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Royal Rumble begins tonight with the pre-show. Get ready for one hell of a night folks! Tonight, we get to witness something incredible. The Rumble match itself, and the biggest match of the year. The Second City Saint goes one on one against The Great One.
Pre Show:
Cesaro comes out first, followed by The Miz. I admit, I won’t be able to cover much of this match. Miz looks to have injured his knee. It’s your normal pre-show match, but the two guys put on an impressive show (something you’d expect from Cesaro). After a good back and forth action, Cesaro catches Miz with the Neutralizer and gets the victory. Nothing shocking here.
Winner: Cesaro
No rating as I couldn’t cover it much.
Main Show:
The first match of the night is for the World Heavyweight Championship. Before the duo of ADR and Rodriguez come out, Bret meets them half way and gives Ricardo his shades. We go out to the ring as Show makes his way out first, followed by ADR. The match begins, as Show takes Del Rio to the corner with body shots and a headbutt. He then comes up with a chop to the chest. Del Rio comes back with a kick and punches. Show knocks Del Rio down. Show with a scoop slam, as Del Rio fights back and goes to the second rope. Show knocks him out in mid-air with a big chop to the chest. Show with another headbutt and a big back splash into the corner. Del Rio dropkicks Show’s leg out and he goes down. Del Rio with a big kick to the head and then another kick. Show comes back and goes for a powerbomb. Del Rio turns it into a Hurricanrana and goes back up top. Del Rio comes down with a seated senton.
Del Rio goes for the cross arm-breaker but Show turns it into a big slam. The referee counts but Del Rio gets up. Show with another big chop to the chest. Show brings a steel chair in the ring, but Del Rio kicks it into him. Del Rio uses the chair on Show, laying him with one after the other while the crowd chants ‘Si’! Del Rio. Top rope, Del Rio tries to use the chair on Show, but Show catches him with a choke slam. Del Rio is down while the ref counts till 9, and Del Rio gets up just in time. ADR rolls out on the floor, still down as ref starts counting. ADR gets up at 5 as Show starts working on ADR’s back. The match goes on at a slow pace as expected for a Last Man Standing match.
ADR comes back with a low blow as Show is down. Ref starts to count as Show goes down. Ref at 9 as Show slowly gets up. These two are at the ramp now. Show starts whiplashing ADR to the props at the entrance as ADR goes down. Show goes for a table, climbs the props and picks up ADR with one hand and choke slams ADR through the table. ADR takes a bad bump, falling on his neck awkwardly. ADR barely gets up at 9! (Although ADR saying ‘now’ was awfully obvious, but I’ll let that pass for a great bump). The action is getting back into the ring, as ADR gets counted on the way. Show tries to go for his KO punch but ADR rolls out of the ring. Show goes for the ring steps now as ADR avoids it. Rodriguez tries to interfere but Show throws him against the barricade. Show tries to spear ADR through the barricade but ADR side steps. Crowd chants ‘Si’ as ref counts. Show gets up at 9, as ADR lashes at Show with a chair. ADR puts Show’s hand between the steps and bangs it with a chair. Show is reeling in pain, as ADR sprays with fire extinguisher. ADR locks in the cross arm breaker as a ‘This is Awesome’ chant breaks out. Rodriguez ties Show’s legs to the bottom rope with tape. Ref starts counting as Show can’t get up! And it is 10!
Winner: ADR
Analysis: 3 ½ out of 5
Striker interviews Dolph, who is with AJ and Big E. Your random plug in for the night for the trio. AJ shoos away Striker. Big E takes the mic and starts mimicking an interviewer (Sounds wrong for a big man). Ziggler talks about unifying WWE and WH titles after winning the Rumble and cashing in for the title. Good little plug in for the #1 entrant.
Antonio, PTP, Orton, Cena, Barrett,Sheamus, and Ryback cut promos about winning the Rumble.
