line up, with many of WWE's biggest stars competing in matches. Each brand had two big matches each.Raw opened the night with the match between Shawn Michaels and Edge. This was a good technical contest. Back and fourth all the way until Edge got the pinfall. This was a smart booking decision and kept Edge as a contender to the World Heavyweight Championship.The second match of the night was the feud ending Casket match between The Undertaker and Heidenreich. The match was not a classic, but then again have their been any classic Casket matches? It was entertaining. Especially when Snitsky got involved and then Kane popped out the casket to a great pop. The Undertaker surprised no one when he got the win, slamming the lid on Heidenreich and this mediocre feud.The first of the two Championship matches of the night was John Bradshaw Layfields defence of the WWE Championship in a triple Threat match against both Kurt Angle and the Big Show. This match was very good. Again, not a classic but entertaining none the less. JBL took the win after pinning Kurt Angle. His celebration was short lived however when backstage teddy Long informed him at No Way Out he would defend the WWE Championship in a Barbed Wire Steel cage match against Big Show. Not a very nice way to spend a Sunday night.And of course there is no show without Punch. Punch of course being reigning World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. His rematch from Unforgiven 2004 with Randy Orton was lot better than the original encounter. It's a pity because they just don't seem to click to well in the ring and this would be an excellent feud if they did. Orton played the concussion role very well and went down in defeat to The Game.So the first big one of 2005 was a good one. It achieved its goals. Feuds ended and new ones began. We were now officially on the road to WrestleMania 21.

Edge Vs. Michaels-Boring in general (loved the sweet chin music into the chair) 4/10 Taker Vs. Heidenreich-One of the worst matches I've seen, predictable as hell 1/10 Tripe Threat WWE match-Why do I watch them, nobody ever wins a championship at the rumble, its not the main event. Liked it when Show drove JBL through the wall. 3/10 World Heavyweight Championship-Pretty OK match, kind of more a beat-down by Tripe H than a match, but I was happy to see it after watching crap. 5/10 Royal Rumble-Good Rumble,Liked the brand showdown,the Hassan thing, and the end. 7/10 Overall still crap. Why does anyone watch the rumble???

A respectable royal rumble event1. Edge Vs Shawn Michaels7.5/10 A very strong opener...edge's heel performance was sublime as it was during the rumble event ..overall id say EDGES NIGHT....2. Undertaker Vs Heidenreich CASKET MATCH7/10 a lot of people hated this rivalry though i liked it, i thought heidenreich really played his character well. the match wasn't amazing in excitement that was until kane and snitcky get involved .it gets better as it goes on.3. Kurt Angle Vs Big Show Vs JBL(WWE CHAMP) WWE TITLE MATCH7.5/10 a surprisingly good match , as there was only 1 really exciting in ringer in it ..angle of course......very good title match ..good pace.. though a predictable end .but aren't all royal rumble title matches predictable.4. Triple H (WORLD TITLE) Vs Randy Orton WORLD TITLE MATCH6.5/10 actually not that good for the guys involved, went on too many dry patches, orton sold his concussion amazingly, ending though was some what of an anti climax.5. ROYAL RUMBLE EVENT... btw during the other matches there were a few segments...two which were really cool ...cena rapping on Christian and guerrero stealing flairs number 30 entry ticket. the event was good 7/10 would have got a 9 if cena won but unfortunately my biggest enemy batista wins(THOUGH I UNDERSTooD WHY) ..vince comes down and takes a drop and the whole arena crack up in laughter.

The last pay per view in the WWE was New Years Revolution 2005. All the matches in that event were pretty poor other than the main event. This PPV on the other hand was much better in my opinion. The matches had good build up and anticipation. It is always good to see the RAW and Smackdown Superstars on the same show every once in a while.Match 1: Shawn Michaels vs Edge - This match was good as i was expecting. It consisted of many near falls and was unpredictable. I am glad that HBK put Edge over. Edge is doing great as a heel and he should be the next HHH in terms of main eventing. A great match with a lot of build up.Match 2: Undertaker vs Heidenreich (Casket Match) - I find this feud to be going on for too long now. And the fact that this match was a casket match did not provide any further satisfaction. Both men have their turns at dominating the match. This was the worst match of the night i think. Highlights of the match include the undertaker leg-dropping heidenreich while he was halfway in the casket. Another good part was Snitsky and Kane interfering. All in all boring match though. Taker wins much to no surprise.Match 3: Triple Threat (WWE Championship JBL vs Big Show vs Kurt Angle) - Does JBl have to go over the entire smackdown roster including the main events? His title reign has beem good in the beginning but now is becoming tedious and way too long. The match is good but is short. Nice bumps taken by all three men, including big show falling through the announce table and big show and JBL crashing through the guard railings. Disappointments include JBL cheating once gain by Interference. I think Angle should have won this he is a much more credible main eventer for Wrestlemania than Bradshaw.Match 4: Triple H vs Randy Orton (World Heavyweight Championship) Better than expected to say the least. Nice surprise to see Triple H win without cheating. Long match and Orton did do a good job of it. I got to love Orton's selling of the concussion. But it is time for this rivalry to end already. Royal Rumble match: There have been batter Rumbles in the past but this one was not bad. Somewhat Average. Batista wins it. The question is will he face Triple H or JBL at WM. The rumble match was a tad predictable as many people i know were picking that batista would win and he did. The good: Edge vs Michaels was a classic match.Batista wins. Triple H has a clean win for once in his life.The bad: The casket match, this feud needs to end ASAP. JBL winning over Angle.