The Road to WrestleMania 28 Part 2: The Rock

Set almost one year ago, The Rock vs. John Cena is a dream match that many have waited for a long time.  Comparable to the Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, the main event of WrestleMania 28 will see one of the Faces of the WWE during the Attitude Era go up against the current Face of the WWE in an epic clash that should be nothing short of magical.  Ever since Rock made his first shots at Cena over a year ago on Raw, fans and also other wrestlers have split into Team Rock and Team Cena.  While neither Rock nor Cena are among my favourite wrestlers, I want to put my opinions on these seemingly polarizing characters in anticipation for their upcoming main event match at WrestleMania.  Considering that is a lot to talk about here, I will be breaking this article into two parts.  As you can see from the title, this article will be all about the People’s Champ, The Rock and next week’s article will be all about John Cena.

I did not start watching WWE until late 2003, early 2004, so all I knew of the Rock at the time was what my friends who heavily followed wrestling said about him.  As my passion for professional wrestling grew, I started collecting wrestling pay-per views and other DVDs and a handful featuring many of the Rock’s great matches and promos.  I learned quickly what an amazing wrestler and entertainer the Rock was and still is.  Some of my favourite WrestleMania matches feature the People’s Champ.  I also believe the Rock is one of the best talkers to ever grace the squared circle.  When you talk about the Rock, the biggest elephant in the room seems to be that he supposedly “abandoned” the WWE for the glitz and glam of Hollywood.  This point has been repeatedly been brought to the forefront lately as it is a key part of Cena’s argument why he is better than Rock.  For all those who think Rock abandoned the WWE, I will be blunt, get your head out of your behind and face reality.  We are no longer in the day that will see wrestlers stay in the business for years upon years, decades upon decades.  You will never see a career as long as Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan ever again because professional wrestling is incredibly taxing on the body and mind.  These guys and gals cannot do this job forever.  They either succumb to nagging injuries or get out before they have to.  Just look at Edge, Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin who all forced to retire from the ring because of injuries.  Also look at Undertaker who can only wrestle one match a year now due because his body cannot take anymore than that one match.   Back in 2003, Rock figured out that the Attitude Era was over and the WWE did not need The Rock anymore.  So instead of over staying his welcome, Rocky stepped aside for others like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Edge and John Cena, yes, John Cena to get their time to shine in the main event.  While he did leave WWE, he did not turn his back on it.  Rock came back again and again to do promos when it did not conflict with his other commitments.  Eventually when things calmed down, he came back to the WWE to help bring in fans and put over others in this transitional period in the WWE.  The Rock may not be able to be with the WWE ever single show, but he is giving back to the company that made him the star you see today.  While I do have a lot good things to say about Rocky, his promos as of late have not come close to his return promo from last year or his promos when he was a full time employee of the WWE.  Maybe Rocky has been scripting his promos out way too much instead of letting his creative juices flow and his mouth just go.  Hopefully as we get closer to WrestleMania, the Great One will go back to what made him great in the first place and stop making notes on his wrist.  You are a great wrestler and an amazing talker Rocky, but at the moment your promos are not up to standard you set for yourself.

Love or hate either the Rock or John Cena, you have to at least respect them and their contributions to the WWE and wrestling industry.  The second part of this article will be on my opinions of possibly the most polarizing WWE superstar of all-time and the current Face of the WWE, the one the only John Cena as the Road to WrestleMania 28 series will return next weekend.

The Road to WrestleMania 28 Part 1: Undertaker vs. Triple H III, Hell in a Cell

“We do this, we go all the way.  I will face you at WrestleMania under one condition… Hell in a Cell!” –Triple H to the Undertaker

The moment Triple H said this sentence on Raw, this writer among many other wrestling fans exclaimed in joyous surprise a big loud, “WHAT?!”  While the Undertaker and Triple H rule the Hell in a Cell and their records in that demonic structure are unfathomable, nobody ever thought in their lifetime we would see them face off in Hell in a Cell.  It is a dream match that many thought would just remain a fantasy cooked up in their head.  It is now reality and this match sure as hell beats Undertaker vs. Triple H, Streak vs. Career with Shawn Michaels as Special Guest Referee that many wrestling fans including yours truly thought would happen at this year’s WrestleMania.  With CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, John Cena vs. The Rock and now this match announced for the card, WrestleMania 28 looks to be a show that you should not miss.

