WWE ROYAL RUMBLE - 25 de Janeiro de 2009

January 25, 2009 - Detroit, Michigan
RAW Announcers: Michael Cole & Jerry “The King” Lawler
ECW Announcers: Todd Grisham & Matt Striker
RAW Announcers: Jim Ross & Tazz
Royal Rumble Announcers: Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler


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RINGSIDE ANNOUNCEMENT:
Michael Cole & Jerry “The King” Lawler: They announced that the McMahon family was keeping Mr. McMahon’s condition private but he almost surely has a concussion.. Wow, dejavu.


(ECW WORLD TITLE)
SINGLES MATCH
Jack Swagger defeated Matt Hardy to retain the ECW World title: Jack Swagger worked over the left arm and shoulder of Matt Hardy, putting the challenger at a severe disadvantage. Late in the match, Hardy hit a sloppy moonsault but could only get a two-count. A little bit later, Swagger rammed Hardy’s shoulder into the corner and followed up with a Gut-wrench Power-bomb for the win!

Citação :

OPINIÃO: Combate sólido para abertura do PPV. Boa prestação na primeira vez de Swagger num grande evento. O vencedor era previsível, mas merecedor.

NOTA: 6

FOOTAGE FROM EARLIER TODAY: Randy Orton arrived at the building and everybody was staring at him as he carefully walked through the backstage area..


(WWE WOMENS TITLE)
SINGLES MATCH
Melina Perez defeated Beth Phoenix w/Santino Marella to win the WWE Women’s title: Beth Phoenix had Melina laid out on her stomach, and bent Melina’s leg backwards and forced her to kick herself in the head. I guess Beth has been watching Cheerleader Melissa vs. MsChif matches from SHIMMER. After a few minutes of back-and-forth action, Melina scored a quick susprise roll-up on Beth to win the WWE Women’s championship for the third time!! Beth was shocked into silence while Santino tried to console her.. No sign of Rosa Mendez….

Citação :

OPINIÃO: Óptimo combate. Aquele momento com a perna da Melina, apesar de "roubado" de praticamente todos os combates entre MsChif e Cheerleader Melissa, foi um óptimo pormenor. Entende-se que Melina seja a nova campeã, já que a Beth pode fazer facilmente outro tipo de ângulos e neste momento não beneficiava em muito com o título. O maior problema com a Melina campeã é que não existem muitas divas heel actualmente, no RAW. Que tal tornar novamente a Mickie psicopata?

NOTA: 7

BACKSTAGE SEGMENT
John Bradshaw Layfield + Shawn Michaels + The Undertaker: JBL said if Shawn Michaels helps him win the World Heavyweight title he will pay him all of the money he owes him and he (Michaels) will never have to work for him again. JBL said after he becomes World Heavyweight champion, he will get Shawn a spot in the Royal Rumble so they can face each other at WrestleMania….. JBL walked away, and the Undertaker appeared out of thin air… The Undertaker looked at Michaels and said “sometimes, it’s hell getting to heaven.”

Citação :

Shawn vs Undertaker no WM25!!! Já!!!

(WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE)
SINGLES MATCH
John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield w/Shawn Michaels to retain the World Heavyweight title: Shawn Michaels mostly stood at ringside quietly watching, only teasing that he would interfere on behalf of JBL. John Cena was distracted a couple times by Michaels at ringside, which led to JBL flattening Cena with a clotheline from hell. JBL starred at Michaels at ringside, wasting enough time for Cena to recover and go for the FU. JBL slipped out and went for the big boot, but accidentally knocked out the referee! Shawn Michaels entered the ring and lined up to super-kick Cena, but swerved everybody by super-kicking JBL - causing the crowd to POP! Cena was relieved that the legendary Michaels finally did the right thing, but Michaels then super-kicked Cena out cold!! Shawn put JBL’s lifeless body on top of Cena’s lifeless body and went backstage. Another referee sprinted to the ring to make the count, but Cena miraculously kicked out! Both men got to their feet and Cena ducked a clothesline and hit an FU and got the 1-2-3 to win the match and retain the World Heavyweight title….. BIZARRE!

Citação :

OPINIÃO: Combate por vezes aborrecido e com um final bastante estúpido. John Cena não esteve nas suas noites, e também não ajudou que o homem que toda a gente queria com o título estivesse fora do ringue. Por falar em Shawn, até se entende o que ele acabou por fazer, o que aconteceu depois é que foi parvo. De qualquer modo, por mim está tudo bem, desde que a história com JBL acabe por aqui... o que duvido que aconteça.

