2004 Royal Rumble Thoughts

   The 2004 Royal Rumble event was very special.  A Tables Match for the Tag Team Titles took place, uncle and nephew battled it out in a grudge match, a wily veteran finally got a shot at the WWE Championship, and friends turned enemies tried to bring an end to their war.  However, the story told of a man forced to start the Rumble, only to win it all, brought fans to their feet and set the course for him to conquer his dream at the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania!

Pre-Show Match – Molly Holly vs. Victoria

   The Victoria/Stevie Richards act caught on so much that the fans turned them into babyfaces.  At this point in time, Molly’s character was that of someone who was proper and a little stuck up, someone who was all about morals and values.  Victoria won the match but this was not for Molly’s WWE Women’s Championship.  Victoria ended up dethroning Molly the next month and their feud escalated to a “Hair vs. Hair” match.

Raw Tag Team Championship Tables Match – Evolution vs. Dudley Boys

   2003 ended with all members of Evolution with Championships on Raw.  The Dudley Boys were defending their Tag Team Titles in a Tag Team Turmoil match against all other teams.  The last minute team of Evolution members Ric Flair and Batista entered the match and won the gold. Randy Orton also became Intercontinental Champion, as well as Triple H winning the World Title. Evolution displaying their Championships the next night on Raw was a sight to see.  The Dudley Boys were owed a rematch to get their Titles back and in their specialty, a Tables Match.  The match ended with Batista putting D-Von through a table with a Spinebuster.

Cruiserweight Title – Rey Misterio vs. Jamie Noble

   Smackdown’s Cruiserweight division got a big face lift with the addition of Rey Misterio.  Jamie Noble’s character at this point in time was a hick from the South and his girlfriend was first Tough Enough female winner Nidia.  Noble earned himself a Title shot at Misterio.  Though Nidia’s antics generally ended Noble’s matches with wins, the lovebirds were not enough to dethrone Rey.  After a 619, Misterio followed up and won the match, retaining his Championship. 

Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero

   Los Guerreros broke up after failing to recapture the Smackdown Tag Team Titles. Chavo then began blaming Eddie for everything under the sun.  Chavo turned on Eddie and enlisted the services of his father Chavo Sr., Eddie's brother.  Chavo Sr. was then referred to by his son as Chavo Classic. This was a great match and it was a way to have both men move on and move up.  Eddie defeated Chavo here and then went on the next month to win the WWE Title.  Meanwhile, Chavo didn't let this loss keep him down, as he went on to win his own Title, the Cruiserweight Championship.

WWE Title - Brock Lesnar vs. Hardcore Holly

   Hardcore Holly was on Brock Lesnar's bad side since the Survivor Series when they were on opposing teams.  Holly kept getting involved in Lesnar's affairs.  Lesnar had enough and was willing to put his WWE Championship on the line against Holly.  The reason Holly kept pursuing Lesnar is due to their previous match in which Holly sustained a broken neck.  It was a brutal match that saw Lesnar retaining the Title. Holly gained more respect from the fans by going toe to toe with "The Next Big Thing."

World Title - Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels

   When Triple H turned on his DX partner Shawn Michaels in 2002, it set off a chain reaction of several matches and a long on and off feud between the two.  Any time these two were in the ring, fans were in for some great action and story telling.  The match was fantastic but was ruined by the way it ended.  Neither man won as it was ruled a draw.  As a fan, I hate when matches end in draws on major Pay-Per-Views.  We soon found out why this was the result.  Since Michaels didn't get pinned, he was able to get a rematch for the Championship, along with the Royal  Rumble winner in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania.  At the time, I felt Michaels' involvement in the WrestleMania main event was unnecessary as a one on one contest was good enough.  

Royal Rumble Match

 For weeks, Smackdown General Manager at the time, Paul Heyman, was at odds with Chris Benoit.  In an effort to punish him, Heyman told Benoit that he was to be number one in the Royal Rumble.  Benoit was joined by the second entrant in the match, Randy Orton.  The men were soon joined by Mark Henry and Tajiri. When Bradshaw entered, he dominated everyone around him. However, when he tried to eliminate Benoit, it was countered and it eliminated the Texan from the match instead.  A few big names started appearing in the Rumble match, including Scott Steiner, Booker T, and Kane.  When the Undertaker's music hit, Kane was distracted and eliminated.  The Undertaker was playing mind games with his brother for Kane's involvement in helping Vince McMahon bury the Undertaker alive.

   The ring started to fill up again with superstars such as Rikishi, A-Train, and Shelton Benjamin.  Ernest "The Cat" Miller then entered the ring as the 18th entrant.  This lightened the mood a bit as Miller and his driver Lamont danced for a few minutes until both were tossed out.  Meanwhile, both Chris Benoit and Randy Orton were still in the match they started.  Kurt Angle was the next entrant, followed by Rico.  When the buzzer rang for entrant number 21, the cameras showed Test down on the ground.  Before he was able to enter the match, he was attacked and therefore unable to compete.  Raw's Sheriff at the time, Stone Cold Steve Austin, told Test's assailant that he needed to replace Test in the match.  The fans were shocked when none other than Mick Foley came out.  He ran straight to the ring to battle his bitter rival Randy Orton.  After delivering a Cactus Clothesline that eliminated Orton and Foley himself, Foley didn't relent and both men continued to fight towards the back.

   A few more superstars entered the ring, including the Big Show, Chris Jericho, John Cena, and Rob Van Dam.  It was soon time for the number 30 entrant to make his way to the ring.  That man was Goldberg!  Goldberg dominated everyone around him and handed out spears the way a Jehovah's Witness would hand out pamphlets.  WWE Champion Brock Lesnar then came out and entered the ring, even though the last participant entered and he wasn't even in the match.  Lesnar delivered an F-5 to Goldberg and left the ring.  By the time Goldberg got back to his feet, his back was turned to the action and Kurt Angle took advantage to eliminate him.  Goldberg was able to gain revenge the next month when he lent a helping hand to Eddie Guerrero in his WWE Championship win over Lesnar.  

   The last four men in the ring were Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and the Big Show.  While Jericho applied the Walls of Jericho to the Big Show, Angle attacked from behind.  Big Show then eliminated Jericho and set his sights on Angle.  Angle was able to perform the Olympic Slam on the giant and then applied an Ankle Lock.  The Big Show was so powerful that he not only broke the hold, but he sent Angle flying out of the ring doing so.  It was now down to the Big Show and Benoit.  Benoit was clearly the underdog here, as Big Show had the height, weight, and strength advantages. Benoit didn't give up and threw everything he had at the Big Show.  It looked like it was over for the Canadian-born superstar when he found himself on the ring apron.  He held a face lock on the Big Show and didn't let go.  By using the Big Show's momentum against him, Benoit kept dragging him over the ropes almost like a human pulley system, to eventually eliminate the 500lber and win the Royal Rumble.  

   He became the second man to win the Rumble from the number one spot.  Benoit's win was more impressive in my opinion, due to the time between entrants being two minutes long, compared to Shawn Michaels' win with one minute intervals.  Although most people expected him to head for the WWE Championship, the Smackdown superstar showed up on Raw to announce he would take on Triple H for the World Heavyweight Title in WrestleMania's main event.

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