Let us rewind one year to the infamous 2/21/11.  Hoping it would be something more than the return of the Undertaker, possibly Sting finally coming to the WWE, WWE gave us the return of Undertaker.  Immediately following the Undertaker, Triple H made his return to the WWE and Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 27 was born out of a stare down.  In the weeks that followed, the build for this match felt forced to the point that WWE was trying to sell fans on the match through video packages of other WWE superstars and divas talking about the match.  Undertaker and Triple H had no actual interaction until the Raw before WrestleMania where WWE gave us an excellent promo between Taker, Triple H and Shawn Michaels that actually had the story develop farther than Triple H wants to end the Streak and the Undertaker wants to continue the Streak.  It was too late as this story developments should have happened in the weeks before.  Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania 27 turned out to be a great match (I personally gave it 9 out of 10), but it felt more like the opening chapter of a feud than the climactic clash it should have been built as.  At the end of the match, the Undertaker had to be stretchered out of the Georgia Dome, which things up for a return match at some point.  Fast forward about 10 months, Triple H, now the COO of the WWE, was about to fire John Laurinaitus only to interrupted by the return of the Undertaker.  Looking for revenge for what Triple H did to him at WrestleMania 27, the Undertaker challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania, but the COO of the WWE declined.  The following weeks leading up to Elimination Chamber, the Undertaker would push the issue saying that their feud was not.  Shawn Michaels even made his voice heard on the issue, calling out his best friend, Triple H on declining Undertaker’s challenge.  All roads lead to Triple H finally accepting Undertaker’s challenge last Monday night on Raw in one of the best moments on this year’s Road to WrestleMania.  Now we will have to see where this feud goes from here, but hopefully the WWE uses the next month to build the enormity of this match.  It truly could be an end of an era in the WWE.

It is really funny how one year ago I hated how WWE handled this whole Undertaker vs. Triple H feud and now a year later it is the best thing about the Road to WrestleMania 28.  Sorry about the late post, was not up to writing last night, I was really tired.  The Road to WrestleMania 28 series will return next weekend.  Next weeks’ topic will be a more opinionated piece as I will give my opinions on both The Rock and John Cena as we lead up to their big main event at WrestleMania 28.

Halfway There: Preview of WWE Elimination Chamber 2012

Oh we are halfway there.  Halfway to the biggest wrestling event of the year, the Grandest Stage of Them All, the Showcase of Immortals, WrestleMania.  As the last pit stop before the grand show, Elimination Chamber serves as one last test for the WWE superstars along their journey to WrestleMania.  Champions will defend their titles in the unforgiving Elimination Chamber construct against five very hungry challengers and other superstars will fight to the bitter end in matches that could end their Road to WrestleMania.  Elimination Chamber ultimately sets up the final leg of the long taxing Road to WrestleMania.

This year the Road to WrestleMania has gotten off to a slow start.  Rather than the fever pace that fans loved about last year’s build to the grand show, WWE seems to be slowly building to WrestleMania.  While there has been build for WrestleMania, there has not been much for Elimination Chamber.  Thrown just a mere three weeks after the Royal Rumble, this year Elimination Chamber feels more like a three hour Raw than the PPV before WrestleMania.

Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Big Show vs. Great Khali vs. Santino Marella vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Wade Barrett in the Smackdown Elimination Chamber Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

With Randy Orton out of the picture, no one should stand in the way of Daniel Bryan retain the World Heavyweight Championship.  While most of the match was built around Big Show, Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton, nothing has been given to Wade Barrett and Cody Rhodes.  In the last month, WWE Creative has done more to bury Barrett and Rhodes than push like months before.  Also Great Khali adds absolutely nothing to this match while Santino’s only purpose in the match will be making one of the heels (Bryan, Barrett or Rhodes) look like a considerable threat to the other competitor’s as WWE has not done that in the last few weeks.  Honestly my hopes are not high for this Elimination Chamber match, but hopefully WWE put together an entertaining match worthy of being in Satan’s Structure.

Prediction:  Daniel Bryan retains

Beth Phoenix (c) vs. Tamina for the Diva’s Championship

After demolishing the Divas of Doom and making a joke of Natalya, WWE has finally decided to push Beth Phoenix as the dominant Diva she should have been pushed as from the start.  Considering that she has dominated all the models in the Diva division, Beth Phoenix needs a worthy adversary to battle to solidify her dominance of the Divas.  Step up Tamina, who has been on a roll as of late.  While Tamina will be more of a stepping stone for Beth Phoenix to launch the Diva’s Champion to a collision with Kharma at WrestleMania, this match could be the best women’s match in years if and only if these women are given enough time to actually wrestle in that ring. 

Prediction:  Beth Phoenix retains

John Cena vs. Kane in an Ambulance Match

What started as an interesting yet a little cheesy storyline to keep John Cena busy until WrestleMania has now devolved into nothing more than how Creative can ruin Zack Ryder’s life this week.  It was interesting leading up to Royal Rumble, but it is getting incredibly old revisiting it for the umpteenth time.  It is nice to the return of the Ambulance Match (it has been a long time), but personally I could care less about this feud.  Expect this match to be an overbooked mess which ends with Cena rising above the hate to beat Kane.

Prediction:  John Cena wins

CM Punk (c) vs. R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston vs. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho in the Raw Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship

Now we finally come to best built match on this card.  This Elimination Chamber match is filled to the brim with excellent wrestling talent, so expect this one to be a thriller to the very end.  The main focus is set on CM Punk and Chris Jericho as their feud is just in the early stages.  It is not hard to see WWE going with Jericho winning the WWE Title at Elimination Chamber to have Punk chasing after the title leading into WrestleMania.  It would be a very interesting twist in this budding feud.  Personally I feel it is too early to take the title off of CM Punk so I could see him getting a fluke win over Jericho in order to set up their match at WrestleMania.  The Raw Elimination Chamber has enough raw talent to easily be Match of the Night.  If there is one match to watch at this year’s Elimination Chamber event, it is this one.

Prediction:  CM Punk retains

If you have not noticed by now, this writer is not looking forward to Elimination Chamber.  While the WWE has to watch out to make the matches outside of the Elimination Chambers worthwhile, they also have to build the PPV itself.  Elimination Chamber feels more like a stepping stone on the Road to WrestleMania instead of a monumental stop along this long and hectic journey.  Ultimately we will have to wait and see until later tonight to see if the WWE can actually pull it off on all this poor build.  At the moment, WWE Elimination Chamber 2012 does not feel worthy of being the PPV before WrestleMania.

Silverdome Promo of the Week: The Deadman Wants Revenge

Sorry for the delayed post.  Took a day to rest and play some games and lost track of time.  As you can see, this week marks a return of the Silverdome Promo of the Week.  It has been a while, but there has not been a week where a promo trumped a match in some while.  While the Six-Pack Challenge on Raw was good and Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton was good until the DQ finish, neither of them were worthy of winning the Silverdome Match of the Week.  The Silverdome Promo of the Week goes to the Undertaker’s Vengeance Video Package.