Tag team title match:
Rhodes Scholars make their way out (I’m really digging their theme). Cody reminds me of Rick Rude, which can only be a compliment. Team Hell No make their way out next. Bryan starts things off with Cody. Cody starts working on Bryan’s arm as Bryan comes back with a drop kick. Nice counters as Bryan tags in Kane during a surfboard. Cody comes back with a dropkick as Cody tags in Damien. Kane drops Sandow and goes for the first pin attempt. Kane tags in Bryan, as Bryan kicks Sandow shouting ‘No’ as the crowd erupts with a ‘Yes’ chant. Kane throws both the guys out. Bryan goes at them outside with a suicide dive.
Damien recovers and throws Bryan against the ring. Cody gets tagged in, and starts working on Bryan and locks him in a half Boston crab. Bryan counters with a small package, but Cody kicks out at 2. Sandow’s tagged in and he comes out with a side Russian leg sweep with an elbow to the chest. Bryan kicks out at 2. Cody gets tagged in as Bryan kicks Cody, as Cody manages to tag in Sandow. Good team work here by Rhodes Scholars as they isolate Bryan from Kane. Bryan comes back with a big DDT and finally tags Kane in as Sandow comes in. Kane goes at it with Sandow and covers after a side slam. Sandow kicks out as Kane goes to the top but gets caught by Sandow by a swinging neck breaker. Count of 2, as Kane gets double suplexed while Bryan blind tags in. Bryan catches Sandow with the No Lock as Sandow taps out.
Winners and still the Tag team champions: Team Hell No
Analysis: 3 out of 5.
Elimination Chamber gets plugged in. A promo of Rumble’s history plays, a great package of stats and the importance of Royal Rumble.
Backstage segment with Team Hell No as Vickie comes in and gives them their entry numbers. A bit of comedy with the duo, as Bryan shows Kane his number and asks him to show his. Kane refuses, and Bryan says it’s the rule. ‘I show you mine, and you show me yours’. Kane and Bryan do some word play. These two gel well together as a tag team.
A plug in for the Royal Rumble and Be A Star with some emotional speeches.
Royal Rumble:
It’s time folks! The Royal Rumble. A very early start as thought previously. The match itself would take about an hour, and a lot of time is being given to Rock – Punk.
Ziggler makes his way out first with AJ and Big E. Can he do a HBK and *Bleep*? We’ll find out. A long make out at the entrance (Ziggler is one lucky guy!) Ziggler takes the mic and talks about how he’ll steal the spot light and win the Rumble. Your regular first entrant-promise. We wait to find the #2 guy and IT IS CHRIS JERICHO! The crowd goes bananas as Jericho makes his return! WOW! Did not see this coming! Jericho comes out with his light jacket as Ziggler looks confused. A loud ‘Y2J’ chant breaks out. Jericho taunts the crowd as they lock up. Jericho comes back with a double axe handle as Jericho tries to eliminate Ziggler. A loud ‘You still got it chant’.
Time for #3. It is Cody Rhodes and Jericho goes after him. Now both the guys work together against Jericho, taking him to the corner. Both try to eliminate Jericho but he hangs on. Jericho goes for the Walls of Jericho on Cody as Zigglers catches him from behind.
Time for #4. And it is Kofi Kingston, who immediately catches Cody. 4 guys go at it against each other. A loud Y2J chant breaks out.
#5 and it is Santino. He tries eliminating all of them but they all hang on. They take turns at him and Santino is the first to be eliminated!
#6 time now, and it is Drew from 3MB. Not a big reception for him though! A lot of action in the ring.
#7 and it is Titus of PTP. Jericho almost gets eliminated but he survives. Jericho eliminates Drew.
#8 time, and it is GOLDUST! The crowd erupts as Goldust makes his entrance as Cody looks shocked! And they both go at it. A loud Goldust chants now. This is nostalgic to say the least, a great start for this year’s Rumble.
#9 now, and it is David Otunga. JBL is gold at the booth – ‘Alright, Jennifer Hudson’s husband!’ Getting back to the action, Goldust and Cody work together.
#10 is Slater from 3MB! I’m becoming a fan of his (Don’t ask).
