2007 Royal Rumble Thoughts

   The 2007 Royal Rumble event as a whole was a good one in my opinion.  There was really only one dud in the non-Rumble matches.  The Rumble match itself was fantastic, with one of the best endings I've seen.  This event featured some fresh faces trying to make names for themselves, the Hardy Boys back as a team, and a great WWE Championship match that finally solidified John Cena as a much better wrestler than he was thought to be.  It was also the first time some ECW legends were a part of the Royal Rumble match.

Pre-Show Match - JTG vs. Lance Cade

   For this match, JTG had Shad Gaspard in his corner and Cade had Trevor Murdoch in his corner. For some reason, it was a one on one match and not Cryme Tyme vs. Cade & Murdoch.  Raw's Tag Team division was pretty decent at this point and these two teams were trying to reach the mountain top.  JTG won this match but the most interesting thing didn't have anything to do with the match. Cryme Tyme had been shown various times throughout the night selling false Royal Rumble entries.

Hardy Boys vs. MNM

   When Jeff Hardy returned to WWE, he reunited with his brother Matt to reform the Hardy Boys and go for tag team gold.  After a six month hiatus, Joey Mercury returned to action to team once again with Johnny Nitro and Melina as MNM.  These two teams fought at Armageddon 2006 in a Ladder Match, along with Paul London & Brian Kendrick, and William Regal and Dave Taylor.  During the match, Mercury broke his nose and orbital bone when he was struck in the face with a ladder.  It was quite a gruesome thing to watch, as blood poured out everywhere.  That injury led to Mercury wearing a face guard and this match was a result.  The Hardy Boys won this match and all of the participants except for Mercury, entered the Royal Rumble match later on.

ECW Title - Bobby Lashley vs. Test

   This was the only match on the card that was out of place.  Although the ECW brand was completely different from the original ECW promotion, there were still hardcore fans that thought the presentation was off.  When Rob Van Dam and Sabu had troubles in 2006, most ECW fans figured new faces would be involved with the brand and within the ECW Title picture. Bobby Llashley won an Elimination Chamber to become the new ECW Champion at one of WWE's worst PPV events ever, December 2 Dismember. This was the straw that broke the camel's back and caused Paul Heyman and WWE to part ways for five years.  While I agree Lashley would have been an appropriate World Champion or WWE Champion, he just didn't fit the mold of ECW.  Heyman wanted CM Punk to be the new guy for the ECW brand and but the office didn't see it that way.  Neither did his first opponent, the late Test.  Test was back in the company but clearly on some performance enhancing drugs and the backlash was immense.  Not to mention, the match just did not have chemistry.  Test was never really that good to begin with and Lashley was still a little green.  Lashley won this forgettable match.

World Title - Batista vs. Mr. Kennedy

   For a few years, the face of Smackdown as the World Champion was Batista.  His programs were about to get even better at WrestleMania. Kennedy was young, brash, and unapologetic. He was the newest sensation with a tremendous amount of charisma and a unique character. Kennedy threw everything he had at Batista but it just wasn't enough.  After a vicious clothesline and a Batista Bomb, it was all said and done.

WWE Title Last Man Standind Match - John Cena vs. Umaga

   This match was important for both men's careers.  I feel it shut Cena's naysayers up a bit, and I should know as I was one of them.  It also established Umaga as a serious threat to any major Championship in the company.  Umaga had a brand new character being a Samoan savage, far removed from his run as Jamal of Three Minute Warning.  The previous encounter between these men weeks earlier at New Year's Revolution was a good match but this was even better.  Umaga wasn't done with Cena after that match, so he continued to assault and antagonize Cena until he received another shot.  Cena knew it would be even tougher to put away Umaga.  It took several FU's and an STFU using the loose ring ropes to choke Umaga for a bloody Cena to pull out a victory.  Cena looked great for winning and Umaga looked great even as the loser.

Royal Rumble Match 

 The Royal Rumble matches really started to hit their stride in the mid-2000's.  I really enjoyed 2007's match.  No stranger to starting at an early number, Ric Flair made his way to the ring as number one.  Number two was Finlay, a man that probably preferred starting so early because he loved to fight.  They were soon joined by Kenny Dykstra, who was feuding with Flair at the time. Bitter enemies Edge and Matt Hardy then joined in.  It was time to get extreme for numbers six and seven when ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer and Sabu made their way to the ring.  Dreamer brought some toys into the ring, whereas Sabu set up a table on the outside, which proved to be his demise.  When Kane entered the ring as the tenth entrant, he dominated everyone and eliminated Sabu by throwing him out of the ring and through the very table Sabu had set up.

   Soon the ring was filled with more superstars, including CM Punk, Booker T, Jeff Hardy, and the Sandman, wielding a Singapore Cane. Randy Orton entered next and banded together with his Rated RKO partner Edge, as they wreaked havoc upon the other entrants.  A new feud began when Kane eliminated 2006's King of the Ring, Booker.  King Booker returned to the ring and eliminated Kane and the two brawled to the back.  The 500lb Viscera entered at number nineteen and it took upwards of eight men to eliminate him, with extra help from a Shawn Michaels Super Kick.  Other men joined in, such as Chris Benoit, Rob Van Dam, and MVP.

   The well over seven foot tall Great Khali entered at number 28 and destroyed everyone in sight.  He decimated the competition and eliminated an impressive seven men.  It looked like he was unstoppable!  That is, until he met his fate when number 30 turned out to be the Undertaker!  The Undertaker battled the Great Khali and eliminated the big man, as well as eliminating MVP.  Joining the Undertaker in the Final Four were Randy Orton, Edge, and Shawn Michaels.  Although Edge tried to sneak attack his partner Orton, they reconciled quickly and focused their attention on Michaels and the Undertaker.  

   HBK, who had been outside the ring but not eliminated, came back in to face off with Rated RKO.  The legendary Michaels was able to eliminate both, only to end up standing toe to toe with the Undertaker.  These two had history at the Royal Rumble event, as their 1998 match caused Michaels to retire for four years from in-ring competition. The two battled ferociously and exchanged blows.  The Undertaker  gave Michaels a Choke Slam. However, Michaels was on his feet soon enough and retaliated with some Sweet Chin Music.  Later on, the two knocked each other down.  While the Undertaker did his normal sitting up routine, the Heartbreak Kid used his patented kip up at the same time.  What a sight to see!  The Undertaker ducked an attempt at another Super Kick and dumped Michaels out of the ring.  He became the first man to win from the number 30 spot.

   Overall, this was a good Royal Rumble card.  Any time you put the Hardy Boys and MNM together, you're bound to get a good match.  Mr. Kennedy brought the fight to Batista and both John Cena and Umaga impressed the fans with their brutal encounter.  The Rumble match was great from start to finish.  The exchange between Michaels and Taker was the beginning of a series of events leading towards two WrestleMania matches in 2009 and 2010.  With the exception of Lashley vs. Test, this was a very entertaining Royal Rumble.

If you have any further thoughts on this topic, let me know in comments.  Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by tagmeadate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans.  Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport.  For TagMeADate members, our Android and Apple apps are vastly approaching so stay tuned!
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