Two weeks ago, the Undertaker made his annual return to the WWE just in time to defend his Streak at WrestleMania.  Unlike many years before when challengers have sought to break the Undertaker’s Streak at WrestleMania, the roles have been reversed.  Before Triple H had a chance to fire John Laurinaitus, the Undertaker came out to the ring and challenged the COO of the WWE to a match at WrestleMania 28.  Triple H refused the Undertaker’s challenge, but cannot turn down the Deadman that easily.  Last week on Raw, in the middle of Triple H’s promo at the beginning of Raw, the arena lights went out and the Undertaker’s video package played on the Titantron.  The video package saw the Undertaker sitting in the middle of a room while clips from his match with Triple H at WrestleMania 27 played in the background.  The clips of Undertaker vs. Triple H from WrestleMania 27 shown in the background were those of Triple H dominating the Undertaker and the Phenom being carted off after winning the match.  While those clips were being shown, the Undertaker again challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania 28 saying that even though he won at WrestleMania 27, his victory means nothing because of how Triple H left the Undertaker after the match.  Undertaker swore that he being carted out of WrestleMania 27 will not be the image of him that will be remembered through the ages.  So if Triple H gives Undertaker a chance for vengeance, he will give the COO of the WWE another chance of ending his legendary WrestleMania winning streak.  The video package came to end as the Undertaker proclaimed, “It’s not over.”  When the Deadman speaks, everybody listens.  He has his sights set on facing Triple H at WrestleMania 28 and there will be nothing on this Earth that will stop him.  It will be interesting to see how this storyline develops in the next two months leading up to WrestleMania.

With excellent production values and great execution, the WWE has made this writer want to see Undertaker vs. Triple H III at WrestleMania.  Things should be exciting tonight as Shawn Michaels will be on Raw tonight.  Other than that there has not been much announced for Raw and Smackdown this week.  We will just have to see if the WWE delivers with the go-home shows for next Sunday’s Elimination Chamber PPV.

The Silverdome Match of the Week: Champion vs. Champion

Things have gotten off to a much slower start than last year.  WWE has been okay to good for the past month or so, but no match felt worthy of receiving the first Silverdome Match of the Week for 2012 until this past week.  Last Sunday marked the start of the 2012 Road to WrestleMania with the Royal Rumble PPV.  Opinions about the Royal Rumble PPV were ultimately mixed, heard a lot of people saying it was not that good and a good number of people say it was an enjoyable event.  While the Rumble seemed a bit disappointing, no one can argue that with the fact the last Monday’s Raw was off-the-charts.  Great matches, great promos and some excellent set-up for the feuds that will dominate this Road to WrestleMania.  It definitely got this writer excited for tomorrow’s episode of Monday Night Raw.  This week saw two other matches worthy of the Silverdome of the Week as Randy Orton faced off with Dolph Ziggler on Raw and battled Wade Barrett in a No DQ Match on Smackdown, but they were both beaten out by the match fans like yours truly have been waiting to see for a good two to three years now.  The first Silverdome Match of the Week of 2012 goes to WWE Champion CM Punk vs. World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan from Raw.

