2008 Royal Rumble Thoughts

   2008 is up there in great Rumble matches.  The winner, regardless of how you feel about him, was a big surprise and added to the significance of the match.  I'll get to that later on!  The other matches on the card were pretty good as well.  Both World Title matches were entertaining, there was decent grudge match, and the Ric Flair retirement story was progressing nicely.  Not to mention, there were some great surprises in the Rumble match, and the venue was the historic Madison Square Garden.

Pre-Show Match - Deuce & Domino vs. Jimmy Wang Yang & Shannon Moore

   This was a good way to get the crowd going.  I thought the very idea of Jimmy Wang Yang's gimmick was hilarious.  An Asian redneck, what's not to love?  I can even remember the words to his theme.  Shannon Moore never did have a clear direction in his career so he was along for the ride with Yang as the babyface team.  I may be in the minority but I actually enjoyed Deuce & Domino's gimmick.  They were 50's style greasers and they had Cherry as their roller skating manager.  Many will say that hated it because it was a dated gimmick.  If you hated that but loved the Honky Tonk Man, than I don't understand your logic, as they were very similar.  Given, the two didn't have the charisma that Honky had, but still, I happened to like it!  Yang and Moore picked up the victory to get the fans happy going into the Rumble.

Career Match - Ric Flair vs. MVP

   Ric Flair and WWE knew that he would be retiring that year so a storyline started where Vince McMahon told Flair that the moment he lost a match, he would be forced to retire.  One of the first up to bat was MVP.  At the time, MVP was the United States Champion and was settled into a nice feud with Matt Hardy.  The Title was not on the line here, but Flair's career was. Due to working with guys like Chris Benoit and Matt Hardy, MVP improved a lot in the ring.  Ric Flair of course, could make a match with a broomstick entertaining!  Flair ended up winning with the Figure Four Leg Lock, keeping his career for the time being.  I wish someone else was his opponent, though, because not only did a current Champion in MVP lose, the Title wasn't on the line either.  That's just a minor complaint, though.  

Chris Jericho vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

   This feud began the month prior during Jericho's WWE Title shot against Randy Orton. Jericho returned to much fanfare after a two-year hiatus.  During the match, Jericho was knocked into the commentary table where JBL sat.  When Jericho got up with the intention of getting to Orton,  he casually shoved JBL out of his way. Later on when Jericho had Orton in the Walls of Jericho, JBL entered and kicked Jericho in the face.  In the weeks leading to this match, JBL brutalized and bloodied Jericho.  This match was good but it ended in a DQ when Jericho hit JBL with a chair.  I hate to beat a dead horse, but I strongly dislike DQ endings at major PPV's.

World Title - Edge vs. Rey Misterio

   At this time, Edge was in a questionable love affair angle with Eddie Guerrero's widow Vickie, who became one of the most annoying wrestling characters of all time, with her infamous "excuse me" routine.  Edge was joined by his Edgeheads Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder.  Along with Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely, the group was called La Familia.  A natural feud with Rey Misterio developed, as Rey was very close to Eddie.  This was a great match and both men delivered. When Rey was about to deliver his 619 to Edge, Vickie jumped in the way to protect him and took it. When Rey spring boarded into the ring, he was met with a mid-air Spear by Edge and lost the match, with the Rated R Superstar retaining.

WWE Title - Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy

   Jeff Hardy was fast becoming the most popular superstar in WWE, close to John Cena's level. Although he didn't win the WWE Title here, he would be Champion by year's end.  By defeating Triple H, Hardy became number one contender and a feud began with Orton soon after.  It got pretty personal and one of the best moments of the events leading up to this match, was the biggest Swanton Bomb Jeff had ever pulled off, where he jumped high from the Raw set.  This match was anybody's game but ultimately, Randy Orton pulled off an incredible RKO that he reversed from Hardy's Twist of Fate to retain the Championship.

Royal Rumble Match

   Man, do I love continuity and a slow build! That's what this Rumble was all about!  The two men that ended the 2007 Royal Rumble, the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, picked up where they left off, and started the 2008 Rumble as numbers one and two.  The two men battled once again and the crowd went nuts.  Both lasted over 30 minutes. Eventually, HBK eliminated the Undertaker, only to be eliminated himself just six seconds later.  It certainly wouldn't be the last time they would meet and it planted even more seeds for their first WrestleMania match against each other over a year later.

   Soon, the Great Khali, John Morrison, and Batista entered the ring.  Number nine was Hornswoggle, who's character I could not stand. He hid under the ring most of the match and came out from under there to help eliminate The Miz.  Mark Henry and Big Daddy V were about to spoil the little man's plans until Finlay, illegally entered the match to help his little buddy.  He attacked the big men with his shillelagh.  That's what she said!

   A few more superstars joined in as the match kept going, including John Morrison, Batista, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Umaga, and Shelton Benjamin. Something tremendous happened when the buzzer rang for the 18th entrant.  It was the legendary Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka to a raucous ovation!  Everyone in the Rumble stood in awe when he entered the ring.  Snuka made many memories at the Garden and it was time for another.  He chopped everyone he could within range and he didn't care who. Everyone from Shawn Michaels to CM Punk to The Miz felt the wrath of Snuka.  The Undertaker then stood toe to toe with his first WrestleMania victim and executed a headbutt, which staggered the Undertaker and had no effect on Snuka, as he chopped the Dead Man as well.

 Just when we thought the nostalgia was over, it was time to unveil number 19.  Everyone was amazed when it was none other than Rowdy Roddy Piper.  Piper entered the ring as Snuka looked like he just saw a ghost.  The two old foes battled and it was as if time stopped.  All the action came to a screeching halt as the others watched these two pioneers go at it.  History was being made at the Royal Rumble!  Everyone started brawling shortly after and changed gears when Kane made his way to the ring.

   We also got to see another legend in Mick Foley, who entered at number 22.  At number 26 was Chavo Guerrero, who was the ECW Champion at the time.  This I didn't care for! Obviously, the ECW brand was the third most important but if they wanted it to be taken seriously as a World Title. they should have excluded its Champion from the match.  In the days before the regular Rumble stipulation, it didn't matter that the Champion was in there, such as Randy Savage in 1989 and Hulk Hogan in 1990.  However, this didn't make a lick of sense!

   Triple H entered at number 29 and dominated everyone in sight.  Alone, he eliminated Big Daddy V, Batista, Mick Foley, and Kane.  It looked as if Triple H might win his second Royal Rumble match.  Everyone counted down in anticipation for the man that would enter at number 30. To everyone's amazement, especially due to the severity of his injury the previous year, it was none other than John Cena.  I had friends over watching this and I remember there was a collective groan from all of us.  Everyone left in the ring, including Hunter, were shocked!  The last two men left ended up being Cena and Triple H.  After countering a Pedigree, Cena hoisted the Game onto his shoulders to deliver an FU over the top rope to win the 2008 Royal Rumble.  

   Despite not loving Cena winning, this was a great Rumble match from start to finish.  The addition of legends like Snuka, Piper, and Foley made for great moments.  Taker and Michaels starting the Rumble after ending it the year before was a spectacle!  The surprise return of Cena made for one of the most shocking moments in Rumble history.  We saw two great Title matches, a brutal feud, and the progression of the Ric Flair retirement angle.  All in all, this was one of the best Rumbles of the bunch.




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