# 11 time, and it is the Great White. Loud reception for him as he starts clearing the ring and eliminates Titus, and David Otunga goes out after him. Sheamus is on fire! Slater and Rhodes work on him.
#12 time, and it is Tensai. Everyone work in unison to fight Tensai.
#13 and it is the Funkasaurus! Cody and Goldust fight on the apron and Cody eliminates his brother!
#14 time, and it is the returning Rey Mysterio! He delivers two 619s and drops the dime on Jericho.
#15 is Darren Young from 3MB. Meanwhile, everyone work together and eliminate Brodus while Kofi eliminates Tensai! Dolph kicks Kofi and he lands on the Commentary table!
#16 is Bo Dallas. Kofi uses a chair and hops back into the ring. Cody eliminates Darren and Kofi as well! That was a great spot though.
#17 is THE GODFATHER! Although it is reduced a two bogie ho train! Everyone just stop and stare at him, and Dolph eliminates Godfather just as fast!
#18 is Wade Barrett. We shall find if the barrage helps him tonight.
#19 is John Cena! The crowd erupts with boos as Cena makes his way out. And everyone goes after Cena! Slater and Cody are eliminated by Cena.
#20 time, and it is Sandow. Rey is eliminated by Barrett. Jericho puts Cena in the walls of Jericho.
#21 time and it is Daniel Bryan! Crowd is behind him with ‘Yes’ chants.
#22 now, and it is Antonio Cesaro. A loud dueling chant of ‘Let’s go Cena’ and ‘Cena sucks’ breaks out.
#23 time, and it is Khali! Khali gets in and starts clearing the ring.
#24 is Kane.
#25 time already, and it is Zack Ryder. Ryder takes down Ziggler with the Ruff Ryder. Khali and Kane are eliminated! Kane is eliminated by Bryan! Bryan is thrown out and Kane catches him! Bryan asks Kane to put him back but Kane drops him down. Bryan is eliminated.
#26 and it is Orton. Orton eliminates Ryder.
#27 time and it is Jinder Mahal. Cena eliminates Cesaro in the meantime.
#28 and it is The Miz. Miz fights Cesaro at the top of the ramp. Sheamus eliminates Mahal.
#29 is Sin Cara! A returning Sin Cara gets in with the mix. Bo Dallas eliminates Wade Barrett! We’re awaiting the final entrant. Wade eliminates Bo Dallas and they go at it outside.
#30 time and it is Ryback. Ryback eliminates Sandow and Sin Cara. Ryback eliminates Miz. Ziggler eliminates Jericho! What a performance by Jericho though!
Cena eliminates Orton! Sheamus eliminates Ziggler! We’re down to three men. Cena, Ryback and Sheamus. Sheamus and Cena team up against Ryback. Smart move there. Both men look at the WM sign and go against each other. Sheamus hits Ryback with the White Noise. Ryback counters the Brogue Kick and eliminates Sheamus! Down to Cena and Ryback. A huge ‘Feed me more’ chant as Ryback goes after Cena. Cena locks Ryback in the STF. You’d start thinking about The Shield now! Dueling chants begin for Cena. Ryback looks to have passed out. Cena tries to eliminate a lifeless body of Ryback. He recovers and goes after Cena. Cena eliminates Ryback! Cena is going to WrestleMania! Fireworks begin as Cena points to the WM sign. Cena can face either the WHC or the WWE champion at WM. Get ready folks, it’s going to be Rock – Cena II.
Winner: Cena
Rating: NA
A promo for WrestleMania. Great job by WWE as always.
Time for the Main Event of the night.
An awesome promo to show the animosity between the Rock and CM Punk. Who’ll come out tonight as the WWE Champion? The voice of the voiceless or the People’s champion? The anticipation builds as we get ready for the biggest match of the year. Punk goes up against Rock for the WWE title.
Josh interviews Rock backstage. The usual stuff as people cheer for The Rock, who starts with ‘Finally, The Rock has come back to Phoenix’. Rock cuts his usual promo about how he will walk out the WWE Champion tonight. Nice way to build up the final match of the night. (They show Rock’s mom who battled Cancer. Nice gesture there by the WWE).