As a last ditch effort to save his job, John Laurinaitus booked CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan, Champion vs. Champion for Raw.  Ever since Bryan was signed by WWE back in 2009, many wrestling fans wanted so much to see these Punk and Bryan wrestle one-on-one in the WWE.  So it was a great treat to see these two lock-up at the top of the second hour of Raw.  From the lock-up, Punk would lock Bryan in a headlock.  Bryan would send Punk into the ropes.  Trying to gain the advantage Punk and Bryan run the ropes.  Punk dropped Bryan with a shoulder block, but the American Dragon got back up and connected with a dropkick as Punk bounced off the ropes.  With the clear advantage, Bryan would start working over Punk’s leg by locking in a surfboard-type submission while also stomping on Punk’s leg.  Cm Punk would fight back and hit a big kick to back of Bryan’s head for a two count.  Bryan would get back up and try for a back suplex, but the WWE Champion rolled out of the move and go out to the apron.  Confused Bryan turned around just in time to get hit with CM Punk’s signature springboard clothesline for another two count.  Now with the ball in his court, CM Punk started to pummel Daniel Bryan with various chops.  Backed into a corner, Bryan would send Punk into the opposite turnbuckle and try to follow up with some sort of running attack, but Punk would surprise the World Heavyweight Champion with a well-placed dropkick for yet another two count.  The two men would go back-and-forth trading holds until catch Punk’s arm with a hard kick.  Bryan would gain control of the match by working over Punk’s hurt arm.  With a sense of security, Bryan would go to the top rope, but Punk would catch the American Dragon on the top rope with a super hurricanrana.  That move would light a fire in the Straight-Edge Superstar as he begun one vicious assault on Bryan.  Punk would hit the World Champion with a dropkick, a clothesline and a neckbreaker immediately followed by his signature high knee bulldog combo.  This assault was meant to set up Bryan for the GTS, but the reeling World Champion would roll out of the ring.  Thinking he was safe, Punk surprised Bryan with a baseball slide then immediately tried for a suicide dive through the ropes, but Bryan caught the Voice of the Voiceless with a thunderous forearm.  Bryan’s forearm staggered Punk long enough for Bryan to hit his signature Missile Dropkick from the top rope for a two count.  As Punk tried to stand up, Bryan would hit him with some impactful kicks to the chest followed by a big roundhouse kick to the head, but Punk would duck the big kick and roll Bryan up for a two count.  Punk and Bryan would enter another gear as the two wrestlers would trade strikes, moves and pinfall attempts.  After hitting one crushing Madness Elbow Drop off the top rope, Punk would try to hit the GTS, but Bryan would reverse it into a roll up of his own.  Once Punk kicked out of the pinfall attempt, Bryan would then try for the LaBell Lock.  Punk would slide out of the submission hold then catapult Bryan into the turnbuckle, which would send the American Dragon to the ring apron.  Before Bryan had a chance to counterattack, Punk connected with a devastating kick to the skull.  Right when Bryan went down, Chris Jericho ran down to the ring and would throw Bryan from the apron into the barrier before hitting CM Punk with a Codebreaker.  Due to Jericho attacking Bryan first, the World Champion got the win by disqualification.  Even with the DQ finish, this match was absolutely amazing as Punk and Bryan put on the best wrestling match to grace our TV screens so far this year.  Personally I am looking forward to seeing these two in another match sooner rather than later.

As we continue down the Road to WrestleMania, this Monday will continue the build to Elimination Chamber, which is in two weeks.  While there are no matches announced for tomorrow night, there are a lot of answers that wrestling fans are looking to find out.  Is John Laurinaitus fired?  Why did Triple H walk out on Undertaker’s challenge?  Why did Jericho attack Punk?  For those who were disappointed by last Friday’s Smackdown, this week looks to be much better as Daniel Bryan will face Randy Orton in the main event.  It should be one great match.  Well until next weekend, have wonderful wrestling filled week.  Cheers.

The End of the World: Preview of WWE Royal Rumble 2012

The biggest and most anticipated match of the year is finally upon us.  In mere hours, the wrestling world will be captivated the WWE’s grandest of battle royals.  Who will be the one superstar to outlast 29 other men and possibly women to main event WrestleMania in the WWE or World Title Match?  Will the world as we know it come to an end as Chris Jericho predicted or will the hometown hero be victorious?  All those questions will be answered along with incredible surprise entrants and returning legends as the 2012 Royal Rumble will emanate from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis later this Sunday evening. 

John Cena vs. Kane

It is time to put up or shut up.  Will John Cena embrace the hate or rise above it?  Over the past month, Kane has done everything in his power to make John Cena’s life a living hell from mentally abusing the Leader of the Cenation to physically abusing the people he cares about.  Expect a full-on brawl between these two heavy-hitters with John Cena blowing a gasket and getting himself disqualified.  Even though everyone wants to see Cena turn heel, I personally believe it will slowly develop over the next year or so, but there is no doubt this will be the start of this inevitable turn.