NOTA: 6.75

(WWE TITLE)
NO-DQ MATCH
Edge w/Chavo Guerrero defeated Jeff Hardy to win the WWE Championship!: Before the match, SmackDown! General Manager Vickie Guerrero came out and warned Jeff Hardy not to get himself disqualified to save his title. Vickie changed the bout to a No-Disqualification match, but Jeff just grinned at the General Manager. Vickie introduced her husband as the “next WWE champion, Edge!” Edge came out with Chavo Guerrero to stand in his corner. Jeff tried to introduce a steel chair into the match but it backfired. After a few more minutes of tense action, Edge grabbed two chair - setting up for a conchairto - but that also backfired. Hardy hit a Twist of Fate on Edge off the ring apron! Hardy cleared off the RAW announce table and found a 12-foot ladder under the ring! Hardy placed Edge on the announce table and climbed to the top of the ladder! Chavo Guerrero climbed up and intervened, but Hardy knocked him off and dove onto him! Hardy put Edge back on the announce table, climbed up the ladder and dove off, destroying the table in two seconds! The ladder actually slipped out from under Hardy’s feet and dropped on the safety barrier dangerously close to the fans in the front row. They crawled back into the ring, where Edge removed the corner pad. Hardy avoided making contact with the steel, and performed the Whisper in the Wind on Edge for a two-count. Edge reversed a Twist of Fate into a DDT for a two-count of his own. A minute later, Edge dropped Hardy face-first into the exposed metal turnbuckle. Hardy somehow countered a spear attempt into the Twist of Fate. Jeff was going in for the kill, but Vickie Guerrero waddled down to ringside to try to prevent it. Jeff kicked Vickie off the ring apron and hit a Swanton bomb on Edge! Referee Scott James started to count, but Vickie pulled him out of the ring and freaked out at him! Matt Hardy came down and pushed Vickie into the ring. Matt brought two chairs into the ring and told Jeff to set up for a conchairto on Edge. Matt suddenly, and shockingly, turned on his brother, smashing him over the head with the steel chair and staring down at him with cold eyes! Edge made the cover for the 1-2-3 and celebrated with Vickie Guerrero as the NEW WWE champion! Jim Ross was shocked into silence!

Citação :

OPINIÃO: Bem... Que combate fantástico! Teve de tudo! Bom wrestling, bons spots com armas (ainda que talvez pudessem ter sido mais), uma óptima história e um final que fica na memória como o ponto alto do Royal Rumble! Quando todo o mundo esperava que Christian se revelasse como o autor dos ataques a Jeff, eis que surge Matt Hardy heel! Grande decisão por parte da WWE, e agora para mim não há outro cenário possível que não Matt vs Jeff Hardy no WM25, com uma qualquer estipulação (Ladder, TLC, Hardcore, No-DQ) que os possa fazer brilhar a sério. Quanto a Edge, não estou a ver quem poderá ser o adversário dele. Triple H? Undertaker? Christian? Esperar para ver!

NOTA: 9

BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW
Todd Grisham & Randy Orton + Chris Jericho: Todd Grisham asked Randy Orton about the rumors of legal action being taken against him tomorrow on RAW. Randy said he doesn’t know but as far as knows he is still in the Royal Rumble. Chris Jericho showed up and said he doesn’t blame Orton for doing what he did to Mr. McMahon. Jericho said the real Mr. McMahon was already dead. Orton suspected Jericho was trying to get him to lower his guard in the Rumble. Jericho said the McMahons are vengeful people, and predicted this would be Orton’s last night as an employee of World Wrestling Entertainment..

ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH
Won by Randy Orton!!!!!!! Last eliminating Triple H: The first four guys stopped fighting when the Great Khali (#5) showed up so they could gang up on the giant. They all tried to hit their moves but Khali swatted them like flies until Vladimir Kozlov came out! Kozlov single handedly eliminated the Great Khali! Kozlov eliminated three guys before he was met by entrant #7 - Triple H! HHH eliminated Kozlov! Randy Orton entered at #8 and went right after a stunned Triple H! Cryme Tyme got the #9 spot, but only one was allowed to enter so they flipped a coin and JTG won with a double-sided coin. Chris Jericho entered at #11 and went after Ted DiBiase and Randy Orton. At the #13 mark, Orton hit three guys with RKO’s but was planted by a Pedigree from Triple H! Triple H eliminated both the Miz & Morrison. Rey was dumped over the top rope but he landed used Miz and Morrison as stepping stones to get back in the ring without touching the floor. Cody Rhodes entered at #15 and joined Legacy members Randy Orton and Ted DiBiase Jr. in dominating the match. Orton was already being portrayed as the star of the match, after hitting Mysterio with an incredible RKO! The Undertaker came in at #16 and went after everybody who was in the ring. Goldust (Dustin Rhodes) entered at #17 and was immediately confronted by little brother Cody Rhodes for a brief fight. Goldust came within inches of eliminating Cody, but the Legacy member avoided it! Orton saved Rhodes by RKOing Goldust and instructing Cody to eliminate him! WWE Intercontinental champion C.M. Punk entered at #18. Mark Henry entered at #19 and the match suddenly slowed to a crawl. Mark Henry was eliminated by the Undertaker off-camera but they showed it on a replay. At some point, the Undertaker was busted open and bloodied. Kane entered at #23 and found himself face-to-face with the Undertaker. The Brothers of Destruction decided to work together! The #25 entrance was a surprise - Rob Van Dam - and caught everybody off guard by his “educated feet.” Dolph Ziggler came in at #27 and introduced himself to Kane, but Kane launched him over the top rope! Santino Marella sprinted down at #28 and was eliminated by Kane after just one second! Thus breaking the Warlord’s two-second record! “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (the winner of the first ever Royal Rumble in 1988) entered at #29. Entrant #30 was the Big Show, and everybody stopped what they were doing and watched in stunned silence. The Big Show walked up to the Undertaker, and Kane smacked Big Show from the side! Randy Orton and the Legacy remained relatively quiet for the last while. There were so many near-eliminations, but guys like Punk and Rhodes kept pulling themselves back into the ring. Big Show dumped Punk three times before eliminating him for good! Rey Mysterio and Mike Knox were eliminated off camera, but the replay showed the Big Show dumping them at the same time. Hornswoggle showed up for some comedy but quickly retreated. Finlay was eliminated by Kane. They announced that Rey Mysterio was in the match for 49:00. The Big Show and the Undertaker squared off in the middle of the ring. RVD hit Orton with a frog splash, but Jericho quickly dumped RVD during his recovery. The Undertaker snuck up behind Jericho and threw him over the top rope. Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes teamed up to eliminate Kane. The final six were Triple H, Undertaker, Big Show, Orton, DiBiase, and Rhodes. The Undertaker choke-slammed all three members of Legacy and squared off with the Big Show again. Undertaker booted the Big Show over the top but Big Show held on like he was a cruiserweight. Big Show dragged Undertaker over the top rope onto the ring apron. Orton RKO’d Big Show to the floor to eliminate him. Big Show pulled the Undertaker down by the legs and they brawled! The final four were Triple H, Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes. The three Legacy members triple-teamed Triple H with Orton calling the shots. DiBiase & Rhodes held Triple H while Orton yelled at him. Triple H mounted a come-back and nearly eliminated Orton. Triple H eliminated DiBiase, and then Rhodes, but Orton snuck up behind Triple H and dumped him out of the ring to become the 2009 Royal Rumble Winner!

Citação :

OPINIÃO: O combate Royal Rumble deste ano começou da melhor forma. Mysterio, Morrison, Carlito e MVP (grande ovação, terá inevitavelmente de se tornar face) estiveram fantásticos na abertura.

Outros grandes momentos incluíram os três RKOs seguidos de Orton, Cody Rhodes vs Goldust, Undertaker a trabalhar com Kane, Rey Mysterio a escapar da eliminação de todas as formas possíveis (incluindo passar por cima de Miz e Morrison), a grande surpresa Rob Van Dam, a menor surpresa Jim Duggan, e a eliminação de Santino Marella em 1 segundo. Santino consegue assim bater o recorde de 2 segundos de Warlord, e bem o merece. E não, não estou a ser irónico. Santino é um dos únicos lutadores no wrestling que pode perder das formas mais humilhantes possíveis que mesmo assim continuará a ser apoiado.

Quanto ao final, que costuma ser o melhor do combate, desta vez foi um pouco fraco. Randy Orton era um vencedor demasiadamente previsível, eu já o andava a apontar há mais de um mês. Esperava-se uma surpresa, e o que se viu foi um Handicap de 3 contra 1 no final do PPV. Muito longe do incrível Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker de há dois anos atrás. De qualquer modo, parece haver uma história por trás de tudo o que Orton faz actualmente, pelo que temos de aguardar para saber se foi uma boa decisão ou não.

NOTA: 8

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Citação :

OPINIÃO GERAL:

Destaques Positivos:
- Edge vs Jeff Hardy - Matt Hardy sai deste PPV como uma das figuras de destaque na WWE.
- Combate Royal Rumble - Orton, Undertaker, Kane, Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, MVP, Carlito, Jim Duggan e até alguns eliminados "precoces" como Santino e Dolph Ziggler. Todos eles saem do PPV mais populares do que quando entraram. Ah, isto sem falar em RVD.

Destaques Negativos:
- Handicap no final do Rumble? Podia ter sido bem melhor, e com um vencedor menos anunciado.
- Final do combate entre Cena e JBL.