CM Punk comes out first with Paul Heyman. He soaks in the atmosphere and heads to the ring. ‘It’s clobbering time!’ says Punk. 434 days as the WWE champion, is it all coming an end tonight?
Next comes the Rock to a thunderous ovation. Rock is buffed up. RR still has good 40 minutes left. These two guys have to give it all to reach the time limit. Might not be the best idea to give Rock that much time, with his ring rust and not much conditioning. We’ll see how this goes. Here we go folks! The Rock vs CM Punk for the WWE title.
The ring introduction time. Rock is introduced first (Did I hear some boos for the Rock?), and next is Punk’s. It’s a good idea, gives it a big match feeling. A loud CM Punk chant! Now here we go. The two guys lock up. Dueling chants to begin with. And they go at each other with big right hands. Rock comes back with a clothesline. Rock throws Punk out of the ring and goes after him. They go near the Spanish table (Oh oh?!). Huge CM Punk chant breaks out. Rock whip lashes Punk to the turnbuckle. Heyman distracts Rock as Punk takes him down. Punk throws Rock on the barricade. They go back into the ring now.
Rocky chant breaks out as Punk takes control. They started slowly, which is the way to go. Punk concentrates on the mid section of the Rock. A ‘Boots to Asses’ and ‘Knees to Faces’ chant breaks. I’m loving the energy from the fans. Phoenix is a great place for pro wrestling. Rock comes back with right hands and Punk rakes his eyes. They take their time, which is the best thing to do. You cannot push Rock to his limits so soon. They need to pace this match, and they’ve been doing a good job. Heyman takes a cheap shot when the ref is distracted. Punk comes back with a dropkick. Punk looks to have landed bad on his knee. Punk comes down with a double axe handle on the outside. The action goes back in the ring. Rock realizes Punk’s hurt, and starts working on his knee. Punk takes Rock out with a suicide dive outside.
Punk misses a flying clothesline and lands on his knee again. Rock goes back to the knee, as Punk looks to be in some discomfort. Side Russian leg sweep, and the first near fall with Punk kicking out at 1. Punk fights out of the Rock bottom and reverses it into GTS. Rock counters now and catches Punk with Sharpshooter. Punk counters with the Anaconda Vice as Rock reaches the turnbuckle and rolls up Punk for 2. Both men are down. Rock taunts again, and goes for the Sharpshooter. Punk makes it to the bottom rope. Heyman shouts ‘He’s coming. He’s coming’!
Back to the Spanish Announcer’s table. Punk catches Rock with a kick. They get up on the table. Rock goes for a Rock bottom but the table collapses because of their weight! Rock still delivers a Rock Bottom to Punk outside! Rock gets Punk in the ring and covers. Punk kicks out at 2! CM Punk chants break out now. (Let us take a moment for the Spanish Announcers’ table now). A huge kick by Punk. Both men are down. Both men make it at 9, and trade blows. Rock comes back with a flying clothesline and a spine buster. Rock goes for the people’s elbow as the lights go out. Someone just laid out the Rock through the table. Punk laughs as the ref is confused. Cole claims it was The Shield. Punk brings Rock back. And THAT IS IT! IT IS OVER!
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5.
That was a shocker! I wanted this to happen, but didn’t see it coming. Punk is still YOUR WWE CHAMPION!
Wait, it isn’t over. Vince McMahon comes out. As it looked like Vince was going to strip Punk off the title, Rock takes the mic and asks the match to be restarted. I thought this was too good to be true. And here we go again. Punk goes nuts on the Rock. Knee to Rock’s face and a clothesline. Flying elbow to the Rock to a 2 count, and the crowd erupts. Punk signals that it’s time for GTS. Rock counters with a Spine buster, and the people’s elbow! And the pin, 1,2 and 3! It’s over.
Winner and the new WWE Champion: The Rock.
Rating: 3 ½ out of 5.
The show closes with Rock holding the WWE title over his head as the people cheer for him. That’s it for the night, as Rumble goes off air with Rock holding the WWE title.