Prediction:  Kane wins by DQ

Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match for the World Heavyweight Championship

Considering he was such a great underdog character, it seemed odd when Daniel Bryan turned heel a few weeks ago.  Over the past few weeks, Bryan has really grown into his new skin and has made for one of the more unique and interesting heels on the WWE roster.  Being a fighting champion, Bryan has defended the World Title against Mark Henry and the Big Show quite a few times over the past month escaping from defeat from the skin of his teeth.  Now locked in a steel cage with two gigantic monsters, it will be fun to see how this new Daniel Bryan escapes from this match with his World Heavyweight Championship still around his waist.

Prediction:  Daniel Bryan retains

CM Punk (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler for the WWE Championship with John Laurinaitus as Special Guest Referee

It started out very slow, but these last few weeks have seen this CM Punk vs. John Laurinaitus feud hit its boiling and has it ever been great.  The WWE is building to the moment when CM Punk just clocks the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw.  It could possibly happen during Punk’s match-up with Dolph Ziggler at the Rumble as Johnny Ace serves as the special guest referee.  Speaking of Dolph Ziggler, he has really been put on the backburner by most wrestling fans.  It might not seem like Ziggler can win the title without the help of Laurinaitus, but do not count this showoff out.  Ziggler is on the verge of breaking the glass ceiling to the main event and a great showing against Punk could be his big chance to do so.  With all the talent and story, this match could possibly steal the show.

Prediction:  CM Punk retains

30-Man Royal Rumble Match

Going into this years’ Royal Rumble, there are two names that standout as potential winners of the Royal Rumble.  The first potential winner being Randy Orton as WWE rushed back from injury to make the Royal Rumble in his hometown of St. Louis.  The second potential winner is Chris Jericho because the WWE has put such emphasis on Jericho’s return and the payoff for Jericho’s mysterious actions.  Like every year, anything can happen during the Royal Rumble so expect a lot of surprises.  Personally I think that Jericho will win the Rumble and onto face CM Punk for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 28.

Prediction:  Chris Jericho wins

The Royal Rumble is the very first road stop of one of the best seasons of the year, the Road to WrestleMania.  Pressure is on the WWE to start the Road to WrestleMania 28 with a bang.  Looking at the card, the WWE can possibly do it given that each match is given the proper amount of time.  As with every year, whatever happens at the Royal Rumble with set in motion the feuds and rivalries that will take centre stage for the next two months.  So wrestling fans fasten your seatbelts, it will be a bumpy, but exciting, road to the goal. 

Top 5 Royal Rumble Matches

Out of all the gimmick matches in all of wrestling, one stands above them all as the most consistently great.  That match is the annual Royal Rumble match that WWE puts on at their annual Royal Rumble Pay-Per View.  30 men enter, only one man leaves with a WWE/World title shot at WrestleMania.  It is a match like no other and has delivered some of the best moments in wrestling history.  Upon the 25^th anniversary of this spectacular match, this writer would love to share with all of you his Top 5 Royal Rumble Matches of all-time.

5.  2010 Royal Rumble Match

Each year the Royal Rumble leaves wrestling fans with incredible moments that get their blood pumping and heart beating and this Rumble was full with them.  CM Punk’s early dominance and preaching of his Straight-Edge lifestyle, Beth Phoenix eliminating the Great Khali by using her womanly ways and the one that made me jump out of chair in absolute amazement, Shawn Michaels superkicking Triple H right out of the Royal Rumble.  Those moments were all great, but one stood above them all as the one that will forever define the 2010 Royal Rumble in the minds of wrestling fans around the globe.  That moment was when Edge returned to the WWE as the 29^th entrant in the Royal Rumble and would eliminate Chris Jericho and John Cena to win the Royal Rumble.  The return of the Rated R Superstar made for one amazing Rumble that just breaks the Top 5.

4.  2009 Royal Rumble Match

You know when a Royal Rumble match is among the best of all-time when the close to 60 minute bout seems to fly by.  That was exactly what happened with the 2009 Royal Rumble Match.  For the first Rumble this writer saw, the ring was filled to capacity with superstars fighting for the illustrious prize of main-eventing WrestleMania.  The 2009 Rumble saw some of the funniest moments in Rumble history with Santino’s record breaking elimination from the Rumble (he lasted less than a second before getting eliminated), Ziggler’s elimination after introducing himself to Kane and Rey Mysterio using the Miz and Morrison’s backs to avoid elimination.  When the dust settled at the end of a hectic Royal Rumble, Randy Orton stood tall as the sole survivor and the man who would main event WrestleMania 25.

3.  2005 Royal Rumble Match

15 Raw superstars, 15 Smackdown superstars battled it out in one of the most brutal Rumble matches in recent memory.  2005 was the beginning of a new era for the WWE as the Post-Attitude Era was coming to a close and the Modern Era was just starting.  The two heralds of this new era were the men who by a twist of fate or just coincidence were the last two superstars in the 2005 Royal Rumble.  Decapitating clotheslines, fearsome punches and devastating finishers all lead to “The Animal” Batista going nose-to-nose with the “Doctor of Thuganomics” John Cena.  After a furious battle between the two future main eventers and a double elimination, Batista overpowered a young John Cena and won the Royal Rumble.  What an incredible Royal Rumble to go with the best Royal Rumble PPV event in years.

2.  2011 Royal Rumble Match

Literally the Biggest Royal Rumble in WWE history, last year the WWE added 10 more superstars to make an incredible 40-Man Royal Rumble Match.  Many wrestling fans worried that that changing the Rumble from 30 to 40 superstars would hurt the quality of the annual spectacle.  It did not hurt it in the least; actually adding 10 more superstars made for a much more exciting match with quite a few surprises such as the returns of Booker T and Kevin Nash and amazing moments such as John Morrison’s incredible near elimination spot.  WWE definitely saved the best for last as it looked like Alberto Del Rio won the Royal Rumble by eliminating Randy Orton only for the referee to tell him that there was another competitor left in the match.   As Del Rio argued with the ref, Santino Marella, who was knocked through the bottom rope thus avoiding elimination, set up for the Cobra, which he would hit when Del Rio turned around.  Craziness ensued as the crowd in Boston went nuts as Santino celebrated hit the Cobra.  Santino would then try to throw Del Rio over the top rope only for the Mexican Aristocrat to use Santino’s momentum to send Santino flying over the rope.  What an ending for a superb Royal Rumble Match.

1.  2007 Royal Rumble Match

All these matches listed before are amazing matches in their own right, but none of them hold a candle to, in this writer’s opinion, the greatest Royal Rumble of all-time.  It was built as the most star-studded Royal Rumble in WWE history and they were not kidding.  From top to bottom, the 2007 Royal Rumble was stacked with superstars from Raw, Smackdown and the newly revived ECW.  This Rumble had everything from great wrestling to extreme weapon and table spots to hilarious moments such as Gregory Helms throwing his towel right in the face of Matt Hardy upon entering the Royal Rumble Match.  No Royal Rumble moment past or present will ever be better than the pure excellence of wrestling that took place in the last five minutes of this match, which this writer likes to call “5 Minutes in Heaven.”  With everyone else eliminated, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker were only two competitors left in the Royal Rumble Match.  The Deadman and HBK showed that they were two of the greatest wrestlers to step into a ring as they put on a wrestling clinic in those last five minutes.  HBK and Taker traded finishers until Undertaker would avoid Michaels’ superkick thus sending the Heartbreak Kid over the top rope to the floor below.  It was a beautiful ending for one unforgettable Royal Rumble Match.  No doubt that the 2007 Royal Rumble deserves the top spot on this list.